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We Came To Play!

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Opening Magic Kingdom

Opening Magic Kingdom

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Photopass Photographers Were Everywhere!

A Photopass Photographer was at the exit to Haunted Mansion.  I guess we did bring a hitchhiking ghost with us!
Yes, it was our 13th trip to Walt Disney World.  Yes, we had pre-purchased Memory Maker and had it linked to our Magical Disney Experience (MDE) account that was linked to our MagicBands.  And, yes, we ended up with 555 photos in our account from four full days in the parks.

Some guests are hesitant to purchase Memory Maker either prior to their trip, which is a discounted $149 (down from $169 just recently--yes, Disney reduced the price of something!) or during their trip--this was $199, but I know the price has been reduced.  Some guests wonder if the product is worth the money.  During our first couple of trips to Walt Disney World way before Memory Maker and MagicBands, we wondered, too.  But sometime around our 2nd or 3rd trip, we realized the purchase of Photopass products, especially at a discounted rate prior to a trip, was definitely worth the money. I've written (and said) this before and I'll write it again. . . how many times have you seen photographs in a garage or yard sale?  Other souvenirs can be outgrown or damaged and yet we often don't hesitate paying $50 for that sweatshirt.  I'll go for photos over stuff anytime!

What made our pre-purchase of Memory Maker even more "worth it" this trip was that we found Photopass Photographers EVERYWHERE!  Okay, not exactly everywhere, I mean, they weren't in the bathrooms, but they were close!  Here's some evidence of where we found Photopass Photographers:

At Disney's Hollywood Studios we found photographers in the Streets of America which was great as this area will be closing April 2.  Sunset Boulevard was another location, both in front of Tower of Terror and also Rock-n-Roller Coaster plaza just under the sign.  
At Pixar Place, a photographer added some surprise guests to our photos.  

 In addition to the traditional spots for photos at EPCOT--in front of Spaceship Earth, we found photographers near the Imagination Pavilion and near some of the topiaries on display for the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival that was starting the day we returned home.

 This series of photos were a surprise!  The boy was exploring the Living Seas Pavilion on his own with a camera.  We were outside the Pavilion and he had a specific return time to find us.  He decided to put himself in some Photopass photos, getting his MagicBand scanned.  Yes, he knows how to do this!


With the Beast's Castle in the background.

Big Thunder Mountain always makes a great background!
 At Magic Kingdom, we found Photopass Photographers at locations beyond Main Street and the hub in front of the Castle.
Prince Eric's Castle in Fantasyland

Cinderella's Castle from the Tomorrowland Bridge
And, of course a visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom would not be complete with a photo of the Tree of Life, but this photo was taken on the backside--on the walk-way between Africa and Asia. 

There you have it, some of our 555 Photopass photos from trip #13.  We can't imagine not having Memory Maker and allowing Disney Photopass Photographers to capture the memories of our magical vacations!

6 comments:

  1. Hi there,

    I stumbled upon your blog via pinterest and I've not been able to stop reading all your posts!!! We have one son who is 9. We've been to Disney in 2012, 2013, & most recently October 2015. I've cried and swooned over your blog because we are a Disney Family just like you! I ball like a baby every time we go...the music, the magic, the fun. We eat, drink, and breathe Disney.

    Anyhoo...my question is about the Photopass service. How do you get the photos? Do you have to buy the photopass service then have to pay to print out the pictures at a store like Walmart or something? Or do you select the photos you want, and they are printed and mailed???? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

    Laurie

    PS. You are officially my new favorite blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Laurie,
    Glad you found us! Photopass is a free service provided by Disney to capture photos. How you get the photos is to create a Photopass account and either purchase downloads of the photos which you can then send to your favorite place to print photos. An economical route is to pre-purchase Memory Maker which allows you to download ALL of your photos from your vacation taken by Photopass photographers. If you do this, your Memory Maker photos can be found on your MDE account and linked to your Magic Bands! Here's more info: http://toddjodybrent.blogspot.com/2014/01/photopass-is-now-memory-maker.html
    Thank you for reading! You can also find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/williamsfamilyblog

    ReplyDelete
  3. Where do you print your photos? I guess I'm just wondering do you pay for the photos twice...once with Memory Maker, then again when you want to print the photos.

    The photopass service was available the first year we went to Disney. So, when we got home, we got online and looked at our pictures. We ended up purchasing some. We ordered what we wanted, and Disney sent them to us in the mail.

    Say after your trip, you come home, view the photos & choose the ones you want, do you pay more money to get them printed? Can Disney print them and mail them?

    Sorry to ask so many questions. Just trying to decide if this is a worthwhile option for us.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ok....sorry...I just read your post & saw where you mentioned printing photos at Walgreens. I have to have paper printouts of my pictures. If I understand correctly now I would buy the Memory Maker CD, then I'd still have to spend additional money to print them myself. Is that right?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Laurie,
    I don't know if Disney's Photopass service still prints and mails photos. I know you can purchase prints at the parks--there's a Photopass store in each park. So, yes, you would have the digital version of your photos--which is mostly downloads, and then you would get prints made wherever you like. Shutterfly often has great deals on-line and so does Walgreens.
    Hope this helps!

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete