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Latest five discussions on the Disney's PhotoPass Support Forum:
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Most amusement parks have teenagers rush at you as soon as you enter the park to take a 'free' must-have souvenir photo that they hope to charge you an arm and a leg for before you leave. In contrast, Disney's PhotoPass has grown from modest roots to offering the best of the traditional service without incorporating the worst. While prices for individual prints are still cringing at best, newer features and options have driven the overall price way down. Gone are the days when Disney's PhotoPass photographers would ambush you to take your photo, now it's almost become a game hunting them down sometimes.
In a nutshell, the service is a network of Disney's PhotoPass photographers spread all over the four main parks and two water parks at Walt Disney World, both parks at the Disneyland Resort and the New York City World of Disney. Disney's PhotoPass is currently unavailable on the Disney Cruise Line ships but is perpetually rumored to join eventually. Having your photo taken is absolutely free with no obligation to purchase so - other than a little time - you don't lose anything by trying it. Best yet, you don't need to make any financial decisions for up to two months after your vacation! In addition, Disney's PhotoPass photographers (or a nearby Cast Member) are always willing to use your own camera if you have one.
Sometimes the hardest part about using Disney's PhotoPass is finding a PhotoPass photographer - the rest couldn't be any easier. The first time you have your photo taken, you will be handed a Disney's PhotoPass card. The card has a unique 16-digit alphanumeric code on it that the Disney's PhotoPass photographer scans in via a two-dimensional barcode that links all the Disney's PhotoPass photos s/he takes to that individual card. Note the code is more important than the card itself, so take extra care by recording it either by taking a photo of it with your own camera, writing the number down, sending it via a text message, etc. Some guests write some sort of contact information on the card itself in case it gets lost, but that's relying on someone else to find it and to make the effort for you.
 NEW! Good news for those wishing to obtain the small Disney's PhotoPass wrist card pictured above. Traditionally only distributed at the water parks, they are now being distributed at the Pixie Hollow Disney's Fairies meet & greet in the Magic Kingdom's Toontown Hall of Fame. Part of the genius of the system is that there is no limit to how many cards you can have and combine at a later time. That means if your group separates, each group can have its own card to be added to everyone else's later on. Also, should you forget the card in the room or lose it (glad you wrote the number down now?), you can ask for a new card. Speaking from personal experience, sometimes it's easier to just ask for a new card than dig through a deep and over-stuffed cargo pants pocket. Some guests have been known to use their cards for multiple trips, but it's completely unnecessary and in fact might cause an unforeseen issue as changes are made to the system.
It's been said that while the number of photos is unlimited, the system has an issue with seeing beyond 999 photos on one particular card. While rare is the case someone will be able to get that many photos taken in total, I recommend a more practical approach and perhaps simply getting a new card every few days of your vacation.
As they are taken, photos at Walt Disney World are wirelessly transmitted to the Disney's PhotoPass system. This means photos can sometimes be ready to be viewed in the parks within minutes although sometimes it can still take up to 24 hours to view them online.
Finding Disney's PhotoPass photographers can sometimes be tricky as their numbers can fluctuate in response to crowd levels. When the service first began, the costumes worn by Disney's PhotoPass photographers actually varied between parks. For the most part, this has been unified, although accessories may vary, especially with the weather. One major exception to the uniform however is that worn by photographers on Main Street, USA in the Magic Kingdom.  Generally speaking, you can find them on the paths with the park's icon in full view for a backdrop. In Magic Kingdom, this means a few up and down Main Street, by the rose garden and even on the bridge to Tomorrow Land. At Animal Kingdom, in front of the Tree of Life. In Epcot, you should practically be tripping over them as soon as you enter the park. At Disney's Hollywood Studios, popular spots include Hollywood Boulevard with the Sorcerer Hat in the background and Sunset Boulevard with the Tower of Terror in view You may find them in other spots or specific attractions as well. Another popular, but not consistent place to find them is at character meet & greets. Sometimes you can almost always count on them being there, sometimes they're scheduled to be there only at certain times and sometimes there aren't any at all. As a rule of thumb, it'll be great to find them, but if you have your own camera, you may not want to leave it behind ? just in case.
Disney publishes maps of the four major theme parks with icons noting popular Disney's PhotoPass spots. You can view them as well as download a PDF version here. You'll also find them at some dining locations, taking photos of guests in front of a sign or with a greeter character. These photos are for photo packages available later for purchase only (or included in the cost of dining at Cinderella's Royal Table). You cannot have the photographer take photos using your card, but you will be free to use your own camera if you have one. Incidentally, if you dine at CRT or purchase the photo package, you can add it to your Disney's PhotoPass account or product, but more about that later.
For Disney Visa cardholders, a special free private meet & greet is offered daily 1:30 - 4:30 pm at Epcot. Located in the Innoventions West building, just past the Where's The Fire? and Play It Safe exhibits is a curtained off area. Guests with card in hand may join the line for their own private meeting with 2 or 3 of the fab five. Not only will there be a Disney's PhotoPass photographer onhand to take as many photos as you wish, but each account (up to 2 accounts per family) is entitled to a free 5x7 print available later at the Camera Center. While each account is limited to one print a day, cardholders are free to visit multiple days of their vacation if they wish. Depending on the Cast Member at the Camera Center, many guests have reported to be able to receive a print of any Disney's PhotoPass photo instead of the Visa Meet & Greet photo, especially after expressing disinterest in the latter. At Disneyland Resort, you can find the Disney Visa meet & greet operating for the first hour and a half of the park's opening in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area of Disney's California Adventure, by Monsters, Inc.
Disney Resorts Private Photo Shoot - You can arrange for private 30 minute photo sessions with a Disney's PhotoPass photographer at the Grand Floridian, Beach Club, Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge or Saratoga Springs Resort. The sessions includes around 40 photos (limited only by time) taken around the picturesque resorts and their beaches. Please note that as of September 1, 2008, Portrait sessions at the resorts are a separate entity from the Disney's PhotoPass system in the theme parks. While both Parks and Portraits use the same system for their photos, they are separate products. As such, the pricing structure has changed dramatically. There is no longer a discount specifically for guests who pre-order Disney's PhotoPass. Guests who pre-order the PhotoCD or purchase it within the theme parks can reserve a Portraits session for $74.95 with proof of purchase (either email or receipt). Guests wishing to purchase only the Portraits session on CD can do so for $149.95. Alternatively guests who purchase the Portraits session but then wish to combine photos from the Parks may do so by bringing their CD and PhotoPass cards to any resort location for a fee of $49.95 (bringing the total to roughly $200). Note that Disney's PhotoPass enhancements will not be available for Portrait session photos or any photos from the theme parks combined with it. Additionally, guests will no longer have the option of receiving their Portrait session photos on a Disney's PhotoPass card. Reports from guests who have participated in the photo sessions are overwhelmingly positive. Available times are seasonal, starting daily at 8 am until 7 pm or sunset, whichever comes first. Call 407-824-1700 to make reservations up to 30 days in advance or for additional information. Bibbidi Bobbidi Photo Boutique - Located inside Guest Relations at Downtown Disney Marketplace and Exposition Hall in the Magic Kingdom, small photo studios are set up for photo sessions primarily for guests who have purchased packages at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, however these studios are available for free use to any guest, even if they haven't had a BBB appointment. In addition, the rose garden at Magic Kingdom is also used for BBB photo sessions. Use of the studio is free of charge and requires no reservations, however priority is given to BBB patrons.
  NYC World of Disney - Located on 5th Avenue at 55th Street in Manhattan, the NYC World of Disney features meet & greets with popular Disney characters at scheduled times Thursday - Monday in the Friendship Room on the third level. Recent characters making appearances include Giselle, Captain Jack Sparrow and other classic characters. Occasionally the store is visited by characters in special outfits such as FDNY Donald or Statue of Liberty Minnie. See this page for details including schedules of upcoming appearances or call 212-702-0702 for more information.
Of course it wouldn't be Disney without some magic. Disney characters can find themselves magically superimposed on your photos. Don't be afraid to ask to have the photo taken either (Note: Photos have been edited for display on this site - actual photos will have guests clearly visible):
Also, because it's not an entirely automated process, it's been known to happen that the respective character didn't find their way into the image. In that case, check in with the Disney's PhotoPass service center or use the contact form on disneyphotopass.com and it can usually be rectified.
Currently, Test Track in Epcot is the only attraction to feature Disney's PhotoPass technology. After exiting the attraction, guests can locate their ride photo on a bank of monitors and insert their Disney's PhotoPass card into a slot (which has an indicator that momentarily turns from red to green upon successfully crediting the photo to the card) to claim it. There should be a cast member at the monitors to assist any guests that may be having difficulties as well as to distribute new cards to those who need them.
The Test Track photo border is one of the options when viewing the photo online or purchasing it in the parks.
It's expected that more attractions will include support for Disney's PhotoPass in the future, but it's likely to appear on newer attractions before the older attractions receive this feature.
Guests who dine at Cinderella's Royal Table and/or Princess Storybook or purchase a photo package at another of the dining locations where a photo package is offered are in for an additional treat ? those photos can be added to Disney's PhotoPass and subsequently treated like any other Disney's PhotoPass photo. The main photo will have a Disney's PhotoPass ID number (should start with EVNT) and the guest can now claim those photos either at a Disney's PhotoPass service location or on their disneyphotopass.com account as if it were another Disney's PhotoPass card.
Dining locations that offer photo packages are as follows:
Cinderella's Royal Table even has its own special Disney's PhotoPass borders available:
If you'd like to view the photos on site and optionally purchase prints or another Disney's PhotoPass product, you can do so by visiting the camera centers located towards the entrance of any of the four main parks (Exposition Hall in Magic Kingdom, the Camera Center at Epcot, Cover Story / The Dark Room at Disney-MGM and Garden Gate Gifts at Animal Kingdom). You can also visit County Bounty in MK's Toontown, guest relations at Downtown Disney and the Disney's PhotoPass kiosk located on the second floor of the Grand Floridian Resort.
Alternatively, you can view photos online by creating an account at http://www.disneyphotopass.com. You can create the account at any time before your vacation if you wish. Even if you don't have access to the internet on your vacation, this will allow you to share your adventures with your family at home as long as they have the account information. Of course you will have to guide them through adding your cards manually, but at least even if you lose the card from this point on, the photos have been claimed and saved.
An important thing to note regarding disneyphotopass.com, however, is that you are time limited to how long your photos are available online, so keep this in mind when you make your decision. You have 30 days to claim the photos by adding the card number to your account and the photos will then expire and be deleted 30 days from that point. Once photos are deleted from the Disney's PhotoPass account, chances are dramatically slimmer that they can be restored. But if you provide ample time, you can request an extension on the photos (note that if photo is set to expire 6/12, it will expire at midnight at the start of 6/12, so your last real day is 6/11).
The preferred method to contact Disney's PhotoPass is via the Contact Us link found at the bottom of the disneyphotopass.com site and should yield you a response within a couple of days (which shouldn't be a concern even if the issue is time sensitive). If you feel you are not getting an appropriate response, you can try emailing them directly at wdw.photo.imaging@disneyworld.com or leave a voice mail at 407-560-6068.
Have any Disney's PhotoPass specific questions not covered here or have additional information or comments? Please share them with us on our Disney's PhotoPass Support Forum!
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PhotoCD - This is the most popular and overall most cost effective option. You will receive all of your Disney's PhotoPass images (this does not include photos you have uploaded to the website or Disney stock photos) on CD as well as a license that you can print out and take with you to any digital photo processing center to order prints of any size at a drastically more affordable price than individual prints from Disney. You will get a copy of every Disney's PhotoPass image in your account, no matter how many CDs they consume. Each CD will contain a maximum of 500-700 photos (each CD containing multiple folders with 20 images each), so if you have 1200 images in your account, you will receive it on 2 CDs.
One common complaint about the PhotoDVD is that there is currently no real generic footage if you don't wish to choose a resort for your 'Beyond The Park' sections. If you opt to not select a particular resort, it defaults to footage of the Grand Floridian. What many choose to do when they have multiple 'Beyond the Park' sections (which you will probably want since each 'Beyond The Parks' chapter is limited to just 7 photos) is just choose their resort multiple times. Also, note the PhotoDVD product contains only video. There are no copies of the photos on the DVD that can be extracted and reprinted. You will need to purchase individual PhotoPrints or the PhotoCD if you wish to have the images themselves.
PhotoPrints - Very often there is a discount available on PhotoPrints ranging in the 20-25% range. Look for the special offer when signing into your 