Staying Present While Capturing Family Memories at Disneyland with a GoPro

Recording the moments, without missing out on them

I remember my dad's bulky VHS-C (the "C" ironically standing for "compact") camcorder being a constant companion on family vacations. He'd always have to make the tradeoff between capturing the moment and getting to experience it. Looking back I appreciate those old family videos, but with my own family, I want to find a better balance. I want to be able to record what I want, when I want to, without missing out. Thankfully, technology has come a long way! This post explores my approach to mindful filming at Disneyland¹ with a GoPro – capturing memories without missing out on the fun.

¹Works well elsewhere too. This is also the set up I've used for hiking and other outings.

The Gear

My GoPro set up for Disney consists mainly of three components: the camera, the backpack mount, and plenty of batteries and micro SD cards.

The Camera

My GoPro Hero 11 is a few years old now, but it's still going strong and I've generally been really pleased with it. It's survived drops, splashes, and just being slung around on a backpack strap with ease. It supports 4k video recording, has built in video stabilization, and some nifty time lapse features (called Time Warp) that I enjoy.

If you're planning on buying one, the latest model at the time of writing this post is the Hero 13, and right now I'd recommend that over the older models since they've changed the battery design (old batteries are no longer compatible) and have improved the mounting system (old accessories are still compatible, but newer ones have a more convenient magnetic attachment).

Generally though, I'd recommend trying to buy the previous generation whenever a new one drops since that's when you'll get the best deal.

Overheating

I've had a few issues with my GoPro Hero 11 overheating on long recording sessions in the car, but for the most part it hasn't been an issue when I've been walking around. This is a problem most (if not all) action cameras have, and in general you can lower the recording resolution/frame rate to allow it to run a bit cooler.

The Mount

I tend to wear two backpacks these days when I'm out and about with the family – an Osprey Nebula that I use as a diaper bag and an Osprey Poco Plus baby carrier (current gen model is the Osprey Poco SLT). I found that the backpack mount that came with my GoPro didn't work well with the wide, thick straps of these backpacks so I needed to upgrade to something a bit more robust: the PGYTECH Beetle camera clip.

This clip expands pretty wide and can securely be clamped on the shoulder straps of both backpacks without any trouble. It's designed to carry much heavier cameras so I have no concerns about its durability or ability to securely support the GoPro. On its own it doesn't come with a GoPro attachment so I had to purchase a separate PGYTECH Action Camera Arca-type mount. The mount has a quick release feature so I can easily pop the camera off and tuck it away in the backpack before going on rides or heading to the restroom

The mount uses a "quick-release" pin instead of a screw like other GoPro mounts, which can take some getting used to, but works fine once you get the hang of it.

Batteries and Micro SD Cards

Recording in 4K quickly burns through batteries and micro SD Cards alike and battery life isn't necessarily this camera's strong suit. So one of the accessories I bought for it was an external charger that came with a couple spare batteries (GoPro Hero 13+ uses this one). I've found that two batteries will last me a full day in the park and I can quickly charge them overnight in the charger for the next day.

I carry an extra battery in the backpack just in case the battery dies during the day, but it can also be charged with a USB C cable from an outlet or external battery pack.

As far as SD cards go, for 4K you will want them to be both large and fast. GoPro recommends cards that have a V30 or UHS U3 rating and maintains a list of them. I've been using 256 and 512GB Samsung Pro Plus micro SD cards without issue.

Mindfully Recording at the Parks

So like I mentioned earlier, although I want to capture some family videos, I don't want it to be the focus of the trip nor do I want it to take me out of the moment. So what I do is attach the camera to my backpack strap and hit record when it suits me. Additionally, since the GoPro is an action cam that's designed for extreme sports I'm not really concerned about it getting damaged from getting banged around which further lets me forget it is there.

I don't have many pictures of me actually using it, so enjoy this goony selfie that includes it. 😲

What I like about the GoPro is that I can keep it off most of the time and simply hit the record button on top to turn it on and start recording. When I'm done, I just hit the button again and it turns off. I don't have to fiddle with any screens and since it has a wide-angle lens and image stabilization I don't have to aim it at anything in particular or change the way I walk. I'll hit record when we're walking around and our daughter does something cute or even when we're just in line for a ride or eating lunch and the ambience is particularly nice.

Here's some example footage of our walk from the hotel to the parks one morning:

Will I go back and rewatch everything I record? Probably not, but I like knowing that I could. Maybe I'm just a digital hoarder. 😁 But when storage is cheap and the GoPro lets me record hands free without leaving the moment, why not?

Conclusion

Overall I've been very pleased with the GoPro and using it this way. I'm sure other action cams would be just as good (I've been eyeing the DJI Osmo line and Insta360s), but this one has been working well for me and I'm confident it will last me for years to come!