Photopass- worth the cost?

[sk!mom]

We used Photopass 3 years ago and found it well worth it. However that trip was 10 days long, all Disney, and a family reunion. There were 21 of us sharing the account which meant splitting the cost 6 ways and then it was an awesome way to share all of the pictures of times when we were together or not. It was a terrific bargain and well worth it.

Now for the dilemma...

Our upcoming trip will only be the 4 of us and we will split our time with Universal so only 3 or 4 Disney days. This means that DH and I will have to pay the full cost and will only have 3 or 4 days to have pics taken. Anybody ever used it for a short trip? Was it worth it?

 

[JKMJ441724]

For me, it would probably depend on the time of year you are going.

We went on Spring Break one time and the lines were so long for everything!!!!! including the photopass photographers. If their lines had not been so long, I would have them take a LOT more pictures than I did. Even at four days in less than crowded conditions, it could very possibly be worth it.

 

[thegilchrists]

We found it very much worth it......only because the photopass photographer got some shots of our grandson that we never would have been able to get and they are some of our favorite shots still today!
We did have the preorder special (i think it was 99$) but we had over 200 pictures on our disk and we did not stop at even half of the photopass photographers.
If you have little ones that are going on the trip......I found it worth the money to not have to worry about pulling out the camera at every opportunity to get that shot of the grandson and the characters.

Just my opinion
Sherri

 

[jmartinez1895]

They are worth every penny to me. On a side note, take a pic of the back of your card with your cell phone or write the number down on something you will not lose. We did this and where very glad. After about 3 days we lost our card ( I think I forgot to get it back from one of the photogs) We got a new card, but if we had not had the number form the old card we would have lost all those pics.

 

[secretpantssam]

I didn't really use it before our last trip, but my mom got a pre order so we figured we try it. My sister and I ended up taking a ton of really great pictures all over "the world" and there was no way we would have done that with our own cameras. By the end of the trip we had hundreds of beautiful pictures so we thought it was well worth it. I would just recommend pre ordering it for the discounted rate (if you don't like your pics they'll refund the money) and Making sure you remember to pose for the pictures while you are there.

 

[StephMK]

We were just there for 6 days & I had debated buying a pass. After our trip, I was glad we did not purchase the pass. We got less than 30 pics and there are only maybe 5 I would even consider purchasing. However, we did not do any character meets other than Finn & Ferb and did not hunt down any photographers.

My kids were more interested in getting to the places than having pics taken. The best shots were taken at the waterpark & I will buy one of the family shots at AK. I think it depends on how many pics you want to stand for and how you like to tour.

 

[kamom]

How does the photopass work? And how do you get one?

 

[smitch425]

How does the photopass work? And how do you get one?

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

Read through this, and if you have any more questions, just ask!

 

[Nana2Callie]

We just returned and prepurchased the CD (splitting with another family) and I'm okay with that - but I would not pay the full price or pay even the special price. The reason... photographers limited. We were in the parks 6 days and looked for the photographers - couldn't find even one in AK. They were very limited in HS especially after you got past the front entrance. MK had the most and Epcot had a few - but even looking for them and being "ready" for pictures we didn't take as many as I expected.

 

[*Seanaci*]

I would say for a 3 or 4 day trip, it may not be worth it. Also, as someone said, it depends on the time of year you go (busy vs not busy). We didn't know about the pre-purchase photopass CD back in 2008. We used the photopass service, but ended up with less then 100 total pictures (busy time of year, plus we saw very few photogs out which I thought was weird). Anywho. We came home, looked at our pics, and decided to make a scrapbook of our pics rather than spend the money for the CD.

 

[twooley2]

for some reason last year we bought the photopass before our trip and did not get many pics in the parks. I was a bit disappointed. The whole fast pass to meet characters was a bit surprising after years ago when no lines and no fast pass required for meeting characters and characters would surprise by showing up. Now lines existed for even this experience.We do a lot of character meals though so we do not no longer depend on them out in the lines or the heat of the days.

 

[sam_gordon]

We just got back 10 days ago. Prepurchased PP, and came back with 275 pictures. Had no problems finding photographers. Sometimes had to wait 1-2 groups, other times just walked up to them. Some came to us. We've edited, added borders, etc, and we're up to 412 pictures.

I would say if you're big on Meet & Greets, having a family member doing Jedi Training Academy (I got blocked out from part of it... 0 shots with our camera), going to a waterpark during the summer, or just want some pictures with the entire family, go for it!

Here's why...
1) My understanding is if you don't like the results, you can get a refund.
2) Prints start at $15 each. If you find 7 pictures you want, you've just spent $105.

 

[cricketgirl]

My take on the photopass. I love it. If I hadn't done the photopass we woun't have any pictures of both of us together. Now wee ended up with tons and tons of pictures. first trip over 250. Second trip over 450 pictures.

 

[mrssmith06]

We were only in the parks for 4 days and we had 133 photo's and we loved almost all of them. We didn't really hunt down photographers and never waited in lines that would have been longer than about 20 minutes, so I felt like we did OK. And in most cases, these are pictures we wouldn't have been able to get ourselves. I felt that it was well worth the $99 pre-paid CD!