Memory Maker?

[cw1982]

My husband and I are going to WDW in early June. We have no kids and don't plan on doing many (if any) character meals, etc, but pictures will be important to us because we have never been to WDW together before and this may be the last trip we get to take as a couple for a very long time, for a variety of reasons.

However, money is very tight. The only reason we can go at all is because we used our tax refund to book the trip.

Having said that, would Memory Maker be worth the $150 in our case? Seems like it would be nice to not have to worry about asking other guests to take pictures of us on our phones so that we can be in at least some pictures together, but how many pictures will they realistically be taking of us if we're not spending a lot of time looking for characters to meet, etc? I'm thinking we may pose with a few here or there but since it's just us I don't know how much of that kind of thing we will want to do.

Thanks!

 

[R W B]

Ill tell you this, I brought my (then) girlfriend in December to a Xmas party in MK for one night and I purpose to her, I let the cast member know ahead of time so he snapped as many pics as he could. We got home and we ended up buying 9 pictures, cost us $121 shipped.

For the memory maker you can also get all the ride pictures too. All you have to do is once your off the ride, go look on the screen and copy the 6 digit number down and you can get the pic included. Incase you miss your pic in the screen you can go to the picture desk for that ride and they can scroll through the previous pics and get it for you.

With that said, the choice is yours.

 

[LostPrincessKarleigh]

We got the rides only package for photo pass+ (been rebranded as memory maker) and loved all our pics! I wish we had gotten the whole package (just rides was $50 vs. $200) because there were so many other great shots outside of the rides. Personally, we are purchasing memory maker for our upcoming trip. I think it is a great value for all the pictures you want. Plus, their pics look a lot better than the ones I take with my iPhone.

 

[cw1982]

Where all do they take pictures besides on the rides?

 

[TaraWdopeyfan]

I think Memory Maker is worth it, like others have said you get the ride photos and any other photo's they take of you. When you get home before you download you can edit the photos like adding the year or boarders and stickers. Even if you don't plan on seeing characters, they have photographers scattered thru the parks that will be happy to take your picture and some of them can do magic shots all you have to do is ask them. Some of the magic shots are Tinker Bell in your hand, Stitch coming out of the ground in front of you, someone in your party holding balloons, Mickey sitting on the bench next to you or Minnie sitting on the bench, these are just a few, and all magic shoots are included in the Memory Maker

 

[ty17]

Where all do they take pictures besides on the rides?

With any character that you stand in line for. In front of all of the major icons (Castle, Tree, Hat, Epcot ball) and different angles of them. In front of all of the parks there are photographers. Also, in front of some major rides like Tower of Terror

 

[Phonedave]

Where all do they take pictures besides on the rides?

At most of the popular photo spots - front of parks, the bridge in AK, in front of the castle, bridge heading into France, etc.


-dave

 

[cw1982]

Thank you so much to everyone who has replied so far! I'm learning a lot by being on this forum

One last bit of info and I think I've got a better idea of what to expect with Memory Maker... do people tend to get stuck in lines waiting for photographers to take their pictures in some of the non-character spots, or is it more of the kind of thing where the photographers generally offer to take the pictures as guests walk past them? I know for a fact my husband won't want to wait in lines for pictures to be taken, but if it's the kind of thing where the photographers are offering to do them on a whim, I'll probably be more likely to get him to make use of this lol. Thanks again!

 

[Captainvideo]

There are a number of photographers in the popular areas to take pictures and at the most might have to wait 2 minutes. There are other photographers throughout each park on random walkways and scenic vantage points just waiting for someone to approach them. They do a nice job. I still carried a camera with my family to take my own pictures, but when it was time for a family photo there was less moaning with the professional photographer than me trying to coax everyone with my camera. it's so fast to grab the attraction pictures and put them on the magic band instead of trying to decide whether to buy it on the spot or not.

 

[Brickcity Pauly]

I might have to look into this as well.

 

[cw1982]

I might have to look into this as well.

Make sure you do it soon... I see on your countdown that your trip is in just over a week. If you don't buy it three days before you arrive (or something like that), there is a gap in the timing of the pictures that are included, based on what I have read on Disney's website.

 

[cw1982]

There are a number of photographers in the popular areas to take pictures and at the most might have to wait 2 minutes. There are other photographers throughout each park on random walkways and scenic vantage points just waiting for someone to approach them. They do a nice job. I still carried a camera with my family to take my own pictures, but when it was time for a family photo there was less moaning with the professional photographer than me trying to coax everyone with my camera. it's so fast to grab the attraction pictures and put them on the magic band instead of trying to decide whether to buy it on the spot or not.

Awesome! This is the kind of information I was trying to get with my earlier questions... that's what I get for posting in the middle of the night when I should be asleep LOL. Thank you!

 

[cw1982]

I think Memory Maker is worth it, like others have said you get the ride photos and any other photo's they take of you. When you get home before you download you can edit the photos like adding the year or boarders and stickers. Even if you don't plan on seeing characters, they have photographers scattered thru the parks that will be happy to take your picture and some of them can do magic shots all you have to do is ask them. Some of the magic shots are Tinker Bell in your hand, Stitch coming out of the ground in front of you, someone in your party holding balloons, Mickey sitting on the bench next to you or Minnie sitting on the bench, these are just a few, and all magic shoots are included in the Memory Maker

Very cool information about the magic shoots! Thank you!

 

[cw1982]

Ill tell you this, I brought my (then) girlfriend in December to a Xmas party in MK for one night and I purpose to her, I let the cast member know ahead of time so he snapped as many pics as he could. We got home and we ended up buying 9 pictures, cost us $121 shipped.

For the memory maker you can also get all the ride pictures too. All you have to do is once your off the ride, go look on the screen and copy the 6 digit number down and you can get the pic included. Incase you miss your pic in the screen you can go to the picture desk for that ride and they can scroll through the previous pics and get it for you.

With that said, the choice is yours.

I do think it would be funny to see some of the pictures on the rides... that's definitely something to think about. Congrats on the proposal (I'm assuming all worked out in your favor... what girl could say no at Disney? )

Thanks!

 

[GeneralZod]

Does anyone know if you can link multiple magic bands to a memory maker package? The last time I purchased Photopass+ it was a single card that had to be shared for the entire group. I couldn't find any information on their site in regards to bands at all.

 

[R W B]

I do think it would be funny to see some of the pictures on the rides... that's definitely something to think about. Congrats on the proposal (I'm assuming all worked out in your favor... what girl could say no at Disney? )

Thanks!

Lol, yes it did work out great. Popped the question right infront of the castle so just like you said, I new she couldn't say no there haha.

Does anyone know if you can link multiple magic bands to a memory maker package? The last time I purchased Photopass+ it was a single card that had to be shared for the entire group. I couldn't find any information on their site in regards to bands at all.

I'm not 100% sure how it works but I know on my last trip (2 weeks ago) I went with my fiancé's family and her sister had Memory Maker. We all had our own rooms but she told us that if we got the 6 digit code from the rides we rode she could add it to her package.

 

[dreamfinder]

Keep in mind that you can still buy just the Photopass Archive CD for $119 (prebuy) This includes any Photopass pictures that are active in your account at the time. It doesn't include ride or dining photos, but if you buy any of those individually, they would be included on the CD.

The value for either package is completely up to you. There are photographers through the parks, primarily with characters and by the park icons. Some will be practically begging to take your picture, others you may have a few families in front of you waiting.

I'm at 6000+ pictures/edits from 13 days over 2 trips, and still have a hundred+ originals left to edit. But I know other people that only end up with 100 pics, edits included.

Does anyone know if you can link multiple magic bands to a memory maker package? The last time I purchased Photopass+ it was a single card that had to be shared for the entire group. I couldn't find any information on their site in regards to bands at all.

The memory maker package gets tagged to the band of the person who bought it. Their "friends and families" pictures should show up in that persons account. Other bands that don't belong to "friends/family" can be linked by Photopass staff. From the Memory Maker FAQ

Q.
How do I link an attraction photo to my Disney account so that I am able to download it with my Memory Maker purchase?

A.
Immediately after you have experienced a participating attraction, please visit the attraction’s Sales Center and link the photo to your Disney account. You can link the photo using any MagicBand or card linked to your account—including Memory Maker cards and Disney PhotoPass Cards.

Attraction photos can only be linked to your Disney account if Memory Maker is assigned to you. Your family and friends cannot link attraction photos to their Disney account.

So you may be able to get a few old school cards, link them to your account, and then have other members of your party use those to claim attraction photos, but it may or may not work.

 

[officialtom]

We never bother with it -- maybe it's tacky, but we always just get the photo folks to take pics of us with my camera. I also take a zillion pictures myself, and consider myself to be a somewhat decent photographer.

My aunt, uncle, and little cousins are coming with us next week and are planning on getting MM, so I'll be interested to see whether they feel it's worth it after the fact.

 

[cw1982]

We never bother with it -- maybe it's tacky, but we always just get the photo folks to take pics of us with my camera. I also take a zillion pictures myself, and consider myself to be a somewhat decent photographer.

My aunt, uncle, and little cousins are coming with us next week and are planning on getting MM, so I'll be interested to see whether they feel it's worth it after the fact.

I'd be interested to know how that goes as well. Keep me posted? I'm still trying to decide here, although there do seem to be lots of people who recommend going for it. Thanks!

 

[sring]

Originally, I did not purchase MM before my last trip. I had initially only planned one day at EPCOT which has fewer PhotoPass photographers than other parks, and we were just going to be there for about 2/3 of a day.

At the last minute we extended our trip by a day to avoid another snowmageddon here in the northeast. Our 2/3 day wound up at MK and a full day at EPCOT. We missed the 3 day in advance window and wound up purchasing MM in MK on the first day after looking a individual photo prices from a ride.

If you wind up purchasing MM in the park, it's about $50 more than if you purchase it in advance. So if you think you're interested, remember that 3-day cut-off.