Disney Memory Maker: Is It Worth It?

Disney Memory Maker is worth it when you are visiting Walt Disney World for several days, travelling as a larger group, and you actually want every ride photo, attraction video and PhotoPass shot from the trip. Because it is one fixed price covering your whole party, the more people and the more days you have, the better the value becomes. Buy it in advance and the discount makes the maths even easier.

It is a weaker deal for a short one or two day visit, a couple or solo traveller, or anyone who only wants one or two nice photos. In those cases buying individual PhotoPass shots, or simply asking the photographers to use your own phone, will usually cost less. Below we break down exactly what is included, how the pricing works, and the trips where it does and does not pay off.

What Disney Memory Maker is

Memory Maker is Disney World's all-you-can-download photo and video package, built on the Disney PhotoPass system. PhotoPass is the network of professional photographers stationed at landmarks across the parks, plus the cameras that automatically capture your on-ride photos and videos. Every image is linked to your Disney account through your MagicBand or My Disney Experience app.

Without Memory Maker, those photos are still taken and saved to your account, but you can only preview them with a watermark and would pay per image to download them. Memory Maker removes that limit: for one price you can download every PhotoPass photo and video your party appears in during your trip, in full resolution and without watermarks. It is the difference between buying photos one at a time and unlocking the entire gallery.

What is included

A Memory Maker purchase covers all of the following for everyone in your travel party:

• All your ride photos. The automatic photos snapped on attractions like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain, Slinky Dog Dash and Expedition Everest.
• PhotoPass photographer shots. Professional pictures taken by Disney photographers at iconic spots such as Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth and the parks' entrances.
• Attraction videos. Short on-ride videos from select attractions, where available.
• Magic Shots. Fun composited extras the photographers add in post, like Tinker Bell in your palm or a balloon floating above the castle.
• Dining and character moments. Photos taken by PhotoPass photographers at many character dining experiences and meet-and-greets.

Everything is delivered digitally through the My Disney Experience app and website, so you can download images to your phone during the trip or grab them all when you get home.

Pricing and the advance discount

Memory Maker is sold at one flat price that covers your whole party, however many people are in it. That single-price structure is the key to the value: a family of five pays the same as a couple, so the per-person cost drops sharply with bigger groups.

There are two ways to buy. The cheaper option is to purchase in advance, at least a few days before you generate any photos, which unlocks the advance-purchase discount. The more expensive option is to buy same-day, once you are already in the parks and have seen the photos waiting in your account. The advance price can be meaningfully lower, so if you are fairly confident you want it, buying ahead of your trip is almost always the smarter move. As an aside, photo packages pair naturally with other ways to keep costs down, which we cover in our Disney World money-saving guide.

When it is worth it

Memory Maker makes the most sense in these situations:

• Longer trips. Across four, five or more park days you will rack up dozens of ride photos and PhotoPass shots, and the cost spread over all of them becomes small.
• Bigger groups. Because the price is fixed per party, a large family or multi-generational group splits one cost many ways. This is where the value is strongest.
• You want all the photos. If you love documenting the trip, want professional shots in front of the castle, and would otherwise be buying several individual images anyway, the package quickly pays for itself.
• You ride a lot of photo attractions. Groups planning to hit big-ticket rides across multiple parks, including everything in our rides and shows roundup, get more captured moments per day.

When to skip it

You can safely pass on Memory Maker if:

• Your trip is short. On a single day or a quick two-day visit you simply will not generate enough photos to justify the full package price.
• You are a couple or solo. With only one or two people, buying a handful of individual PhotoPass downloads is often cheaper than the whole package.
• You only want a few photos. If one great castle shot is all you are after, buy that single image or ask the photographer to take it on your own phone for free.
• You prefer to live in the moment. Plenty of guests are happy with phone snaps and do not need every ride photo and video.

Whichever way you decide, you will want your park days sorted first. Browse Walt Disney World tickets, read up on the Walt Disney World resort as a whole, or plan a day at Disney's Magic Kingdom where the castle PhotoPass shots are the most popular of the entire trip. For the latest official details you can also check Walt Disney World and wider Orlando trip planning at Visit Orlando.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Does Memory Maker cover everyone in my group? Yes. It is one price for your whole travel party, and any photo that any member of your linked group appears in can be downloaded by everyone, so there is no per-person charge.

Q: How long do I have to download my photos? Photos and videos remain available in your My Disney Experience account for a set window after they are taken, typically around 45 days. Download them before that window closes, or save everything at the end of your trip to be safe.

Q: Should I buy in advance or wait and see? Buying in advance is cheaper thanks to the advance-purchase discount. If there is a reasonable chance you will want all your photos, buy ahead of time rather than paying the higher same-day price in the parks.

Q: Can I just buy individual photos instead? Yes. Disney sells single PhotoPass downloads, which works out cheaper if you only want one or two images. Memory Maker only wins once you want enough photos that the per-image cost adds up.