Reviews of Theme Park Photo Pass
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 04/10/2015
Rating: (7) Recommended
If you're going with a large group, I feel this is a better value when the cost can be split up. No way did my friend and I take enough photos to justify the $170 price on our own. We did get photos from almost all the rides that offer them (did not ride the Mine Train this trip) and those were a nice thing to have. We did get some beautiful shots on Main Street at night.
I was disappointed that as two adults, we were not offered any "magic" shots, or the magic videos that I see other people getting. They also lost one of my sets of photos with the Anna & Elsa topiaries at the Flower & Garden Festivals. I would not be so upset if it was one of the other more common pictures that I have many, many copies from over the years, but this was new, unique one. Filled out the lost photo form but they could not find it for me.
Pros:
Some nice pictures and border/sticker optionsCons:
Missing photos, no magic shots or videosReviewed by Mich97 Review Date: 08/29/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
Overall it was worth it. I like having the different options on borders for pictures. And with the photopass plus I really liked getting all our ride photos and photo packages from characters meals. That alone save us money in the long run. My only complaints were we had some missing pictures from the Magic Kingdom (on 4 different occasions). I did contact guest services and they were able to find 2 of the four occasions. My other complaint is their website is very slow.
Pros:
ValueCons:
website, some pictures missingReviewed by ThriftyMommaBear Review Date: 02/17/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
Some friends recommended using the Disney Photo Pass for the added convenience of having our more photos to choose from when we got home.
The only problem was our CD somehow listed each photo TWICE and could not be edited before we purchased ?!! Hoping this was a one time glitch.
Also there were many Stock photos on there courtesy of Disney that can help if you are are serious scrapbooker.
On an UP NOTE - the one group family photo that turned out well was temporarily LOST ( the Photo Pass photographer's card reader was not working that day so she had taken a photo of our card ) and through the website customer service they we able to recover it based upon our description of clothing and time and place taken ! That became our Christmas card that year - so all in all it was worth it.
Pros:
ConvenienceCons:
Cd had doubles of each photo -charged per photo !Reviewed by Gingy160 Review Date: 11/04/2019
Rating: (8) Recommended
Although I love the idea of Photopass, I am *still* having issues finding photographers everywhere except Main Street, USA. Even with the app telling us where they are, we get there and there's nobody to be found. When we do manage to find a photographer, the photos are great! And if they can add magic (maybe half of them could last week), it's even better.
Pros:
Great photos, fun magicCons:
Finding the bloody photographersReviewed by SarahB4 Review Date: 04/18/2019
Rating: (8) Recommended
Used this service in 2013 and will use it again in 2019. I HATE taking photos and never remember. With photopass, I didn’t have to! Every time I saw someone in a Lakshmi uniform with a camera, we stopped and took one. The MAgic shots were the best. My son was so excited to see tinker bell in his hand later!
Pros:
Magic shots, less stuff to carry, good quality to photos, digital sharing and printing, wonderfully cast members!Cons:
Not always too notch quality photos, some ride photos are not eligibleReviewed by Candy Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
Photopass
Pros:
Photos sent to MDE, perk of Annual passCons:
Few photographers in certain placesReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
We get Photopass as part of the annual pass deal so in our case it is definitely worth it. Finding photographers can be tricky at times but we take pictures just about every time we do find one. Some photographers take great shots while some others don’t seem to have “the eye” for framing the perfect shot. We love the surprise of taking magic shots. Although there are so many more that when we used Photopass for the first time it seems like there are so many characters and possibilities that are missing.
Pros:
Magic shots Lots of great memoriesCons:
Finding photographers Some photographers are better than othersReviewed by MM from Connecticut Review Date: 06/09/2017
Rating: (8) Recommended
I usually purchase a few professional photos but still take my own photos. They are always friendly and patient.
Pros:
Get the Whole Family in Great PhotosCons:
Long Lines for PhotographersReviewed by DisneyDucksNoVa Review Date: 04/01/2015
Rating: (8) Recommended
We bought the Memory Maker package for our trip the first week of March 2015. It was our first trip bringing our 1 year old daughter and we wanted an easy way to get all three of us in the shot. Based on prior reviews about missing photos, I looked at the Photo Pass site each evening or next morning during the trip to make sure we had all the photos, but we didn't have any missing. Hopefully the newer Magic Bands are solving that issue.
The downloaded images are larger resolutions so they are suitable for larger prints. I have a large format inkjet printer (up to 11 x 17) so I'm able to print 11 x 14 pictures and the image is still very sharp. Downloading with the package also allows for us to use the photos however we want to as long as personal use so we are not restricted to only viewing on their website or buying their prints for the limited time.
From looking at our photos, we could tell there were some photographers that were experienced, but I believe many are not very experienced. They are using fairly expensive DSLR cameras, but many photos just seem to have been taken on full auto mode, which produced similar quality photos as our smartphones that we handed to the photographer. However, some photographers took very good pictures that were much better than what a smartphone or a point-and-shoot camera could do and the photos are good enough for hanging in our house as a larger print. We were able to get good quality photos without lugging around our DSLR all through the parks all the time.
The package price only comes two ways: regular price and advanced purchase discount. The package is then good for 14 consecutive days, but we were at the resorts for only 5 days. It would be nice if they had a less expensive one week option. With the current pricing, the longer you stay the more value you get. I would get this product again, but only if we are staying at least a full week.
Pros:
Getting everyone in the shot; easily linked by Magic BandCons:
Inexperienced photographers; one price regardless the length of visitReviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 04/02/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
I was very happy to find out that even if you didn't spend the money for Memory Maker, your Magic Band can still be used to link Photopass pictures to your account. This made it very easy for everyone in my party to get photos taken throughout the park and have them in one place. We got some very nice pictures at the Main Entrance of Epcot, and my friends also got some on the bridge near France and at the Character Spot. While we may only pay to download one, it's nice to be able to screenshot all of them, though this obviously doesn't result in a very high quality.
The website gets horrible marks in my opinion. I thought the old website was bad but the new version is even worse. It's slow and temperamental-I've been trying to share pictures with my friends who are IN the pictures for two days and I can't get it to cooperate!