Memory maker lines at the parks

[DisneyBliss7]

I have never used memory maker but for our next trip my sister and niece are coming on their first WDW trip and probably their only one for a while. She wants to try memory maker and have us split the cost. Would that work? We are staying in the same room and are all on the same reservation.
My biggest concern is how much time it takes up at the parks? I see the lines people wait in for their pictures...

 

[pitpat]

Most spots have little to no lines. Popular spots like on Main St may have lines at times, but will also have more photographers. Between ride photos and shots where you barely have to wait it is well worth it, especially if splitting the cost. We get hundreds of photos each trip and never wait long on lines.

If you are linked as Friends and Family in MDE you are all set as far as sharing MM. The person who buys it will have to do the downloading though, so plan accordingly.

 

[kniquy]

My biggest concern is how much time it takes up at the parks? I see the lines people wait in for their pictures...

The memory maker is definitely worth it. Even for just the ride photos you get. Plus if you see any photo booths -- those usually work with memory maker too. The lines can be long depending upon the area -- so walking down Main St in MK there are usually many photopass people. We will wait if there is one or two people ahead of us an will likely not have to wait more than 5 minutes. Not to say you won't get the family in front of you who can't follow directions. Park opening will likely have longer lines . I think that same spot later in the day will have shorter lines. They are usually all over the park, so keep your eye out for them. I think the MDE app has the locations of all the photographers. The MM is what you make of it, so if you don't stop you won't get much benefit.

 

[DisneyBliss7]

OOh sounds great! Thanks for the info

 

[bcinohio]

Also, if the photographer is holding his camera (not on a tripod) ask him if he takes magic shots. Some will do without asking but others will only if you ask. You can get some really cute shots that way.

 

[rchampagne]

My little tip... on Main St (in Magic Kingdom), keep walking closer to the castle. It seems the photographers closest to the entrance always have the longest lines. I prefer the photo to be closer to the castle anyways. But many times, you'll just see the photographers standing there with no one around. We probably stopped for about 20 photos this past week, and the longest we waited was about 5 minutes (popular spot near waterfall at night in Pandora).

 

[bluezy]

Most spots have little to no lines. Popular spots like on Main St may have lines at times, but will also have more photographers. Between ride photos and shots where you barely have to wait it is well worth it, especially if splitting the cost. We get hundreds of photos each trip and never wait long on lines.

If you are linked as Friends and Family in MDE you are all set as far as sharing MM. The person who buys it will have to do the downloading though, so plan accordingly.

Or just share the password so each person can download themselves. I always share MM with our family and when we get back from our trip I simply change the password on my account to something generic and share that with my adult children (I trust them not to make any changes to my information). That way they can edit/enhance the photos they want (we have the rule that you always make a copy of a picture before making any changes so that we always have the original easily accessible) and then download at their convenience. Once our downloads have expired, I change the password back to my usual one.

OP, our family thinks MM is well worth the cost. On our trip in June, we ended up with over 400 original photos over 7 days in the parks and we didn't make a huge effort to stop at photographers. If we saw a photographer with no line or only 1 or 2 groups waiting, we'd stop. There were a few exceptions to that if there was a shot we definitely wanted (like in front of the castle/Partners statue at night -- we waited about 7-8 minutes for that one). We also had a few times where a photopass photographer captured some candid moments of our 1 year old granddaughter (she loves the camera) without us even knowing. Those photos are priceless to us.

 

[bluezy]

My little tip... on Main St (in Magic Kingdom), keep walking closer to the castle. It seems the photographers closest to the entrance always have the longest lines. I prefer the photo to be closer to the castle anyways. But many times, you'll just see the photographers standing there with no one around. We probably stopped for about 20 photos this past week, and the longest we waited was about 5 minutes (popular spot near waterfall at night in Pandora).

Yes! We find that to be true at DHS and AK as well. The closer you get the "icon", the shorter the lines are at the photographers.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We have waited at most three people deep. It's nothing to wait really.

 

[bethbuchall]

My husband refused to wait if there was more than one family in front of us plus the family being photographed. He doesn't like his picture being taken anyway. I didn't see nearly as many PhotoPass photographers as I did last September either. We still came home with a lot of shots, so I feel that the Memory Maker was worth it.

 

[Delirium]

It's important to distinguish between the lines for photos with characters versus the lines for just scenic shots. The character photo lines CAN result in much longer waits that photos with a scenic background but no characters.

 

[dmband]

If you are linked as Friends and Family in MDE you are all set as far as sharing MM. The person who buys it will have to do the downloading though, so plan accordingly.

The MM is what you make of it, so if you don't stop you won't get much benefit.

Also, if the photographer is holding his camera (not on a tripod) ask him if he takes magic shots. Some will do without asking but others will only if you ask. You can get some really cute shots that way.

It's important to distinguish between the lines for photos with characters versus the lines for just scenic shots. The character photo lines CAN result in much longer waits that photos with a scenic background but no characters.

all good advice
Also if you didn't know, you can add extras to the photos in the photoshop website.
You can have 300 photos taken and end up with 1000 easy after adding extras and/or selecting different size print options

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

We have really not waited too long for our turn. We usually don’t line up unless there are 2-3 parties in front of us. Most locations never have a long line. This is our first time with photopass and we have SO many pictures from this trip.

Really popular spots such as Main Street with the castle in the background will have photographers there all day, at least 4 of them at various points along the way. I never stop at the first one, the second or third one down always have a way shorter line.

Lines for characters are another story. Lines for characters can have very long waits that never let up. Town Square Mickey can be half an hour on a good day and frequently it’s closer to an hour. There was never not a line for Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland yesterday, and it must have been 20 parties deep every time we went by. Character meals also do not always have Photopass photographers. Ohana breakfast and Cape May breakfast do not.

 

[DisneyBliss7]

I also think its a great idea because I'm hardly ever in any pictures with my kids! I'm always behind the camera

 

[Kerriowl]

On our trip, I made finding a Photopass Photographer with no line into a sport. It was fun, and that way each picture only takes about 5 minutes tops (take off back packs, fix hair, smile, do a couple of poses). In crowded locations like Main Street, don't stop in the first line you see for a photographer. There are many different photographers there and the ones further along generally have shorter lines.

 

[TinkSassy]

On our trip, I made finding a Photopass Photographer with no line into a sport. It was fun, and that way each picture only takes about 5 minutes tops (take off back packs, fix hair, smile, do a couple of poses). In crowded locations like Main Street, don't stop in the first line you see for a photographer. There are many different photographers there and the ones further along generally have shorter lines.

We did similar to this in the Spring - but we didn't hunt. Just made a pact that we stop whenever we see a photographer without a line - current photo group in play was allowed. Doing this for a week we had over 400 shots in the account! Did end up in one line as it was raining at AK so only 2 were out and we wanted a tree picture - so one cheat .. . Didn't ever feel like it took more time. We got castle pictures everyday but followed the same rule. We came back through later one day after the morning rush to see the castle show and no one was waiting!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Also, if the photographer is holding his camera (not on a tripod) ask him if he takes magic shots. Some will do without asking but others will only if you ask. You can get some really cute shots that way.

Lots of great ideas here......


https://www.disboards.com/threads/magic-shots-current-listings.3619546/