Did you bring a camera if you pre-ordered Memory Maker?

[PlanningForTheFamily]

We've ordered Memory Maker and now I'm trying to decide if I should lug around my DSLR or just rely on the Photo Pass photographers and our iPhone cameras. Are there photo pass photographers at all of the character meals? What do you all do?

Thanks!

 

[jvz82]

I did it all. I had Memory Maker, I bought my DSLR, and I used my iPhone quite a bit. I actually used my iPhone more than I thought I would, simply because it was easier (and the camera is pretty decent on it!). But I did make good use of the photo pass photographers when they were available, and I pulled out my DSLR camera to take some pictures too.

Most of the character meals don't have photographers. At CRT they had a photographer take pictures of you and Cinderella at the beginning, but during the actual meal with all the princesses there were no photographers. We ate at CRT, Garden Grill, and Cape May Cafe for character meals and I was very happy to have my DSLR with me. I also brought an external flash. I'm really happy with how my pictures turned out and I know the iPhone pictures would have been blurrier.

I think you could easily get away with just using your DSLR for character dining though. It's up to you! I had a lot of kids to wrangle so most of the time at the parks I was content just to snap away with my iPhone. In past trips, before I had a decent phone camera, I relied on my DSLR for ALL my pictures and that worked too!

 

[verleniahall]

we do becuase i want to take photos of things that the photopass won't be there for - like decor, landscape, stuff at the resotrt, etc...

character dining doesn't have photographers unless its before you go in for the meal

 

[Betty Rohrer]

also some characters, Mary Poppins for one do not have Photo people there. know one family who left that line unhappy because of this

 

[PlanningForTheFamily]

Thank you both for taking the time to reply! You've convinced me Camera is coming with us! I didn't realize there weren't photo pass photographers during the character meals so that's really helpful information to have! I definitely want to capture those moments.

 

[PlanningForTheFamily]

also some characters, Mary Poppins for one do not have Photo people there. know one family who left that line unhappy because of this

Thanks! Sounds like it's always good to have some sort of camera with you just in case.

 

[scdak]

Take your camera, if you are anything like us we take 1000's of pictures all over the place, most of which were far more memorable than the ones thru photopass I love memory maker and ended up with 1200 pictures once I added embellishments from our trip in 2015 but we had close to 9000 other photos with our other cameras once we deleted our duplicates, and "oops" I pushed the button too soon LOL

 

[TheOnlyOne]

It's always good to take your own backup photos of the same shots as the photographers. Not all of them know how to frame a shot properly or "catch" a moment. I've had both Meh and Spectacular photos taken by photographers.

Also, not all IPhone photos are able to be blown up if you want to make large reprints.

 

[AshleeH]

I use my iPhone, but I wouldn't rely on Photopass photographers. Some are excellent - they have captured some truly magical moments. But some just point and shoot two pictures and completely ignore any other interaction. My favorite pictures are the candid ones with the characters - my daughter as a baby, staring up at a character in wide-eyed delight or - as a toddler - screaming when one came near her. Hugging their favorite character, goofing around with Pluto, getting kissed by a princess - I take my own pictures to guarantee I capture these moments.

 

[littlbugmom]

As much as I hate lugging my camera to Disney, I always come home with some great shots that photopass couldn't have taken.
The dang thing takes so much room in my bag, though!

 

[prprincess]

Definitely bring a camera!

 

[GotLabradors]

Yes, take your camera and download your pictures every night to where ever it is you store them.

 

[FrankieWinthrop]

I'm going to differ here. I'm usually one that lugs my camera everywhere, but on my last trip to Disney, I ditched it and couldn't have made a better decision. I only used my DSLR at Chef Mickey's, but with other family members catching the same pic with their phones, most on my camera didn't get used in the photo book or anything. I had Memory Maker and was VERY pleased by the majority of photos. We even used one of the photopass photog's pictures as our gender reveal announcement in front of Cinderella's castle! (We got the call while at MK that our #2 was a DS!) I say I couldn't have made a better decision because it forced me to be IN the moment instead of recording the moment. I cried as DD saw her first parade because I was watching her, not looking at the screen on my camera. Sure, I videoed her watching the parade the 2nd time with my iphone and the two of us still watch it regularly over a year later.

I think the 2nd benefit of not having the camera there is not WORRYING about the camera being there. I am hesitant about dropping it or leaving it on the stroller or having it around my neck all day. It really is freeing being without it. And honestly, iphones have come such a long way that unless you're planning to do a large, bigger than 8x10 photo, the quality is just fine. Think about it: an iphone camera is much better quality than the point and shoot cameras we were using 10 years ago! However, I would back up your pictures every night from your phone. That way, if it fills up, you can delete them knowing you've backed them up already.

 

[Suzanne74]

I always bring my camera to Disney but I don't always bring it daily. If we have a day with a character meal or something big/different is happening, then yes. Otherwise, I leave it in the hotel and enjoy not lugging it around. We tend to take breaks during the day so either way, I am only bringing it half the day.

That said, we had a completely botched memory maker last time we went. None of the animal/character inserts worked (online or the three CD's they sent, each promising they were there) and overall we were very disappointed in the pics for the $$. I found myself editing them hard. But..... we go often enough that I don't feel the need to do that again. I am sure if it is a special trip or a once in a lifetime, I would reconsider and give them another chance.

 

[loves to dive]

Used to bring a camera, now we just use our phone. We have APs so free memory maker and used it for one picture only last trip (in front of the castle at night while it was decorated for Christmas). The disadvantage of going so often is at some point you decide you really don't need another picture of animals/castle/main street/ etc.

 

[sharkyandbones]

I hate lugging our DSLR around, but you won't always have PP photographers available for every picture opportunity. If you have a high-quality camera on your phone, that could also be an adequate supplement though.

 

[cariann77]

Brought our DSLR last time and used it maybe once or twice. We did a Memory Maker share and everything else was on our phones. This time, I am not bringing a camera to lug around - iPhones only.

 

[Lei]

I brought my DSLR on my last visit, while having Memory Maker. It's quite a pain to lug around, though. So last year, I switched to mirrorless camera, which is much much much better than DSLR IMO. Smaller, lighter, but have the same quality as DSLR. Mine is Fujifilm XE-2.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

We had memory maker, our cell phones, and a digital camera.

 

[Aliceacc]

My husband works as a photographer with a studio part time when he's not teaching. His cameras and lenses are probably the most valuable things we own.

So, yeah, he brings his cameras even though we always get Memory Maker.

He gets some great pictures, in addition to the ones we get through MM. Having MM gives him the freedom to leave the camera back at the resort when he wants to.