Photo pass confusion

[mattie1985ariel]

Hi everyone

Really confused with this new memory maker - basically if I buy it do we get digital copies of ALL photos or can you only have so many?

Can you then download them all to you computer and do with them as you please?!?!

 

[dreamfinder]

You get digital copies of every valid photo and edit you have in your account. So expired photos are no good. The system does start to slow down when you get over a few thousand pics, but there is no real limit.

You can then download them all to your computer, and you are given a digital release form so that you can get prints, etc.

 

[cw1982]

Ok... here's the basics:

You have two options for getting copies of the pictures taken by photographers in the parks:

1) Memory Maker- Pay $150 at least three days before the start of your visit or $199 when you get to WDW and have access to all of your pictures, including ride photos. You can download them and use as you please.

2) Photopass- Photopass is still around to a degree. We didn't buy Memory Maker on our trip in June, but every time we asked a photographer to take a picture of us with my phone, we also had them take a picture with their camera and scanned a magic band. When we got home, all of the Photopass pictures were online, and we were able to select a few to download for about $15 each. We could have also bought all of them for a package price of $169 through Photopass, but we didn't really need to do this because we had most of them on my phone already. Pretty much the only thing we missed by doing it this way was the ride pictures, but you can also purchase a package in the parks that is only for ride pictures (I think it's about $50). We ended up buying one picture from each park, so we spent $60 on WDW pictures. This was the better deal for us, but I think in future trips we'll do Memory Maker simply to avoid the hassle.

 

[4disneylovers]

I am really confused about memory maker as well. I have actually gotten conflicting information from cast members about the windows of expiration of the pictures. I have also heard you can buy the back up disk still for $20 but have not seen this in writing. My concern is that if u r on a longer trip you lose quite a bit of your time til expiration. I have heard conflicting info on when the clock starts ticking. Someone said if u don't download until you get home it starts then someone else said it starts from the time the picture is taken.

 

[cw1982]

I am really confused about memory maker as well. I have actually gotten conflicting information from cast members about the windows of expiration of the pictures. I have also heard you can buy the back up disk still for $20 but have not seen this in writing. My concern is that if u r on a longer trip you lose quite a bit of your time til expiration. I have heard conflicting info on when the clock starts ticking. Someone said if u don't download until you get home it starts then someone else said it starts from the time the picture is taken.

You can buy a disk for $19.95. Wait until you get home to do this if you choose to do so to ensure that everything is on it.

How long of a trip are you taking? The clock does start the day the picture is taken, but you have 45 days from each day to download (at least you do with the photopass version... I'm not sure about Memory Maker, but it's definitely not less than 30 days).

My advice would be to go ahead and have a flash drive or CD's on hand when you get home so that you can download everything ASAP after your trip.

 

[4disneylovers]

We r going 14days so if it is the 30 day window which was one answer I got, I will have lost half of my window to add borders and stuff by the time I get home.

 

[cw1982]

We r going 14days so if it is the 30 day window which was one answer I got, I will have lost half of my window to add borders and stuff by the time I get home.

Will you have a computer or ipad with you? Many of our pictures were on the photopass website by the end of the day each day, if not pretty much immediately.

I know on photopass, you can buy an option to extend the time of how long your pictures are on the website. That might be worth looking into if you really feel the need to add borders, etc. IMO there aren't enough choices on borders and such to make it the kind of thing that would really add that much time to your downloading, and the only other option besides adding borders and characters here or there is to get black and white copies of the pictures. It's just not detailed enough that you'll need that much time to do it IMO.

 

[4disneylovers]

Thanks for the suggestion. I just hate to take time to monkey with that during the trip. We pretty much go go go and then sleep.

 

[dreamfinder]

We r going 14days so if it is the 30 day window which was one answer I got, I will have lost half of my window to add borders and stuff by the time I get home.

Quoting directly from the Photopass site here -> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/help/memory-maker/

Once you download the first photo, you have 30 days to capture more photos. Photos remain in your account for 45 days after they are taken.

So in your specific case, you would have 30 days (31 technically) after you return from your trip to do your edits. You can purchase extensions through the website to get an extra 14 days for edits. I wouldn't start doing any downloads until after you return as that starts the clock earlier than needed. Even once the photos "expire" on the website, Photopass personnel can still restore them for a little bit if you ask nicely.

 

[Rob562]

So in your specific case, you would have 30 days (31 technically) after you return from your trip to do your edits. You can purchase extensions through the website to get an extra 14 days for edits. I wouldn't start doing any downloads until after you return as that starts the clock earlier than needed. Even once the photos "expire" on the website, Photopass personnel can still restore them for a little bit if you ask nicely.

Good point. There's often some confusion because there are two separate "clocks" involved. The first is the 45-day expiration for photos, which is based on the date each individual photo was taken. So photos from the start of your trip will expire earlier than those at the end of the trip. The other clock is the 30-day countdown associated with the Memory Maker. That 30-day countdown starts with the first download of a photo. Once you start that, you have access to do what you want with any active photos on your account. If you wait a month after your trip, it's possible for some photos to start hitting their expiration dates while Memory Maker itself is still active.

-Rob

 

[4disneylovers]

Thanks. So if I understand my first possible photo taken will expire 31 days after our trip ended which is 45-14. Then as long as I don't look at anything during the trip I won't have downloaded anything. Then if I wait til the day after we get home and download everything I will have 30 days to do my thing. At that point it sounds like both of my expiration dates will coincide.

 

[4disneylovers]

Has anyone actually ordered the cd with memory maker. I just feel better when I have them make the disk. I know.... Why would u pay for something you can do? It's just my thing.

 

[dreamfinder]

Thanks. So if I understand my first possible photo taken will expire 31 days after our trip ended which is 45-14. Then as long as I don't look at anything during the trip I won't have downloaded anything. Then if I wait til the day after we get home and download everything I will have 30 days to do my thing. At that point it sounds like both of my expiration dates will coincide.

You math looks correct. Just keep in mind that I believe the current system is literal when they say 45 days. So if it was taken at 9:15 AM, then 45 days later at 9:15 AM it will go poof! I strongly suggest not waiting til the last minute just incase you cannot access the site. Ordering the day before they expire just means less stress about having to call them to restore photos.

Looking at photos/editing photos isn't the same as downloading them. By all means, look and edit away while you are there. Looking is recommended if for no other reason than knowing that you got at least 1 good picture of the family in front of the castle. (Or whatever your must have picture is) Alternately, you can stop by any of the Photopass kiosks and ask them to pull up the pictures for you to look at them. Downloading is when you say "I want to download my pictures", and there is no need to do this until you are done your edits. The main reason why people would download them in advance is if they need a pic ASAP. Happens alot during the holiday season, people get a family picture Dec 8th that they want to use to send out Christmas cards with, so they download it ASAP to make the card order. Basically the 45 day expiration is default for all Photopass photos. Even if you don't have Memory Maker, they can still take your pictures, but they only store them online for 45 days. The 30 day download limit is to prevent AP holders from just using one purchase and downloading pictures each month.

Has anyone actually ordered the cd with memory maker. I just feel better when I have them make the disk. I know.... Why would u pay for something you can do? It's just my thing.

I have done PP+ and the Archive CD numerous times, but never bought the CD through Memory Maker. There is no real need to do so. If you have a burner you will accomplish the same exact thing they charge you $20 for. When you do the download, burn it to disc, copy to a back up, upload to Shutterfly/Flikr/whatever and verify it. No need for them to do the disk. Out of the 50 or so discs I have received from Photopass, I have received 3 that were corrupted and they had to send me a new copy. So their burning process isn't perfect by any means.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

For our trip in May, I preordered the disk for $119. I don't believe it was memory maker, but rather just the photopass disk. It's what we've always done, and it worked out well again. I don't fully understand the difference between what I got and what memory maker is, other than my photos weren't available digitally to me until my disk arrived after my trip. I'm still trying to understand the differences.

 

[dreamfinder]

For our trip in May, I preordered the disk for $119. I don't believe it was memory maker, but rather just the photopass disk. It's what we've always done, and it worked out well again. I don't fully understand the difference between what I got and what memory maker is, other than my photos weren't available digitally to me until my disk arrived after my trip. I'm still trying to understand the differences.

The biggest difference is the pictures you are entitled to. Memory Maker entitles the purchaser to copies of their on-ride photos, along with whatever they end up doing with the dining pics. (I'm thinking they will just take the pic and load it right onto Photopass for people to purchase) Archive CD is just normal Photopass pictures. Characters, park icons, etc. Memory Maker is download only, the Photopass Archive CD is either download or disc (you pay extra for shipping). As they start to roll out the long range photos and the other photos that get auto loaded onto your MDE/Photopass account the difference may be more pronounced.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

The biggest difference is the pictures you are entitled to. Memory Maker entitles the purchaser to copies of their on-ride photos, along with whatever they end up doing with the dining pics. (I'm thinking they will just take the pic and load it right onto Photopass for people to purchase) Archive CD is just normal Photopass pictures. Characters, park icons, etc. Memory Maker is download only, the Photopass Archive CD is either download or disc (you pay extra for shipping). As they start to roll out the long range photos and the other photos that get auto loaded onto your MDE/Photopass account the difference may be more pronounced.

Thank you! That makes more sense now. I stuck to what I was used to. If ride photos & dining photos become a more prominent part of my trip, it would make more sense to do memory maker. We aren't going back for a while, baby #2 is on the way. So I think all the changes will be fully rolled out by the next time I'm there.

 

[4disneylovers]

I could be wrong but I had the impression that memory maker was replacing photopass+ and naturally there is a transition period where the people that already had photopass+ booked get through the system. We had photopass+ in 2012 and still got dinner and ride pics. I didn't think you could choose photopass+ when booking now.

 

[asialeigh]

I could be wrong but I had the impression that memory maker was replacing photopass+ and naturally there is a transition period where the people that already had photopass+ booked get through the system. We had photopass+ in 2012 and still got dinner and ride pics. I didn't think you could choose photopass+ when booking now.

You can't. As of December 2013, photopass+ is no longer available for purchase. But those who had bought it previous to that are still entitled to that package when they arrive at WDW.

 

[dreamfinder]

I could be wrong but I had the impression that memory maker was replacing photopass+ and naturally there is a transition period where the people that already had photopass+ booked get through the system. We had photopass+ in 2012 and still got dinner and ride pics. I didn't think you could choose photopass+ when booking now.

It did. Memory Maker is essentially PhotoPass+, the difference being that PP+ got a CD of stock photos, and got the disc sent to them for free. They still offer the Photopass Archive CD however, it's just not promoted heavily.

 

[4disneylovers]

Thank you for confirming.