What is Memory Maker???

[laplbl@aol.com]

My trip is quickly approaching (2 weeks!!!) and I received in the mail information about Memory Maker. I've read the information of the Disney Website, but I'm a little confused about it. Can you please explain Memory Maker to me and whether it is worth buying.

Thanks for all your help

 

[Winnowill]

It's a photo package. Basically, you pay a flat rate ($150 if purchased ahead of time, $200 if not), and you get all of the pictures taken by Disney's PhotoPass photographers including those at character meet-and-greets and all ride photos (which normally go for $15 per, otherwise). If you're going for a longer trip and plan on lots of character meetings and/or rides with photos, it's definitely worth it. Otherwise, not so much. We got it at DLR last year (in its "PhotoPass+" incarnation) and it was the best money we spent on that trip, so it was a no-brainer for our eight days at WDW even though it's twice the price of the DLR version. You can put borders and images on the pictures before you download them if you want. Dress them up a little bit.

 

[DisneyFlash]

What winnowill said. We weren't sure either, but ended being glad we got it. My daughter did quite a few meet & greets, we stopped for every photog we found (especially at World Showcase & a before and after shot at each park) and we rode "picture rides" quite a bit and we knew we would, so in the end we figured it would be worth it. I read somewhere on the boards a family made it a game or contest to get at least 150 pics...so I told my family the same....I expected at least 150 pics. We ended with a little over 200. Now some of those were the same photo opportunity (i.e. 3 or 4 or 5 shots of the same pose as we walked into MK), but we were very happy got it. We do not regret it at all.
Don't be shy to ask anything specific you want and you will get some photogs who are creative and have great ideas and some who are not so much. But we still are very glad we got it.

 

[Winnowill]

Also, some of the photographers have "Magic Shots" that you can request. Basically, they put Tinkerbell in your hand, or something. They're different at every park. (That's not Memory Maker-specific - if you only want to get one or two pictures, you can buy them individually, instead.)

 

[UpstateMick]

We didn't get our money's worth. It was a hassle stopping and waiting just for a picture. If it was a once in a lifetime trip, by all means...get it. But we go every year, and we are running out of things to do with our pictures.

 

[disneywithbaby]

with memory maker how do the photographers know you have it, do they scan your wrist band when you get your photo taken? how do you collect your pictures? Do you have to go online and download them or are they printed out for you and put someplace?

 

[UFyellowfin]

Yes if they take your picture and see that you have a magicband they will ask to scan it. You dont even have to have the Memory Maker for them to do this. As long as you have MDE and the magicband when you get home you can click on the link for photos and you can preview them there and purchase them as well.

My question is do they have people taking photos at the Character Dining locations? Would our memory maker be useful at these locations basically?

 

[kugelette]

My question is do they have people taking photos at the Character Dining locations? Would our memory maker be useful at these locations basically?

Yep.

 

[cleverclovers]

Any problems with lost photos? I had the Photopass+ in June and they lost several pictures. Tried calling but unless you can document the time and exactly what you were wearing and where - they weren't much help.

 

[disney queen]

i've been going back and forth about this. i will be on a solo trip and just don't know if it is worth it. i do have one character breakfast planned and don;t mind waiting in line for characters. have been many times, but this is my second solo. tell me what you think????

 

[kbonner]

I enjoyed pp+ on our last trip. It's all about how you prefer your photos, which ones you want to get.

 

[Belleandtinker]

So memory maker is photo pass plus?

 

[JeremyGNJ]

So I bought MemoryMaker+...but I'm staying off-site and wont have Magic Bands.

They sent me a MM card and all is good. But once we're at the park, can they just scan anyone's RFID ticket just like a Magic Band?

 

[Lindaland]

I was also wondering if this would be good for a solo trip. I don't want to have to keep stopping people and ask them to take my pics but then again I want pics with me in them. Not to mention ride & character meal pics. Since this is my first solo trip I don't know if I will even take enough pics to make it worth the cost. Have any of the solo travelers out there used memory maker or PP+ and felt it was a good deal?

I was also wondering how long the memory maker was good for since I will be at WDW one day and then a 7 day cruise, then back to WDW for 6 days so will the memory maker last from the first night through the end of the second stay?

Thanks in advance for any answers.

 

[henry72]

with memory maker how do the photographers know you have it, do they scan your wrist band when you get your photo taken? how do you collect your pictures? Do you have to go online and download them or are they printed out for you and put someplace?

If you have MM, I would tell the photographer since anyone with a magic band can be scanned. They will either scan your magic band (or a photopass card for those without a band). When you return home, you log into your account and can then edit the photos (change sizes, add signatures and borders) You will then get to download them to your own computer. After that you can print them at home or any location (like Wal-mart, Walgreens or Shutterbug). You do not get any physical prints.

My question is do they have people taking photos at the Character Dining locations? Would our memory maker be useful at these locations basically?

Some dining locations have a photo set up BEFORE the meal (Cinderella at CRT, Donald at Tusker House...) but there are NO photographers at the meals following the characters around.

Any problems with lost photos? I had the Photopass+ in June and they lost several pictures. Tried calling but unless you can document the time and exactly what you were wearing and where - they weren't much help.

I have had lost photos before with Photopass and they have always been able to find them. I usually email them the information - location and roughly time of the photo shoot and what we were wearing. It may take them awhile but they usually can find them. (In our case the person in front of us was put on our photopass so they knew the location and since we had other photos that day, they could see what we were wearing.)

So memory maker is photo pass plus?

Yes except there is no disc. Everything is a digital download and you don't get a CD with other resort/park standard photos.

 

[Winnowill]

I was also wondering if this would be good for a solo trip. I don't want to have to keep stopping people and ask them to take my pics but then again I want pics with me in them. Not to mention ride & character meal pics. Since this is my first solo trip I don't know if I will even take enough pics to make it worth the cost. Have any of the solo travelers out there used memory maker or PP+ and felt it was a good deal?

Any PhotoPass photographers you encounter will take your picture with your own camera if you ask them to.

 

[katew449]

If someone in our party is on a different reservation and has mm, will our magic bands still pick up the pics for that mm account or will we need to manually load them in? ( were " friends" on the mde app and will make 100% sure were linked when we check in)
Also, can you see your pics before you return to your hometown? Via the mde app?

 

[disney queen]

thanks, Winnowill! i had forgotten that!! anyone else w/ideas for solo travelers??

 

[MikeRa]

My question is do they have people taking photos at the Character Dining locations? Would our memory maker be useful at these locations basically?

Some dining locations have a photo set up BEFORE the meal (Cinderella at CRT, Donald at Tusker House...) but there are NO photographers at the meals following the characters around.

Don't forget Chef Mickey's at CR

 

[MilitaryDisney]

If someone in our party is on a different reservation and has mm, will our magic bands still pick up the pics for that mm account or will we need to manually load them in? ( were " friends" on the mde app and will make 100% sure were linked when we check in)
Also, can you see your pics before you return to your hometown? Via the mde app?

Negative. Even if you're friends and linked up with reservations dinner wise and such, if you are under reservation 1234x5 and they are under 1234x6, only the reservation with the photo package will show up on that account. So if x5 has it and not x6, you will have to scan x5 magic band. Now, when I talked to the lady on the phone, she wouldnt come out and say it, but the other couple going with us, when we want pictures of just my wife and I, and the those two alone, we just scan my band each time and they show up under one account.

But no, they couldnt run off and do their own thing, have pictures taken on their bands and it show up under our reservation with the photo package.