A Couple Memory Maker Questions

[Chernaboggles]

Mr.CBs and I are going to WDW in October to celebrate the actual date of our 10th wedding anniversary. It'll be our first time staying on property, but it's a short visit - we're only there for 3 nights (POFQ). I was considering doing Memory Maker so we could get some good photos of us together.

The thing is, we'll be going right back for January, and we'll be there for the month (we're doing the same thing we did last February, it'll be Disney Month II: The Sequel). If I'm reading the Disney info correctly, it looks like there's a 30 day window in which to have photos taken once you buy Memory Maker, in which case it might be better to wait for our long trip to buy it, since we'd probably get a lot more photos out of it.

Questions:

1) Do you have to be staying on-property in order to purchase and use Memory Maker? It doesn't seem to be addressed in the Disney photo FAQs.

2) How does it work if you purchase photos individually? Do you just get photos taken wherever and then purchase the ones you like once you see them uploaded?

 

[sissa216]

Congrats on your anniversary! We're celebrating out 10th this November. And a month- I'm super jealous!!

1- No, you just have to have a My Disney Experience account!

2- yep! You can have as many pictures taken as you would like, without purchasing anything. Then once you have a chance to view them, you can decide what you'd like to purchase (prints, gifts, etc).

For the month long trip (which I'm still in awe of!!), be sure to keep an eye on the expiration dates of pictures. They will all expire 45 days from when they were taken- meaning that your first pictures will begin to expire about 15 days after you return home. Then each day after that, another day's worth of pictures will expire.

 

[Chernaboggles]

Congrats on your anniversary! We're celebrating out 10th this November. And a month- I'm super jealous!!

1- No, you just have to have a My Disney Experience account!

2- yep! You can have as many pictures taken as you would like, without purchasing anything. Then once you have a chance to view them, you can decide what you'd like to purchase (prints, gifts, etc).

For the month long trip (which I'm still in awe of!!), be sure to keep an eye on the expiration dates of pictures. They will all expire 45 days from when they were taken- meaning that your first pictures will begin to expire about 15 days after you return home. Then each day after that, another day's worth of pictures will expire.

Congrats to you, too! The month thing is a bit misleading, since we don't actually take a whole month off from work. We bring the computers to Orlando and work from the rental house during the weekdays. We do WDW at night and on weekends, plus 1 week off at the end, for the official "vacation". Last year, Mr.CBs didn't even tell anyone he was doing it, no one had any idea he wasn't at home until he had to fly out for a meeting and booked flights from MCO instead of Newark!

It's weird, but we love it.

Thank you so much for the Memory Maker info! I'm so glad it isn't resort guests only. January definitely looks like the better value, but you're right about having to watch the expiration dates. Maybe I'll experiment with one or two photos in October so I can see how it all works before I buy the package for the long trip.

 

[dreamfinder]

Memory Maker basically replaced PhotoPass+. You get the digital download of all the pictures & edits in your account, and can get the ride/dining pictures as well. If you aren't interested in the ride/dining pics, then you can (at last check) still buy the Photopass Archive CD product, which is the CD/DVD of all your pictures, and costs less than Memory Maker.

So if you have used the Photopass service in the past (even if you didn't buy anything) most of the process is the same. There are photographers through the parks, they take your picture, and using your MB/Photopass card it gets added to your Photopass/MDE account. If you like it, you can buy either prints or a hard copy.

 

[Chernaboggles]

Memory Maker basically replaced PhotoPass+. You get the digital download of all the pictures & edits in your account, and can get the ride/dining pictures as well. If you aren't interested in the ride/dining pics, then you can (at last check) still buy the Photopass Archive CD product, which is the CD/DVD of all your pictures, and costs less than Memory Maker.

So if you have used the Photopass service in the past (even if you didn't buy anything) most of the process is the same. There are photographers through the parks, they take your picture, and using your MB/Photopass card it gets added to your Photopass/MDE account. If you like it, you can buy either prints or a hard copy.

I've never used PhotoPass at all, so this is all new for me. Thanks for the help!

Here's another question: if I get Memory Maker, does that mean I can download the digital pictures to my own computer and own them forever, or must I choose and make prints within that 45 day window?

What's the advantage (if any) of Memory Maker over the Photopass Archive CD?

 

[sissa216]

I'll still trade places with you and work "from home" near WDW for a month!

Yes, you have it exactly correct: Memory Maker now allows you to download the pictures to your own computer. You'll have a print release form to be able to print them wherever you'd like. It won't come with any physical prints from Disney; those would be at an extra cost (and wouldn't make much sense, since you can print them elsewhere inexpensively).

Under the old program, you would have to wait for a CD in the mail to get all the pictures at once. Now you can download them as you go along, or wait until you have finished editing them all and download all at once. You can still order an CD at an additional cost, if you'd like to have a physical backup ($20 or $25, I can't remember offhand).

 

[Chernaboggles]

I'll still trade places with you and work "from home" near WDW for a month!

Yes, you have it exactly correct: Memory Maker now allows you to download the pictures to your own computer. You'll have a print release form to be able to print them wherever you'd like. It won't come with any physical prints from Disney; those would be at an extra cost (and wouldn't make much sense, since you can print them elsewhere inexpensively).

Under the old program, you would have to wait for a CD in the mail to get all the pictures at once. Now you can download them as you go along, or wait until you have finished editing them all and download all at once. You can still order an CD at an additional cost, if you'd like to have a physical backup ($20 or $25, I can't remember offhand).

Yeah, I wish more companies would get on board with telecommuting, it's a fantastic thing once you get used to it. Thanks for all the additional info, we'll definitely wait until January to do the Memory Maker, if I keep on top of it we should be able to come out with a lot of great photos. It'll be nice not to be the one with the camera all the time!

 

[dreamfinder]

What's the advantage (if any) of Memory Maker over the Photopass Archive CD?

Memory Maker includes the ride/dining photos. The Photopass Archive CD doesn't, unless you buy them separately. (Not sure how they will handle automagically adding ride photos, they may just eliminate the Archive CD at that point.) As a PP mentioned, Memory Make provides for instant downloads only, the Archive CD option can be either a download or physical CD.

 

[Chernaboggles]

Memory Maker includes the ride/dining photos. The Photopass Archive CD doesn't, unless you buy them separately. (Not sure how they will handle automagically adding ride photos, they may just eliminate the Archive CD at that point.) As a PP mentioned, Memory Make provides for instant downloads only, the Archive CD option can be either a download or physical CD.

Thank you! Also: your dog is adorable.