Photopass ...is it worth it??

[GoofyPennStater]

Hello all!

New to the sight, still getting my sealegs so bear with me

Me and DG are going to WDW in June, we are both in our mid 20s, it is our first trip going together, and mine in about 15 years, her first trip in about 5. We will be there for 8 days, and have an 8 day park hopper with the waterparks. We are both super excited and want to make the best out of the trip, because who knows when we will be back (the sooner the better in our book)

However i thought it would be nice to really document our trip together, and I was wondering if the photopass was worth it?

Is the quality good?

Are there a lot of photographers?

Do you get any shots with the characters?

How easy is it to get the prints?

I would probably pre-order the pass to make it easy. Is there any limit to the amount of pictures?

Thanks in advance, everyone is extremely great here

This forum has gotten me so excited for our trip, I cant wait to get down there and have a blast!!!!

 

[smitch425]

Hello all!

New to the sight, still getting my sealegs so bear with me

Me and DG are going to WDW in June, we are both in our mid 20s, it is our first trip going together, and mine in about 15 years, her first trip in about 5. We will be there for 8 days, and have an 8 day park hopper with the waterparks. We are both super excited and want to make the best out of the trip, because who knows when we will be back (the sooner the better in our book)

However i thought it would be nice to really document our trip together, and I was wondering if the photopass was worth it?

Is the quality good?

Are there a lot of photographers?

Do you get any shots with the characters?

How easy is it to get the prints?

I would probably pre-order the pass to make it easy. Is there any limit to the amount of pictures?

Thanks in advance, everyone is extremely great here

This forum has gotten me so excited for our trip, I cant wait to get down there and have a blast!!!!

First of all, to the Disboards!

The Photopass service is FANTASTIC. Most character meet and greets do have a Photopass photographer and then there are also photographers scattered throughout the parks. This is the best site for learning about Photopass...

http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disneysphotopass/

There is no limit as to how many photos you can getand the quality is great! My last trip in October we had about 250 pics taken and after adding borders and signatures and doing multiple sizes, I ended up with over 1000 pics and they mailed them on 3 CDs. There is no extra charge for having more than one cd. It is a great way for everyone to be in the photo. Getting them printed is very simple. You can take your cds to any store (Target, Walgreens, etc) and print as many as you want. The CD comes with a licensing agreement giving you permission to print them. You have full rights to your photos. For the preorder price, it really can't be beat. The best part is that if you end up feeling you didn't get enough pics taken and decide not to order the cd afterall, you can get a 100% refund. Let me know if you have any more questions. I am a proud customer of the Photopass system and know it pretty well. You can find some of my Photopass pics from the Halloween party in this thread...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2835007


ETA: Just noticed that my post was put in front of your original post. Don't be alarmed! For whatever reason, sometimes the board does this from time to time. It's a bit wackadoodle, but you just have to roll with it.

 

[trucktease]

First time we used the service, we didn't take a personal camera. Thought being that the photopass stuff would capture the memories. The pics are staged and posed which makes for great pics, but they are not the same as snapping candid pics in line or random spots and places.

 

[smitch425]

First time we used the service, we didn't take a personal camera. Thought being that the photopass stuff would capture the memories. The pics are staged and posed which makes for great pics, but they are not the same as snapping candid pics in line or random spots and places.

Yes... you always need to take your own camera at WDW. Personally, I take about 1000 photos on my camera every trip. Of course, I have kids, so OP may not take quite as many. Also, don't be afraid to ask the Photopass photographers to take a pic with your camera. It never hurts to have a back up just in case. Another helpful tip is to take a picture of the back of your Photopass card(s). That way, if you lose your card you can still retrieve your photos online since you will have a pic of the card number.

 

[AshleeH]

I buy two souvenirs every year at Disney: An ornament with the date on it and the Photopass CD. I go into the trip knowing I will do this, so we stop at nearly every Photopass photographer we see (excluding every other one or two on the path leading to the symbols like the Castle - we usually do one from far away and one up close and then vary it every time we leave the park or arrive on a different day to the same park). We always end up with over 100 pictures and I buy the CD at the end of the vacation.

A lot of the photographers (especially if there is no line) offer to take a picture with my camera as well. I never ask this since I know I'll be buying the CD, but I let them take it when it's them offering. I've found that 9 times out of 10 the quality on the CD is better than with my camera (and I have a great camera!).

Not all of the characters have photographers, but the majority of the meet 'n' greets do. They are not at character dinners! (And a helpful hint - start snapping your camera as soon as the your children approach the characters - it makes me sad to see parents who don't capture that magic in their kids eyes and instead yell for them to, "Turn around and smile!"). The photographer might take a few candids of the interaction, but in general they take one or two posed shots and move to the next one.

There are a lot of photographers stationed around the parks, but be on the lookout for them! Obviously they are several leading all the way to the big symbols in the park, but there are some gorgeous locations that are a little more out of the way. There are two spots to the right of the castle (near Tomorrowland) that have a different angle of the castle and one has a nice topiary setting to frame it. Epcot has a beautiful location that shows the buildings and the river on one of the bridges (no Spaceship Earth in the background, but the last two years this has been one of my favorites on each CD!). Epcot also has some on the other side of Spaceship Earth and if they time it right, they get the fountains going off behind you. Hollywood Studios has some outside the Tower of Terror and Animal Kingdom has one stationed right next to the Tree of Life (getting all the details of the trunk). These are just a fraction of the places offered, so if you are on the lookout (they are easy to spot with the large cameras and vests) then you will have a ton of pictures!

When I get home, I make a photo book combining my candids with the Photopass CD (usually telling a great story with the candids that lead up to the posed family photos).

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

Totally!!! We didn't even get a ton of pics on our photopass, and we thought it was completely worth it! This next trip I am preordering it and then combining everyone's photopasses onto ours (they can combine them in the parks onto one pass), and then when I get home I will have TONS of pics! We like putting it into our DVD player and watching it that way.

 

[ldnoggle]

We used and loved Photopass on our last visit. It was a great way to make sure we had picture of all of us. Make sure to order it before you go if you're going to do it though- you'll save about $50 by pre-ordering

 

[Kintx]

I set a reminder for myself to pre-order a Photo Pass CD before we leave. It sounds like it will be well worth it.

 

[GoofyPennStater]

agreed...for someone like me who doesnt know when he will be back at Disney again, might as well make sure we capture everything we can....ill be pre-ordering one! Thanks for everything, everyone on this board is great!

 

[nesser1981]

I'm excited about the photopass! I'll actually be in some shots. That's different!

 

[Gingerbread Latte]

There will be 5 of us and we won't always be together. I plan to preorder the CD but want to make sure all 5 cards are on it. When do I do this? Is it something that needs to be done at the first shot?
Thanks,
~~g.

 

[simonsmom]

You can look for a share on Facebook to save money

 

[smitch425]

There will be 5 of us and we won't always be together. I plan to preorder the CD but want to make sure all 5 cards are on it. When do I do this? Is it something that needs to be done at the first shot?
Thanks,
~~g.

You need to preorder before the first shot is taken, but you enter all the card numbers AFTER your trip. Just be sure to enter all of the cards on the account in which the preorder was done. What I mean is that if you have friends going, don't let them make an account of their own to see their pics. Once a card number is entered, it can not be re-entered on another account. Also, take pictures of the back of all your cards when you receive them just in case someone loses their card. That way you will have all of the numbers and will be able to access your pics.

 

[Mduff]

I find the cost totally worth it for the CD (especially the preorder) - I load the CD on my computer and then order my prints through Costco - much cheaper!

 

[Holeshot1982]

The best part is that if you end up feeling you didn't get enough pics taken and decide not to order the cd afterall, you can get a 100% refund.

So, if you pre-order and decide after you get back that it wasn't worth it, you can get a refund?? Really?

 

[lovenerds81112]

DF (almost DH) and I are going on a 10 day honeymoon in a few weeks and we ordered the photopass plus package, and paid $169 for it. It includes all photos taken from a photopass photographer, plus all of your pictures taken on rides, all of the pictures taken of you at Character meals, and you also get an extra CD full of 400 of the most beautiful stock photos of WDW I have ever seen. We figured since it is our honeymoon, we wanted professional pictures of us together!

 

[hsmamato2]

I don't think you can get a refund.....

 

[deegack]

So, if you pre-order and decide after you get back that it wasn't worth it, you can get a refund?? Really?

For photopass not photopass plus.