Memory maker?!!

[canadianamanda]

Hi just wondering if Memory Maker is worth the money! I have two younger kids and won't be going in any of the rides that the memory maker covers except for Buzzlightyear. We are going to lots if Character spots though. We bought a decent Cannon for this trip, so I'm wondering if I should buy the package after I just bought the camera? We are going to Cinderella Round table, does Memory Maker photographs go there?! I'm never in pictures, so that's the only reason I would like to get this package, so we can have nice family pics? But with the new camera, should I bother?! I'm afraid Also that with a 10 month old and a 5yr old I will forget to take lots of pics bc I will have the baby ect?! What are your experiences with memory maker!?

 

[imthemamahere]

I haven't been to Disney World since they changed the name to Memory Maker, but I did buy the PhotoPass+ cd two years ago.

In my opinion? BEST. THING. EVER.

I also brought my trusty dslr on the trip + my cell phone, of course, and took over a thousand photos over our week-long stay. And I still managed to come home with over 400 photos on PhotoPass+. The big bonus to those 400 photos? *I* was in them! Looking at old vacation photos, it was starting to seem that I never went anywhere with my family. I had pics of my son. Pics of my husband. Pics of my son+husband. And none of me. But because someone else took the pictures, I was able to be in the photos for a change... plus we got some great shots of all 3 of us together. I love it!

Now, obviously, given the total number of shots we came home with, we stopped for a LOT of photos along the way - we didn't mind waiting a few minutes for the photographers to be free. My son wasn't entirely patient all the time, but he was mostly cooperative, and honestly, we rarely waited more than a handful of minutes. We found that most of the PhotoPass (now MemoryMaker) photographers were very helpful, kind, and willing to take multiple shots/poses - as long as it wasn't too busy. Some can even do what's called "magic shots" - for example, one had us pose with our hands cupped in front of us, as if we were gently holding something delicate - when I looked at the photo online, I saw they'd added an image of Tinkerbell to our picture, so it looked like she was standing on our hands. My son (3 1/2 when we went) thought that was SO COOL! There are all sorts of fun things you can add to the photos - for example, let's say you're meeting Minnie at a character spot? You can go in through their website and add Minnie's "autograph" to the photographer's shots - very fun! One photographer who we bumped into while walking through EPCOT's World Showcase followed us to the red photobooths in the UK section and snapped a bunch of photos of my son playing in the photobooth - even though she was supposed to be in a different section of the park. A photographer on Main Street USA caught some awesome candids of my son dancing around while waiting for the afternoon parade to begin - he just walked up and began snapping without us even having to ask. And of course, we have pics from all 4 parks of the three of us, smiling together... my son giving me sweet little boy kisses... stuff I just wouldn't have if I was the one holding the camera.

As a bonus... I don't know if this is still the case now that they're under the MemoryMaker name... but PhotoPass also provided me with a cd of stock images of Disney World, which was pretty cool. It included things like perfect shots of the castle that you never get (because there are no people in the way!), nighttime shots I can't take on my own because I don't bring a tripod to the parks, fireworks pics from the perfect location, etc. As a scrapbooker, I was very excited about having those shots to complement my own.

Yes, you can ask the photographers to snap a pic or two with your camera - they will do it. And there are PLENTY of places where you'll want your own camera on hand to snap pics where no photographer's stationed. But to my mind, it was well-worth the $$ to pay for the photo cd. I've already ordered my MemoryMaker for our trip later this year!

 

[canadianamanda]

I haven't been to Disney World since they changed the name to Memory Maker, but I did buy the PhotoPass+ cd two years ago. In my opinion? BEST. THING. EVER. I also brought my trusty dslr on the trip + my cell phone, of course, and took over a thousand photos over our week-long stay. And I still managed to come home with over 400 photos on PhotoPass+. The big bonus to those 400 photos? *I* was in them! Looking at old vacation photos, it was starting to seem that I never went anywhere with my family. I had pics of my son. Pics of my husband. Pics of my son+husband. And none of me. But because someone else took the pictures, I was able to be in the photos for a change... plus we got some great shots of all 3 of us together. I love it! Now, obviously, given the total number of shots we came home with, we stopped for a LOT of photos along the way - we didn't mind waiting a few minutes for the photographers to be free. My son wasn't entirely patient all the time, but he was mostly cooperative, and honestly, we rarely waited more than a handful of minutes. We found that most of the PhotoPass (now MemoryMaker) photographers were very helpful, kind, and willing to take multiple shots/poses - as long as it wasn't too busy. Some can even do what's called "magic shots" - for example, one had us pose with our hands cupped in front of us, as if we were gently holding something delicate - when I looked at the photo online, I saw they'd added an image of Tinkerbell to our picture, so it looked like she was standing on our hands. My son (3 1/2 when we went) thought that was SO COOL! There are all sorts of fun things you can add to the photos - for example, let's say you're meeting Minnie at a character spot? You can go in through their website and add Minnie's "autograph" to the photographer's shots - very fun! One photographer who we bumped into while walking through EPCOT's World Showcase followed us to the red photobooths in the UK section and snapped a bunch of photos of my son playing in the photobooth - even though she was supposed to be in a different section of the park. A photographer on Main Street USA caught some awesome candids of my son dancing around while waiting for the afternoon parade to begin - he just walked up and began snapping without us even having to ask. And of course, we have pics from all 4 parks of the three of us, smiling together... my son giving me sweet little boy kisses... stuff I just wouldn't have if I was the one holding the camera. As a bonus... I don't know if this is still the case now that they're under the MemoryMaker name... but PhotoPass also provided me with a cd of stock images of Disney World, which was pretty cool. It included things like perfect shots of the castle that you never get (because there are no people in the way!), nighttime shots I can't take on my own because I don't bring a tripod to the parks, fireworks pics from the perfect location, etc. As a scrapbooker, I was very excited about having those shots to complement my own. Yes, you can ask the photographers to snap a pic or two with your camera - they will do it. And there are PLENTY of places where you'll want your own camera on hand to snap pics where no photographer's stationed. But to my mind, it was well-worth the $$ to pay for the photo cd. I've already ordered my MemoryMaker for our trip later this year!

Thanks for writing back! Now bc ur son was 31/2 u probably didn't go on many roller coasters or rides that had pictures on them?? So this didn't matter of the number or pics? Also did u do a lot of character meet and greets? And were the photographers there??

 

[Jeepin Dad]

We used MM and loved it, most of pictures were at the character meets. It was nice being able to get Family photos that included all of us. I really liked playing with some of the borders and character signatures that you can add to the photos in MM.

 

[Veera]

We are going for 3 days only and because our little one is 22 months old, we won't be going to many of the rides that the Memory Maker covers. I guess we wouldn't expect to get too many photos of us? I am also wondering would it be worth the money.

 

[Yoshiandi]

I have to agree that the Memory Maker is worth it. We have used the old Photopass for the past two trips and it is GREAT. We loved getting the family photos and then being able to edit them to add borders or characters was fun. We took a bunch of photos and ordered a photobook that the kids take to school.

For the character meetings and just the must have photos in front of the castle/tree/etc., it's great. The photographers take some amazing photos.

Also, they can do the add-ons to the photos like having your child holding Tinkerbell or sitting on a bench eating ice cream with Stitch.

 

[imthemamahere]

CanadianAmanda (and whoever else wants to know):

All the characters in the meet & greet locations (in 2012) had a PhotoPass photographer stationed with them. A few of the character meals (like the one in Cinderella's castle) include a photograph that can be linked to the Memory Maker program. Plus, there are photographers (look for the cast members in tan vests!) scattered through the parks - they tend to be focused around the most popular "icons" - the sorcerer Mickey hat in HS, the "golf ball" in EPCOT, the tree at AK, and of course down Main Street USA on the way to the castle in MK. But they're also near entrances, by fountains, strolling the parks, etc. I don't know about the rest of the year, as I didn't use PhotoPass+ until my December 2012 trip, but during the holiday season, they're even available in some of the resort lobbies. With a 3 year old in tow back then, we didn't do any of the rides where they take your picture... but we still made it home with around 400 photos. If you look around, you will definitely find plenty of photographers on your way through the parks.

You do have to be willing to stop (and maybe wait a few minutes, if someone else is already posing for their own shots) when you stumble across a Memory Maker photographer. I'm not sure exactly how MagicBand plays into it, but it was easy peasy to hand over the PP+ card; the photographer would quickly scan it, then pose you for your shot. I imagine it's similar with Magic Bands. You can request other poses and some photographers will even snap a few candids while they've got you (that depends on the individual photographer, of course) - as long as there aren't tons of people lining up to be next, we found the photographers to be very accommodating of taking extra photos. And again, you can always ask about Magic Shots - not every photographer can do them, but many of the ones who have their cameras on tripods can, and they're so fun to see later on.

I can only speak for myself in saying that it was absolutely worth it to me. YMMV! If you aren't going to want to stop along the way, aren't doing many character meet & greets, don't intend to ride the rides that take photos... you may not find it as useful. For me, I just made it a part of my plan for each day to take it slow and find a smile for as many photographers as I came across. I'm so glad I did!

 

[smashing]

We did the photo pass+ in September and I will be sure to have MM for our next trip. I loved that the whole family was in the photos. Plus the character meal and met and greet spots where great! We only had about 6 ride photos. They are fun to have but certainly not our reason for getting the pass

 

[JillyBean1899]

If your child is fine with posing for pictures, MM is awesome. The photographers are all over the place, and you can run up, have them take a picture, scan your card/MagicBand, and be done with it. And ask all of them if they know Magic Shots ... you never know who or what will end up in photos with you. But the Magic Shots can only be done by cameras that are not on tripods.

Bring your Canon with you for shots of stuff that you see, like on the safari or of the kids playing at the pool or in playgrounds or whatever. If you usually take pictures, you'll find plenty of times to use it when the MM photographers aren't around, but with the MM you'll be in a lot of the shots, too.

 

[Diss Knee Pete]

We've used Photopass in the past, and would do again. My daughter loves the fact that they will superimpose some of the characters (tink and stitch for us) over photos to look like we are interacting with them. We then bought the book, to which we can add our own photos.

 

[Sarah22]

I'm taking my 2 year old to Disney World in September. Wondering if anyone knows of any photo booth locations? I think she will get a big kick out of those.

 

[TinksMyGirl]

Definitely recommend the MM. We got it for the first time in Jan. Will be purchasing it for our Sept. trip. Not only is everyone in the pictures. The 'magic' shots were a bonus. Loved the video clips from Dwarf Mine Ride and Tower of Terror. And when I downloaded them I had the option to add borders etc.

 

[aaarcher86]

The candids MM photogs get are great. Some of our favorite pictures are from them.

 

[kboo]

I'm another MM+ fan. We got it in 2014 and 2015 when our daughter was almost 3 and 3.5 - The photographers are excellent! (most of them) - Each time we have come back with close to 400 photos from MM and it relieves me of the pressure of having to take my phone out and get a picture. If you have a LO who likes Enchanted Tales with Belle, you will get ALL those pictures too. One year my kid got to be the Beast and the pictures of her dancing with Belle were priceless. They're at all the character meet and greets too. New in 2015, we also got a lot of stock photos and a couple of videos. My DD doesn't love having her picture taken, but she was very interested in the "magic" pictures and we have some hilarious ones of our whole family "playing with Olaf." Also she listened for the MM photographers better than she would for us. Well worth it to finally have lots of family pictures with the whole family in them.

The candids are great too - one of my favorite pictures of this last trip was when DD was walking up to meet Buzz Lightyear. It perfectly captured the excitement and joy that, to me, is why we keep going to Disney.

 

[RainSW6]

I was on the fence about MM before our trip in January, but thankfully added! We went for 5 days, and our kids were 5 and 1 at the time. We didn't get a ton of ride photos, but we got some great family pictures with characters and in front of the castle, etc. Like PP, my son also ended up getting picked to play the Beast at Belle's Enchanted Tales, and the photographer got some awesome pictures of him with Belle that we never could have taken on our own! Sure, we could have purchased them afterwards, but for a lot more money per photo.

Another thing to consider is if you're doing one of the activities like Pirate's League. I think the pictures they take there are $30, but were included with MM, so that made MM's price more reasonable for us.

 

[Momof3WDW]

Memory Maker is definitely worth the money. And everyone is in the shot! I am the one who takes all the pictures so I have very few with me, except at Disney because I buy memory makers.
Most characters have a photopass photographer with them and the pictures they get are awesome. Close up of the kids with Mickey. I have two awesome pictures of my son with Donald and the angle of the shot as he hugged Donald was perfect. Something I could not have gotten with my camera. They are also taking pictures the whole time you are there, from first walking up, during autographs, and then posing with the character. Interaction photos of the whole family.
Even though recently Disney changed the character meals that used to include copies of the photo (Chef Mickey, Cinderella's Royal Table, Akershaus, 1900 Park Fare) they still take the photo and they are added to your memory makers, you just don't get a printed copy anymore.
There are also Photopass photographers all around the different parks (not just with characters and not just in front of the icon).
Also make sure you ask about Magic Shots! These can be your kids holding tinker bell, or sitting next to Mickey. So watching Stitch come out of the ground. There are so many Magic Shots and different ones at each park. I love showing my kids those photos later because they are amazed at what has appeared.

 

[lovindisney]

Is there a limit to how many people can be on the memory maker account? We have 11 people in our party.