When you visit Walt Disney World, the company’s marketing department wants you to think about your Disney Side. What really matters to you, however, is the underlying goal for every vacationer. You want to create memories that will last a lifetime. And in the social media era, you can share your happiness with your friends by proudly displaying your photos on services such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Tumblr. Your loved ones can live vicariously through you when you visit Walt Disney World and vice versa. Vacation imagery remains a keepsake of memories from happy days. It’s simply more interactive and shareable now.
If you plan to visit the world’s most popular amusement park, you are probably wondering about Memory Maker. This service leverages the many Walt Disney World photo opportunities as well as the technology in Magic Bands. The premise is simple. For one low price, you can get as many pictures as you want taken by professional Disney photographers. The pictures are usually taken in high profile settings such as gorgeous restaurants or set against amazing backdrops like Cinderella’s Castle and Spaceship Earth. We are discussing images that truly qualify as showstoppers. All you have to do is notify a Disney employee that you want a picture taken, identify yourself as having Memory Maker, and take the picture. You can even get special types of pictures taken that cannot be duplicated anywhere else, something explained in detail below.
The cost of Memory Maker is the primary sticking point. Disney charges $199 to do the same that your cellphone does for free. If you order more than three days prior to your arrival, the price does drop to $169, which is a sturdy 15 percent discount. At $169, your pricing decision comes down to how much you plan to use the service. What you’ll want to do is take note of every Disney photographer setting up shop across the various parks. A lot of them are hidden in plain sight, by which I mean that there are a lot more photo opportunities than you have probably realized during previous visits. Unless you look for them, you barely even notice they’re there.
1. Impeccable Picture Quality
So, what are the advantages of Memory Maker? Have you ever been sitting at a table service meal when a Disney photographer walks over to make a sales pitch? They offer you a special, deluxe version of the picture they asked (maybe even forced) you to take outside the restaurant. And they assure you that they are practically giving it away at the cost roughly $30. Well, if you have Memory Maker, they will give it away, at least at participating restaurants and shows. Included in your package are Chef Mickey’s, Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, Tusker House breakfast, ‘Ohana breakfast, 1900 Park Fare, and Spirit of Aloha.
The picture you took prior to entering the building has been automatically uploaded to your account, something you can proudly exclaim to the salesperson interrupting your meal. Don’t be rude about it, of course. They’re only doing their job.
Still, this is the beauty of Memory Maker as a service. These are pictures that Disney considers so good that they won’t blink at charging you thirty bucks for one. Yes, you get a little care package included, but the picture is what they are really selling. For the price of six such keepsakes, you can ask every Disney photographer you see to take as many pictures of you as possible. If you spend a week at Disney, this number should exceed 100, all of which will be high quality images worthy of a picture frame. To wit, just looking at my desk right now, I see no fewer than four such Memory Maker framed photographs plus a pair of collages. The $169-$199 sticking point may dissuade you, but once you get past the sticker shock, you can really make it up in (picture) volume. I don’t care if I’ve just gotten off a water ride and am dripping wet. If I see a Disney photographer, they are going to Memory-Make for me.
Best of all, Disney offers some of the best photography training in the world. Their experts will find a way to show your good side, even if you have the face of Cruella De Vil and the hair (well, horns) of Maleficent. I’ve had professional pictures and Glamour Shots taken. Nothing holds a candle to the artistry of Disney photographers.
2. Disney Magic Shot
Disney photographers have the ability to spice up your theme park images. If you ask them to do so, they can incorporate certain Disney characters in the shot, thereby providing photographic evidence that you’ve met Stitch and lived to talk about it. Other characters from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Princess and the Frog, Frozen, Star Wars, Cars, and Monsters, Inc. are all options. If you don’t want a character, you can also add butterflies or balloons to your picture or give yourself wings. Recently, Disney added actual animation to some Magic Shots. Your kids will LOVE those.
3. Ride Videos Are Automatically Saved
This is a relatively new addition to the Memory Maker service. In the past, you had to stand in line to wait if you wanted to add a ride video to your account. As long as your magic band is linked to your Magic Maker account, which should be the first thing you do after buying the service, your ride videos will automatically upload with 24 hours. The participating rides include The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Rockin’ Roller Coaster, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and Test Track. That’s a thoroughly impressive group of rides you can re-live anytime you’re missing Walt Disney World.
4. You Can Share the Service and Split the Cost
One of the least heralded but most useful aspects of Memory Maker is that it can be shared. If you are traveling with friends and/or family members, they all have the ability to add photos to the master account. They don’t even have to be with you to accomplish this. All they need to do – and this is crucial – is be connected to you on the Friends and Family list at MyDisneyExperience.com. As long as that is true, every picture your fellow guests take will be uploaded to your account.
You should know that only you can download the files, but it’s easy to perform that batch request. Then, you email, text, or post the images so that your loved ones have the pictures as well. Imagine watching the videos of amusement rides from your friends while you’re waiting in line in a different park. It’s a wonderful (and joyous) way to pass the time in line. And by splitting the cost, you have reduced the total cost you spend per picture.
But It’s Not Free
So, given all of the positives above, you must be wondering what the catch is. There isn’t one, at least not anything truly negative. The sole concern with Memory Maker is the cost. Traveling to Walt Disney World is already an expensive proposition. Adding another $199 to the bill may be too much for some. After all, most people have smartphones with cameras, and while the quality of these images isn’t quite as good, it’s still plenty good enough for most people.
There is even a way to get a more professional looking image without spending a dime. The same Disney employees who take the pictures for Memory Maker will usually take a picture for you if you ask nicely. Simply hand them your digital camera or smartphone, and they will capture the same image with your electronic device that they would have created with their more professional camera. No, the quality isn’t quite as nice, but it’s still better than any picture in the world prior to like 2005. So, if you want to save yourself some money, learn how to smile and ask nicely when you approach cast members, which is good advice for most situations.
