Magic Shots Archives - Main Street Wishes

What is Memory Maker? It is a way to keep track of all the pictures that are taken in the parks by the Disney photographers. It’s pretty nice, because everyone gets to be in the picture.

We purchased the Memory Maker for our last trip, but they had just started using Memory Maker, so we were in the beginning stages. It still worked out well for us. We were able to link all of the pictures together for all of us staying in the 2 bedroom suite and we were able to view them throughout the entire trip.

How It Works

First, you want to make sure you have a My Disney Experience (MDE) account. This is your hub for everything relating to your vacation. Your MagicBands will be linked to this account and all your reservations and pictures will be linked through your MagicBands to the account.

Now that your MDE account is set up and your MagicBands are linked you can start using the Disney photographers to take your picture. They will scan your MagicBand before they take your picture, that’s why you need to have an MDE account. If you are lucky, it will be a photographer who will take a Magic Shot. This is the description from Disney World PhotoPass Magic Shots:

Magic Shots

A woman holds Tinker Belle in her palm while posing with her boyfriend in front of the Tree of Life

Disney Characters and other fun surprises can also be magically added to your photos after they’re taken. Your Disney PhotoPass photographer will help set up the right poses and make it happen with some favorite familiar faces—just ask! With Magic Shots, you can easily enhance your photos for an extra splash of fun.

We have a Magic Shot from our last trip and will definitely be seeking out more the next time we are in Disney. There are quite a few spots and I’ll talk about that in another blog.

If you end up scanning different bands each time you have your party’s picture taken, you definitely need to make sure all the bands are linked under the same MDE account. We had some missing pictures, until we realized that different people were scanning their bands at each picture spot. Once we linked everyone under the same account all the pictures were in the same spot.

Now attraction pictures are also included in the package! I haven’t personally experienced this, because it was not available the last time we were there, but I would assume that you would have to scan your Magicband in the area where you view the attraction pictures once you exit the ride. I have also seen people with videos from Tower of Terror, so they may be including videos in the package as well, which is pretty cool! Too bad I’m too chicken to ride Tower of Terror again! Maybe I can build up the courage in time for the next visit.

Once you have seen all your pictures you can decide if you want to purchase the Memory Maker. However, if you purchase your Memory Maker before your trip starts, you will save some money. In order for it to count as an advance order, the Memory Maker needs to be purchased more than 3 days before the first picture is taken. Disney’s website states, “If Memory Maker is purchased at the advance purchase price, any photos taken within 3 days from the date Memory Maker is purchased will not be included.” If purchased during or after your trip the price is $199, but the advanced purchase price is $149. I would recommend buying it in advance, because there are so many photo opportunities in the parks and restaurants. It is definitely worth it. Click here for info from Disney’s website.

When we purchased the Memory Maker in late January, we were able to download the pictures and we also received a CD with all the pictures. I’m very excited to see what is available with Memory Maker when our next trip rolls around!

Let us know what your experience was with Memory Maker!

Thanks for reading!

Liz ⁰O⁰