Do You Videotape Your Disney Trip?

[MrPeetrie]

I was wondering how many of you videotape your vacations. And if you do, do you enjoy it?

For each trip, I'll usually record at least three or four tapes worth of video. I'll record the packing before we leave, the morning ride to the airport, even inside the airport. I'll record walks through sections of the park, taking a panaramic view of the aurroundings. I'll record entire rides (where permitted), such as Kilimanjaro Safari and Jungle Cruise. And when we return, I'll edit it on the computer, adding effects, and burn a DVD. Then, one night, we'll have movie night and re-live the entire trip. It's a great tradition.

But the thing is: when I'm recording, I'm actually missing much of the enjoyment. You can't fully take in the beauty of the parks, looking at them through a camera screen. If I'm focused on making a nice video for my family, I'm missing the real impact of being in Disney as it's happening. It's a double-edged sword.

What do you think?

[Stu29573]

Yes, I video. I got an HD camera for our last trip so we have plenty of footage, lol. However, I don't do nearly as professional of job as it sounds like you do. I generally don't use the view screen much, and just turn the camera to the direction I am looking (a little more "point of view" I guess) and when I get home, I put each day on a separate Blu Ray without any real editing. It's still fun to watch! I kind of justify it by saying that its what old 8mm uses would have done (and you can catch some really interesting stuff that you didn't even know you had!)

[Dopey's Girl]

I have recorded some of Wishes on my phone, but have left the video camera at home. I don't want to spend my vacation looking through the viewfinder.

Maybe you could stll tape the pre trip fun, checking into the hotel, your room as well as the end, but don't bring the camera to the parks. When you get back to the hotel, record each member of your family telling about the part of the day they enjoyed the most. You still get all the wonderful memories, without missing the actual moments.

[ryca1dreams]

I did the same thing you did and kind of think like you do. Looking back I feel like I missed some of the experience. But the movies are fun to watch especially the older ones.

One thing I learned is that I spent more time video-ing attractions and not family. It should be the opposite really.

The best video I have is of my 9 year old son narrating the trip and pointing out stuff in the parks. It is great.

[Zawadi]

Yes. The most extreme cast was in 2005 when I shot 6 hours of video over 14 days. It then took 40 hours to edit the video to produce a 60 minute video and 2 other 60 minute DVDs of shows.

Most shows were shot more than once, from different positions (angles), then the final version was cut together.

The result has been shown to family and friends and even made some converts to WDW 7 years on.

The HD DVD will be going back this year as we're doing some new things: Behind the Steam Trains and Wild Africa tours and a few outside WDW things (shock horror ;))

[mgmnut]

I saw our entire trip in 2006 through a viewfinder and feel I missed out on alot of the trip due to it. Although we enjoy watching the DVD's every now and again I don't think I would do it again. Last trip the video camera was left at home.

[chefmickey3]

Yes, we take turns taking video! We love watching highlights of the trip for years to come. Plus, as the kids have grown older it is fun to see how they used to react and how that changes. We have some precious memories that we can watch again and again instead of trying to hold on to the memory.

[darthmacho]

The funny thing about my videos is that they usually aren't so great, and indeed, I do feel like I'm missing out while trying to capture moments for the future. Sadly, I lost one of my memory cards of our 2010 trip, which was of the first few days of my DD's first trip. Hopefully it will turn up some day, because it would make me sad to lose it. Anyway, more to the point, I think a good balance of capturing memories and living in the moment is always nice. :mickey:

[DNS]

We video, but not so much Disney now. We have been there so many times.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

I think the real question here is do you enjoy taking the videos and and doing the production work afterwards? Maybe I don't want to video my vacation but so what. If you enjoy it, if that is your way of relaxing then do it. However if you think you have enough videos for now then take a vacation from it and just enjoy the trip. Maybe use photo pass this trip or just take your still camera/cell phone. Maybe share the video work with other members of your family, it might be fun to see what others record. Any way its your vacation enjoy it.:mickey:

[SBETigg]

We don't video. And I'm sorry to all of you taping aficionados, but you are the people I dread being next to or behind the most, even when taping is allowed. That little video screen really draws my gaze and distracts me. But, I deal with it. People who record on dark rides, though, grrr.

[mgmnut]

We don't video. And I'm sorry to all of you taping aficionados, but you are the people I dread being next to or behind the most, even when taping is allowed. That little video screen really draws my gaze and distracts me. But, I deal with it. People who record on dark rides, though, grrr.

Any video taping we have done has never been during a show or on a ride. We would video our children meeting characters and such.

I do see what you are saying though, last year we were watching the Lion King at AK and I had to keep re-adjusting and looking around the video camera of the woman in front of me who held her camera up over her head video taping the whole show. Now that tablets are so popular it only makes it worse.

[EeyoresBestFriend]

I generally don't use the view screen much, and just turn the camera to the direction I am looking (a little more "point of view" I guess) and when I get home, I put each day on a separate Blu Ray without any real editing.

I have a camera that does both stills and video. The majority of mine are stills, but there are somethings that are great video. NEVER,never on a ride as I find that to be incredibly rude and inconsiderate of others. My videos tend to be a minute or two long; ie a character meet interaction or a 50s diner moment. The odd "memory" clip are fun to have though.

I, like several other posters here, prefer to live my vacation in the moment. Otherwise,imho, why go at all?? You can get the same thing from watching YouTube. . . . for alot cheaper. :D

[Kairi_7378]

I took my Flip Cam on our last trip and I used it twice. (Reached for it a third time, couldn't get it in time.) We used it to tape:

1.) DH trying to wake up DS on his 3rd birthday. After two nights in Tampa with the great grandparents, where he did. not. sleep. at. all., a day at Epcot wiped him out. We had a hard time waking him to go to the MK for his birthay celebration. The video of DH singing "Happy birthday" punctuated with DS's snores is priceless.

2.) I videotaped the boys when they were playing in a drum circle in AK. Unfortunately, I had to stop because I kept getting elbowed in the head while standing still!

The almost: We drove from Tampa to WDW during our last trip and I wanted to get DS's reaction to driving through the purple gates. DH pulled up "It's a great big beautiful tomorrow" on the iPod, and I turned around, and DS was once again snoring.

We didn't tape any rides, though.

[Stu29573]

I guess I should have made clear that I can turn my screen off and still record. Thats what I meant when I said I dont often use the screen. I hate it when Im watching a show or riding a ride and all you see are little screens lit up everywhere! I like to record because, unlike many here, we dont get to go very often and it really helps if you need a park fix. Btw, the most screens I see are phones. You're at Disney World, what the heck could be so important that you cant ignore that little idiot box for a while! Grrrrrrrrr! Rant complete.

[SBETigg]

Any video taping we have done has never been during a show or on a ride. We would video our children meeting characters and such.

I do see what you are saying though, last year we were watching the Lion King at AK and I had to keep re-adjusting and looking around the video camera of the woman in front of me who held her camera up over her head video taping the whole show. Now that tablets are so popular it only makes it worse.

I have to add that I am very grateful to those of you who videotape responsibly with an awareness of the people around you, and I can only assume that most of you tapers here are considerate. So my apologies if I sounded brusque or judgy.

[ANG]

Not yet, just lots of pictures. I hope to get some video this year.

[MrPeetrie]

I think the real question here is do you enjoy taking the videos and and doing the production work afterwards?

Mrs. Bus Driver, I really don't enjoy the videotaping. But I do, however, enjoy the productions work afterwards. I love having a DVD to re-live the vacation. I would be heartbroken if I didn't have some moments captured on tape to experience again. But I also realize that on days when I bring the camera with us, it's a chore.

In response to some other posts, I, too, video responsibly. I am very aware -- as is my wife -- if my flip-screen is a possible distraction. If either of us believe it is, I record the old-fashioned way -- through the view finder. I also never videotape if I've just been instructed "No Videotaping."

[wickedgin]

I think my husband recorded the NYE fireworks, but we really don't do a lot of videotaping (possibly not any aside from those fireworks). I like to live in the moment and not worry about getting a good shot. My husband LOVES to take photos, and I sometimes feel like he misses a lot of our vacation because of it--BUT he really enjoys it, so maybe where I feel like he's missing the experience, he feels he's enhancing it.

[kakn7294]

I don't video, haven't used the video camera in many, many years. I've even stopped taking so many pictures as I feel that I've been missing the beauty of the parks because I've been so busy trying to get that "perfect shot".

[EeyoresBestFriend]

Btw, the most screens I see are phones. You're at Disney World, what the heck could be so important that you cant ignore that little idiot box for a while! Grrrrrrrrr! Rant complete.

:funny: EXACTLY!!!

[BKBrinkman]

I echo a lot of the sentiment here. It's a double edge sword because you can miss some of the vacation trying to get everything on tape but it is so much fun to relive those memories by watching the tapes during years you're not able to go or when you're ramping up for the next trip. My parents go with us so there's always plenty of people to run the cameras and catch the looks on the kiddos faces as they experience the Disney magic for the first time.

One thing I will ad is what you film. While it's so much fun to see rides, shows, and panormic views of the park that you took your self, I've found the best videos are one of us on the trip doing something silly or the kid's faces when they see Mickey!

[Wolf]

I've always wanted to do this but end up taking lots of pictures instead, which I for sure agree with you about missing alot of things, last trip it rained so much that I ended up only taking like 200 pictures instead of my normal 2000 and it was crazy how much more I saw. I think this coming trip I'll still take pictures but am going to try to scale it back so I can really see the parks instead of taking pictures for physical memories I can make real time ones lol

[azcavalier]

I video short clips, and usually have the kids explain where we are, what we're doing next, etc. I have video of some rides, but quite frankly, they stink. You can't really video a ride very well without a professional setup, so why bother.

I do video the kids meeting characters, swimming, that kind of thing. We'll be going this fall with a family who has never been who has three young kids. My still camera takes great video, so i'll be taking some of them, for them. It'll be a lot of fun.

[joonyer]

I used to video a lot of each of our Disney trips (and other vacations, too). But now I think it's kind of a hassle and tend to record less and less. But I know that 20-30 years from now those recordings will be cherished by our kids and grandchildren, just like the few home movies that I have from my childhood years are treasures for me now.

[minnie04]

But the thing is: when I'm recording, I'm actually missing much of the enjoyment. You can't fully take in the beauty of the parks, looking at them through a camera screen. If I'm focused on making a nice video for my family, I'm missing the real impact of being in Disney as it's happening. It's a double-edged sword.

This is my problem too. I used to take all the video and pictures, but I realized just how much I was missing. I would hardly be in any pictures or video only my voice. I have stopped doing video as the kids got older. I still love taking pictures, but have downsized the camera. I would be the one carrying everything (not to miss the shot or video) so this got old really quick. I really enjoy just walking around and being in the mix with the rest of the family rather than struggling to capture that moment that I end up missing until its played back. :mickey:

[Gator]

But the thing is: when I'm recording, I'm actually missing much of the enjoyment. You can't fully take in the beauty of the parks, looking at them through a camera screen. If I'm focused on making a nice video for my family, I'm missing the real impact of being in Disney as it's happening. It's a double-edged sword.

What do you think?

I agree with the point. I always video tape a bunch of stuff, but then catch myself staring intently at the screen instead of taking in what's happening.

With my new HD camera, WDW looks so great on my TV. I went out and bought some bluray burning software along with a BD burner. The video is nothing short of stunning. I love HD!

[Goes4FastPass]

We usually take SHORT videos using that feature on our camera. If a picture is worth a thousand words than a video with sound can be worth a million words BUT we only make SHORT videos of people in our group interacting with each other and characters/CMs/other guests at WDW.

Video recording a MOMENT is ‘priceless’, video recording a whole parade is just too much and it turns the ‘videographer’ into a person at work, not a WDW guest on vacation.

[crltkcagle]

Yes we always video tape our trips. Whether it be meet and greets, rides, special events, or the shenanigans at whispering canyon (yes I actually recorded our waitress). It's always fun to come home and relive our memories.

[TheVBs]

DH will take shorter videos with our camera, but the sad thing is that we never watch them and have never put them on a dvd. Unfortunately, this causes a little friction between us because, for example, he opted to video the Halloween parade instead of taking pictures. I look at the pictures frequently and there's a big void where there should be parade pictures. I would have enjoyed the photos more.

And, I agree with people who have said that filming a special moment with the kids is so much more fun to watch than parade or ride footage. On the flip side, I also agree with those that have said we don't really enjoy the moment through the camera as much as we would with our own eyes.

[Aurora]

I actually wish that I videotaped MORE of our trips now that we're home. I agree with those who say forget trying to get the rides (except for Snow White's Scary Adventure -- glad I got that one -- and the top of Splash Mountain just before the drop).

Our whole family gets such enjoyment out of watching our old vacation videos.

[Figment104]

We generally take a combination of video and still photos, but not video of the whole trip. I like to do short videos with a few longer ones here and there. This next trip though I have a feeling the video camera will be out a whole lot more as it will be DS first trip. One thing that is nice is we have a very small video camera and a pretty small still camera, so DH takes one, and I take the other, and then we switch either through out the day or at the start of the day. That way we get pictures and videos with both of us in them.

[Disney Doll]

I video if there is something particularly cute my kids are doing. Playing in the EPCOT fountains usually gets a short video. However, my total video footage for a week long trip is probably no more than 10 minutes. I just video a minute or two here and there. There's no way we would sit down and watch footage of our entire trip.

[Arielfan98]

No, not really. My family just takes a lot of pictures and we keep the memories in our minds. We might record a firework show on our phones, however, but for the most part no. To be honest, the reason we don't is because when we return home no one would look at the tapes anyway.

[Snow's Mom]

Short videos with a digital camera, but mostly just pictures. My son volunteered to take pictures last trip and it was great! It's actually a huge responsibility .

I make digital scrapbooks when I get home and we love looking at those, but I don't really think we'd watch videos. Especially not of the rides, etc.

[johnO]

Video recording a MOMENT is ‘priceless’, video recording a whole parade is just too much and it turns the ‘videographer’ into a person at work, not a WDW guest on vacation.[/FONT][/SIZE]

Exactly! I used to record so much video but as a pp stated I felt like I was seeing the entire vacation through a viewfinder. So nowadays I mostly take stills with a short video clip here or there.

I too then put it to DVD, add music and everything. They really are great videos and bring us back. What I've found is that it's just as good having mostly stills and only a small amount of video. Especially since I add Disney music to it. Good times

[SandmanGStefani24]

But the thing is: when I'm recording, I'm actually missing much of the enjoyment. You can't fully take in the beauty of the parks, looking at them through a camera screen.



Precisely why I find myself taking less and less pictures each trip! Didn't really see it that way till last trip while riding the TTA. Going to be scaling back big time on the pix. Videos are a no altogether, as nothing is more rude or distracting as a bright viewfinder on a ride. This should not be allowed at all!

[indytraveler]

We aren't video tapers at all. Bought a video camera when kids were little but didn't use it. We are so involved in "the moment" while we are at WDW that we forget to take pictures with the camera.

We'll usually take a picture in front of the Castle, Ball, Hat, Tree when we arrive but forget about it until late afternoon.

[johnO]

We aren't video tapers at all. Bought a video camera when kids were little but didn't use it. We are so involved in "the moment" while we are at WDW that we forget to take pictures with the camera.

We'll usually take a picture in front of the Castle, Ball, Hat, Tree when we arrive but forget about it until late afternoon.

I've scaled back on photos so much. Rather shooting as many pictures as possible, I find myself taking pictures on a more spontaneous level. I end up with a lot less photos, but theyre still great and capture some good moments. More importantly, I can enjoy myself more rather than constantly trying to find as many great shots as possible.

[I<3Disney]

We usually do about an hour and a half on the camcorder. We normally just record ourselves having fun, not really the attractions or parades. We have at least one video from each trip! :mickey:

[lightyearfan]

i too video tape every trip, its like you said it is a family tradition. were kinda the same because i video everything as well, the airport, the walking threw the parks and full rides, as i say to dw it may be the same video, but i try to video it in a way where it's different. i enjoy it, i have a panasonic sdr-t70 and it records on flash card and it has an internal 4gb hard drive, it also takes regular pics, the fantastic thing about the pic taking feature is that i can snap a pic while im recording which comes in handy during parade and fireworks shows. then like you i go home and do it up on the computer to transfer to dvd, as far as the enjoyment factor, my video taping doesnt affect my trip whatsoever, as a matter of fact i would feel lost if i didnt video

so video away i say, memories are priceless .:mickey:

[TheVBs]

This thread has really got me thinking about the movies we have from WDW trips. Here's the sad truth: we have movie editing software, we have a DVD burner, but in all these years we have not used them to create a DVD of our trips. Is there a site where you can upload, do some quick and easy editing and order a DVD? I'm thinking that's my most likely shot for getting this done. :blush:

[Giggy]

We tend to take more photos than videos on our visits. It didn't feel like taking photos was getting in the way despite us ending up with a lot but then again of the five of us four had brought a camera. We carried them with us and just each took a picture as and when rather than going with the intention of photographing everything. It left us with a fairly decent photo library from the last vacation without anyone having to feel burdened by the responsibility of photographing everything.

Admittedly the results vary. When my sister was little a lot of her photos would be the backs of people who got in the way and were taller than her. In my case even in 2010 it wasn't always clear what I was trying to focus on in photos, one I think was just of which section we were in the parking lot but the photo missed, was out of focus and on an angle so it just looks like an action shot of me falling over. :blush: Of my remaining photos half of them seem to be monorails or ferries.

[Lizzie]

My husband videos and I take pictures. We usually go with other family who takes a ton of pictures too. My husband bought a good lense for his video camera just for close ups of the kids on rides like teacups. But we don't film shows usually. But he makes blue rays of the trip with full menu and edited. And the kids love to watch it over and over.