Disney’s PhotoPass Readers’ Comments

Let us know about your Photo Pass experience!

May 2006, Dawn Chew: I ran into a situation where I thought I had lost my card (though my husband had it after all), went to the photo center at Epcot and they were able to find my account write it down and give me a new card. At that time we learned that soon you could have your ride photos, as well as the character meal photos on your PhotoPass card. So, keep your eyes and ears peeled. Though I took almost 2,000 pics, the purchase of the CD was the best thing going. We have not problems printing pictures at home or other photo centers. Best of all I choose what size photo I want.

April 2006, Lorie Costa: I would definitely say that if you are the type that likes to have a lot of pictures from your vacation, try PhotoPass. When you enter the parks, you will notice a cast member with a camera, when first arriving, get a photo pass card (looks like a credit card) and they will take your picture. At most of the character picture/autograph sessions there is a cast member there taking pictures. Always give your card. I ended up with 138 pictures on my card. At the end of your trip the best place to check your pictures is at Mickey's Toontown at the Magic Kingdom. The photo pass cost me $99 for a cd, plus they give you the copyright info so you do not have problems printing the pictures when you get home. It seems costly at first, but I would have spent way more than this printing the pictures I wanted there. They even modify your pictures for you, they pull out some of the best and put in autographs or logos from the parks. Plus you at least get to have family pictures of all of you rather than bothering someone else to take your picture, their quality of pictures were great and if you want extra of your son/daughter with a particular character just let the CM know and they will be more than happy to take extra.

March 2006, joe mullins: We just got back on March 6th, 2006 and Photopass was again a great thing. My wife and I both had 1 in case we were separated and different pictures. I love the slide show ability and to be able to email your friends so they can view your trip. Use your own camera for the same shots. I would like to be able to buy smaller prints 4 x 6 instead of 5 x 7. If the price was $9.95, I think a lot more would be sold, of course if you buy 5 and with 20% discount gets you down to $10.00 each.

February 2006, Kim Stella:We used the PhotoPass card on our recent trip to Disney World. It was really great to just hand the card to the photographer and know that all of our pictures would be in one place. On the last day of our trip, we went to the camera shop at Magic Kingdom only to find out that we could not view all of our pictures because the camera shop at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and the Studios are Kodak shops… On the positive side, the pictures were wonderful and worth the hassle!

January 2006, Lisa Jane Wood: We love Disney Photopass! To my surprise and delight, Photopass was offered at the Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party. The picture in front of the Haunted Mansion with one of the Hitch-hiking ghosts was a magical moment for us! If you are in a theme park in the evening- take advantage of Photopass because their nighttime photos turn out great!

I used Photopass at almost every opportunity I had with the characters and also in the theme parks in front of the "icons". It worked great for me! I still had someone use my camera as well just in case. Photographers seemed to be everywhere and they were definetly promoting it. After each photo they told me the photos would be ready in an hour or so but I didn't get them in the parks and the only time I did in Epcot it was much past 1 hour so I don't know how accurate their 1 hour statement is. As far as I know all of my pictures were there. There was 54 all together so I could have forgotten some. I did purchase some down in Disney in Epcot because one of the pictures I got for free for being a Disney Visa member. I just purchased some online and although the price is a tad steep I am still splurging because they are so cute. Over all I think Photopass is a great idea and I will definetly use it the next time I go! (Rachel, December 2005)

We decided to approach a Disney photographer at the Magic Kingdom to inquire about a DisneyPhotoPass. We carried it around with us and gave it to the photographer around the other parks as well. When we got home we went onto the website and put in our pass # with a password to start our account. The pictures were great. I added a couple of borders to the various park pictures and did some cropping on others, since in some there were people we didn't want in our shots. We then placed our order and decided to get 6 prints x 2. We figured that if we let the Disney pros process this order, then it would likely come out better than using those machines at the stores. I remind you that this made it pricey, but well worth it. I did pay the $15.99 extra for Express shipping. It was well worth it since I received them in 2 days from my order date, instead of standard shipping which would have taken 1-2 weeks from the order date. Since, placing my order though, I received an email today, telling me that they were leaving our pictures out an extra 30 days for our viewing pleasure. Usually after 30 days, they wipe the away. We highly recommend getting the photopass though. The memories are priceless. We are going back and can't wait to use the pass again. (Cindy B, October 2005)

The Disney park photographers are no longer people to be avoided! My husband and I were approached by one at EPCOT who took a fabulous picture with our own digital camera. On subsequent days, we had photographers take our pictures with their cameras and ours, then they give you a card they scanned called the Disney Photo Pass. While my husband and I plan to buy one, our family members enjoyed seeing the numerous shots already online through Disney. If they don't offer to take a picture with your camera, be sure to ask, and either the photographer or one of the assistants will. This is a great way to get a picture of the entire group! (Julie Beck, October 2005)

We just returned from a trip to Disney World and found out that with Photopass your pictures can only be viewed in the parks that they were taken in for 3 days. However, if you want to view your photos from all of the parks in one place or if you are staying for a longer stay and want to view them at the end of your vacation on property, you can view them in the gift shop at the Grand Floridian. They will remain on their system for 30 days. The same as when you register and view them online. We were there for 12 days and had 84 pictures taken so viewing them at the end of our vacation made for the best selection. (Cindy Higgins, September 2005)

Just got back from the World vacation with my family (Mom, brother, sister-in-law and 3 children ages 8, 6 & 3). We used PhotoPass at MGM and Magic Kingdom and all of the pics came out beautiful! I had fun adding borders and cropping on the website. I managed to turn 7 pictures into 18 with no problem!!! The photographer in the Magic Kingdom was great. He took 4 poses with his camera and then took another 4 with my camera. All came out great. Also, I had a PhotoPass from my last trip in December 2004 and had received another one in my Annual Pass newsletter. This worked out great when the group split up. I gave one to my brother to carry for the duration of the trip and reclaimed it the last day and just added it to my account once I got home. I still don't trust that the pictures will turn out and always ask the photographer to take at least one pic with my camera. Just in case. I also think the prices are too high and that they should offer 4×6 prints. (Debbie Geiser, August 2005)

Photo Pass is a wonderful adition to the Disney Theme Parks. I work in the photography business and I know how hard it is to get things to work especially with a large group of people who want it their way everytime. People have to understand that every picture is not going to turn out great . Consdering that the photos are all free of charge to take as well as share them for free I wouldn't complain too much. The photograpers were all excellent. I would suggest taking advantage of this FREE service. (Art, August 2005)

Deb Wills and Debra Martin Koma used PhotoPass on their weekend visit in mid-July. Of the 6 or so photos we had taken, only one had been mis-cropped. The others came out nicely. Though we didn't purchase any, they were nice to share with friends when we returned home. (July 2005)

Learn; please, from our mistake. Do NOT depend upon Disney's Photo Pass. I can not tell you how sickened, disappointed, shocked and angry we felt to find that our daughter's birthday photos with the Princesses were lost due to thier photographer's error. Please take your own photos. Besides, Disney's photos, if ordered, are very expensive. Otherwise, take plenty of water and film. (The Clark Family, July 2005)

I LOVED Photopass! The pictures are a little pricey (although not as bad as I expected), but there is evidence that I visited with my family. (I take most of the pictures — therefore, I am in few of the pictures). We never waited more than a minute and the photographers were very nice. I especially liked the ability to get character signatures printed on the picture. I only wish we had discovered it BEFORE our last day there! (Holly Jordan, June 2005)

Thanks to your readers I was prepared for a terrible photopass experience. But by following the tips given, such as make sure the card beeps or lights up green, I had a wonderful experience with PhotoPass. Every one of my photos was there (and I kept careful tract) and the borders were lovely and I got to choose. How great is that! I also used the Photopass on line offer to save and saved over $85.00 dollars on my order of $190.00. They even offered photos of the parks in the gallery area, things I could not get good pictures of such as the tree at night. So I hope that you will run this letter to let
everyone know that Disney has made a great effort to make things better and to please give it a try, it really beats standing in line for them! (Lisa West, June 2005)

We utilized the PhotoPass photographers at each park and liked all of the pictures! The photographers took pictures with my camera which also turned out well! We did buy a few of the photos to bring home with us and are now debating which ones to order to add to our scrapbook. The photographers asked us almost passively if we wished to get our picture taken. The had great personalities and constant smiles on their faces often joking with us. When we agreed to get our pictures taken, they were quick to get
us into a fun pose and snap the picture. The picture quality was fantastic. We utilized the same card at each park. While the card system was great, it would have been "best" if we could have viewed purchased pictures from the other parks at the same time. Instead, we had to go back to Animal Kingdom to view our pictures taken there. I found the Photopass photographers to be polite and professional without losing the Disney magic I have grown to love! (Monica, May 2005)

I had a great experience with it! With the exception of not being able to find anyone obvious at Animal Kingdom, it worked well for me and my 16 yr old in April. All of my family were able to see the photos. The price was about the same as if I had bought them at the park, without having to worry about packing them.(A BIG plus for me, as I live in California) I did miss the cute paper frames, though. I
wish they had this at DL and DCA!!! (Michele Rush, May 2005)

We had a great experience with PhotoPass overall on our recent trip to Disney World. The pictures we had taken were good–we ended up buying 7 of 26. They seemed to take several poses of each site, a good idea when dealing with a party of 6, including 3 kids. The special effects they can create/stage are fun, especially for the kids to see. Just a tip on purchasing them…they offer great deals when you order online. When I purchased you could get 40% off with an order of $90 or more. I would never have gotten so many pictures if not for that discount! Now I think the discount is more like 15-20%. I do think you should be able to put the pictures taken on the rides and at resort restaurants on to the PhotoPass card also. It would be nice to have all the pictures in one place. We found the PhotoPass photographers most available in the mornings…finding someone in the fternoons and evenings was difficult. I wish they were a bit more aggressive in getting you to get a photo taken–most we ran into we had to practically bribe to take our picture! Also, PhotoPass photographers were not consistently at all character greeting locations. I wish they had been at more. (Kelly, May 2005)

We just returned from a trip with our oldest son and 2 grandchildren… Just to let you know .. if a picture with any of the characters, or in front of any of the SPECIAL landmarks… such as the Castle, Tree of Life, etc, is important to you… make sure you take it yourself. Most of our Photopass photos, have the tops of the heads cut off, or the background is not even visible…. It was very disappointing to say the least. (H. Stevens, May 2005)

I emailed Disney Photopass and as of Friday, March 4, 2005, you are able to crop your photos on their website. Although, you are not able at this time to move their logos to better suit your picture. I too had terrible photographers! I complained to all who had email links! Out of 50 pictures taken, I only kind of liked 10. Only a few of those were any good. Please encourage any readers who have used photopass and are disappointed in the photographers' quality to complain! They use digital cameras and can view their pictures instantly! There is no excuse for cutting off characters' heads! (Yes, this happened to us too!) (Bonnie Johnson)

I've just finished reading your comprehensive PhotoPass article and would like to add a couple of observations of my own. When we returned from our trip in December, we had several photos of complete strangers in our album, so I guess that's what happens to some of the 'lost' photos. Both times we had photos taken, the CMs offered to take pictures with our own cameras, too. (Debbie Churchill)