Ok so we used this last Christmas and it was one of the best purchases we made!
I will try and answer your questions below:
There is 14 of us:
Me, my husband and our kids
My brother, SIL and their child
My parents!
So how does it work?
Do we buy one per family or can we share?
In my Disney experience link all of your party to your account, if they are not linked send them an invitation and they will show up as part of your group, you can book fast-passes for all of you together this way too.
When you purchase memory maker it links to your account and so anyone in your group on your account will be able to use the one memory maker.
While in the parks you see many photo pass photographers and just ask them to take your picture and they scan your magic band and it automatically syncs to to your account.
If we split and go to different parks can only one use it?
No, anyone linked can go to a photopass photographer at any location and have their picture taken, once their band/card is scanned it will sync to your account.
Here is an example, If I was on Main St at Magic Kingdom having pictures taken and my mum was in Epcot doing the same thing it would all sync when our bands were scanned as our accounts are linked.
All of our disney dining and bookings are linked in magic app so how does that work with memory maker?
Memory maker will also be linked and you can see all of your photos when you log on, sometimes this may take 24 hours at peak times.
And what about bands? I keep seeing it say I can upgrade to bands but what's the benefit in this??
Do I lose anything by not having it?
I stayed partly off site and used the photopass card at first and then when I was onsite I used a magic band both were linked to my account. I personally found the band easier and also if there is a big group of you it would probably be useful to have multiple devices. The magic bands automatically sync ride photos without you having to do anything and the ease of having a band is just simpler than having to produce a card each time. However I can understand that not wanting to purchase mulitple bands may be an issue cost wise. I think you need to consider how many people are likely to split up and how many are going to stay together as to how many bands you would need as if you had one band and wanted multiple photos it could get complicated. If you want to use the photopass card only one of you could use this, but photographers can hand other members of your groups (if you did split up) a paper card to link the pictures to your account but if you are not tech savvy and this happens a lot again this could be complicated. If you do this I would go to the photopass viewing offices a couple of times within your stay and you can view pictures and they can help you sync them if you have multiple cards and ensure all the pictures are there. I would suggest visiting the viewing station at least once in your trip anyway to make sure your pictures and magic shots are all there anyway.
And can we buy one band and still have the memory maker card so of we split up we have two options for pictures?
Yes, more detail above
Please can someone explain in simple terms?
My head is spinning
I am not sure how simple that is but have a look and if you want me to explain further I can!
A few tips:
Always ask for magic shots
There are more photographers around in the morning and evening as opposed to afternoons
sometimes a photographer will have a line at the most popular spots (main st etc) but there are always a few photographers around so if you walk to the next one or two normally there is much less of a line (I went at a peak time and never had to wait more than 5 minutes)
The photographers are great and I found saying hello and asking if they would mind taking my picture got me some great shots (rather than some people who seemed to just hand over a card and stand in front of them!)
Any questions, please ask!
