A Memory Maker Review

[DizDaD7]

Love memory maker... had over 900 pics from March... love the new ride videos...
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I didn't even know they did this w/ the videos & stuff. This just cemented the deal for this upcoming, Family/friends trip for sure...We've done PP in the past 2 or 3 times, but nothing like this..Thanks for the info..

 

[travelfearlessly]

Question, for Belle and other rides do you need to show the CM your Magic band like you did when you had a card for him to scan or is it all electronic and the ride can read your band and add the pic to your photos automatically (Same with belle)??

We did Belle in 2013 when it was still called Photopass+ so things MIGHT have changed but for us EVERYBODY got a Photopass card at the end of the show and then I used the code on the back to upload those photos to my account. So those without the Memory Maker still got the card but would have had to pay for the individual pictures. I'm not sure if they still hand out the cards or maybe they're scanning Magic Bands now but everyone gets access to the photos. With that said, if your kid volunteers to be in the show then everyone in that room is going to have access to photos taken of your kid (if you're concerned about privacy or anything like that)

 

[KEPE]

Thanks!

 

[lauraleh]

Thanks for your review! It was definitely helpful. I am leaning towards getting it for our next trip because we do tons of m&g's.

My main concern in the lighting in places like Princess Fairytale Hall (Cinderella, Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa) or where Daisy, Minnie, Goofy and Donald meet in MK. Our pictures from last year weren't good at all there. The lighting was terrible. That was with our cell phone camera though. I was hoping that the photographer's camera would be set to the proper settings to take great pictures in there.

 

[madelyn]

Just back and my daughter was in the Enchanted Tales w/ Belle and they still had out the cards that have the code that requires you to claim the photos manually and you still get ALL the photos. We have close to 700 photos (includes stock photos) from 4 days in the park with our party of 8 and an extra day with just 6 of us. My teenage son went off on his own and he had fun meeting characters and it was a great way for him to get photos. Also loved the ride photos and videos. We typically have been happy with the results but were used to the $99 pre-purchase price, then the $129 one so this new price was hard to get used to. But at least it includes the ride photos and videos. We never bought those but since many of the rides were first rides for my daughter, they will make great memories!

 

[IrishNYC]

Quite a few of the bad photos in the review look like they were taken at the same time as another camera's flash going off. The shadows indicate a flash source that doesn't correspond with the camera taking the photo we see.

 

[prudence64]

My family of three didn't get enough out of it either. Would still get photos taken but then choose just a few a la carte. None of our ride photos came out very well.

 

[travelfearlessly]

Quite a few of the bad photos in the review look like they were taken at the same time as another camera's flash going off. The shadows indicate a flash source that doesn't correspond with the camera taking the photo we see.

We weren't taking pictures at the same time and when we were we weren't using a flash. For indoor meet and greets there's a large spotlight for each character so if they're interacting outside that light source then the pictures will look dark, or shadowy like you said. The photographers don't use flash at all in their pictures. It's easier to get older kids to get over in the light for photo opportunities but more difficult for the younger ones to listen

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

$179 price tag is really something. I used PhotoPass CD, PhotoPass+ and MM on my prior trips and love them. Especially last summer, I love the addition of the ride videos and animated photos. I booked my trip last August with Bounce Back but didn't add MM. Just imagine how mad I was at myself when the price went up in December. I finally gave in last month. I normally do a Picture People CD/Framed Photos with Groupon Package for our annual family portraits (about $150), so I reason that I will skip that and spend the money for MM. Well, whatever make me feel better. LOL

If you order the CD when you do the MM downloads, you do get a stock Disney gallery CD. I was so fed up with all the folders with the download. Instead of in order of each original photo then the edited visions, the files were kind of disorganized: a bunch of originals followed by the edited photos. I thought I could have files in the way it was, but no...just as the way of the downloads without the folders. Not gonna order that again

 

[meggiemouse]

Can you purchase the ride photos on their own without having the memory maker? How much are they per photo?

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

Can you purchase the ride photos on their own without having the memory maker? How much are they per photo?

Yes you can. I'm not sure how much it cost. My guess would be $15-20 like other theme parks.

 

[travelfearlessly]

Can you purchase the ride photos on their own without having the memory maker? How much are they per photo?

One photo download is $14.95. I'm not sure how much the video for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train is, we haven't ridden it yet.

If you order the CD when you do the MM downloads, you do get a stock Disney gallery CD. I was so fed up with all the folders with the download. Instead of in order of each original photo then the edited visions, the files were kind of disorganized: a bunch of originals followed by the edited photos. I thought I could have files in the way it was, but no...just as the way of the downloads without the folders. Not gonna order that again

You can order the CD of your photos but that's an extra $29.95 on top of the $169 you already paid for the Memory Maker. And a copy of the stock Disney gallery CD is exactly the same price so you're really just paying for the stock photos and getting a copy of your pictures for free (which you can do yourself at home). It's a big bummer that they used to offer those stock photo CD's in the beginning along with a CD of your photos, at a much cheaper price Now the prices keep creeping up AND they axed the CD mailings. Doing that along with increasing ticket prices every year kinda puts a sour taste in my mouth. That's why we won't invest in the Memory Maker again unless it's a really special occasion.

 

[Mikie]

Question, for Belle and other rides do you need to show the CM your Magic band like you did when you had a card for him to scan or is it all electronic and the ride can read your band and add the pic to your photos automatically (Same with belle)??

Just wanted to add my favorite MM tip if you do decide to get it. As the OP answered, when you do Belle, Jedi training, or Pirates League, you'll get a card with all the pictures of the event, including tons of your own kid AND everyone else who participated as well.

You CAN enter the code from the photopass card on line to your MM account yourself to upload the photos. But I highly recommend going to a photopass store (one in each park near the entrances, at least one in downtown disney) because they can use the card and look at a screen to quickly help you upload only the photos of your own people off the card. When you upload yourself, you don't have this option, only the option to delete one at a time (a very tedious process). The website is slow and cumbersome to scroll through and do edits when you have all those extra pictures of strangers clogging it up!

 

[travelfearlessly]

I also got a few photos on the Buzz Lightyear that didn't belong to me. I wonder if they Photopass store could have culled those out too? But that was only 3 or 4, not as much as you get with Belle. If my daughter gets older and wants to do all the Belle, Jedi Training, Pirates League stuff then the MM would probably be worth it. Not sure I would let her do BBB lol

 

[AlohaAnnie]

We have always enjoyed the Photopass and Memory Maker. We have received great photos.

 

[travelfearlessly]

We've received great photos too which is why we bought it 3 times but you can't argue that you're getting less product now than 2 or 3 years ago and at a more expensive price. 2 years ago I would have said "Yes, get the Memory Maker every time". Now that the price has gone up, you get no hardcopy CD of your photos or stock photos I'm saying "Maybe get the Memory Maker, depending on the type of vacation you're going on". We go almost every year and only visit a couple parks. With a toddler who hasn't done Jedi Training or the BBB we don't get nearly as many photos as a family of 4 with 2 older kids who do all that stuff.

What would DEFINITELY make it worth it for me is if they added Photopass photographers to the character dining because we do a lot of that. Or if they had Photopass photographers at the resorts, even if it's just during little events like the marshmallow roasting or afternoon pool party. We only ever saw Photopass photographers at the resorts during the holidays.

 

[sunshine0206]

How does memory share work between likeep 2 different peoples accounts?

 

[travelfearlessly]

How does memory share work between likeep 2 different peoples accounts?

Only one person can "own" the Memory Maker and have it attached to their account. If you have extended family going then you can link your accounts through My Disney Experience as Family and Friends so that you can see each other's pictures but only the one whose account is linked to the Memory Maker can download the pictures. Does that answer your question?

 

[Lizzim]

One photo download is $14.95. I'm not sure how much the video for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train is, we haven't ridden it yet.

On our last trip you could only get the mine train video (and the Tower of Terror one) if you had the memory maker package, they were not available separately.

 

[sunshine0206]

Only one person can "own" the Memory Maker and have it attached to their account. If you have extended family going then you can link your accounts through My Disney Experience as Family and Friends so that you can see each other's pictures but only the one whose account is linked to the Memory Maker can download the pictures. Does that answer your question?

Yes, we both have our accounts linked. We are trying to figure out now if you can buy disks, or only download them. How many disks you can buy if you can, and how much they cost. And does it cost to download?