How do you take home the Disney magic even after your trip is over? Photos! That’s why purchasing Memory Maker for your Walt Disney World vacation is well worth the money.
A Memory Maker purchase allows you unlimited downloads of all your vacation photos throughout your Disney trip. Photopass cast members are posted all throughout Disney parks in areas such as Main Street or Hollywood Boulevard, with characters at meet and greets, and even at select character dining locations. Some locations, especially some character spots, have a background lighting that makes it difficult for phone cameras to grab a good image. Photopass photographers are experts at getting that lighting just right to grab the perfect image for you!
In order to get the photographs from photographers, all you have to do is let them scan your MagicBand. No MagicBand? No problem! Your park ticket card will also work. Shortly after you scan, photos can be viewed on your My Disney Experience app and are ready for download.
If you want to wait and see if you like the photos first, that is also an option. Photos can be scanned and uploaded to an account even without purchase, but they will appear with a watermark until you buy the Memory Maker. However, there is an advantage to purchasing Memory Maker before your trip. If you buy more than 3 days before the photos you wish to download are taken, the price will be $169. The price to download photos immediately is $199.
If you are still uncertain about how all this works during your vacation, each park has a spot where photopass cast members hang out to answer questions, help with print purchases, Memory Maker purchases, and search for photos you may have forgotten to scan your band for! If this happens, it is a good idea to try and remember the date and time of the photos you need added to your account. The cast members are always very helpful in searching through photos to find yours if needed. Also, some attraction photos will automatically link to your account through your MagicBand, so don’t worry if you didn’t scan for everything!
From my experience in the parks, my photos downloaded from Memory Maker are always so much better than the ones on my phone. They are just a better quality and really capture the light and colors of the park in a beautiful way. Also, it really is just nice to live in the moment with characters and have fun instead of worrying about being behind the lens!
If I still don’t have you fully convinced that this is worth the purchase, taking photos with Disney photographers is also fun! The cast members are always very friendly and try to do shots and poses that are fun for the whole family. Some photographers also have different signs or frames that you can hold up in your photos so you can bring home unique memories to save forever.
Memory Maker also comes with fun shots called Magic Shots. For these photos or short videos, cast members may ask you to pose a certain way. When you view your photos, you may notice some special characters have been added in! It’s always a fun surprise to see what character has joined in your shot.
Memory Maker not only lets you download your own photos, but also the photos of a limited number of your family and friends. Just keep in mind that your photos will only remain on your My Disney Experience app for 45 days before they expire, so make sure to download them as soon as you can!
Now, go collect your magical memories!
