News PhotoPass at some character locations being replaced by automated cameras

[DznyGrlSD]

Nobody complains about the automated photos they get from the ride cameras...

I hate on-ride photos when they're completely unnecessary. Exhibit A:

 

[Notes from Neverland]

I'm all for advancing technology, but this is a terrible decision. It's one area where having a real person makes a major difference in terms of quality.

 

[peter11435]

Most of them are college program I believe.

Nobody at WDW makes only $8.00

 

[geekza]

I hate on-ride photos when they're completely unnecessary. Exhibit A: View attachment 326306

I love the lady in the front who is obviously saying, "Why?!?" The one girl needs to have her phone "accidentally" smacked into the water and the bored kids need to give their park tickets to someone who would actually appreciate them. lol

 

[DisAl]

Have not bought photo pass for our upcoming trip in March. Probably will not now....

 

[larryz]

I agree with the consensus: what a load of crap. The absolute best Photopass shots are the ones where the photographer college kid with a camera sees a moment before the guests even know it's happening.

Happy?

That said, we've only used photopass when it was included with APs. We have no use for it otherwise.

 

[Rteetz]

runDisney has occasionally experimented with not having PhotoPass at some character stops, and having the character attendants insist that you can't hand them your camera/phone. It inevitably ends up in a flustercluck of people handing their device off to the person behind the in the queue, and repeating that process down the line. It significantly slows the process down, thus reducing capacity, as everybody fumbles with their devices and stops to check the pictures, rather than a simple click-and-go.

If (when) a similar trend pops up at the in-park photo ops, perhaps they'll rethink this decision. Meet & greets are atrociously low capacity for the staffing required, and having live photographers significantly speeds things up, even if it is another person on the payroll. Plus, I always heard that PhotoPass CMs were easy additions, as they are seen as a method of monetizing a location; nobody is going to pay extra for a garbage photo from a glorified photo booth camera

I’ve done numerous runDisney events and just came back from one. They still have the character attendants taking peoples phones even if there is a photopass person. It’s works most efficiently when there are two attendants and they switch taking peoples phones.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Will character attendants still be around to take pictures on your personal device?

 

[DznyGrlSD]

I love the lady in the front who is obviously saying, "Why?!?"

That's me

 

[drizgirl]

Is that confirmed? I would think a majority of guests at a M&G want the picture to remember the moment. Seems it would be a no brainer to have a human step in and take photos.

Some M/Gs at DLR discontinued Photopass completely earlier this year. So nobody there as a backup would not shock me.

 

[wdwmagic]

Is that confirmed? I would think a majority of guests at a M&G want the picture to remember the moment. Seems it would be a no brainer to have a human step in and take photos.

As far as I know, the plan iOS to remove the PhotoPass photographers from those locations. So in the event of a failure of the automated system, there wont be anyone else there available to step in. Of course, if it were an extended outage of days or weeks, I'm sure something would be done. But the more likely scenario is the automated system would be brought back on line before that was needed.

 

[jt04]

Shouldn't Kevin Yee be on this?

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

Nobody complains about the automated photos they get from the ride cameras...

Thats comparing granny smiths to golden wonders ...

 

[FigmentFreak]

How about Disney just installs a permanent "selfy stick/phone mount" and you put your phone on it and click the button and there you go. No handing the character attendant your phone and no need to install cameras. Have suggested poses in MDE including "magic shots" that you just add the magic to yourself in the app when you look at the photo, like adding the borders or character signatures.

You're welcome Disney.

 

[larryz]

How about Disney just installs a permanent "selfy stick/phone mount" and you put your phone on it and click the button and there you go. No handing the character attendant your phone and no need to install cameras. Have suggested poses in MDE including "magic shots" that you just add the magic to yourself in the app when you look at the photo, like adding the borders or character signatures.

You're welcome Disney.

That's where WDW is going -- self-service magic.

 

[rjstanis]

We buy the Memory Maker every year we go. If this stays, we will never buy it again. The automated photos at Universal or any other place are always terrible. Finding more reasons not to go to Disney rather than continuing to go back.

 

[jt04]

That's where WDW is going -- self-service magic.

Searched but no Kevin Yee. Anyone know what happened to him?

 

[wdwmagic]

Will character attendants still be around to take pictures on your personal device?

Attendants will still have to be around to coordinate the guests, and I would imagine with this change they will be taking a lot more pictures.

 

[larryz]

Thats comparing granny smiths to golden wonders ...

Nobody at Six Flags worries about guest photo quality, either.

 

[larryz]

Attendants will still have to be around to coordinate the guests, and I would imagine with this change they will be taking a lot more pictures.

They'll certainly be asked to... whether or not they oblige will depend on any instructions they're given about balancing character CM safety with guest satisfaction. I wonder which will be given the higher priority...