by Pixie Dusted Diva
During your Walt Disney World vacation you are going to take lots of pictures! Wouldn’t it be great if your whole family could be in the picture? Well Disney has figured that out for you. Memory Maker allows you to download digital copies of all photos taken using Disney’s Photopass Service during your trip. Photopass photographers are located in all theme parks, select attraction and dining locations and even in some resorts (at select times)! You’ll find a photographer at practically every character meet and greet, so make sure you stop for those characters!
Every photo taken is magically scanned to your My Disney Experience account through your Magic Band or photopass card. Disney also updated the My Disney Experience mobile app to allow your photographs to be seen and downloaded on your mobile device.
In my opinion, Memory Maker is worth the price if you take advantage of all it has to offer. You need to stop for the photographe
rs to take your picture!
Every trip we pre-purchase Memory Maker. Pictures taken after 3 days of purchasing will be included in your download. There is now an option for immediate start, should you forget to purchase Memory Maker and are leaving for your trip. Currently, the price is $149 for advance purchase and $169 for immediate start purchase. .Anyone can purchase Memory Maker regardless if you are staying on property or off property. To prepurchase you will want to log into the My Disney Experience account of the one person who will own the Memory Maker. Everyone can add pictures when linked through My Disney Experience, but only one person owns the download privileges.
I’ve come up with some tips to help you take advantage your Memory Maker purchase.
Eat at select dining experiences
At the entrance to several restaurants (listed below) Disney Photopass Photographers are available to take a family photo. Photographers are not available during the meal for character interaction. Disney stopped offering the print packages at meals, so you will not be offered the picture to buy during your meal. Please note photographers are subject to availability, and are not guaranteed.
- Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom
- Akershus in Norway at Epcot
- Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary Resort
- 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian
- Hoop-Dee-Doo at Fort Wilderness
- Spirit of Aloha dinner show at the Polynesian
- ‘Ohana at the Polynesian
On Ride Photos
The following attractions offer on ride photos:
- Magic Kingdom: Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, 7 Dwarfs Mine Train
- Epcot: Test Track
- Hollywood Studios: Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror
- Animal Kingdom: Dinosaur, Expedition Everest
Magic Videos
Guests wearing a Magic Band while riding the Seven Dwarves Mine Train at Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios will have a video of their ride experience automatically added to their My Disney Experience account. It really is magic! These videos are only available for download through Memory Maker.
Magic Shots
These are my daughter’s favorite and she has learned to ask each photographer if they can do any magic shots. Certain magic shots are only at certain park locations, but it doesn’t hurt to ask! If you are visiting during the holiday season and attending either Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party these are magic shots exclusive to the parties. Disney has even added some animated magic shots, sometimes you’ll never know who will pop up in your photo.
If you have a reservation at either Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique location (Magic Kingdom or Disney Springs) a photopass photographer will take multiple pictures during your princess transformation. Another perk is a free photo shoot in the Castle Couture gift shop. You do not have to purchase the makeover package that includes prints. This is open to anyone, even if you didn’t have a makeover appointment.
Resort hopping is a favorite activity especially during the holidays. We found photopass photographers in select deluxe resorts during Christmastime.
Be Aware of the Expiration Policy
Any photo you have taken on your Walt Disney World vacation will expire 45 days from the date the photo was taken. Photopass does offer you to extend the expiration date one time, to 60 days from the date taken for a price.
Once you activate your Memory Maker downloads (either on your phone or on the computer) you will have 30 days to complete your 
downloads. Memory Maker is assigned to one person, but multiple people can link and plan through My Disney Experience so everyone traveling together has their photos shown.
Typically, I wait until I am home from my vacation to activate my downloads. I do check the app or website to make sure my pictures are being loaded. Should you not see everyone in your groups photos make sure the filter is set to view everyone’s pictures. There is a little symbol in the bottom corner of the app which looks like a funnel that sorts and filters your pictures. Also, once you are on a computer you can add fun effects of the pictures such as character signatures or fun borders.
If you do not purchase Memory Maker, you will still have the option to purchase individual pictures, but with a hefty price tag of about $15 per picture.
A CD is no longer offered with your purchase. If you would like a CD, it is an additional $29.95
for the CD to be sent to you.
If you are traveling to Disney for the day, Memory Maker is probably not worth the price for you. However, the longer you stay the chances you have for pictures! We come home with several hundreds after a week’s vacation. My biggest tip is to make sure you stop throughout the park for the photographer as they are everywhere! If you have the mobile app installed on your smart phone, there is even a map to show the location of photographers in the park you are in.
We were at Tusker House last November and there was no photopass photographer for a photo before the meal