Photopass Superthread!

[donaldanddaisy]

Just wanted to update with my PP+ experience. So glad I grabbed one on the link someone posted here -- we love these pictures and the trip wouldn't have been the same without them. I like being able to watch my daughter react and not worry about being the one taking photos.

The folks in the Photo Shop on Main St. made it a big deal that I had one. They made sure to tell me to get lots of pictures taken. That being said, we didn't get as many as a previous trip -- I think there were not as many Photogs wandering and not as many with characters. Could have been the time of year. The ones we did get were all impressed with the Pass -- one said "I haven't seen one of these in a long time." They were so impressed that my daughter picked up on it.

No issues getting ride photos -- although I think that staff turns over more and not all of them immediately knew what to do. Once or twice they had to ask someone for help. Also no issues getting actual photos at our character dining.

But when I got home and tried to enter my code to downloads the photos, that didn't work. I had to call -- the man I talked to said the old codes aren't always translating on the new site. But he was able to unlock all of my photos. I really miss the borders -- heck I even miss the overpriced stuff they used to try to sell you.

Don't know what I'd do if I had to buy each day. I'd do at least one day at DL and DCA I guess. But they really need to add discounts for multiple days and I plan to email to tell them that.

 

[Eswift]

I emailed them and expressed my dismay over the recent changes. It'd cost me 200 for my 5 day upcoming trip and I'm not being shoehorned into buying a day and running around like a crazy person getting pictures. This is a poor change. A price increase of a reasonable amount I could handle, this is almost 200% on a five day trip. They sent me a canned response back.

 

[Speechphi]

Not actually true. It also punishes a vast majority of AP'ers. You have to have the Signature AP or higher ($850 for the Signature AP) to get the free PP pictures. So ALL SoCal AP'ers as well as the regular Deluxe AP'ers (the $600 one) do not have the "free" PP pictures.
When they announced the AP changes back in early October I saw the writing on the wall. When we got our very first AP's in November, I elected to get the Signature for myself, and the Deluxe for the rest of the family so that we'd have the PP Pictures. For once I actually made the correct choice!

We did the same thing...and that was just us doing the math based on the old $70 PP. Three trips & we figured we'd break even. Now with the changes, we're ahead of the game.

 

[dec2009mama]

yes I did - total call time 1 hour and they are sending me a CD with all the photos I had edited, I'm happy!
for our trip in May i now know what to expect with photopass plus

i received the "shipped" email for my CD on feb 2, CM was going to send it express via courier so i would be sure to get them -- seems to be its taking longer than it should!
when I called in dec about my missing 2nd PP+ (i ordered two but they only shipped one) it was sent via express (not sure why) and I got it within 3 business days over the xmas break too!

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I emailed my disappointment too - I told them I understood the one day purchase but it'd be nice for them to bring back a longer option and the borders - and got the canned response. Then I got another real answer from a person who said they'd pass it along. I think with all the people emailing them we might have some chance.

 

[mich311e]

Not actually true. It also punishes a vast majority of AP'ers. You have to have the Signature AP or higher ($850 for the Signature AP) to get the free PP pictures. So ALL SoCal AP'ers as well as the regular Deluxe AP'ers (the $600 one) do not have the "free" PP pictures.
When they announced the AP changes back in early October I saw the writing on the wall. When we got our very first AP's in November, I elected to get the Signature for myself, and the Deluxe for the rest of the family so that we'd have the PP Pictures. For once I actually made the correct choice!

I agree with you and I wish they would have announced the changes to PhotoPass+ in October. I visited in November and would have upgraded to Signature instead of Deluxe then. I bought a $70 PhotoPass+ for my November trip. And in January I paid to upgrade to Signature.

That said, I love the app and the ease of downloading the pictures now. It's so much easier. Sure, the borders and graphics were nice but it's easier to download now.

 

[BillyBeans]

Not sure how it is easier to download all the photos now than it was before. Now you just have the ability to download them individually plus put them into one big .zip for a full download. The old site just had the .zip download capability at the end. I do like being able to download as I want, but since there is no borders/edits to be made, there is no reason to not just download all your photos pretty much like you used to do AFTER you added your borders to them and made them special.

Without borders, the only thing Photopass can give me that I can't easily get myself is ride photos. Forcing me to buy photos by the day when I'm there for 3+ days is crazy. Either way it ends up being more money for less. I sure hope they are adding borders to the system. They have to have a plan somewhere. Why can't they at least say if borders are coming back or not. Disney World has borders, why don't we!?!? Why did Disneyland go from being cheaper for photos than Disney World to more expensive?

 

[carsha]

Does anyone know how the new PP works for pictures at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or at Character Meals?

 

[tlovesdis]

I would imagine you just scan the card they give you at either place and they show up in your account and you can decide to buy that day if you want. Here is what the DL website says

Disney PhotoPass+ – One Day
Get all your Disney PhotoPass photos, attraction photos and dining photos from a single day as digital downloads to share with family and friends—including on social media—for one price. You even get Magic Shots and Animated Magic Shots included for the entire day’s photos!

 

[sherilaine]

Does anyone know how the new PP works for pictures at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or at Character Meals?

Were the BBB pictures ever included in the Photopass Plus? I thought it was just character meals and ride photos. It sounds like if you purchase the one day PP before your CM, then the physical folder of printed pictures is included, if not, then you only get the downloads of those photos if you purchase that days pictures after the fact.

Anyone feel free to correct me as this is all new to everyone...

 

[Winnowill]

Were the BBB pictures ever included in the Photopass Plus? I thought it was just character meals and ride photos.

We did BBB in 2013 and got PP+ photos with it, but that doesn't mean that they were still doing it when PP+ met its demise.

 

[robin2588]

Is Animated Magic Shots a new thing for Disneyland? I see WDW has had it. It's basically a video download from what I saw that has your picture and a character that comes into frame and does something? Is that right?

 

[texasgingerbread]

DLR PrepSchool's new post rep

http://dlrprepschool.com/everything...ass-and-why-you-should-have-it-for-your-trip/

 

[mom2rtk]

I need to unsubscribe to this thread. It really just makes me mad. But I keep hoping there will be more announcements of additional multi-day products to come. But alas, that hope is fading.

 

[pudinhd]

Is Animated Magic Shots a new thing for Disneyland? I see WDW has had it. It's basically a video download from what I saw that has your picture and a character that comes into frame and does something? Is that right?

I haven't heard of it before, but I am excited to see what characters are in them!

 

[texasgingerbread]

I haven't heard of it before, but I am excited to see what characters are in them!

We had several from WDW as well. Super cute. According to this site http://capturingmagic.me/a-guide-to-disneyland-magic-shots the animated ones are avail at:

ANIMATED MAGIC SHOTS

• All of the Diamond Anniversary photo locations will have animation added
• Buena Vista Street
• Story Tellers Statue
• Sleeping Beauty Castle

 

[barbaraann]

I just discovered this thread. I have always been a big fan of Photopass, ever since the very beginning of it's existence. My recent trip to Disneyland was in October, and I went home, as usual with my Photo CD tucked safely away in my suitcase. I have never been fond of, or cared about borders and such. It was 4 days in the parks, and if I am remembering correctly, I had about 200 pics. Again, if I am remembering correctly, I paid about $70.

I just returned from 5 days in the parks at Disney World. I pre purchased the Memory Maker, and ended up with 365 pictures in my account. Pretty good amount of photographers in the parks, but I really wish they had more magic shots. The photographers are sometimes willing to go off the standard spots, and take other pics, like for instance the small statues in the Hub. I did find a few photographers who were less cheery, and only snapped a few pics.

This new pricing will make me rethink how I use Photopass in the future. I always like the CD's before, but I actually had no problems doing the downloads of my 365 pics. I took my time, and I now have all of my pictures on my computer, my external hard drive, and I made my own back up CD's for myself and other members of my party.

I was surveyed in the Magic Kingdom about Photopass, last week, and I gave them a rave review. Disney is always thinking up new ways to part us with our money, and each of us need to decide whether or not it is worth it to us.

I have always appreciated the fact that the Photopass People are available to take pics with my camera, especially when the characters are out and about.

I remember the days before digital. Developing film, and not seeing a picture until after it was paid for. Modern technology is amazing, and it sure is nice that smartphones take pictures, and pictures can be texted back home to loved ones who did not vacation with me. The Photopass people, and Disney Castmembers, are always very accommodating to do that for me, as well.

 

[egritz]

Not sure how it is easier to download all the photos now than it was before. Now you just have the ability to download them individually plus put them into one big .zip for a full download. The old site just had the .zip download capability at the end. I do like being able to download as I want, but since there is no borders/edits to be made, there is no reason to not just download all your photos pretty much like you used to do AFTER you added your borders to them and made them special.

For me I cannot do a mass download, the zip file will not open. I've tried on a couple different Windows computers and it gives an error. I can't remember exactly, but I think whenever I download more then 50 pictures it gives the error, so I end up downloading them by day. it is a pain & I'm worried I'll accidentally miss a picture. I had this problem with our November trip pictures & again last week for our trip this month.

We had several from WDW as well. Super cute. According to this site http://capturingmagic.me/a-guide-to-disneyland-magic-shots the animated ones are avail at:

ANIMATED MAGIC SHOTS

• All of the Diamond Anniversary photo locations will have animation added
• Buena Vista Street
• Story Tellers Statue
• Sleeping Beauty Castle

We were there at the beginning of February and we had no animated magic shots at either the castle OR the story tellers statue (using my Signature AP).

 

[mom2rtk]

For me I cannot do a mass download, the zip file will not open. I've tried on a couple different Windows computers and it gives an error. I can't remember exactly, but I think whenever I download more then 50 pictures it gives the error, so I end up downloading them by day. it is a pain & I'm worried I'll accidentally miss a picture. I had this problem with our November trip pictures & again last week for our trip this month.

That really sounds frustrating. Have you tried using different browsers?

 

[barbaraann]

I use a Mac Computer, and the Total Download took a while. Actually, I thought I had given up on the first one I tried, but when I tried the 2nd time, I realize that my photos loaded twice. There they were in my Download file, in nice neat folders. All I had to do was put them on my computer. I was glad to have the doubles. I do a lot of photo sharing, and projects on my computer, so it worked out great.