Very confused about Memory Maker.

[comcastlover33]

Hi!
My trip to Walt Disney World is fast approaching, my party and I are very excited. I recently became curious about Memory Maker, and I have a few questions for those who have used it. Any help is appreciated:
1. Will Photopass Photographers use my personal camera if I request they take a picture, even if I dont purchase Memory Maker?
2. How does Memory Maker work at Character Dining? Ive heard a Photographer takes pictures of you while you're eating?
3. What is the deal with the Ride/Attraction pictures?
4. What was your personal opinion on Memory Maker?
Thank you!

 

[siskaren]

1. Yes.

2. No, that's not how it works. At meals that offer a picture, the picture is taken before you enter the restaurant in front of a backdrop. I think a couple have a character in addition to the backdrop, but I'm not sure which ones.

3. I'm not sure what you mean by this. Some of the rides offer pictures (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Test Track, Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Dinosaur and Expedition Everest), and if you have a Magic Band, you don't half to go to the photo desk at the end of the ride; there's a sensor where the picture gets taken that detects your Magic Band and automatically adds it to your account. (And this is the case even if you don't buy Memory Maker.)

4. I actually haven't used it yet (although I did pre-order the similar PhotoPass CD when it was available), but the thing to remember is that in order to make it worth it, you have to make an effort to stop and get your picture taken.

 

[kmoore7]

We went last July and bought the Memory Maker. We had over 400 pictures taken all over the parks. Well worth the money IMHO

 

[Figmentmommy]

At 'Ohana breakfast there is no longer a photo taken before you enter. The photographers stopped at our table during the meal and took several photos of our kids and then our whole family with Stitch. So this varies from other meals (like Chef Mickey's) where the photo is done pre meal.
As far as our opinion on Memory Maker.....our family loved it! We were there for 8 days and wound up with approximately 400 photos once we were done adding borders, captions, etc. - which we thought was a good amount for the $149 cost. We liked the fact that there wasn't one of us left out of the photo by always having to take our own. We got some terrific photo opportunities and we also used our own camera snapping photos when we wanted. We also loved the new long range reader with the magicbands eliminating the stop at the photo booth to scan- although I will admit that our kids scanned their bands on occasion just for the fun of it!

 

[karpy111]

Can you download then to your personal computer so you can print them or can you only view them through your MDE account?
Also is the quality pretty good? Could I make nice 8X10's?

 

[comcastlover33]

1. Yes.

2. No, that's not how it works. At meals that offer a picture, the picture is taken before you enter the restaurant in front of a backdrop. I think a couple have a character in addition to the backdrop, but I'm not sure which ones.

3. I'm not sure what you mean by this. Some of the rides offer pictures (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Test Track, Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Dinosaur and Expedition Everest), and if you have a Magic Band, you don't half to go to the photo desk at the end of the ride; there's a sensor where the picture gets taken that detects your Magic Band and automatically adds it to your account. (And this is the case even if you don't buy Memory Maker.)

4. I actually haven't used it yet (although I did pre-order the similar PhotoPass CD when it was available), but the thing to remember is that in order to make it worth it, you have to make an effort to stop and get your picture taken.

Thank you very much for the reply! Your information is very helpful, and will be in my decision!

 

[henry lutz]

Good to check your pix every day while at the world. Sometimes pix need to be retrieved ( somehow they don't show up) cast members will help you

 

[supersnoop]

Can you download then to your personal computer so you can print them or can you only view them through your MDE account?
Also is the quality pretty good? Could I make nice 8X10's?

Quality is fine for 8x10 or maybe even larger prints. The person who purchases Memory Maker can download the photos, which comes with a release so you can have them printed anywhere you want.

 

[comcastlover33]

At 'Ohana breakfast there is no longer a photo taken before you enter. The photographers stopped at our table during the meal and took several photos of our kids and then our whole family with Stitch. So this varies from other meals (like Chef Mickey's) where the photo is done pre meal.
As far as our opinion on Memory Maker.....our family loved it! We were there for 8 days and wound up with approximately 400 photos once we were done adding borders, captions, etc. - which we thought was a good amount for the $149 cost. We liked the fact that there wasn't one of us left out of the photo by always having to take our own. We got some terrific photo opportunities and we also used our own camera snapping photos when we wanted. We also loved the new long range reader with the magicbands eliminating the stop at the photo booth to scan- although I will admit that our kids scanned their bands on occasion just for the fun of it!

400 photos is quite a lot! It seems like Memory Maker is quite convenient, thank you for your response!

 

[siskaren]

Can you download then to your personal computer so you can print them or can you only view them through your MDE account?
Also is the quality pretty good? Could I make nice 8X10's?

That's what you're paying for - the ability to download them.

 

[comcastlover33]

We went last July and bought the Memory Maker. We had over 400 pictures taken all over the parks. Well worth the money IMHO

Wow, thanks for your response!

 

[karpy111]

That's what you're paying for - the ability to download them.

Quality is fine for 8x10 or maybe even larger prints. The person who purchases Memory Maker can download the photos, which comes with a release so you can have them printed anywhere you want.

Thanks, good to know about the release and the quality.

 

[misse320]

3. I'm not sure what you mean by this. Some of the rides offer pictures (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Test Track, Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Dinosaur and Expedition Everest), and if you have a Magic Band, you don't half to go to the photo desk at the end of the ride; there's a sensor where the picture gets taken that detects your Magic Band and automatically adds it to your account. (And this is the case even if you don't buy Memory Maker.)

No way! It didn't work that way when we were there last spring. Still had to get your magic band scanned for ride photos. That's pretty cool that it goes straight to your MB now!

 

[siskaren]

No way! It didn't work that way when we were there last spring. Still had to get your magic band scanned for ride photos. That's pretty cool that it goes straight to your MB now!

I think it started in August.

 

[Mikie]

To expand on your good info above - photogs will use your camera, but a cool thing about MM is that while you're meeting with a character, they'll be snapping away getting candid shots with their own camera. When you stop and pose, they'll get one with your camera and with theirs. Sometimes those candids are really special.

Character meals with a posed shot before seating include Cinderella's Royal Table (with cinderella) Akershus (with Belle), Chef Mickey (with a backdrop and mickey statue) and i think Tusker house (with Donald) - Memory Maker includes these photos. During the meal, your table is visited by 4-5 characters who visit, sign autographs and pose for your own camera - no photographer comes around with them, so they're not part of MM.

Personally, since i ride all the photo rides, stop at least 2 times per park for posed shots, meet characters and do character meals I love MM and reallt got plenty of pictures to make it worthwhile. At $169 for MM and $15 per picture a la carte, you need to want 11+ pictures to make financial sense.

 

[supersnoop]

No way! It didn't work that way when we were there last spring. Still had to get your magic band scanned for ride photos. That's pretty cool that it goes straight to your MB now!

I think it started in August.

It was working for us in June, but there were still some bugs in the system.

 

[asbyrneva]

Additionally mm is the only way to get ride video and other extras. SDMT and ToT both had videos in November of you on the ride. Additionally there are Animated photos sometimes. For example you get a photo with Olaf and when you check your photos they have added Olaf dancing to your still. Very cute. We have used it a number of times and think its worth the money.

 

[Tink379]

With the old photopass system, I noticed that even though I gave the photographer my card, I still had some missing photos. I was able to have them find them and they restored them to my account. Maybe things are better synced up now?

 

[angierae]

To expand on your good info above - photogs will use your camera, but a cool thing about MM is that while you're meeting with a character, they'll be snapping away getting candid shots with their own camera. When you stop and pose, they'll get one with your camera and with theirs. Sometimes those candids are really special.

Character meals with a posed shot before seating include Cinderella's Royal Table (with cinderella) Akershus (with Belle), Chef Mickey (with a backdrop and mickey statue) and i think Tusker house (with Donald) - Memory Maker includes these photos. During the meal, your table is visited by 4-5 characters who visit, sign autographs and pose for your own camera - no photographer comes around with them, so they're not part of MM.

Personally, since i ride all the photo rides, stop at least 2 times per park for posed shots, meet characters and do character meals I love MM and reallt got plenty of pictures to make it worthwhile. At $169 for MM and $15 per picture a la carte, you need to want 11+ pictures to make financial sense.

To expand on your good info above - photogs will use your camera, but a cool thing about MM is that while you're meeting with a character, they'll be snapping away getting candid shots with their own camera. When you stop and pose, they'll get one with your camera and with theirs. Sometimes those candids are really special.

Character meals with a posed shot before seating include Cinderella's Royal Table (with cinderella) Akershus (with Belle), Chef Mickey (with a backdrop and mickey statue) and i think Tusker house (with Donald) - Memory Maker includes these photos. During the meal, your table is visited by 4-5 characters who visit, sign autographs and pose for your own camera - no photographer comes around with them, so they're not part of MM.

Personally, since i ride all the photo rides, stop at least 2 times per park for posed shots, meet characters and do character meals I love MM and reallt got plenty of pictures to make it worthwhile. At $169 for MM and $15 per picture a la carte, you need to want 11+ pictures to make financial sense.

The candids are my favorite, honestly. Whenever we set our stuff down by the photographer I always mention that we've prepaid for the photos and to please take candids.

 

[dtaylor98]

Does the memory maker include photos of everyone in your group or does each person have to purchase it?