Thanks for the info, everyone!
So I can just visit the website when I get home and order the pictures that I like, correct?
I'm such a newb.
All of use were newb at one time, lol.
Yes, you can order the photos you like, but in my personal opinion the CD is the better deal by far. The single photos will run you about $15 or more....whereas if you stop by the Kodak store at the end of Main Street, last store on the right (if facing the castle) before Plaza Inn.....and pick up the Photo CD, being sure to ask for the one with the Photopass Coupon inside. The Photo CD has professional shots from around the Parks (I'm at
Disneyland right now so I can't look at my CD but I think it's 300 photos???) AND you get a coupon to get YOUR Photopass Photos on CD and free shipping. The cost is $59.95 which is the same price as getting the Photopass CD online but without the extra Photo CD (confused yet?). This CD comes with a printable certificate giving you legal permission to make copies of the photos, use them on websites, etc, pretty much any way you want EXCEPT to sell them. So you can now print them at home, upload them to Shutterfly or Snapfish or whereever else you get free prints, take the CD to
Walmart or Sam's or whereever and have any size photo printed for a much lower cost than $15!! We have used a lot of our own photos combined with Photopass photos to make items at Artscow. In fact, I look over at the hotel bed right now and my kids have their Pillows with Disney photos on them, lol. Dad was wearing a Tshirt with a Photopass photo on it last week, etc.
Step by Step:
When you're at the parks watch for the Photopass Photographers. They will be inside the gates, all over Town Square, up and down Main Street, in front of the Castle and throughout the parks in various photographic locations and almost always where characters meet. Ask them to take your photo (mention that you're getting the Photo CD and they tend to take more shots). The first time they'll give you a photopass card....size of a credit card. Each time after that you can give them the card and they'll scan it after they take your photo, thereby "loading" your photos onto that card's account number. (This is where you want to use your own camera or cell phone to take a photo of the numbers on the back...or write them down if you don't have a camera or cell). If you forget to bring your Photopass card, no problem....ask the photopgrapher for another. If your party splits up for the day and Mom has the card, it's ok, Dad or the kids or Grandma, etc can just ask the photographer for another card (and instruct them each time to safeguard the number by writing or taking a photo of it).
At some point in your trip stop by Kodak store and buy the Photo CD that has the free Photopass CD sticker on it for $59.95. If you have an Annual Pass be sure to ask for your discount.
When you get home gather together all of your Photopass cards....if any are missing, just gather the pictures you took of the cards or wrote down the numbers.
Log onto
www.DisneyPhotopass.com. If you've never been there before, you'll need to register, but don't worry, they don't spam you!
Now enter all of the Photopass card numbers that you have used into your account. NOTE: THIS STEP MUST MUST MUST BE DONE WITHIN 30 DAYS OF YOUR VERY FIRST PHOTOPGRAPH BEING TAKEN. Failure to do so in 30 days and they will likely have erased those photos from their system.....getting them put back into your account will either cost you more money or could be impossible to do depending on when you try.
Now that all your numbers have been entered, you will see all of your Photos in your account. You can now edit them.....adding borders, characters and other logos, even zooming in to get the weird guy in the background gone, lol. You can edit each photo as often as you want....the original stays intact always. I tend to edit each photo with every possible border, character, zoom, etc.....I scrapbook and use the photos on our personal website, so I never know what I might want, so I take them all, lol. You can also delete the ones with junior sticking his finger up his nose, or your eyes closed, or Dad looking like he's going to pass out. Or you can keep those for later blackmail purposes. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS STEP MUST BE COMPLETED AND THE PRODUCT PURCHASED WITHIN 30 DAYS OF WHEN YOU FIRST ENTERED THE FIRST CARD NUMBER INTO YOUR ACCOUNT. Again, failure to do so and they'll start removing photos and edits that are more than 30 days old and you have to pay to have them put back in and get an extension.
Once you are completely done with your editing, choose "Photo CD" and put it in your cart. Now, take out the coupon from the CD you bought at the Kodak store. Enter the string of letters/numbers into the promo code area of the shopping cart. This will deduct the cost of the Photo CD and give you free shipping as well.
About a week later you'll get your CD(s) in the mail. Don't worry about how many photos and edits you end up with.....they'll put a couple hundred on each CD and just keeping doing more CDs until all of them are ready to mail to you. My record for Disneyland is 4 CDs....my record for WDW is 11, lol.
We make it a point to stop as often as possible to have our photos taken...even if we've already had it taken on another day on Main Street, we do it again.....some of the photographers are great, some eh.....and some days my hair looks good, other days eh, lol. Always tell them "I'm getting the CD so please take lots of photos"....and they will! If you don't ask they'll usually only take one or two or three....ask and it could be two or three times that much (depending on if they have a line!). There are also some surprise shots that they'll do if they know you're buying......so be open to doing something that feels silly at the time, but will be worth it in the end. An example...they'll tell you to hold your hand out like you're holding something in it and react to something surprising. When you see that photo on your account you'll see they inserted Tink in it!
Now....just for anyone visiting these DISNEYLAND forums that will be going to WDW.....pretty much the same set up as far as taking photos, doing edits, the special photos, etc....BUT....the CD for WDW is much more expensive (but they also have more parks and tons more Photopass Photographers). WDW to my knowledge does not sell the Photo CD with the Photopass coupon. BUT...they do have PREPURCHASE discount available. Instead of the regular $149 cost of the CD (I told you it was more expensive!), you can prepurchase the CD for $99. But you MUST PREPURCHASE. That is you must pay for the CD online before your first photo is taken. They used to ignore this requirement, but now they enforce it....any photos before the date of purchase will NOT be included on your CD. BUT....it's a guaranteed purchase....if you buy it now, go on your trip and then decide you didn't want to buy the Photopass CD after all, you write and get a ful refund so long as the code hasn't been entered into a cart. Here's the link to preorder the WDW Photopass CD:
http://www.disneyphotopass.com/previsitoffer.aspx Remember that's for WDW....it's too expensive to use it for Disneyland.
Ok, that's probably more information than you can digest in one sitting, lol. But I hope that you get a lot of great photos and have a blast finding new ways to use them.....we've done pillowcases, cosmetic bags, screen savers, cell phone backgrounds, calendars and I don't know what else, lol.
And the more photos you get taken the more value for money you get.
