Will I regret NOT getting MM?

[shaynar]

We're heading down in a week (yay!) just me and the kids. The price of MM is steep (especially with the CAN exchange rate) so I'm not going for it. In the past we've never done it and anyways only got 40 or so photos pics. Never got anything candid.

But there's a part of me nagging that I should get it. When I read people's posts that they received hundreds of photos, that they got these amazing candid shots and that it was well worth the money.

Will I regret not getting MM?

 

[rwdavis2]

Would you miss not having all the photos? That really only a question you can answer.

 

[katt789]

It all depends for us, most trips it was a no brainer, but now with 2 of us having dslrs and knowing how to use them, we skip the photopass. Some trips we get over 2 discs of pictures plus edits (back in the disc days bahaha) Some trips we went down and would hand over a camera or phone and say "no photopass please, just our cameras" and sometimes they'd be good with that, and sometimes we'd get only the one posed photo anyways.

But with that exchange rate, dude, no, it's horrid right now. I'd say still stop at the icon type spots, hand over your camera to take some pictures and if you're doing character greets you can always snap away while the kids interact and then jump in and hand off the camera.

 

[AprilDreamsOfDisney]

I am in your exact situation! Going in ten days with my two children and this time, DH won't be able to come with us. So, I just bought MM and here are the reasons:
-with me being the solo parent, I'll be focused more on the kids and I know I won't remember to take all the must have photos
-again, as the solo parent this trip, I don't want to have yet another thing to carry around on my own (camera)
-I scrapbook and I don't want to have to wait until we get all our Disney photos edited before I can use them (sometimes takes months)
-I am excited to get the ride photos

 

[CounselorX]

I doubt you'll regret it because since you won't have it, you won't be putting in the effort that it takes to take advantage of every photographer you see, and that is the only way you can really use it to its full potential. We've used it twice. The first time, we really took the time to get a picture with every photographer we saw. It paid off but it's kind of a hassle while you're doing it (if you're impatient like I am). The second time, it was mostly a waste because we were just too hot to stand in the sun and get our picture taken every few minutes, although we did still get a few good pictures.

 

[jenniy122]

I never thought I'd be pro-paying for photos, but last year I caved and bought MM. But, cost per use was well worth it for me. I had thousands of pictures when I was done, as I was there for a couple months (You can access pictures up to 45 days old and once used its good for another 30 I think was the deal, so over 2 months worth). I tour solo mainly, love to do character meets, and want as many chances to capture that moment, so by giving my camera to the attendant and having the PP take pictures with theirs it was just worth it to me. Now that they've lowered the price, I'm considering asking for it as my birthday present for my next trip, since I'm taking myself to celebrate!

 

[Jfsag123]

I will not go without MM. BUT we meet tons of characters, who all have photographers with them, plus we do ETWB and JTA, so we end up with a lot of photos. Have gotten some amazing candid shots that way. I don't know if it'd be worth it if we didn't do all the character meets. We do enjoy the magic shots from the various other photographers, though.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Just you and the kids I would be tempted to buy it just to make sure you have enough photos of the bunch of you together.

You can also buy a pictures individually after the trip if there are some that you really love. That's what we started doing, I'll buy the best family shot and download it for $15 and then just use our own pictures for the rest. Honestly, I haven't been that impressed with the quality overall in the past year or two, so buying just one shot has been plenty. I think it depends also on how many characters you plan to meet, etc.

 

[mshanson3121]

We're heading down in a week (yay!) just me and the kids. The price of MM is steep (especially with the CAN exchange rate) so I'm not going for it. In the past we've never done it and anyways only got 40 or so photos pics. Never got anything candid.

But there's a part of me nagging that I should get it. When I read people's posts that they received hundreds of photos, that they got these amazing candid shots and that it was well worth the money.

Will I regret not getting MM?

I think it really depends on what you're doing. Are you going to be doing any special dinners like CRT, HDDR? Are you going to do JTA or Pirates League or BBB? Are you going to do a lot of character M&Gs? If so, I wouldn't go without it. We ended up with 500+ photos for 6 days. It was well worth the money. But, we did CRT, HDDR, JTA, BBB and 20+ character M&Gs. IMO if for you it would basically be for just the "ride photos", no, it's not worth it.

 

[Shellyb84]

We got it and loved having it. Both myself and DH are bad about not remembering to stop and take photos, so with MM we ended up with tons and plenty with all of us. Also we did BBB and JTA and it was so nice to just be able to watch and not worry about not having photos. We were planning to buy it for both trips this year also, but we ended up with APs and it's included now (yay!). I would definitely get it, especially with being the only adult.

The photo quality is great, we ended up using a BBB photo for B-day invitations (DD had a Cinderella party so it was perfect!) and a family photo for Christmas cards.

 

[BumbleB]

I am not a big fan of having my picture taken, but because my dad was joining us for a day, I did purchase the MM. I am very glad I did. I have some great pix of my DH, as well as my dad, and wouldn't have had them otherwise. I also am now kicking myself for not paying more attention to the characters on previous trips. I will be purchasing MM in the future.

 

[Canuck16]

We always get the MM and never regret it. We love getting all the photos as we don't carry around a camera except for our phones.

It's a must for us on our trips.

 

[JReneeW]

We decided to do it with two kids since, for character meets, for example, I want to take video. So that means either my husband would have to take photos on his phone, which would mean poor quality and both of us stuck behind screens or him not take any photos and we'd only have video. We decided to buy it to help solve this problem - I can take video and he's free to help the boys with their interactions and we still get photos.

All of the other shots around the park will be a bonus (and I think the boys will love the magic shots, if we can get them to do it).

 

[dmc6469]

I love getting MM. I am a photographer so most of my time is stopping and snapping all kinds of shots and taking photos of others and yes, I will admit, when you are into photography and hand over your camera to a family member or friend who does not take good photos you get frustrated. Not gonna lie. Most of the photos they’ve taken of me end up off center, not zoomed in enough, zoomed in too much, etc. The MM photographers are pretty good. They’re not professionals but you get great photos for the memories. And they take a LOT of photos. Not just one. They’ll take pics when you hug the characters, just chat with characters, pose, get magic shots (which I LOVE) etc. Then what’s fun is that you play on the computer and add characters and frames to your photos. With my own camera on a week vacation last month I took over 2,000 photos and from MM I had an extra 400 (no children in the party either). For me , it’s worth it. But you are the only one who really can decide if it will or won’t be to your advantage.

 

[tlmadden73]

I've never heard of getting candid photos from MM (unless you are talking about the ride photos). They are either staged at landmarks throughout the park (and you have to actively get a photo pass photographer to take them for you), pictures of you on a ride (like Buzz Lightyear or Space Mountain), or at a character Meet and Greet.

So if you plan on spending the time to GET your photos taken or do a lot of M&Gs . .it may be worth it.

I think MM is the best when you have a large group. We got it on my last trip with my extended family (6 adults, 3 kids) .. and it was nice to have pictures from when we were together and when we were apart.
Plus it made it much more affordable when splitting the cost 3 ways essentially.

Since our trips overlapped .. it was even fun to see what my sister-in-law's family were up to a day or two before we arrived.

The other feature I enjoyed was the "Magic" photos where they insert a character into your photo (like Sven photo-bombing your photo in front of the Anna/Elsa Topiary).
Plus they also give you "stock" photos of certain landmarks and rides.

You can always get the photos taken and buy it after the trip too (just more expensive).

 

[maryj11]

We have bought the MM the past 2 trips and I really like it especially the ride photos and videos. Some of our funniest picture are on the rides. We still laugh when we look at them.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We always get MM...you get all the photos from your meet & greets plus some candid shots of those characters that are really cool for scrap booking. Plus wherever you see a photo person u can take a pic so like in front of Cinderellas castle or in front of the tree at Animal Kingdom or by Spaceship Earth in Epcot. You also get your ride photos for certain rides that offer pictures. Having the ride pictures a long was a great asset to us. But it really depends on your travel style. If your not doing a whole lot of meet and greets I probably wouldn't get it. Also the pictures that are taken are linked to your MDE acct so if you do see a pic that you cant live without I think you can purchase that separately

 

[mickeymom629]

DH and I are going on our first solo trip soon, and I was thinking about doing it for fun. But it is so much money for photos of just the two of us, and we're only going to the parks 3 days out of our 6 and, chances are, I won't like the way I look in them . But, if we were going with others (like kids or friends), then I probably would.

 

[Eandbmom]

We didn't get it our last trip and regretted it. This year I am making sure to budget for MM!

 

[JaimeK]

I don't buy it. We'll stop 3-4 times with MM photographers, and will hand over our camera as well. If one of the MM pics is much better I have no problem paying the $15 to download it.