Value in Memory Maker for a Couple, Short Trip?

[sscott87]

Haven't been able to find a whole lot on peoples' input/experiences regarding the value in memory maker for shorter stays and fewer people versus buying a few photos, and just what the benefits are of each (aside from cost).

We'll be spending 4 full days at the parks, just the wife and I. We like the idea of being able to utilize the CM photographers for most of our pictures, as I hate the sitting there as she attempts to take the perfect picture multiple times with the arm and phone outstretched. Despise doing that so many times...

Anyway, I assume without memory maker, it's much the same as it was on our first trip 6 years ago. CM takes picture, we get a little ticket and have the option to purchase hard copies at a photo place in the park. Guessing pictures are somewhere in the $10-$25 range each.

Without memory maker, is there an option to view the pictures online or purchase the digital pictures individually? Or purchase any time after that very day? Or that day in the park is the only opportunity?

On our previous trip, I know we ended up with access to pictures online for purchase, and we ended up ordering a calendar utilizing a number of them. Wondering if that online viewing and purchase option no longer exists and was instead replaced by Memory Maker?

 

[danny1649]

I think it would be worth it . Yes you can go online and choose the pictures you like. I hope so anyway but I've read posts about this subject .

 

[sscott87]

Yeah, the unfortunate part is I haven't found a clear answer on accessing the pictures without purchasing the memory maker. I don't necessarily need to have free reign over 50 not-so-great pictures out of 60, where as we're willing to pay for the handful we may want. Just unclear as to what we will still be able to do if not purchasing memory maker. Ride pictures won't be linked and available, but the real question is pertaining to CM photography I suppose.

 

[KangaFan]

Yeah, the unfortunate part is I haven't found a clear answer on accessing the pictures without purchasing the memory maker. I don't necessarily need to have free reign over 50 not-so-great pictures out of 60, where as we're willing to pay for the handful we may want. Just unclear as to what we will still be able to do if not purchasing memory maker. Ride pictures won't be linked and available, but the real question is pertaining to CM photography I suppose.

The last time we went just the two of us for a short trip, we were able to view all the ride and photopass photographer pictures online and paid per download for the ones we wanted. The only thing we couldn't download were the ride videos like Mine Train. We also didn't get any of the photos with video magic shots, either, so I'm not sure about those, but I was able to add a border before I downloaded the pictures. It was Sept 2014 and at that time I paid $15 per download. Not sure what it would be now, but it was definitely after Memory Maker was in place because I ordered it for a longer trip in Dec.

 

[sscott87]

Hmmm. Looks like the real question is how much we think

The last time we went just the two of us for a short trip, we were able to view all the ride and photopass photographer pictures online and paid per download for the ones we wanted. The only thing we couldn't download were the ride videos like Mine Train. We also didn't get any of the photos with video magic shots, either, so I'm not sure about those, but I was able to add a border before I downloaded the pictures. It was Sept 2014 and at that time I paid $15 per download. Not sure what it would be now, but it was definitely after Memory Maker was in place because I ordered it for a longer trip in Dec.

Thanks! That's what it appears to be from what I've been reading and seeing on the Disney site, just none of it absolutely clear (because, of course, they want you to spend the money).

 

[Jerusalem Gal]

Was just there in January. My experience:

When planning our trip (my sister and I, 9 nights), I felt it would be a waste of money to purchase the memory maker. We each had our phones and she brought along her semi-professional camera as well.
Throughout the days we did end up having PhotoPass photographers take our pictures- both using our phones and their cameras. We had access to the PhotoPass pictures on our phones through the MDE app.
When we got home and I started going through the nearly 1000 photos we had accumulated, I had to admit the PhotoPass pictures were so much nicer than the ones taken on our phones. I was shocked at the download price- $15 for 1 digital download! 10-11 pictures and it would be the same price as purchasing the Memory Maker retroactively!
After a few days of going back and forth on this, I did end up spending the money (which would have been less had I purchased it before our trip) and downloaded all our pictures.

Before downloading we had access to all the pictures- both on the MDE website and the app. All the pictures had watermarks on them.
This includes ride pictures, one video of us taken at the entrance to the park (not sure why) and magic shots. We also had the option of adding borders and stickers onto the pictures before downloading. (In other words playing around with them before deciding if we want to purchase them or not.)
When I purchased the Memory Maker and downloaded all the pictures (they were in zip files) I also got some gorgeous, high quality stock shots of the different parks. (Only the ones we had PhotoPass shots in. We didn't have any pictures taken in Hollywood Studios so we didn't get any stock shots from there.)

In short- next time I'll be buying the Memory Maker ahead of time because I see it really is worth it- especially if you're just two people and can't rotate someone from the group to get a picture of everyone.
The pictures were high quality and captured the more special moments (like my avatar) before we were posed and ready for the shot.
Oh, and since I'll be buying it, I also won't hesitate to have lots and lots of PhotoPass pictures taken- something I didn't do because I didn't think I'd be buying the pictures...

 

[Gina Starr]

On our last trip (just hubby and I) we got pictures taken quite a bit more than we have on past trips. We did have an 8 day park ticket and rode lots of rides that did photos. What we did was make a photo album on Disneys website which only cost $80 compared to the memory maker for $150ish. We were able to fit all the pictures we liked into the book and it was lots of fun to put it together online because you can customize it however you like. The only thing we didn't get with the album was of course the videos but when we went in January there wasn't water marks on the videos so you could potentially record them (we didn't). If you like 5 or more photos you have I would definitely do the photo album, otherwise just print the few you like. And if you see a photographer with a short line or no line, get a picture! It takes all of 30 seconds and could be your favorite one! Also, not sure if you aware but you only have so many days to make a decision. I think it's 60 but once that time is up, your photos are gone.

ETA: What the PP said about viewing the photos is correct. We had magic bands and as we were walking away from the ride that had ride photos or the photo pass photographer I could pull up the Disney app and the pics were there already.

 

[sscott87]

Thanks for the input from your own experiences! So you were actually able to have the ride photos accessed days later in the website or app? I was under the impression that the ride photos aren't available after that day if MM isn't purchased, so I was kind of thinking that to be one of the bigger losses.

We'll probably end up buying it anyway just for the convenience and because I don't see $149 as much in the grand scheme of a $4k+ trip. While I wouldn't figure we'd order but a few pictures individually, with MM at the very least we avoid having to sit there and sort through 100+ pictures and debate which ones to get.

 

[Gina Starr]

I just double checked and all your photopass photos/videos (rides included) stay on your Disney account for 45 days from the date they are taken. I pushed it and waited until the 45th day to make my decision on what I wanted. I didn't buy memory maker (which gives you the digital rights to every photo/video) but if you buy it in advance you have to do that at least 3 days ahead of time. You don't have to buy it advance, but you get a discount if you do. Basically, if you think you will want 10 or more pictures, it's worth it to buy memory maker. Otherwise you can buy either the digital rights or paper copy of a picture for the same price $14.95.

 

[Jerusalem Gal]

Thanks for the input from your own experiences! So you were actually able to have the ride photos accessed days later in the website or app? I was under the impression that the ride photos aren't available after that day if MM isn't purchased, so I was kind of thinking that to be one of the bigger losses.

We'll probably end up buying it anyway just for the convenience and because I don't see $149 as much in the grand scheme of a $4k+ trip. While I wouldn't figure we'd order but a few pictures individually, with MM at the very least we avoid having to sit there and sort through 100+ pictures and debate which ones to get.

Yep. Like Gina said- even the ride pictures are kept on your account and you can access them later through the app or website

 

[BippidiBoppidi]

Memory Maker is worth it, in my opinion. Last trip we were only in the park two days, and this next trip we also only have two days. Even with only two days worth of photos, it is worth the $149 to us. Especially just being a couple...most vacations (non-Disney) we don't have the luxury of having photographers located all over the place available to take a photo of both of us together. So it gave us a bunch of photos with BOTH of us in the picture, lots of memories, and some great character experiences captured. Looking through the photos, knowing that each one costs $10-15...it didn't make sense to me to chance it thinking we wouldn't want more than 10 of them. We got about 200 photos in 2 days and LOVE about 20 of them, like a good handful more of them. So overall, it's worth the money to me! We had access to them for I think a whole week after our trip ended, which was plenty of time to download the ones we wanted to keep.