would you take the video carmera?

[homemaker]

Would you take the video camera or leave it at home? I think I would like to take it since it is dd's first trip. It is okay to pack in a suitcase or should we use it as a carry on. Will we really use it in the parks? What do you all think?

 

[WDWAtLast]

I would carry it on - do not put it in checked luggage. We took our video camera for our first famuly trip 10 days ago and never used it!!! I didn't want to carry it in the parks, but thought each night that I would get each girl to tell me what she liked best about that day, but we were so tired every night that we just fell into bed!!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

We always bring ours and never use it!!! DH carrys a backpack with all our park "stuff" and just isn't a photographer I am the photographer and since my face is behind a lens half the day, I don't have time to be messing with a video camera too. You know your family best if you will end up using it but remember it is something extra to worry about (getting broken/lost/having to charge batteries/etc)

 

[tadamom]

We took our video camera when we didn't have kids but we just got a new one for our upcoming trip and plan on using it tons! We plan on making DVD's that we can watch from our trip. I love looking at pictures from our trip but we have some small videos that were taken with the digital cameras where our kids were talking about Disney and it is priceless! Definitely take it! You can always put it in a locker when you are not using it if you don't want to carry it around.

 

[pyrxtc]

I am bringing mine for the fist time next month. I plan on using it but we'll see. Mine is small enough to fit in a fanny pack and this is the first trip I will own one but I hope to bring it in january too to capture my DH running across the finish line of his first marathon.

 

[ireland_nicole]

we have a pretty small camera and we do use it. It fits in my DH's messenger bag and we take it out for small conversations, character interactions, parades, etc. I handle the camera; that way, we get both covered.

 

[geniegirl]

We took our back in 2000 and used it every day, we have yet to watch any of it. Didn't take it again. Last year was our sons first trip and we thought about it but between the baby bags, cups, water, stroller....... we did not want one more thing. We used out camera on the movie setting several times and got some nice clips. Ours is only limited by the memory and not a time so some are pretty long. We also downloaded our memory each night but it was not needed.

 

[la79al]

I am going to at least take ours along on our next trip. It will be DD's first 'full' DW trip. I am really dreading toting it around though (and we will have a stroller) so I'm not sure if it will actually make it to the parks. I figure I would rather take it and have the option than leave it at home and want it.

 

[Miaka]

we're taking ours, but it's no bigger then a digital camera, as a matter of fact, ours is dual still camera, and HD video camera and is small enough to fit in my husband's pants pocket. so we'll see how it goes in february when we go, but we're planning on it, we took tons of pictures when it was just us so we figure we'll take more with the kids.

 

[kckmom]

I would bring it, we did with our first trip and although it was very bulky, it was nice to see the video of the girls seeing the characters for the first time, getting ready for the parks each day, etc. Have a great first trip!

 

[Wendybird55]

When we went last year (DS First trip he was almost 2) I didn't bring it because I didn't want to hassle with camcorder and camera and I like still pics better. What I did however, was buy a bigger SD card for my Digital camera (4gb) and took little movies on my digital camera as well as still pics. This way I was able to capture some of his special moments.

Recently DS loves looking at himself on video and we've been watching our little Disney movies from last year (I had them transferred to DVD) and he enjoys watching them. So.. this year the DVD camcorder is coming! I plan to take mostly videos because I think DS will enjoy watching them when we get home. It's small and fits in my bag easily. My digital camera has a long zoom and a bigger lens and I decided not to take it. My sister is coming with us and she will bring her point n shoot digital - she's in charge of still pictures and I'm in chagre of video - plus we'll make sure we take alot of photopass pictures.

I'm not sure what camcorder you have, but if I were you I would carry it on the plane with me. I had a camera stolen from my luggage once - so now I always carry cameras and comcorders with me. Plus if you get to your resort before check in you won't have to be without your camcorder or search thru your luggage for it - you can start "shooting video" right away!

Have a great trip

 

[NY_MOM]

We take ours every year because DD loves to watch the movies when we return home. As this is your first trip I would definitly bring it, for the memories. Carrying it on with you would be best. Have fun, and when you return home enjoy the memories.

 

[laughinplace199]

We don't bring our video recorder on every trip, but we have brought it on a couple of trips. Definitely do not pack it on your suitcase.

We don't bring it to the parks every day. We bring it maybe 3 days out of a week long trip, especially when we're going to do something the kids will really enjoy. We have lots of video from DD's first breakfast in the castle when she was 3. There is one part when we're walking up the stairs in the castle and DD whispers, "This is so amazing". I tear up every time I watch that. We also have DS2 dancing and going crazy during the Playhouse Disney show. It is wonderful to watch these videos and relive those great times!

 

[dancin Disney style]

When we had the regular handy cam we did bring it and while it was very small we hardly used. In fact, DH dropped it and I freaked out. It was new and cost me a ton of money. Now, it's a big joke. I had to have this thing and used it only once or twice a year. Then last year at WDW I decided that it would be our main camera (we have been there many times and have about 1000 still photos). Well....day 2 didn't it stop working for some unexplained reason.

A few weeks ago I bought a super cheap camcorder that has a flip out USB and that's what we are using. I got it on sale for $60 so if it's good....then it's a bonus and if it's not....who cares. This one is about the same size as my digital still camera. So it will fit in a pocket easily.