Advance purchase $149, worth it?

[lifesgr8]

Do you feel the advance purchase of the $149 memory maker is worth the cost?

We do Disney quite a bit and I have only purchased a photo they took a handful of times. We do most of our photos via iphones.

My kids dont care for meeting the characters and we rarely pose for a Disney photo op.

The reason I ask is because the last time we went......I did end up with a couple photos that I would have liked to have but, the total ended up being $80. I did not know then about the advance purchase.

Are there coupons out there for advance purchase? Do you find its worth it, or does it make you look for photo ops which take out time in your day?

 

[kittyab]

We did it, and we were very glad that we did. But we are into character dinners, meeting characters, magic shots etc.

 

[dizzyinwdw]

We are doing it this time. I am excited it includes ride pictures since I tend to buy those. And I like to get ones of the whole family in front of the castle, etc in each park. We think it is a good value for us. Plus I was told that we only need to buy one for our group of two families going, so we are splitting the cost--$75 per family. Hopefully it will work out

 

[FamilyGuy]

We paid $199.00 for it as we were not aware of the option to purchase pre-visit.

We were not feverishly attempting to get as many pics as we could. Perhaps just a few more than we usually take on an average visit to WDW. The magic bands made it easy to keep everyones pics linked.

We ended up with a couple hundred pics or various party members.

I think it was worth it and will likely pre-purchase in advance on future visits.

 

[#1DopeyFan]

The ride pictures are what won me over...with 2 teenagers, a preteen and an 8yo this last trip, they had MANY hilarious ride photos.

 

[Flamingomo]

I love adding the fun borders to the photos like you can with Photopass and nowhere on the info that I have found for MM does it say this service is available. Does anyone know if this is possible with this?

I also heard that the Photopass+ comes with the ride photos and you can add the borders. Is that gone and replaced with Memory Maker?

Thanks!

 

[siskaren]

If your kids aren't interested in meeting characters and you rarely get in line for the PhotoPass photographers in other spots, I would say no, it's not worth it because you would have to get 10 photos just to break even.

 

[#1DopeyFan]

I also heard that the Photopass+ comes with the ride photos and you can add the borders. Is that gone and replaced with Memory Maker?

Ride photos are still included...but it doesn't say whether or not the borders are still available. I would imagine they are, but can't say for sure.

 

[siskaren]

I love adding the fun borders to the photos like you can with Photopass and nowhere on the info that I have found for MM does it say this service is available. Does anyone know if this is possible with this?

I also heard that the Photopass+ comes with the ride photos and you can add the borders. Is that gone and replaced with Memory Maker?

Thanks!

Memory Maker has replaced PP+ and while I haven't been able to find anything on the website that specifically mentions the borders, I would have a hard time believing they got rid of them. Memory Maker does definitely include the ride and dining photos like PhotoPass +; really the only difference I've been able to find is that it's a strictly digital product, while PP+ allowed you to get your pictures on a CD.

 

[HookdonWDW]

Ride photos are still included...but it doesn't say whether or not the borders are still available. I would imagine they are, but can't say for sure.

Borders and stickers are both still available. Between ride photos and being able to have all of us together and pictures it was worth it.

 

[Canooknic]

It's worth every penny to me just because it means I'm in photos! I am ALWAYS the one behind the camera so just for a few days I get some proof that I am part of our family!!

After this next trip it will be a few years before we go back and our boys will be older so I'm not sure I'll get it then but as long as they want photos with characters I will pay whatever I need to!!!

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

We did fast pass plus in December for the first time (now the memory maker but we got the stock cd). This was my MIL's idea, not mine. We were on a mission to get as many photos as possible to really make the cost "worth it". We did not do any character dining or stand in those awfully long lines to take character photos so we were limited to ride photos and regular photos in front of Christmas trees, the Castle, etc. The end result? 130 photos that are all fairly blah. If I had to go through and see which ones we would actually purchase it would maybe be 5 of them. If I had kids I would probably do it again but when it's just us adults, I'll settle for a few good ones and pay individually. Seems like the quality of the photos really depends on the photographer. Some are better than others and some actually take the time to pose you and add in a magic shot. One photographer was telling the couple in front of us to pose certain ways, kiss, etc. Then we walked up and he snapped the camera before I was even ready.

Not sure if you knew, but photo pass photographers will take a photo with your camera or phone. If you simply want the photos where everyone can be in it, just ask the photographer.

 

[shadeauxe]

Like a previous poster said, each picture runs $13+, so whether it's worth it depends on if you would get enough photos to break even over buying them individually.

 

[wiigirl]

We did it, and we were very glad that we did. But we are into character dinners, meeting characters, magic shots etc.

 

[Moonwolf]

I wish I had gotten it for my last trip (It would have been PP+ but it's pretty much the same).

We didn't do many characters but we found short (5 mins or so) lines for Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Aladdin and Jasmin. We also meet the Beast at BoG. And while I did have my personal camera I looked at the PP pictures and wished I could have gotten high quality copies of those photos.

I would have also used it on getting pictures with each park's main icon. I went with a friend who wasn't all the big on picture taking and I didn't want to keep shoving my camera at her to take my picture, so I ended up with a bunch of really close selfie shots. If I had PP I wouldn't have had that reservation asking a PP photographer (I know they would have taken a photo with my personal camera but I didn't want ask since they are there primarily for PP and felt like they should be available for that if someone with PP wanted them).

I also never normally buy ride photos since they are normally very expensive. But there was one or two I would have liked and could have gotten with PP.

And last I would have loved to be able to take some magic shots. The ones I've seen around are very cute.

On my next trip with my brother and cousins and I'm definitely planning on getting it. If I don't someone will always be left out and we'll miss out on the things like ride photos and any extras. The different types of photos you can get and the ability to have everyone in your party in the photo makes it worth it.

 

[loislane]

We did the advanced purchase for one trip and while it was nice, we don't know that it was worth the cost even at the advanced discount rate.

For this past trip, we just purchased the attractions package so we got all our ride photos - TONS of them. We really liked that option because there are always so many funny ones.

For the rest, we just took our own pics or occasionally handed off a camera to someone nice to get a group shot with everyone in it.

 

[bastos]

We've done one for the past two trips - and the thing I like the most is including everyone in pictures - no problem.

This time, just the two of us - so finding a photographer - guaranteed.

Plus, my wife loves pictures.

 

[KelleyK75]

I think it depends on the amount of pictures you think you might buy and if it's a better cost to buy individual or the advance Memory Maker. For us, I have a 6 & 4 year nephew, so we are definitely doing it. We did it last time when they were 3 & 1 and it was definitely worth the money. Especially with the borders, etc. And they did say it includes ride photos, so that is nice also. But if you aren't going to get a lot of character or ride pictures, it might not be worth the money.

 

[Flamingomo]

Are they just downloaded to the Photopass site or to your computer? I love the CD and we have a couple from past trips. I just want to make sure I can access them whenever I want to without worrying about them expiring. I will put them on a CD of my own as long as I can put them all on my computer after I am done with borders.

Also, is quality lost at all if they are downloaded as opposed to a CD? I need to call to ask about the borders. Anyone know what character breakfasts have this available and which rides? And the regular photopass doesn't include the ride photos except for a couple like Test Track like last time?

 

[NYC Newlywed]

For what it's worth, my husband and I bought PP+ for our first anniversary trip last May and really enjoyed it. It was during Star Wars weekends and we got some great photos there; plus, some photographers took a ton of different photos and magic shots once they realized we had it. And the ride photos are super fun!

Has anyone done this recently? Do you still have to get the lanyard thing, or does it go on your MagicBand now?

Thanks!