I just paid for photopass+ for my May 11th to 15th trip, please help me not regret it

[adSimba]

I have been helping my friend set up her DL trip for the next week, and my wife kept hearing me saying the things people love about it, and decided at the last second that we need it too, but it's a lot of money for pictures that I think I could take myself.

 

[VandVsmama]

When we last went to DL 2 years ago, we didn't get the PhotoPass +. We just did the regular PhotoPass, but when we got home and were looking at the prices per photo of the pictures, it was way too costly for us and I wish that we'd paid the $69 for the Photopass+ ahead of time. The photopass photographers took such great pictures of my kids at the princess meet & greets. You won't be sorry.

 

[Disney845]

I purchased photopass+ for our upcoming DL trip. It is our first time at DL and there are just the two of us, so this is a good opportunity for us to get "together" pictures (I know you can also ask the photogs to use your own camera).

We did use Photopass many years ago when it was still relatively new at WDW and we got some great pics, especially the ones where they input special characters or items (holding balloons, fighting with Captain Hook). We haven't used it since, because the cost is pretty high at WDW, and we are there so often. I was pleased to see the DL cost was much lower.

 

[gerilyne]

For us it is worth it for the ride photos alone. We love all those rides and tend to ride them repeatedly so by getting the ride photos it pays for itself really quickly.

Just be sure to also take the time to get pics taken when you see a photographer. The other plus is you get to have your entire group in the picture which if you're taking them yourself you can't really do.

I can't imagine not having it at the park. I've found it very worth the price.

 

[Imdboss]

It is so worth it, you won't be sorry. We got it last trip for the first time and I'm sorry we didn't do it sooner! DH usually lugs along the nice camera for a day or two so we could get some quality shots other than from our phones and it was so nice to be able to leave that at home. I found that we also stopped at a lot more photographers. It's also nice having the entire family in all of the pics and not having the hassle of handing over your camera to the CM to take your pic. I also liked getting the ride photos which is something I wouldn't pay the money for otherwise. It's nice having so many family shots for memories years to come!

 

[kaoden39]

It's definitely worth it! We had so much fun doing the photos and our hallways are filled with the photopass photos to make us smile.

 

[mousehockey37]

I have my own camera and have the photopass people scan my MagicBand (obviously in WDW), but concept is the same. They use my camera AND theirs to get the shots. I haven't paid for any picture a Disney photo person took, because they did a great job with my camera. Also, I have had occasions where pictures weren't there when I went to look at them later, and thankfully, my camera had those pictures....

 

[whoever]

Ride photos make it worth it. My camera even being shot by the DL photogs > their pics.

 

[nikkislaght]

You will hear some people say,, yeah it was ok, I didn't get much out of it... but then you will get that from anything in life..
for me, its about,, finally being in a photo with my family.. its about the goofy ride photos.. that we love to play up to the camera.. its about grabbing a photographer and saying... please take my photo, knowing that they will not run off with your camera..
yes its a lot of money.. specially if you are on a tight budget, but for us we save enough over a year that the price is not a factor..
If you take advantage of the photographers , and then edits and frames and magic shots. it really does pay for itself..
we didn't do it the first year, just the reg card and when I went on line to buy some photos.. I didn't get any because of the price..
hope you enjoy your trip

 

[adSimba]

Thanks for the pep talks everyone, now I just need to know how to get the most out of it. I know character meals and some rides have it, but I don't know which ones, or anywhere else that does it. Is there a master list anywhere?

 

[SarahInMN]

We've never regretted getting the photopass+ package. Definitely worth it!

 

[Xenorye]

Another vote for. One of our absolute favorite things that we sprung for on our last trip, and we will be getting it for our next as well.

 

[kaoden39]

Another vote for. One of our absolute favorite things that we sprung for on our last trip, and we will be getting it for our next as well.

Ours too! We had so much fun with the photopass photographers it got so that they knew us. They would tell us where they were going to be later in the day and ask us to come see them.

 

[jina]

We've had it at both DL and WDW. It was so worth it for us and I agree- it's a lot of money and we never buy photos as they are always too expensive. But we end up with so many photos there are always a few which are amazing and we use them for holiday cards and blow-ups in our home. Just wear that photo plus card necklace and you'll always be reminded when you see a photographer to ask for a photo. We had lots of great photos from the rides, character meet & greets and character meals but our best ere the ones from the photographers we'd see on main street (we had a great magic shot near the xmas tree of Stitch coming out of a present), near the castle, in DCA in Carsland at night and so forth. We tended not to stand in lines for photos - if there was a line we'd skip it but when the photographer was alone or only had 1 person who they were shooting it was worth the minute or two to snap the photo. Then being able to add borders afterwards made for some really special photos. Both times we opted to download the photos instead of having the CD mailed to us.

We don't do it every trip but it's great to do once in awhile. Even during high season (Christmastime last year) we still ended up with several hundred photos after 4 days at the parks.

 

[jina]

sorry - re: the list, the photoplus card/necklace lists where you can get photos at various meals. Most meet & greets had photographers too. I think the only meet & greets tehre was no photographers was when the photographer had a technical issue so they did a photo on our phones instead. We had ride photos from splash mountain, radiator springs racers and california screamin'. For character meals, we got the photo package "free" at Ariel's grotto and Plaza Inn. I am pretty sure Goofy's kitchen also includes the photo package but we did not have FP+ when we dined there that trip. There are probably others. I recall getting a photo from tower of terror but I think that was at WDW- I'm not sure if DCA has a photo.

 

[McNs]

It is excellent value, you won't regret it.

The only character meal that doesn't have a photo package is the one at Storytellers. All rides that have a photo option can have them added to pp.

We have found some of the best photos are when there is a pp photographer just out in the parks, especially at quieter times (e.g. 1st thing in the morning). We have had a few instances where they have got us to do a variety of things, some have worked really well, others less so, but regardless it is so much more than the one of two shots you would get with them using your camera.

It also helped prolong the holiday vibe once it finished, going through the photos, adding borders etc before downloading them.

 

[lorijohnhill]

I was very relieved to have the Photopass+ when my camera decided it didn't want to take photos of my daughter and Tinkerbell. I looked at the photographer and said, "Oh well, at least you got one, right?" She then jumped back in and took a few more just to be sure we had a great shot!

You get a range of photographers. Some are having a bad day, so you get the minimum. On the other hand, with some of the photographers you can let them know you have the photopass+ and to have fun with it and they will take a bunch of different types of shots (as long as there isn't a line). We even had one guy that took us to various spots around Cars Land to take magic shots. So much fun!

 

[scrapshappen]

I have gotten the photopass+ for our past several trips and never once regretted it. We were going to go without it for the trip we just returned from since we weren't doing a character meal, but about two weeks out, I just couldn't pass it up and ordered it anyway. $69 is really not much money when you look at the total cost of your trip (and so much less than what they charge at WDW for the same service). And we would never splurge to buy ride photos or character meal photos, but I love getting them all and not having to worry about it. Just be sure you use it!

There are two great photopass photographers that hang out by the Partners statue. One is David (short Caucasian) and he has taken our photos for years. He will really take the time to get a great shot and really concentrates on composition. I cannot remember the name of the other guy, (it might be Byron?) but he is a tall and African American. He took some great pictures of my cute nieces when we were there with them last summer. Just those two photographers alone are worth the $69.

 

[Belle Ella]

Thanks for the pep talks everyone, now I just need to know how to get the most out of it. I know character meals and some rides have it, but I don't know which ones, or anywhere else that does it. Is there a master list anywhere?

The attractions that offer on-ride photos are as follows:

Disneyland
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain

California Adventure
California Screamin'
Radiator Springs Racers
Tower of Terror

The guests that we usually get who are adding their photos to their PhotoPass+ cards really seem to love them, and I can guarantee you the ride photos practically pay for it alone depending on how many times you go on them. The cheapest option we sell for attraction photos is $14.95 plus tax and if you go on each of those rides and want that photo it adds up quickly.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Last year when we used it we got some awesome photos. One guy took a whole hour out around fantasy land and took us to every spot. He was the best. I wished we had written his name down he did such a good job.

We always get PP+ and have never regretted it. I will never do a dl trip with out it. And when we do wdw sometime in the next few years. We will get the pp thing there as well.