DISNEYLAND with KIDS - Unofficial Guide: Disneyland 2014 - page 144

2. Collect mementos along the way and create a treasure box in a small tin or cigar
box. Months or years later, it's fun to look at postcards, pins, seashells, or ticket
stubs to jump-start a memory.
3. Add inexpensive postcards to your photographs to create an album; then write a
few words on each page to accompany the images.
4. Give each child a disposable camera to record his or her version of the trip. One
5-year-old snapped an entire series of photos that never showed anyone above the
waist—his view of Disneyland (and the photos were priceless).
5. Nowadays, many families travel with a video camera, digital camera, or camera
phone, though we recommend using one sparingly—parents end up viewing the
trip through the lens rather than being in the moment. If you must, take it along,
but only record a few moments of major sights (too much is boring anyway). And
let the kids record and narrate. On the topic of narration, speak loudly so as to be
heard over the not insignificant background noise of the parks. Make use of lock-
ers at all of the parks when the camera becomes a burden or when you're going to
experience an attraction that might damage it or get it wet. Unless you have a
camera designed for underwater shots or a waterproof carrying case, leave it be-
hind on Splash Mountain, the Grizzly River Run, and any other ride where water
is involved. Don't forget extra batteries.
6. Another inexpensive way to record memories is a palm-size tape recorder. Let all
family members describe their experiences. Hearing a small child's voice years
later is so endearing, and those recorded descriptions will trigger an album's
worth of memories, far more focused than what many novices capture with a cam-
corder.
7. Consider using Disney's PhotoPass service for some professional-quality pictures;
it's free to use and you only pay for the images you want to keep (see for details ) .
Finally, when it comes to taking photos and collecting mementos, don't let the
tail wag the dog. You are not going to Disneyland to build the biggest scrapbook in
history. Or as this Houston mom put it:
Tell your readers to get a grip on the photography thing. We were so busy shooting
pictures that we kind of lost the thread. We had to get our pictures developed when
we got home to see what all we did [while on vacation].
TRIAL RUN
IF YOU GIVE THOUGHTFUL CONSIDERATION to all areas of mental, physical, organiza-
tional, and logistical preparation discussed in this chapter, what remains is to famil-