This $13 Amazon Find Is the Secret to My Best Disney Photos

It’s cheaper than PhotoPass!

I’m the kind of person who will do anything to avoid asking a stranger to take my picture. Not because I’m too shy to ask, but because I’ve seen what they can do time and again. After years of Disney World trips — and vacations in general — I know what happens when you ask someone to take your picture. Unless you happen upon the college girl who loves a good photo shoot with her friends, those pictures are never making it out of the Photos app. 

After years of unusable group photos — and even some rough solo shots (sorry to my friends who took those) — I’ve finally found the gadget that makes my Disney World pictures actually worth taking. And it’s way cheaper than PhotoPass. 

Credit: Ama

The Octobuddy silicone suction phone mount has changed my Disney photo game.

You might know the Octobuddy as the strange suction cup case on the back of influencers’ phones. Well, how do you think all those influencers get such amazing pictures all the time — even when they’re alone? They quite literally stick their phone to basically anything and everything. 

The Octobuddy is an adhesive phone mount that adheres to the back of your regular phone case. Facing out are rows of small suction cups that, when firmly pressed, stick themselves to most flat, smooth surfaces. 

It’s the perfect, hands-free way to take photos in the park as the Octobuddy suctions to glass, metal, plastic, and even varnished wood. So you can almost always find a flat surface to stick it to — the hardest part is just getting the angles since your phone must sit upright, but that’s when you get creative. 

I’ve taken my best-ever Disney World photos in all four parks with the help of the Octobuddy and a Disney trash can, light pole, store-front window, sign, and even Skyliner ceiling — plus the self-timer feature on my iPhone. 

My favorite Disney World photo spots for the Octobuddy have been the short, stubby light posts around the Epcot ball, a light post outside of Fantasmic with the Tower of Terror behind it, and a trash can in front of Cinderella’s Castle. But, half the fun of the Octobuddy is finding out if it sticks to something unexpected — it’s a great way to pass the time in those long Disney lines.

Personally, I also like using a self-timer app — like Lens Buddy — that allows you to take multiple photos in a row and positioning my phone using the selfie camera so you can see what the photo looks like. 

It’s a great way to get everyone in your photo without getting the typical “mom zoom” and cutting off the tip of the castle. But, I really like using it for solo photo shoot moments because you can set the app to take 10 pictures and know what each one will look like — rather than taking all the pictures and finding out you hate how you’re posing after you’re done. 

The Octobuddy only costs $13 on Amazon — making it cheaper than just one day of PhotoPass — and it’s $13 well spent. Once you do a Disney trip with the Octobuddy, you will never go back.

Get the Octobuddy on Amazon!