Is photopass worth it?? Pros and cons??

[Raven66]

Ride pictuees

Ride pictures as in pictures ON the rides? Or pictures in front of the rides? And for restauraunt pictures just for character dining?

Ride pictures are done ON the rides, but some rides also have photopass photographers in front of them. When we have gone there has always been one outside RnRc.

I believe it's for character dining but I'm not 100% sure and it's not all of the character dining locations.

If you do it and you want the rides and dining make sure you get the photopass+. They also have a package where you can get just the ride photos and you can use your camera for all others, you just won't get the special shots. Which to some is no biggie.

 

[lunchbox1175]

IMO - it is worth it! Currently working on our Photopass+ with more than 600 pics on it. Not every single pic is a winner - but MOST are. The "+" version was a big thumbs up for us as we got the ride photos and the restaurant photos that we wished we had from previous trips (but refused to buy the photo packages for them). We have been getting the Photopass every trip, have never been disappointed! Other pro's:
- you can add the special borders to the pictures (at no cost)
- you can upload pictures from your personal camera to be added to your Photopass account as well
- select borders can be added to your personal camera pics as well

Look for the pre-pay (pre-trip) offer - the discount is nice.

I totally agree here. We do the Photopass + every time, and we have never taken less than 400 pictures. We always bring our camera with us, but frequently leave it behind in the room as we just don't like having things to have to take around with us. If there is something we run across that we think we would like to get a picture of, we will look for a photopass person and if one is not available, we come back later with our camera. My avatar pic is a photopass pic, and we used one for our save the dates from in front of pirates. It is also great for events like the MNSSHP, where you can get the special magic shots, and you don't have to pay extra to buy them, you've basically already paid for them. I will say that a photopass person is not at every M&G, especially after the Villains show at MNSSHP, and there isn't usually one at Characterpalooza either. So if you plan on going to those events, take your camera with you as well. Also, with the Photopass +, you get some special "stock" photos, like pictures of the fireworks and such, that are much better quality than anything you are going to take unless you are a professional.

 

[matt9112]

For the ride picture package you have to get Photopass+ or Attractions+ They do not come with regular Photopass. You can by the ride pictures individually too.

where do you purchase this? i cannot find anything for the attraction+ only the photopass and photopass+

 

[John]

I havnt seen it explained here so I figured I would chime in. The question is weather Photopass is "worth" it. I assume that the value or perceived value is in what it cost. One of the reasons it is priced accordingly is because you are purchasing the copyrights to the pictures. This is to give permission to reproduce copies of the pictures. The pictures belong to you. I think it is a good value because of the many reasons mentioned thru the thread. Because it is your honeymoon I would strongly recommend purchasing the plan. The photographers will take as many photos as you care to. They are very accommodating and will take pictures with your camera also.

 

[Brer Rabbit 33]

They take very nice photos and if there's only gonna be two of you it'd be worth it. We never use it that much, though.

 

[sshindel]

I think it depends on how much you like to (or would want to force yourself to) stop at the photographers.
We tend to find it's a good value. We always pre-buy, and upgraded to Photopass+ last trip and thought it was well worth it for us. We do a lot of character breakfasts though with the young children, and the previous trip ended up buying I think 4 of the "meal" photos at like $30/picture. So, just getting those meal photos alone made it worth the cost. Adding in the ride photos was a nice bonus as well, as I got some good ones and would not have purchased them separately. I mean, even though I like it, I would probably not paid full price for this one of me and my brother-in-law:


We also force ourselves to stop often at photographers to "make it worth it". I think all told we ended up with a couple hundred pictures last trip.
Another nice thing was the unexpected photos we got. My kid was playing in the Casey Jr. area, when a Photopass photographer decided to snap some "action" pictures and just handed us a photopass card. Those were a good bonus.

Also, while they can be cheesy, the extra "magic shots" they do can be fun as well:


All told, it's an investment that works well for my family. It really does come down to how much you think you'll use it though.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

When we went as a group it was worth it as we wanted lots of team photos. You still get the odd issue with Disneys camera operators not being particularly proficient but the majority are and some are even photographers who can be creative.

 

[Lord_Vader]

We purchase the PhotoPass+ in advance now that the option is available and include it in our package. The attraction photos, the fact that my entire family is in them and the PhotoPass photographers will use your camera(s) to take additional shots for you as well make the package a decent value but highly depends on your use. We had 300+ photos from our 10 day trip this summer and over 450 from our Christmas/New Years vacation earlier so for us it is a great value and allow me not to lug my 50D and lenses every day, only the days/nights I want to take some specific shots.

PhotoPass+ works in dining locations that offer photos (they give you the hard copies for free and put them on your PhotoPass+ card) as well as attractions, and all the regular PhotoPass photographers. A couple of meals at Chef Mickey's, Aloha Dinner Show or other "photo opportunity" dining location will save you $30.00 or more per meal as well.

 

[Britt]

For me, it's not. Because I'm pretty handy with my own camera, I don't feel the pictures are worth the cost. Quality has never been greater than I can do myself

And I have no problem handing them my camera with it set to the right settings and in autofocus if I want to get one with all of us.

I'm also super cheap so that could play into it...hehehe

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

Disney Photopass YES (see avatar)
Uni photothingy notso much

 

[Mukta]

I would definitely recommend photopass for a honeymoon.

I like to get it on my longer trips.

This is how it works. You find a photopass photographer in the parks. You ask him to take a picture of you. He will take one with your camera also.

He will scan your photopass card and the picture will be saved.

When you come back home, you enter your card's code into the website and start editing your pics. Playing with the different borders, making them black and white etc. Lots of options. It takes me weeks.

I like to pre purchase the CD to save a bit of money. http://www.disneyphotopass.com/specialoffers/wdwppp.htm

Ask the photopass photographers who don't have their cameras on a tripod for a magic shot. They can add disney characters to your pics.

 

[G8rchamps]

We use it on all trips over 4-5 days and we use the heck out of it. Pre pay for the discount and go get your monies worth. We love it.

 

[englanddg]

Photo pass is free, so I say...why not?

Photo pass plus is not free.

I'd say if you plan on doing a lot of character dines and / or think you are going to want ride photos, you can easily make PP+ a value for you.

 

[Weather_Lady]

It depends on so many things...

We've never done it. We've asked Photopass photogs to take pictures with our camera (a digital one that weighs practically nothing and didn't have to be "lugged" anywhere, just slipped into a pocket) and they turned out just fine. I selected the best of our 200+ photos and made a 12"x12" memory book of our vacation on Shutterfly, and the pictures were perfect for that purpose. There was one ride photo we liked, and I just snapped a photo of the screen where it was displayed. (Your mileage may vary -- I learned after getting back that taking pictures-of-the-pictures of ride photos is frowned upon and that CMs may berate you for it.)

Photopass wasn't worth it for us -- but again, we don't want most of the ride photos, we have no interest in having Disney characters or borders photoshopped into our pictures, I don't mind downloading stock photos from the web if I want them, and we don't mind carrying our snazzy high-quality digital camera (which cost less than a Photopass package, BTW) with us. If you feel the opposite way on those issues, then I'd encourage you to purchase the Photopass+ package.

 

[mickeymatt]

I say because it is your honeymoon, get it.

 

[Mukta]

In front of the tree at the Grand Floridian.

One of the best moments of my last trip was telling Flynn Rider how my 3 year old niece walked around pretending and saying 'I have a crown in my satchel'. Then he pulled out the crown in his satchel. Photopass caught that moment and I am so grateful.

Magic Shot

Magic Shot

Magic Shot

 

[Tink0102]

I always get too caught up in what I am doing and forget to take pictures. We got the PP+ and the pictures were great. In addition to the pictures that were taken of us we also got a bonus CD of pictures that were of things like the fireworks, the animals at AK, the Tree of Life, ride photos, etc. I also like that you can add boarders, special effects, signatures and stuff like that to your pictures. We will definitely get it again the next time we go.

 

[Tink0102]

In front of the tree at the Grand Floridian.

One of the best moments of my last trip was telling Flynn Rider how my 3 year old niece walked around pretending and saying 'I have a crown in my satchel'. Then he pulled out the crown in his satchel. Photopass caught that moment and I am so grateful.

Magic Shot

Magic Shot

Magic Shot

Great pictures!

 

[traylorc]

My wife and I routinely go to WDW....so on the one hand Photopass is nice because it allows me to be in some of the pictures with my wife. That being said...overall I have not been very impressed with the majority of pictures taken by Photopass photographers. The pictures I found to be acceptable were usually those taken by a Photopass photographer who used my camera and my settings. On a few occasions I came across an Photopass photographer who is an experienced photographer. The photos from those experienced individuals were generally very good, and I enjoyed the photography discussions with these individuals. But running into an experienced photographer seems to be the exception and not the rule. Most of the Photopass employees are inexperienced photographers with their cameras in auto mode. After returning home from our last trip, I was extremely disappointed by the high percentage of shots that were improperly exposed, poorly composed or blurry.

It is not my intent to insult anyone who is a fan of Photopass. At the end of the day, if individuals are happy with the quality of the photos that's all that matters. But for me...it's difficult to support the idea of spending $100+ to receive photos that from a technical perspective I feel are average.

 

[bladerunner]

Just be aware that there is the possibility of some photos being 'lost' - on our last trip we used photopass and many of the pictures never showed up. Disney apologized but did not have an explanation. Always best to have a backup of photos with your own camera.