Photo Pass...Yes or No?

Not worth it for us. We do not do Character M&G or character meals. Plus they will take photos on your camera/phone.

If you don't do M&G and your kids are too young for the rides with photos, then I'd be inclined to agree.

My 9-year-old loves the ride photos. After we do one "good" photo (natural, screaming) then he has fun doing silly stuff like bunny ears or thumbs up. It's a fun extra when we go on the same ride over and over again. And worth more to me than another sweatshirt as a souvenir (especially with the cheaper Disneyland PP price).
 
The attractions that have PhotoPass system are: Splash Mountain and Space Mountain at Disneyland California Screamin', Radiator Springs Racers and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at California Adventure.

Thanks! I have to check the height limits again, but I'm pretty sure he will be good for RSR at least, possibly Splash as well. Not sure he would do well on the others, even if he is tall enough.

Re: replacing my own camera with Photopass. We will have our phones (good cameras on them, honestly) and our video camera that we can pull good stills from. My husband is really into video more than photos, he treasures his home videos from childhood (his present from his mom this year was actually getting them all digitized). I think whether Photopass can replace (or mostly replace) a personal camera is mostly preference. Personally, if I am whipping out a camera and stressing to get good lighting/exposure and all that, I'm not really in the moment. That's just me - for some, photo taking is fun. It's just not for me. I would rather have the majority be Photopass and have all four of us, plus video, and then a few on our phones. :) I had one trip with our first born that I tried to do the family photographer thing...I was so frustrated at the end. A lot of pictures looked bad or had bad lighting. I ended up purchasing some Photopass photos, but didn't preorder for that trip, so I could only get a few since WDW Photopass is so much more pricey to buy the whole pass.

Anyway. That's long winded. Lol. Just personal preference for me!
 

Not worth it for us. We do not do Character M&G or character meals. Plus they will take photos on your camera/phone.
I found that PhotoPass+ created more "work" :sick:
  • PP+ card must be scanned at each PP attraction
  • Seek out magic shot PP photos (which often don't work)
  • Hours spent cropping and adding borders on the primative PP site
 
I found that PhotoPass+ created more "work" :sick:
  • PP+ card must be scanned at each PP attraction
  • Seek out magic shot PP photos (which often don't work)
  • Hours spent cropping and adding borders on the primative PP site

I agree that it takes more time if you modify the photos (e.g., cropping, adding borders, etc.). However, I don't really think it's going to add any work or time at the attractions or for finding the MagicShots if you're going to get those regardless of whether you have PP or not.
 
FYI- Without Photopass Plus, I think they charge $32 for the character meal photo. You usually just get one pose in the print package too, where with photopass you will get all the poses in your account to download. I would tell you that Minnie's breakfast isn't worth that price because there is not a character in that photo (unlike at Ariel's and Goofy's), BUT on our last trip the photographer there took one of my absolute favorite all time photos of DD alone with her Duffy bear as well as a great shot of the whole family. The DD shot is so great that we have an 8X10 of it up in the house, I have a 5x7 up at work; all the grandparents have prints of it framed and we all have magnets of it on the refrigerator too. You never know when you will wind up with an absolutely fantastic shot!
 
I found that PhotoPass+ created more "work" :sick:
  • PP+ card must be scanned at each PP attraction
  • Seek out magic shot PP photos (which often don't work)
  • Hours spent cropping and adding borders on the primative PP site

- scanning the card takes maybe 2-3 minutes. One of us would run ahead and do with while the other walked off with the kids who took the extra time anyways.
- magic shots are optional, you seek them out only if you want them, and I've never had them not "work"
- Cropping and adding borders are optional. You don't have to do any of that if you don't want, you can just get the CD with all the original photos on it.

The only "mandatory" time sink is having the card scanned at attractions. You can go back and do it at any point, as well, if you're in a hurry. Just note your photo number.
 
FYI- Without Photopass Plus, I think they charge $32 for the character meal photo. You usually just get one pose in the print package too, where with photopass you will get all the poses in your account to download. I would tell you that Minnie's breakfast isn't worth that price because there is not a character in that photo (unlike at Ariel's and Goofy's), BUT on our last trip the photographer there took one of my absolute favorite all time photos of DD alone with her Duffy bear as well as a great shot of the whole family. The DD shot is so great that we have an 8X10 of it up in the house, I have a 5x7 up at work; all the grandparents have prints of it framed and we all have magnets of it on the refrigerator too. You never know when you will wind up with an absolutely fantastic shot!

One of our best PP photos ever was one without characters too. We ate at Ohana at Poly and it was four generations of family together. The PP photographer took a lot of time with us in front of the backdrop and the photos looked awesome. The whole group got extras and we all have one in our houses. Sometimes you do get really magical moments without a character in sight. :)
 
There were six of us (all adults) at our last trip, and we loved having MM. We didn't have to think about taking our own pics (though sometimes we did!), we just let the professionals handle it. They got some fantastic shots at night, and some fun ones during the day. We rarely had to wait to have the pics taken, scanning our MB took only a second, and on most of the rides that took photos, we didn't have to do a thing. The ride sensed our MB and put the pics on our account! The future is now, people! lol

When my DH and I go back with just the two of us, we will likely not get the MM (unless it's for the Halloween party or similar.) If you've got a group, though, it's worth it!
 
There were six of us (all adults) at our last trip, and we loved having MM. We didn't have to think about taking our own pics (though sometimes we did!), we just let the professionals handle it. They got some fantastic shots at night, and some fun ones during the day. We rarely had to wait to have the pics taken, scanning our MB took only a second, and on most of the rides that took photos, we didn't have to do a thing. The ride sensed our MB and put the pics on our account! The future is now, people! lol

When my DH and I go back with just the two of us, we will likely not get the MM (unless it's for the Halloween party or similar.) If you've got a group, though, it's worth it!

I think this poster is talking about Disney WORLD not land. There are not magic bands at land, yet.
 
We've only done photopass in WDW, but I love it! Like a pp said, I would use it in connection with your own photos. With the photopass photographers and your own personal pics, you'll be covered & will have wonderful documentation of your special trip.
 


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