Memory Maker Tips & Tricks

artemis908

EPCOTnaut
Joined
Jun 5, 2012
Messages
733
Does anyone have any tips or tricks for getting your money's worth out of Memory Maker? Have been going back and forth on if it's worth it and thinking of getting it for my mom for her birthday since we're going on a trip in November (with my husband and her boyfriend).

Are there certain areas of the parks I should look for photographers? What's the best way to take advantage of Magic Shots?
 
Really, the best way to get your money's worth is to just make sure you stop and get lots of photos and ask the photographers if they have any magic shots to do, and ride the rides that offer photos and videos. It's pretty straight forward. I saw lots of photographers out and about the parks. I also tried to get pix in front of the icons during the day time and at night time. I also did quite a few character meet and greets, which I had never really done before. Got lots of great pix there, too. I came home with about 260 photos after 7 days in the parks. That is without any edits, just straight photos.
 
I have seen them on Main Street and Hollywood Blvd. I would always ask if they were able to do magic shots. If they could, they would. If not, they often were able to tell me where to find someone. It's been awhile, but on the bridge near BOG restaurant there was a "video" magic shot options where a Lumiere animation was added to the picture.
 
As we approached I would also tell the photographer at any meet and greets that we had the Memory Maker Package and to feel free to take many shots. More often than not, they happily snapped away.
 

I know this has been posted before, but which rides take photos? I'm still debating about MM. I per-purchased the CD on my last trip and loved the photos, but I am not sure we will be meeting as many chars (we went to MNSSHP). I'm thinking ride photos may make up for that lack of Character M&G.
 
Rides that take photos:
MK - Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, 7 dwarfs (also video on that one).
Epcot- Test Track
DHS - Rockin Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror (has video too)
AK - Expedition Everest, Dinosaur

The following activities take lots of Photopass shots too:
Enchanted Tales with Belle, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Pirates League, Jedi Training

I found photographers all over the parks, didn't pay attention to whether they were always in certain "stations". Stop wherever you see one!
 
My favorite MM tip is not how to get more, but to save you hassle:

If you do Enchanted Tales or Jedi Training, where they take lots of pictures of all participants, they will give everyone a Photopass Card with a code on it, instead of swiping each person's Magic Band like other photogs do. You *can* enter the code into Memory Maker page yourself to upload the photos, but I recommend that you DO NOT. Instead, take that card to a Photopass shop (near the entrance of each park and at Downtown Disney). They can quickly help you identify only your own family's photos and upload only those to your account. If you do it yourself, you cannot selectively upload only certain ones- you get tons of pictures of strangers; the site is slow and it is a pain to have so many clogging up your page.

Also, if you ever find that you are missing any photos you know you had taken, call Photopass customer service, or use the "report" form online. They are very good about finding shots if you can give an approximate time, place, and what the people look like.
 
I was skeptical about purchasing MM last summer and said to DBF, in order for me to get my money's worth we are stopping at every photo pass stop! And we did! We got over 150 amazing photos, the ride pictures were priceless!! Plus the ToT videos. The photographers always told us if there was a magic shot there.. Got some cute ones in front of Spaceship Earth, BOG, & the castle to name a few. I absolutely think it's worth it!!
 
My favorite MM tip is not how to get more, but to save you hassle:

If you do Enchanted Tales or Jedi Training, where they take lots of pictures of all participants, they will give everyone a Photopass Card with a code on it, instead of swiping each person's Magic Band like other photogs do. You *can* enter the code into Memory Maker page yourself to upload the photos, but I recommend that you DO NOT. Instead, take that card to a Photopass shop (near the entrance of each park and at Downtown Disney). They can quickly help you identify only your own family's photos and upload only those to your account. If you do it yourself, you cannot selectively upload only certain ones- you get tons of pictures of strangers; the site is slow and it is a pain to have so many clogging up your page.

Also, if you ever find that you are missing any photos you know you had taken, call Photopass customer service, or use the "report" form online. They are very good about finding shots if you can give an approximate time, place, and what the people look like.

THIS is why I LOVE the Disboards!! Read this tip before our trip last year and did just this! Once we found our daughter's pics it was easy to select and add to our account. Cannot imagine how many hundreds of extra photos we would have had without this tip:)

The PP will also give card to other members of your party if they don't have magic bands (My DH was paranoid last year at the water park that the MB would come off so he stowed ours in a locker) and the kids went and got goofy photos around BB-I had no idea until I looked at that days photos...)
 
Our last trip we had MM. Came home with 400+ pictures. I had zoom shots taken of the Princesses on stage. Random shots of my kids when they had no idea their picture was being taken. Well worth the money IMHO
 
We have always purchased the memory maker on our trips and I think that it is well worth it. We always come home with around 300-400 pictures. If you try to print the pictures off the photo pass without having memory maker it can get to be expensive. I just save them to my computer when I get home and send them to Walgreens to print for much cheaper. You can download the ride videos to your computer!! Worth the money in my opinion!!
 
Our last trip we had MM. Came home with 400+ pictures. I had zoom shots taken of the Princesses on stage. Random shots of my kids when they had no idea their picture was being taken. Well worth the money IMHO
Where we these types of pictures taken? Shows? Character meets? Just curious! :) We have memory maker for our next trip.
 
Where we these types of pictures taken? Shows? Character meets? Just curious! :) We have memory maker for our next trip.

Stage shows, parades, character meets. We were waiting for a parade, eating ice cream, had a picture taken of our 5 kids sitting together in the street. Priceless. Lots of those random kind of shots. Any time I saw an opportunity for a picture, I grabbed one.
 
Stage shows, parades, character meets. We were waiting for a parade, eating ice cream, had a picture taken of our 5 kids sitting together in the street. Priceless. Lots of those random kind of shots. Any time I saw an opportunity for a picture, I grabbed one.

Did you ask the photographer to take pictures? Did they know you had pre purchased the cd? I'm just wondering if this is something we can expect or just a random bit of magic you received.
 
Did you ask the photographer to take pictures? Did they know you had pre purchased the cd? I'm just wondering if this is something we can expect or just a random bit of magic you received.

Yes, I had to ask. They had no problem obliging me though. I don't think they know the word no.
 


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