photopass

alac1980

New Member
Original Poster
i haven't quite figured out how it works...but is photopass worth the money for a family with two children? lugging around camera equipment of our own doesn't seem too practical (we don't have a regular point and shoot camera, only a big bulky dslr...i wouldn't know what to do with this while we went on rides...there is no way in heck i'd leave it just hanging around somewhere). but photopass is incredibly expensive. at the same time, i would love to have family memories in the form of photos so the children are reminded of their trip every time they look at them.

what is your opinion?
 

Betsyboo

Well-Known Member
We use it every trip. Yes, it's expensive and yes sometimes the photos aren't the best, but you get everyone in the picture. They capture moments you aren't even aware of at the time. Photopass is great for character meet and greets too. For us it's been worth it for the moments captured. If you buy it at least 14 days prior to your trip you can save $50 (I think that's right). A couple of years ago I bought the package with the photobook but after our trip I decided against it and they refunded that portion of the package and I just received the photo cd.
 

Mukta

Well-Known Member
I like photopass for longer trips. It makes the money more palatable if I get lots of pictures in front of rides, with characters, with WDW scenery etc. If I buy the CD ahead of time, I make it a point in my trip to stop at several photographers a day.

When I get home, I love playing with the borders and editing the pics. My avatar is a photopass pic.

For a family, I think it would be nice to get a lot of group shots with all of you.
 

LSU_Tigger

Member
Also very important!!!!! Use your smart phone and take a pic of the back of the photopass so if you lose or misplace the card you can go to a photopass kiosk and show the pic from your phone and 5 seconds later. You will have all your photos and with a new card. Just remember to take a pic of the new card. The reason I'm telling you is a long story but anyway I was fortunate to get my photos because of my quick response to the kiosk and a very patient CM. Which then the CM told me of this little helpful secret.
 

Belle2013

Member
I always thought Photopass was worth the money. Between the magic shots and now being able to load ride/restaurant photos on PP it is a great deal IMO. The photographers have been able to snap candid shots that I would never have been able to catch. But that is just my two cents on it :happy:
 

brifraz

Marching along...
Premium Member
We have always felt is was worth the $$. Order it in advance so you can save a bit of money. Pretty easy to find via a web search.

The more characters you are meeting, the better. We also make a point to stop at just about every photographer that we go past. Why not, we've already paid for the CD! We've gotten quite a few really good photos that way.
 

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
Also very important!!!!! Use your smart phone and take a pic of the back of the photopass so if you lose or misplace the card you can go to a photopass kiosk and show the pic from your phone and 5 seconds later. You will have all your photos and with a new card. Just remember to take a pic of the new card. The reason I'm telling you is a long story but anyway I was fortunate to get my photos because of my quick response to the kiosk and a very patient CM. Which then the CM told me of this little helpful secret.

I just wanted to quote this to make sure that it was seen by everyone. This is SUPER important. As long as you have your Photopass code on the back of your card, you'll be able to get those pictures back.
I lost my (prepaid) Photopass+ card on our recent trip, and while I very luckily got it back about 30 minutes later (a guest returned it to a CM who actually been helping me look for it!), I would have been safe since I had that picture of the code on the back of the card. The CM also wanted me to use that picture to verify it was my card before she handed it back to me. It's a very important step if you have pictures on your Photopass card that you'd be upset if you lost.
I always find the Photopass a value for us, but we love any and all pictures of the family trips. Our recent trip ended up with 260+ pictures on our photopass card.
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
I always thought Photopass was worth the money. Between the magic shots and now being able to load ride/restaurant photos on PP it is a great deal IMO. The photographers have been able to snap candid shots that I would never have been able to catch. But that is just my two cents on it :happy:

Can you link ride photos to a regular photopass you receive from a photographer, or only a a card with the prepaid package?
 

Bairstow

Well-Known Member
Personally, I find Photopass a colossal ripoff considering that for the price of the package you could buy two really decent point-and-shoots with HD video capability or about 8 used Canon A500s.

If you're taking kids to Disney I would highly, highly recommend spending the money you would use for Photopass and getting a mid-range point-and-shoot that also shoots HD video. Buy the biggest memory card you can get for it and a couple extra batteries from Wasabi Power. Amazon will have what you need.

I'm not a camera expert, but I've owned enough point-and-shoots to know that there are dozens of great cameras on the market that do a good job at both photos and video that will fit quickly and easily into a man's pants pocket and with the accessories I mentioned, cost less than the pass would.

However, on our last trip I relied entirely on my smartphone camera. We didn't have any kids with us but we shot a lot of HD video and a couple hundred high-res photos. I had to keep an eye on my battery life, but the results were terrific and the convenience was superb.
 

seafoodbuffet

Active Member
For me, photopass isn't a guarantee of memorable pictures, it's a guarantee that you'll be in the right place, people will (if possible) make way, and some guarantee that you won't get terrible pictures.

I love photographing around WDW and in my experience, photopass generally has a higher percentage of "keepers" simply because they are in the right place, have framed that same shot thousands of times, etc. However, most of my "wow" pictures were ones I shot myself (even for instances where there was a photopass photog there). Photopass pictures are almost always well-lit with very deep depth of field. That doesn't tend to produce the most dramatic pictures all the time.
 

Betsyboo

Well-Known Member
I've bought the PP product three times and will be purchasing MM for my February trip. Yes, you can take great pictures with your own camera, BUT if you want to have great shots in front of iconic Disney with EVERYONE in the photo then PP/MM is the way to go. If you don't want to spend the money don't. Same as DDP. Some people like it and some don't. For me (my family) it works. There have been bad pictures, a couple of missing pictures but all in all I love it.
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
We've always just taken our own camera. If we want a picture with everyone in it, we simply hand it to a cast member or a Photopass photographer and ask them to take a picture of the family! No big deal. (I think most people are unaware that the Photopass people will gladly take pics of you with your own camera if you ask.) Then again, we're also not interested in the ride photos or the "magic shots" (pictures of your family with Disney characters photoshopped in), so we don't feel we're losing anything by foregoing the Photopass/MemoryMaker package.
 

Gt2BtheGoodLife

Active Member
Just to help clarify, Photopass is simply the name of the service. The service is free with no obligation to purchase. Of course if you do decide to purchase either on site or online, then you pay for the photos at that time, but at no other time is there obligation to purchase!
 
I used MM (memory maker) service on my December trip. I got some GREAT photos out of it and to me it was very much worth it. I brought my cheap point and shoot and got candids, scenery and food shots. But I really wanted some posed "iconic" photos. I went to multiple photographers multiple times and utilized it extensively. The photographers will take many photos in many configurations. I have pictures of my entire family together and each one individually in some. Also, I try to be very accommodating to those around me if there is a long line for the Photopass photographer I will loop back and get in line again if I want additional shots. I ended up with over 400 photos on that trip, and in May when it is just DH and I going I expect almost as many.
 

TheBeastMom

New Member
I own the same Nikon the Photopass people use....

I have PAID for the old PP Disc and then found I only had about 25 photos (because we could never find a photographer were we wanted one). I let the credit sit on my account. The photographer also used my camera to shoots photos so I got my shots.

3/14 when we arrived I sought getting my 'credit' for my 2013 disc. I didn't consider it worth the $14.99 for the Himalaya photo....I could kick myself for wasting the money.

The stopped having the photographer at the TTDessert party so that was one less place for a photo.

We did get our photos this year only because we ate at BOG and they photographed Beast so well. I cannot justify the cost next year.... it's just too much.
 

Maggie Mae

Active Member
I get the pass each trip and if I can get one picture for every dollar spent I am happy! But this time when I go I will have the memory maker... but same goes for that - 1 pic per dollar makes it worth it for me :geek:
 

TheBeastMom

New Member
in 7 straight days the most we have spent time waiting for is 100 original photos, if Disney monitors these sites...that is not acceptable for my money.
 

BigTxEars

Well-Known Member
We are big fans, and bought it again for our next trip in 20 days. We have some great pictures from a trip in 2011 that include Disney characters added in by them in the process, Tinkerbell, ghosts from HM etc. The CM will kinda tell you what to do in the picture "OK so look to the left and point with a scared look on your face" and you do so. It's kinda silly to do it but then you get the picture and there are ghost added in by Disney :)

And we love having everyone in the pictures :)
 

erasure fan1

Well-Known Member
I find that purchasing the photopass CD/digital download a pretty big waste of money except in one situation. If you have a group going, its not too bad splitting the cost 3 ways. Otherwise we use it, and then buy the 2 or so pictures that are actually good, a la carte. There just are not enough pros to overcome the cons in my opinion. We also never have a problem getting family pictures because we just hand the camera to the photopass person and they take the picture.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom