You've probably seen the Disney PhotoPass photographers around the parks, especially in the last few years as Disney has been pushing them more and more in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Chances are you've probably passed them by and took your own photo with your camera, but the PhotoPass system at Disneyland has its advantages that you may not be aware of. Read through and think twice next time you see a photographer! (UPDATED 1 OCT 2017)
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Pros
- I think the biggest advantage is that PhotoPass photographers will take your picture with your phone if you ask them. They're not limited to using only their equipment. They may take a couple of shots with their camera and give you a PhotoPass card, but you don't have to redeem the photo if you don't want to.
- PhotoPass photographers are located in the best picture spots so you don't have to try and make what you can find work for you. Instead you already get the best with just a short wait!
- PhotoPass photographers are identified on the Disneyland app so you can find one close to you without hunting them down.
- If there's a PhotoPass photographer at the character meet-and-greet, try to use them! With your PhotoPass card they will snap pictures of the whole encounter between you or your kids and the characters from the greeting to some of the "banter" between them and finally the posed shot. You get on average about 7 pictures to remember the whole experience which are fun to look back on!
- With purchase of PhotoPass you can link attraction photos of your group to your Disney account and download them directly to your phone or Facebook. Don't take pictures of the screen again!
- If you decide to purchase a PhotoPass+ package, you can buy it after your trip and still get digital access to all your photos in the parks.
- MaxPass includes unlimited PhotoPass downloads for the day so you can keep costs low, hang on to your vacation memories, and potentially enjoy digital FastPass selections.
- The best part is that if you have a Signature Plus Annual Pass or higher then you already have unlimited PhotoPass downloads so all of their professional shots will be on your Disney account! Just have them scan your code through the app or link the photos later from a code they give you.
Cons
- Depending on the time of day, there can be a wait to have PhotoPass photographers take your picture.
- Not all character meet-and-greets have PhotoPass photographers present. When they don't then you really only have the posed shot and that's it, nothing fancy or extra special.
- Linking attraction photos to your Disney or PhotoPass account can be very confusing at first. There's a 7-digit code you need to remember (which isn't always completely visible) and a sub- sub-menu in the Disneyland app to try and find to input the code.
- Select character dining experiences are not included in PhotoPass+ packages. The more expensive options will include one print but the rest will only include digital.
- If you want each person in your party to have digital FastPasses as well as PhotoPass, you must purchase a separate MaxPass for each person in your party. If you don't, you can still get the pictures but won't really be able to fully utilize the MaxPass.
- If you don't have a Signature Plus Annual Pass or higher then PhotoPass can cost up to $120 depending on the package you choose. That can be worth it if you try to have all the pictures done or downloaded on the same day, but otherwise it can get pricey.
There's not a lot of cons, but obviously some things to take into consideration. More more information on the Disney PhotoPass system click here or ask us - we're happy to help! Do you have a moment captured with PhotoPass?