The photographers will scan your bands, usually after they take pictures, on the rides it is done by some crazy Disney big brother magic band magic, where it reads your band on the ride or something like that. I didn't have memory maker, but I was intrigued by how the people who did have it were just hopping off the ride and going on their merry way, so I asked. No one seemed to understand how it worked, but apparently it does, at least most of the time.