Should You Invest In Disney's Memory Maker?

When I was planning our Disney trip I came across info for Disney's Memory Maker, a service that allows you unlimited downloads of photos taken of you and your family taken by Disney photographers throughout your vacation. This service costs $169 if purchased ahead of time. While planning I went back and forth on whether or not to invest in this service but ultimately decided to give it a shot because I wanted family photos of all three of us and didn't want to have to rely on bothering strangers. I am glad I went ahead and did go with this but was disappointed in a few things about the service. As with anything there were pros and cons and I will now break it down for you.

PROS:

You could check out your photos in a matter of minutes. Most photos were able to be viewed just minutes after they were taken through My Disney Experience. This was awesome because if we didn't like a batch of photos we could make sure we took them again.

The ability for us all to be in the photo. This was a big one for me. I didn't want a bunch of photos of Joe and Liv and a bunch of Liv and I. I wanted photos of the three of us as a family and we were able to get many of them.

Not having to lug around a camera. It was nice to be able to be camera free, plain and simple.

Character photos. There was a photographer with every character who got photos of Liv getting her autograph book signed as well as getting a posed photo of her with the character. This made things stress free for us, not having to worry about getting these photos and we have a photograph to to go with every signature.

Special Effects. A few of the photos that were taken had Tinkerbell and other characters added in the photo which created some fabulous Disney photos.

Memories to last a lifetime. So many times I bring my camera to special events and on vacations and I hardly ever take many photos because I am caught up in enjoying the moment. This is a good thing but leaves me disappointed when it's over with very little photos to capture the event. Getting this package was a way to make sure that didn't happen.

CONS:

Weren't as many photo ops as I thought there would be. There were a decent amount of photographer setups but not nearly as many as I thought there would have been. I was most disappointed in Epcot. We went "around the world" and only came across two photographers. I thought there would have been one in each country. Also in Magic Kingdom there were many photographers on Main Street to take your photo with the castle in the background but otherwise I felt there weren't many elsewhere.

No ride photos. I assumed there would be ride photos, you know the ones where you get those photos of everyone screaming at a certain point on the ride. Well, only one ride we went on had a photo available for download.

You have to ask to get photos. The photographers aren't hunting you down, you need to hunt them down. The first day we were there I felt awkward asking random photographers I saw to take our photos but by the following day I realized this was the only way we were going to get them.

No resort photographers. We stayed at the Art of Animation Resort which had so many amazing photo ops but there were no photographers on the resort property. This was a bummer because I would have loved family photos at the hotel.

Lack of props and original posing ideas. Only one photographer had some huge heart prop which was cute but made me think there should have been more props. And I must have at least five photos at different locations of Joe and I kissing Liv on the cheek. Each photographer had the same three poses they wanted you to do. You can tell each photographer has the same list of poses they are given in training but it would have been nice if they had some of their own ideas to add to the mix. A few did but most didn't.

Overall, I am happy we decided to get the Memory Maker package. Even with the cons I listed I am grateful for the photos we did get and we wouldn't have had them otherwise. If you are going to be at Disney for more than a day or two I believe it is well worth the $169. But you have the honest list of pros and cons above which will hopefully help you make a more educated decision. Below is just a small sampling of some of our photos from the package.

Have you purchased the Memory Maker in the past? Or are you planning a trip to Disney? Is this a service you would invest in? Would love to hear your thoughts. xoxo

I'll Remember

I have been keeping some exciting news all to myself and I am thrilled to finally let you all know that we will be heading to Disney World the day after Christmas!!!! It was a last minute thing, well last minute as far as planning for Disney goes and it's official we will be heading down to Florida on the 26th. Ahhhhhh!!! I am so excited especially since we got our magic bands today. Check 'em out!!

One thing several people have said to me when we were contemplating taking this trip is why don't you wait until Liv is older because she won't remember the trip at this point. For those of you who are new around here Olivia is 2, will be 3 in February. Now this is a valid point one that crossed my mind when thinking about taking this trip but here is why I still decided to go forward with planning.

I went to Disney when I was in 4th grade and I only vaguely remember it. I remember that I had a fantastic time but don't remember too many specifics. Of course there are a couple of things I remember in more detail than others but the fact that I was 9 didn't give me crazy memories of every thing that happened on the trip. And another plus of taking Liv while she is 2 is that she is FREE!! She gets into the theme parks for free and for all you who have been to Disney, you know this is a huge savings. And she'll basically be 3 when we go being that her birthday is only a little over a month after we go. Score!!

So okay, Olivia might not remember our trip years from now but while we are there I know she will be having the time of her life. Experiencing Disney through the eyes of an innocent and joyful child is something I will always remember. I will remember her jumping up and down when we see Cinderella's castle, I will remember her squealing with joy when she sees Mickey and Minnie, I will remember her singing "Let It Go" at the top of her lungs in the Frozen sing-a-long. Point is although she won't remember much I will remember experiencing true joy through the excitement of my child and that will make the trip more than worth it. xoxo

Our DC Vacation!

Our crazy family

I shared with you why I believe Washington DC is a great family trip in a previous post but didn't really share any of the details of our own trip we took earlier in the month. I wanted to take this time to share our specific experience with you because it may give you a better idea of the type of vacation it is.

We left on Thursday night around 8pm to be sure that rush hour(s) would be over and with the hope that Olivia would sleep for the car ride.  We got to DC quickly with no traffic and Olivia slept the whole time. The only downfall was that we arrived to Hilton around 2am exhausted and we had to wake Olivia up to bring her inside and she didn't want to go back to sleep. She was well rested while we couldn't keep our eyes open. Needless to say, we didn't get a good night's sleep or much sleep at all that first night.

Friday, was hot and sunny so we decided to go to the National Zoo.  I was nervous to take the Metro with our big stroller and since the zoo had a parking lot we decided to drive. I had read on the zoo's website that parking fills up quite early so we left our hotel by 9am for the 15 minute drive. Well, driving to the zoo was the biggest mistake we could have made. We ended up getting in a fender bender in a huge traffic circle and it definitely got our trip off on the wrong foot.

Needless to say that after dealing with the police, who were surprisingly nice to us New Yorkers, we got to the zoo much later than we originally aimed for and all parking lots for the zoo were full. We must have driven around for a good 30 minutes looking for parking somewhere near the zoo but you needed special permits almost everywhere. We had just about given up and were going to head back to the hotel when we found some parking by some shops about a half mile from the zoo. Problem was that the meter would only allow for an hour and a half at most. So my hubby needed to make sure he kept going back to put more money in the meter.

Finally at the Zoo

We finally got into the zoo around noon and it was hot. We decided to grab a quick bite to eat and then proceeded to see the elephants, Olivia's favorite. By the time we were done eating and visited the elephants it was time for Joe to run back and put more money in the meter. Olivia and I explored while waiting for him. When he got back we went to some more exhibits but before we knew it, it was time to renew meter again. It was hot and I felt bad having him run back and forth and we were still shaken up from our accident so we just decided to leave the zoo. I was disappointed because we only saw half the zoo and didn't make our way to the children's area which was at the far end of the park.  We decided we would try and visit the zoo again on Sunday before we left.

We went back to the hotel and decided we would stay close to the hotel in Bethesda, MD and look for someplace to eat.  We ended up at The American Tap Room.  We had some scrumptious food including a Bavarian pretzel appetizer that we all enjoyed. The service was quick and it was nice to rest and chill out after our exhausting day.

My delicious burger and perfectly seasoned fries

Yumm!!

Saturday we managed to get an early start. We learned our lesson on Friday and decided to travel on the Metro. The Metro station was only about a 5 minute walk from our hotel. We took it to the Metro Center stop and could have changed subway lines to get closer to the National Mall but we wanted to maneuver the stroller around the subway as little as possible so we went up to the street level and walked. It only took about 15 minutes to get to the Museum of Natural History.

Museum of Natural History

We roamed around the Museum of Natural History for two hours. If Olivia wasn't so young we could have easily spent all day there but we needed to keep her interested so she wouldn't have any temper tantrums. We then moved on to the Museum of American History. I remembered this particular museum being so great when I was younger but was disappointed with it this time. Then, I realized half the museum was closed for renovations.  We probably only looked around for a half hour at the few things that Liv would like. We then had lunch there and proceeded to move on the museum number three, The Air and Space Museum. By this time the museum was mobbed but we made the best of it. Olivia enjoyed seeing all the planes. By the way, did I mention entrance into all the museums was FREE!!

We walked the whole entire day and then proceeded to walk to the Metro Center stop to catch the Metro back to our hotel.  The station was mobbed and I was starting to panic that we wouldn't be able to get on with our big stroller. We had to hustle but we found room. All in all, the Metro was an easy way to travel even with a baby.

Hanging out at the hotel

Sunday was our last day and unfortunately the weather left something to be desired. It was drizzling and overcast so we decided the zoo wouldn't be a good idea, just in case the rain got worse. We headed back to the National Mall where we could go to the museums again in case of a downpour.  Once we got there we decided to take the walk to some of the monuments. We saw the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial. After that, we decided to head to the National Gallery but had to leave because our daughter thought it was funny how the rooms echoed and wouldn't stop screaming. Not a tantrum scream but she thought she was so funny scream. We were so embarrassed because it was mostly older tourists and everyone was so serious at this museum. We weren't asked to leave but chose to do so on our own.  The weather was getting worse  so we head back to the hotel and proceeded to head home.

We had a fabulous time but it was an exhausting trip. We walked so much and tried to jam as much as we could in to each day. Next time, I would like to have a couple more days so we could take our time and have a bit more relaxation time. We just weren't sure how Olivia would behave on her first vacation so we didn't want to be gone long but she did well so we are ready for our next adventure!

Washington DC : A Fun and Cost Effective First Family Trip

On the National Mall

I couldn't have been happier with my destination choice of Washington DC for our first family vacation with our 16 month old baby girl. Originally, I had booked a weekend trip to Cape Cod off Groupon but as last weekend was approaching I was starting to panic that the weather might not be the greatest. If that was the case what would we do all weekend? I searched online for indoor activities but nothing seemed quite appropriate for my daughter's young age.  So I decided to cancel those reservations and book a trip to DC instead because I used to love going there as a kid and teenager and I knew there was plenty to do both indoors and out.

A comment I got from several people was that "isn't your daughter too young to go to museums?" Well, yes she is too young to understand the history and meaning behind everything but she isn't too young to enjoy seeing "cool things" in her eyes. She just loves being out at this age. Besides, all the Smithsonian Museums are FREE in DC. Yes, FREE!!! So even if we were in a museum for only 10 minutes, nothing lost. These museums include: Museum of Natural History, Air and Space Museum, American History Museum, National Zoo and numerous others. For a complete list of museums you can check out the Smithsonian website.

Outside the Museum of Natural History

Besides going to the museums which can take a day each you can visit all the National Monuments and take some fabulous photo ops. Just be prepared to walk A LOT. So bring your best stroller and best walking shoes because you will be exhausted at the end of this trip. There is always the Metro which is the DC subway but sometimes it was just easier for us to walk since we had the stroller to maneuver around. That being said we never had a problem getting on the Metro with it but just be conscientious of not traveling during rush hour.

Now unless you have about $500/night to spend on a hotel, you will most likely not be staying in the heart of DC. Although the tourist area of DC is gorgeous there can be some seedy areas on the outskirts so I was very careful in selecting where we stayed. We used to stay in Bethesda, MD when I was younger so I decided that would be my best bet. We ended up staying at the Hilton Garden Inn for a fabulous price. I suggest checking online for pricing though, because the website offered a cheaper rate than the price they offered when I called but they ended up matching the price. the hotel was only a 5 minute walk from the Metro which we took to the heart of DC. It was only about a 15 minute ride so the savings was well worth it. There was also a Marriott and a Hyatt right by the Bethesda Metro.

Bethesda was such a nice town or should I say city that I wish we had more than two full days so we could have spent an afternoon walking around there. It had tons of shops and great looking restaurants that we didn't get to take advantage of but we plan on coming back soon and staying a little longer.

If you love history and like having a vacation full of fun education and amazing sights I highly recommend going to Washington DC.  Stay tuned for my next post which will have the specific details of our trip and it may give you more insight on a trip to the Nation's Capital.

Hanging out by the Reflecting Pool