When on a family vacation, it's always hard to get that perfect group shot. More often than not, one person is always out of the picture. Throughout the years, Disney has done different photo things for their guests. Attractions had photos you could purchase. Select character meet and greets had photos you could purchase. After your photo was taken, you were given a slip and had to go to one of the shops in the park to see said photo. Over recent years, Disney has evolved this system into its current rendition, the Memory Maker.
Prior to your trip, you can opt to purchase the Memory Maker (currently, the prior to trip cost is $149, while the cost if you purchase on your trip is $169). While on your trip, anywhere you spot a PhotoPass photographer, you can stop and have your picture taken. Depending on how long of a line they have, you could get multiple shots in one location. After your photos are taken, the cast member will scan your Magic Band, which loads the photos to your account. You can then immediately view these photos on your My Disney Experience App. Also, any attraction that offers a ride photo will automatically load your photo to your Magic Band (thank you RFID technology!); sometimes there's even a video of you on that attraction. Sometimes, photographers will also do what's called a "magic shot". They will pose you a particular way and take your picture, and then, thanks to some Disney magic, when you see your picture, there will be a character there.
taken October 2016
taken April 2015
taken October 2016
Once you return home, you can log into your Disney account (the same one linked to your My Disney Experience App) to then view and download your photos. This is where the fun begins. You can then also add fun borders and stickers to the photos. There are different borders for different times of year, different events, and even different attractions.
I absolutely love Disney's Memory Maker. Last October, my husband and I went on our honeymoon to Walt Disney World. I knew from the beginning I would have Memory Maker on our trip. Almost every photographer I spotted, we stopped for a picture. They have photographers placed all over the parks (multiple in high-photo locations, such as the landmarks of each park). There are also photographers at every character meet and greet. Wanting a picture on your device (phone, camera, etc)? Don't worry-the cast member will take ones for you with your device. They may even snap one of you taking a selfie with Mickey
We ended up with over 300 photos on our Memory Maker. And that was before I started adding borders and stickers.
Memory Maker is definitely worth the cost. If you just added together the cost of attraction pictures alone, it's paid for itself. The photos taken are some of the best souvenirs from a magical Disney vacation. (bonus tip: if you have a celebration button on, sometimes you end up with even more photos)
Below are more examples of some of the different things you can add to photos.
year border
attraction border (they also have attraction stickers)
character signature (not every character has a signature option)
seasonal border
Park-specific border (there are also park-specific stickers)
Special Event Border (there are also special event stickers)
different sticker options (the ones shown here are more location-specific)
more sticker options (these ones are more generic options)
Walt Disney World border
