Is Disney PhotoPass worth it?

[1153rsmith]

We are going to be in WDW next week and I'm wondering if folks think Photopass is a good value?

Do they usually get good pictures of the family?

They do a pre-trip special to get the photo cd for $99. Have you done this? Do they print in good quality?

Any help would be appreciated. We are traveling with 2 kids on their first trip to WDW and I want to make sure I get good pictures of the family. I figure photopass might be simpler than getting a complete stranger to take a picture for us.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

We have done the prepurchase option for Photopass the last 5 trips and never once have we been disappointed. While there are plenty of dud photos, we have tons of great ones too. We make it a point to seek out the photographers to maximize our purchase and chances of some good shots. I never print my pics at home. I upload them to Kodak's site and have them print them. Quality is always excellent. We find it a good value.

 

[Bete]

There have been similar posts and from my readings it's hard now to get pictures other than character greets, now.

There are plenty of photographers for the character meet and greet photo sessions, but the more candid shots throughout the park are considered to be way down from times past.

If you don't get enough pictures done then I can't see it being worth it anymore.

Also, the caliber of photographer is supposedly way down from the past. This is especially noticable with night shots.

You may be better off paying full price for the CD later and seeing how it goes before jumping in, right now. I think this is what I'm going to do this year.

If you don't get enough pictures or their bad pictures then you can buy individual pictures only as an option to getting the CD.

I have had wonderful experiences with the photo sessions at the deluxe resorts where it's individualized just for your family. It's a private session at the resort. These sessions are more expensive, but well worth it.

 

[nj2vagrl]

I was concerned hearing much mixed reviews before our July trip, but since it was our first trip we wanted it all. I prepurchased and am so happy I did. We had many great shots, found photogs very easy to find with no wait time. The only time we waited for minute or two was with the photogs throughout the parks that were with the characters. We were very lucky then too because as I said we only waited a minute or two for our turn. We found the prepurchase well worth it, then uploaded them to Kodak also.

 

[WriteDisney]

We have done the prepurchase option for Photopass the last 5 trips and never once have we been disappointed. While there are plenty of dud photos, we have tons of great ones too. We make it a point to seek out the photographers to maximize our purchase and chances of some good shots. I never print my pics at home. I upload them to Kodak's site and have them print them. Quality is always excellent. We find it a good value.

I agree with this :

Plus, if you pre-order, go on your trip, come back to check out your pics and don't think they are worth it, you can get a full refund.

That's what we're planning on doing. That way if we thought that photopass people were in short supply, or we don't like our pics we can just get a refund. But if we do like them its cheaper then paying when you get back.

We've got the CD twice before, last year through a pre-order, and were happy with it both times.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

If for some reason your not happy with your photos when you view them online (either the quality or quantity) then you can get a full refund for your prepurchase cost as long as you do not redeem your code to have the cd sent to you.

I will count myself lucky in that I had wonderful experiences the last three trips this year. We don't do character meet & greets, only candids with the errant park photographers. We had plenty of photos each time and never an issue with our night shots. Perhaps it also depends on when you go. We have gone during F&W, Christmas & Easter...all times with bigger crowds so maybe there were more photographers? I don't know, but we had no complaints.

 

[MyMuse]

I've done Photopass on both my trips (a share, which DIS no longer allows ) and have gotten both great shots and lousy shots.

However, where else can they add cartoon characters and very cool borders? It's a great memory and that's what it is all about. Make sure to stop as much as you can since it evens the odds a bit more on great shots. As for the night shots, as long as the photog has a camera set up on a tripod, you should be ok.

I found photographers around, but they are stationed in the high traffic areas and not always first thing in the morning. My experience has been that they were pretty cool people.

I've had family members ask for just the Photopass photos as a gift.

This is the first trip that I will be paying full pre-order price. I considered not doing Photopass, but I thought about it and those photos are just the best with the cartoon and the borders, that I changed my mind and I'll pre-order. I'm going to meet up with a few people, so maybe I'll share with them.

Definitely looking forward to it!

 

[1153rsmith]

I like the fact that you can get a refund if you don't like what you see. My main goal is to get photos of the whole family.... which is usually where we lack on vacation. I'm usually the one with the camera and I hate to keep asking folks to take a picture for us.. And, let's face it, I usually end up picking the person who doesn't know how to frame a shot, no matter what.

 

[2specialkids]

I'd like to find out more about this too. Where do I look for prices and such? This is my son's Make-A-Wish trip and I want TONS of pictures. I took the kids 4 yrs ago but only bought 1 picture and didn't have any done by the photogs running around the park. (It was a crazy trip)
How can I make sure I get a lot of pics? Are there certain places that tend to generally have photographers?

 

[Bete]

I agree with this :

Plus, if you pre-order, go on your trip, come back to check out your pics and don't think they are worth it, you can get a full refund.

That's what we're planning on doing. That way if we thought that photopass people were in short supply, or we don't like our pics we can just get a refund. But if we do like them its cheaper then paying when you get back.

We've got the CD twice before, last year through a pre-order, and were happy with it both times.

Maybe, with that guarantee it would be okay to pre-order.

 

[1153rsmith]

I'd like to find out more about this too. Where do I look for prices and such? This is my son's Make-A-Wish trip and I want TONS of pictures. I took the kids 4 yrs ago but only bought 1 picture and didn't have any done by the photogs running around the park. (It was a crazy trip)
How can I make sure I get a lot of pics? Are there certain places that tend to generally have photographers?

I found the information about the product and the discounted cd ($99.95) at wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/digital-photos.htm

And the main website is disneyphotopass.com/photoalbum.aspx

(I haven't posted enough on this site yet to post these as links... you just need to add the www before it and it will popup.

 

[ses1230]

I'd like to find out more about this too. Where do I look for prices and such? This is my son's Make-A-Wish trip and I want TONS of pictures. I took the kids 4 yrs ago but only bought 1 picture and didn't have any done by the photogs running around the park. (It was a crazy trip)
How can I make sure I get a lot of pics? Are there certain places that tend to generally have photographers?

Here is a very good guide to Photopass: www.stitchkingdom.com/disneysphotopass

We did the CD last year and ended up with around 300 photos, after editing and adding borders. We also did a lot of the magic shots as described in the link above, and also made a note of where the photographers usually are.

Hve a great trip!

ETA: here is a link to preorder at the discounted price: http://www.disneyphotopass.com/previsitcdplan.aspx

 

[shoes99]

Do you know if DCL has photopass on the Wonder yet. I'm doing a land/sea and it would only be worth if for us if I can combine the land pics with the sea pics and pre-purchase the CD.

 

[f15robyn]

We also did a lot of the magic shots as described in the link above, and also made a note of where the photographers usually are.

I must be having a rough day (or my IE 7.0 on my work computer isn't showing the site well), but I can't seem to find the info on the magic shots when I follow the link. Help?

 

[ses1230]

I must be having a rough day (or my IE 7.0 on my work computer isn't showing the site well), but I can't seem to find the info on the magic shots when I follow the link. Help?

Robyn,

Scroll down a little bit - it's almost in the middle of the page - the heading is "Disney's PhotoPass Magic Shots"

The first example is Tink in a little girl's hand.

 

[f15robyn]

Robyn,

Scroll down a little bit - it's almost in the middle of the page - the heading is "Disney's PhotoPass Magic Shots"

The first example is Tink in a little girl's hand.

Thanks Ses1230. It turns out the problem was my browser. Work wont support anything after IE 6.0, so that's what's on my computer. When the page loads, there is no scrolling down. It simply stops after the "Latest 5 discussions" section.

Logged onto my home computer (IE 8.0), and suddenly there's the rest of the page

Thanks.

 

[1153rsmith]

Those pictures are really cute. I want to get one of my daughter with wings on her back.

 

[scarlet_ibis]

I just want to thank you for posting the discount link! Ordering last minute here and couldn't find the deal on the regular photopass site. You saved us $50! Yay!

OK, off to load the car!

 

[1153rsmith]

I think we are going to try it, and may even try a private session. It has been a long time since we had a family portrait done. And, if the prices I found are correct for a private session, they are not too bad.

We leave Monday Morning...... I can't wait.

 

[1153rsmith]

OK, I had to do this...... this is my 10th post, so now do I get something free?