Disney’s PhotoPass Service & Memory Maker Review

Originally published 4/2014, participating attractions list updated 10/2016.

I can’t tell you how many people private message me on social media platforms wanting to know if I really adore Disney’s Memory Maker service as much as I gush about it.  My answer? Yes!

I continue to purchase and recommend the product to my friends and family because I really do think it is worth every penny.  On one of our family vacations, I really put it to the test along with almost 30 of my closest friends and family.  That’s right, 30!  We purchased one Memory Maker and we were all able to seamlessly use it while capturing our magical moments and then sharing those memories with the entire group.  Disney’s PhotoPass Service & Memory Maker are truly hassle-free, easy-to-use and extremely convenient.

To give you a “picture” of why I love it so much, I will share a few examples of our favorite experiences from a few of our vacations.   First up, a trip to see Mickey Mouse, my then 2-year-old’s hero and favorite Disney friend, just wouldn’t have been the same without Disney’s PhotoPass photographer and our Memory Maker service.  While I was busily bumbling around making sure we were all accounted for and presentable for our picture, I missed Mickey Mouse walking up behind me to greet my family.  Even with my camera in hand, I missed the key moment of capturing the first look on my son’s face as he said hello to his pal and melted into his big hug.  I missed it, but the PhotoPass photographer didn’t and from that moment on, he just kept snapping away.  Did we need all 20 frames of our visit with Mickey? No, probably not, but not having to stress out about choosing our favorites and weeding out which ones we could possibly live without was definitely a welcome feeling.  The photographer knew we had Memory Maker and made sure he took as many pictures as possible for us.  I love the posed photos, but the candid and unplanned moments really bring the memory to life.  This also relieves a great deal of the stress associated with thinking you have to get the perfect picture every time.  With young kids, sometimes that can be an almost impossible feat.   Another favorite advantage to Memory Maker we really enjoyed was the inclusion of attraction photos and that anyone linked through your My Disney Experience Family & Friends List was able to save them.  My oldest son is quite the thrill seeker and would talk anyone he could (in our group) into taking him to ride the bigger attractions.  After riding, he would visit the photo location for each ride and swipe his MagicBand to save his photo to our account.  This way we never “missed” a ride with him and could later view all his silly photos.

The advantage of being able to link everyone in My Disney Experience also came in handy once we returned home.  Everyone could log into their own accounts and view all the pictures to see what wonderful fun the other members of our party were having during the times we split up and tackled the parks separately.  Since my mom held the Memory Maker “entitlement,” she downloaded everyone’s pictures and put them on an adorable Mickey Mouse flash drive.  (In my opinion, the flash drive makes a much better memento to keep track of and share than a photo disc.)   I took everyone’s photos and made a custom calendar on Disney’s PhotoPass website, which will make a perfect gift to remember our family adventure.

There are a few steps you need to ensure you make in order to take full advantage of the service, especially when traveling with a large group or separate reservations.  Before your trip, go into your My Disney Experience account and add any guests who will be traveling with you to the My Family & Friends List.  Under their profile, make sure you select the option to “view and purchase your PhotoPass photos.”  Both you and the other guest need to select this option.  With 30 of us, this step did take a little time, but it is a very easy procedure to accomplish.  You also need to make sure you link the Memory Maker service to a member in your party who will then hold the “entitlement” for the duration of your trip.  This will be the person who is able to manage the account and download all the photos.  (Make sure this person is linked to everyone on your traveling party through the My Disney Experience Family & Friends List.)

I really do love Memory Maker and truly believe, in almost every situation, it is a wonderful compliment to your vacation.  We really enjoyed the piece-of-mind, the ease and the flexibility it offered on our magical family adventure.

 

The following attractions and dining locations are included in the Memory Maker package, but please be aware they are subject to change at any time.

Attraction photos included:

Magic Kingdom:

-Splash Mountain

-Space Mountain

-Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

-Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

-Enchanted Tales With Belle

Epcot:

-Frozen Ever After

-Test Track Presented by Chevrolet

Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

-Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain

-DINOSAUR

Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

-The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

-Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith