Limiting the number of character photos when there is a long line......

[HatboxGhost]

Now I am all for EVERYONE getting their fair time with a character when it comes to photos however I was wondering what are your thoughts based on something that happened to my Wife and I last time in DisneyWorld.
We were in line waiting for Chip n Dale and a family in front of us had their pics taken in every way possible.......1 of EACH kid(3 kids)......All three kids together.....then just the parents.....then the parents with the children. Then, they want pics with THEIR camera of the whole family. Maybe its just me, but 7 pics is ALOT and that is just plain rude. Anyway, I am interested in hearing your thoughts.

 

[Runmyhorse]

It happens all the time. I hate it and there should be limited amount of pictures taken

 

[draybook]

Now I am all for EVERYONE getting their fair time with a character when it comes to photos however I was wondering what are your thoughts based on something that happened to my Wife and I last time in DisneyWorld.
We were in line waiting for Chip n Dale and a family in front of us had their pics taken in every way possible.......1 of EACH kid(3 kids)......All three kids together.....then just the parents.....then the parents with the children. Then, they want pics with THEIR camera of the whole family. Maybe its just me, but 7 pics is ALOT and that is just plain rude. Anyway, I am interested in hearing your thoughts.

We experienced this one time at Animal Kingdom a few years ago. There were the two parents and 2 little girls. They even have a tripod, which they had to set up, then they took about 20 pictures. By some stroke of bad luck we ended up behind them at EVERY character spot in that park.

 

[Spikerdink]

It is rude, but what can Disney really do? If they try to limit the number of photos, many people are going to complain and even worse cause a scene while they are with the character as they try to get 'just one more'. What do you do then, tackle them and delete the file?

In my trips, I will use the Photopass photographer and then ask them to take one with my camera. If at the end of th trip I have enough photos to warrant the purchase, I will buy the pics. If not, I rely on my camera's shots (which are good!!)

I do agree the family you mentioned should have simplified - one with kids, one with parents too and then one with parents. That would have cut it down a bit.

Just be thankful the family didn't whip out an autograph book and then want a photo of each child getting an autograph, then one of them showing mom and dad the autograph....and then finally the best pic of all the one of @HatboxGhost going ballistic and smashing the camera out of sheer frustration!

 

[woodardfamily]

I know my I will be in the minority in this...but I get a kick out of watching other families and their children interact and having their moment with the characters. Who knows, this may be just a once in a lifetime trip, so why not let them have a few extra moments? But they also need to be aware of the others. A better "do unto others" mentality on both sides of the argument is needed more than extra rules and regulations.

 

[Weather_Lady]

We saw a little of this last time, but the cast members "handling" the characters did a pretty good job of moving things along.

 

[TubaGeek]

It's not an issue if the attendants are doing their jobs.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I'm on the fence about this. We are traveling with my aunt and 2 cousins next month and we're going to want pictures of the three of them plus the 3 in our family as well as one big group shot with all 6 of us. Will we stop and take pictures of each individual person traveling? No. I think that is inconsiderate to other guests waiting. If there is no line, that's one thing. but if its busy and there is a long line, skip the individual photos and move along.

 

[drew81]

Tokyo allows only 1 photo per guest.

Do I think WDW will ever make a rule like that? No way. It makes me laugh when I see someone complaining that their child can't see the character because they are leaving. If they had listened to the attendant they would know the character is probably going to return in the near future. And half the time the guest has no idea who the character even is, but if they can't meet them their entire trip is ruined.

 

[RandomPrincess]

We only had my daughter do M&Gs last trip (my son was terrified!) we didn't ask for multiple pictures but the Photo Pass person would take at least 5 sometime up to 20 of the entire interaction. When we met Mickey in Epcot he did 3 different poses with our daughter and we didn't ask him to he just did it one holding her hand, one kissing her hand and one hugging. I personally felt like it was taking forever and we were holding up the line for other but when we look back at the video it was literally a minute with Mickey, including the autograph. It was one - two minutes more or less with each of the princesses around WS. So it is pretty good amount of time to spend with each character. It felt very magical for my daughter and us.

I like having all those pictures on our Photopass there are some great candid shots of my daughter with the characters that are more special to me then the posed shots. Also at most of the Meet and Greets we did the Attendant would take pictures with personal cameras at the same time as the Photopass Photographer so it saves time too.

 

[asianway]

Tokyo allows only 1 photo per guest.

Do I think WDW will ever make a rule like that? No way. It makes me laugh when I see someone complaining that their child can't see the character because they are leaving. If they had listened to the attendant they would know the character is probably going to return in the near future. And half the time the guest has no idea who the character even is, but if they can't meet them their entire trip is ruined.

Its actually one photo per party at a static M&G location.

WDW & DL have been trying to do this at the special events like Long lost friends, with varying degrees of success. One per person seems reasonable - one per party seems a little extreme.

 

[CP_alum08]

It's not an issue if the attendants are doing their jobs.

Correct. Personally, I don't think there should be a rule about the number of photos it SHOULD just be common courtesy. Sadly I know common courtesy will never exist at WDW.

 

[wdwmagic]

As asianway mentioned, this has been done at WDW. Most recently with the Limited Time Magic meet and greets. I think it was restricted to 2 photos.

 

[coleandrachel]

Taking the pictures while the characters are interacting is fine and then you pose for maybe 2 pictures. I will say though, last time we went, we met Belle in EPCOT and had my daughter's picture taken with her. As the pictures were being taken, Belle took my daughter by the hand and walked her over to a flower bed and picked flowers with her. Now if something like that happens, I can't say anything at all. But, I agree that some people take advantage of the situation.

 

[Timekeeper]

Well, sometimes people unintentionally have their eyes closed, or are in the middle of talking when a photo is taken, so I can't fault them for wanting to leave with an appropriate photo. There's typically a horrible shutter delay with most consumer cameras and smartphones that's tricky for the novice to get used to. And sometimes people pick up new gear before making the big trip to the World, without having taken the time to learn how to use their shiny new toys.

In my opinion, the great characters not only interact with the guests that are up for the photo/autograph on a personal level, but are also able to make those interactions a bit of a "show" for the other guests waiting. Of course, this is easier for the face characters, but the furries can do it too. For example, I recall seeing Gaston interact with a young girl in a Belle dress. The interactions were so precious that it became a bit of a "show" for everyone else waiting in line. Everyone was smiling, and I'm willing to bet that, at that moment, none of them felt that "hurry up, I've been waiting" feeling.

 

[Occasional Guest]

My wife is "one of those people" who has to take 10,000 pictures. Unfortunately, I look like Tweedledee in everyone. I fully support a no pictures anywhere on Disney property policy.

 

[Timekeeper]

Solution: travel with a higher-end camera that can do multiple fps bursts. It's silly to limit the "number of photos," when one tourist might take 30 seconds to take one picture, whereas I can take 30 pictures in less than 10 seconds. (And anyone shooting video is, technically, taking multiple "pictures" per second.)

 

[bethymouse]

It irritates me a bit, but we get our share too. We usually get 1 w/ the boys, and then 1 with all of us.

 

[TubaGeek]

A lot of people fail to realize that the candid shots are the really magical ones, not the posed ones.

 

[Tomi-Rocket]

Good lord, hatboxghost, you're asking for consideration for others! Don't you know those people paid A LOT of money for their vacation and should get EVERYTHING they want and shouldn't worry at all about the people behind them or how long the line is. All that matters is that THEY get what THEY want. (Because you know, they paid a lot of money for their vacation.)