Disney's Photopass - worth the money??

[PotteryGal]

I haven't posted a lot - still fairly new to the boards actually, so I don't know if this is mentioned somewhere else. I've been reading on allearsnet about the Disney photopass and for about $100 you can buy a CD of pictures taken by a Disney photographer. Is this worth the money? Or are we better off just taking our own pictures, as well as some video of parades, fireworks, etc?
This is our first time ever to WDW - never thought I'd ever get to go, and now can not only experience it myself, but see Disney work its magic through my kids' eyes. I'm afraid I'm overplanning everything, but I want to be able to have some amazing scrapbooks put together when we return home.

 

[DisneyMissy]

I believe you can have up to 300 photos on the card put on the CD, if I am wrong on this someone please correct me So if you have alot of pictures then the $100 is worth it. We had the CD made from out last trip and we had fun just going around to the photographers and having them take our picture, then when we got home we looked at them and thought they were all good shots so we bought the CD. I set one of the pictures of me and my husband in Epcot as my desktop wallpaper.

 

[kasey1988]

Have fun on your first trip! Try not to over plan to much and remeber to take it easy and remeber that you cant see everything in one trip! Any whoo about the photo pass it would be up to you if $100 on a photo cd can fit in your budget. If you want to buy it make sure you get your phot pass card on the first day and use it everywhere there is a photographer to get the most out of your money. On our last trip we found that it was just as easy to take our own pictures and get them developed at home since most places you can take your pictures are willing to put them onto a cd for you for less then $100. Its all up to you though, but imho it is rahter expensive when you can take just as many pictures yourself.. HAVE FUN!!!

 

[Cynderella]

I haven't posted a lot - still fairly new to the boards actually, so I don't know if this is mentioned somewhere else. I've been reading on allearsnet about the Disney photopass and for about $100 you can buy a CD of pictures taken by a Disney photographer. Is this worth the money? Or are we better off just taking our own pictures, as well as some video of parades, fireworks, etc?
This is our first time ever to WDW - never thought I'd ever get to go, and now can not only experience it myself, but see Disney work its magic through my kids' eyes. I'm afraid I'm overplanning everything, but I want to be able to have some amazing scrapbooks put together when we return home.

Welcome to the boards! I have not personally done the $100 cd but if you had a lot of pictures on the photopass I'd say it could be worth especially because, I may be wrong, but I think you can take them to CVS and print out as many as you want. Again I could be wrong. I used photopass the last time I was down in Nov and really liked it. I got 4 or 5 pictures down there and then ended up ordering and 8x10 and some wallets online. And some of the pictures they can put cute little things on. I guess it just depends on if you want to spend the money. Hope I didn't ramble and hope this made sense! :wave:

 

[figment1985]

I do not think it is worth it unless you obviously have ALOT of pictures taken and they turn out good. The quality of the kodak photos are great- we ordered one (see profile picture) and we got the biggest size. You have to get lucky with the photographers though.

 

[MusicMaker]

Oh, the joys of scrapbooking! It took me 6 months to finish the scrap book from our last trip!
I personally loved the photopass system since it was our first trip with our daughter and we wanted some good shots of the whole family. They added some fun graphics to the pics, and we had the option of purchasing the pics after we got back home via the internet. I didn't want to feel rushed and pressured to buy the pics at the parks.
I would still take your own pictures too, as well as video if you are willing to carry the cameras around. I didn't want to buy any stock photos of Disney because I wanted the pics for the scrapbook to reflect our personal experiences.
My recommendation is to have the Disney photopass photographers take your pics (they give you a photopass card to walk around with and hand to the photographers) -- they don't cost anything to just have the pics taken. You can check out the pics later, and if you decide that you like them, purchase them!
Have fun!
p.s. Don't forget to grab extra maps and brochures in the parks for your scrapbook too!

 

[AEfx]

I think only you can answer the question for yourself with this one. Is it "worth" it is so subjective.

I've heard many reports of people getting GREAT value out of it - well north of the 300 pics they promise you can fit.

If not having to juggle a camera with every character interaction sounds like fun to you, then it may be worth it. The Disney photogs (they are not Kodak any more) do a wonderful job, and are EVERYWHERE these days (and at virtually every planned character greet). If you've got a young kid, you may find that appealing - to not have to watch them meeting Mickey Mouse through a camera lens, praying you don't screw it up.

The best part about Photopass is that you DON'T have to make the decision now. On the last day you can decide, after looking at the pictures at one of the kiosks, if it's "worth" it for you. It certainly won't replace your own camera all the time, but having hundreds of professional photographs to choose from just might be.

I'd budget for it, and if I didn't feel the value is there I'd spend the $100 on something else the last day. I find the $15-20 price of buying the pictures from Disney outrageous, but I find that $100 for a CD I can take to Rite-Aid or Wal-Mart and print off as many as I want for like .30cents each to be very appealing indeed on trips with a large group.

AEfx

 

[monorailguy01]

My friends and I did the Photo pass this past May and we loved it, it holds a butt load of pictures.. the only downfall is they are no so cheap i think its like 13.00 for one 5 x 7, but the pictures come out great. we got one infront of SSE druning the Flower and garden festival at night and it came out so good...

 

[sensfan85]

What we did was have the photographer a a photo with our camera first, then with their camera. They were more than happy to take the pictures with both cameras. This way, you get the primo photo op with your own camera. One thing I did notice though is that some of the photos from our camera did notr turn out as good (it's not their camera after all). In the end, we bought the CD of photos our last night at Epcot and were able to whittle through the 100+ Photpass pics taken (50 with our camera and 50 from the photographer's camera).

$100 is a pretty steep prcietag though. When we go in January, we aren't going to get the CD, however, we will still get the photographers to take pics of us with our own camera.

 

[Tramp]

I'm a big fan of the PhotoPass program. It was a lot of fun stopping at every PhotoPass photographer we saw and having him take several pictures of each of us. Of course, all of this takes some time so you'll have to decide if it's worth it.
Once you purchase the CD, Disney relinquishes all copyrights to you. You can do whatever you want with the photos.

Here are a few tips I'd like to pass along...

1. This is important: When you get your photopass card, write down the number that is on the back of the card and keep it in a safe place. If you lose or misplace the card, you can still access your photos as long as you have the number. Note: Maybe it's the worry-wart in me, but I don't like to put too many photos on one card just in case something goes wrong in the system, I don't want to lose all my photos. You can use as many cards as you want, you aren't limited to just one card.

2. Don't just take the standard photos, ask the photographer to take the photo in another direction. For example, instead of only a castle photo, turn around and take a photo with the train station in the background. Instead of the Rose Garden photo, ask the photographer to take a photo with Tomorrowland in the background. Instead of just Spaceship Earth, take a photo or two with the entrance in the background. They are very happy to take these photos for you.

3. In addition to taking group photos, take individual photos too and don't be afraid to 'act up' in the photo. For example, have the photographer take a picture with the MGM Hat on your head or with you trying to lift Spaceship Earth. These are great memories and even if you don't buy the CD, you can keep the smaller photos that can be accessed online.

Hope this helps a little. :wave:

 

[bayoutinkbelle]

I loved Photopass, but I agree that only you can make the call on spending that much money. Either way, have a blast on your trip!

One of the best things for me with Photopass was letting my mother go online and order her own photos. That way, she got the photos she liked of me and her grandson. We all were happy!

 

[coltow]

We bought the cd. DH, DS and myself were rarely in pictures together throughout the parks. It gave great opportunities to have some really good pictures of the 3 of us. Also when we would take group pictures (there were 7 of us total) someone was always missing. We stopped for Photopass pictures whenever possible. We ended up with 80 pictures. I believe they charge close to $10 for 1 5X7 picture. If you buy the cd you can print as many and what ever sizes you want once you get home. To us, this was a great value as it cost us a little more than $1 per picture and CVS will print them for 25cents each or you can print/e-mail them from home.

 

[MickeyTigg]

Personally, I don't think the CD is worth the money...I like the PhotoPass program though, but only as a convenience.

I find PhotoPass to be more convenient than the way it used to be...remembering to go somewhere to wait in line to just look at the photos taken. Being able to look at the pictures at my convenience is great.

Is PhotoPass worth the money...that depends.

I only use PhotoPass if the picture I take doesn't turn out as well and I won't be able to take it again.

For the most part the PP photographers aren't very good...they're probably not much better than you or I and for the number of pictures that they take per day....they really ought to be better.

We generally only buy 1 PhotoPass photo per trip.

At $12+ per photo...it's pricey. To me the CD is only worth it if you plan on buying more than 8 PhotoPass photos. If you're not...you can do as good a job if not better putting your own photos onto a CD.

As for taking group photos...have the Disney photographer take a picture with your camera and go online to Kodak Gallery or Wal-Mart and have the photos developed into prints or put onto a CD....I think they'll do it for a lot cheaper than Disney will.

 

[tyler75]

Photo Pass with Large Groups

We are going to Disney World with a group of 15 in December... so we are thinking about getting the CD and dividing the cost between us.

BUT - our group won't always be together during the trip. Can someone tell me ... is it possible to get a few photo pass cards and combine them together to make a single $99 CD?

Thanks.

 

[Gorjus]

I will be starting a position as a photopass photographer in Oct/Nov. :sohappy: I am a professional photographer, so my photos will look good, although, I can see where some photopass CM's may not be as proficient as a professional would be.

One benefit to using the photopass program is the fact that a photopass photographer can get shots you might not. There are always the posed shots that everyone imagines, but what about the moment a child first touches a character, or the big hug a princess gets from a "princess". Parents are usually watching those moments and not recording them. The photopass photographer can catch those. Also, my experience is that most people do not know how to compose a good photo; too much superfluous stuff in the photo, not enough of the subject.

Like everyone said, use the photographers. Then decide later whether to buy the photos. I do think it is a little rude though to ask a photographer to take a picture with your own personal camera. Ask another cast member, not a photographer.

Gorjus

 

[ZapperZ]

I haven't posted a lot - still fairly new to the boards actually, so I don't know if this is mentioned somewhere else. I've been reading on allearsnet about the Disney photopass and for about $100 you can buy a CD of pictures taken by a Disney photographer. Is this worth the money? Or are we better off just taking our own pictures, as well as some video of parades, fireworks, etc?
This is our first time ever to WDW - never thought I'd ever get to go, and now can not only experience it myself, but see Disney work its magic through my kids' eyes. I'm afraid I'm overplanning everything, but I want to be able to have some amazing scrapbooks put together when we return home.

If you have only a few pictures, then it certainly would be a very expensive few pictures to pay $100 for.

However, here's the deal. If you plan on buy it, then at the very beginning of your trip, make it a point to stop and get your picture taken whenever you see one of the Photopass photographers. This is also a very good way of getting everybody in your party in the picture, instead of always missing just one person who had to be the one to snap the picture (or having another guest snap your group picture). Besides, your picture will be taken by a professional photograhers, so no finger stuck in the middle of your picture, and it won't be crooked to one side, etc. On some pictures where you're supposed to be holding something like simba or tink, they'll put that in the picture.

So get as many as you can. If you end up with more than 60 or 70, then I'd say moneywise, it would be worth getting it (last June, passholders got a 10% discount on this, so maybe they'll offer this again soon, hopefully).

Zz.

 

[MissM]

Personally, I don't think it's worth it. $100 for the cd and then the cost to print them all yourself...? Nah. I just use my own camera. You can get any CM in the park - including photopass photographers - to take a pic with your own camera. Many photos I've previewed online that I had taken by them were just really poor. Underexposed, dark, or badly aligned. I've been really disappointed with the quality of the photos they take overall. How hard can it possibly be to take a decent shot when it's all you do all day long?

Anyway, it's only worth it if you don't want to use your own camera, don't have your own camera and use it everywhere you possibly can to get the most photos out of it. I prefer just using my own. But, it's really a personal preference in the end.
-m

 

[MKCP 1985]

I will be starting a position as a photopass photographer in Oct/Nov. :sohappy: I am a professional photographer, so my photos will look good, although, I can see where some photopass CM's may not be as proficient as a professional would be.

One benefit to using the photopass program is the fact that a photopass photographer can get shots you might not. There are always the posed shots that everyone imagines, but what about the moment a child first touches a character, or the big hug a princess gets from a "princess". Parents are usually watching those moments and not recording them. The photopass photographer can catch those. Also, my experience is that most people do not know how to compose a good photo; too much superfluous stuff in the photo, not enough of the subject.

Like everyone said, use the photographers. Then decide later whether to buy the photos. I do think it is a little rude though to ask a photographer to take a picture with your own personal camera. Ask another cast member, not a photographer.

Gorjus

I am glad that you will be joining the ranks - goodness knows we would like all the photopass photographers to have professional training. As for the bolded sentence above, I also hope you are quick to change your opinion on this. The last thing any of the thousands of daily park guests need is a photographer with an "I'm too good to take your picture with your camera" attitude. I can see your point if you are anywhere other than a Disney park, but there is no place for those expressions at Walt Disney World.

 

[Vernonpush]

Last May we went for our free Disney Visa Card photo, they took lots of pics of us interacting with the characters (I think it was a new photogapher , in training). They took photos of us when we first saw the characters, hugs with the characters, posed shots with everyone, shots of each of us with a single character. Over the next 6 days we put many photos in the card. We decided to look at the photos on the last day, and bought the CD ( we had over 100 photos; plus photos with special borders, signatures and characters). It is a great keepsake from our trip. Is it worth it? It depends on the photos, if you can afford it, and the quality of the photos. The only thing I have against it is that the Photopass people are "stationed" in certain spots, and they take the same kind of photos (cross your arms and put your backs together; put your hands together, palm up, and look surprised). The one time we were in World Showcase and wanted a photo of us waiting for IlumiNations with a duck who was there with us, the Photopass person said "Ok, but I really have to go back to my station". They have to be spontaneous, as so much of the Magic of the World is. We were the for the Flower and Garden Festival and we had to beg some of the photographers to take our picture with some of the topiary.

 

[ypcat]

I do think it is a little rude though to ask a photographer to take a picture with your own personal camera.

Every picture that got taken by the photopass photograhpers with our camera have been because they offer.