If you’re anything like me, the thought of Disney makes dollar signs flash in front of your eyeballs like some cartoon character. Before I planned my family’s epic budget Disneyland vacation, I thought I’d be paying out the nose for every little thing at the park.
In my research, I came across the option to download pictures taken in the park by professional photographers. I couldn’t help but wonder, is the Disney PhotoPass cost worth it?
The Big Question: Is Disney PhotoPass Worth It?
Pretty sure you’re with me on this: I’m all about making the most of my vacation dollars. After all, the more you save, the more family vacations you can take, and the more you can focus on enjoying time with your kids (rather than on your dwindling bank account). So when I was planning my budget Disney vacation, I wanted to ensure every dollar was spent well.
Did it make sense to pay extra for the Disney PhotoPass? Did the Disney PhotoPass cost outweigh the benefits? I found the research I did to be super confusing, so I’m so glad you’re here. Instead of bopping all around on the internet, you can find in one spot everything you need to know about the Disney Photo Pass.
After my family and I spent three days between Disneyland and California Adventure, I have some wisdom to share, whether you’re a Disney pro or going to Disney for the first time. So if you’re wondering, is the Disney PhotoPass worth the cost?, read on. I’ll break down the pros, cons and bottom line of whether you need the Disney PhotoPass.
And, since I already know you’re excited about your Disney vacation, I’m pretty sure you’ll also want my free Disney quotes printable. I designed 5 different inspiring Disney quotes so you can put ’em up on your fridge, in a frame or by your desk at work to remind you of your upcoming vacation! Here’s how to get yours:
Disney PhotoPass cost, logistics, and details
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all that Disney has to offer, don’t fear. I’ve detailed everything you need to know about the Disney PhotoPass, below!
What is the Disney Photo Pass?
Throughout Disney properties, professional photographers post up at popular spots and take photos for you. When we went to California Adventure, for example, a Disney PhotoPass photographer was taking images with Buzz Lightyear.
The photographer will scan the QR code on your Disney app that connects the images to your PhotoPass account. If you don’t have the app, they’ll scan a QR code on a credit card-sized card that you can show to other photographers to have all your images in one place.
You can either buy the photos individually or buy daily access to Disney PhotoPass.
What’s the Disney PhotoPass cost?
You get unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads when you buy MaxPass, which is the mobile version of FastPass. So the Disney PhotoPass cost is $10/day.
Some Disney annual Passports include a year of free downloads on the PhotoPass, but this depends on the terms in which you bought the Annual Passport. (Confusing, I know!)
I often get asked if you can buy one photo from Disney PhotoPass. Whilst you certainly can, there is a ctach! If you opt to download photos individually, they cost $16.95 apiece. Yipes!
Clearly, this makes zero sense, since you can get an entire day’s worth of photos plus the features of Disney MaxPass for less than that.
Read More: 14 Most Common Disney Mistakes And How To Avoid Them)
What are the benefits of Disney PhotoPass access with MaxPass?
Lots of people add MaxPass to their Disney passes automatically. After all, it’s really convenient to get a FastPass ticket via your phone instead of going to a physical FastPass ticket distribution (which sometimes has lines of its own). FastPass essentially holds you a place in line, which is a clutch for popular attractions at peak times.
Yet when you’re doing Disney on a budget, don’t automatically shell out money for anything without considering the pros and cons! There are so many add-ons and extras that they’ll add up fast.
That said, there are a lot of benefits of using the Disney PhotoPass MaxPass:
- Someone else takes the photos. Isn’t it nice to give up responsibility for something on your family vacation?
- You can be in the photos. Don’t you want to be in a few photos? Please note that the professional Disney PhotoPass photographers are also happy to take photos with your phone if you don’t have PhotoPass.
- The images are high quality. Downloads are high-resolution.
- Get magical overlays. If a Disney photographer asks your child to hold up her hand just so, you might take a look at the photo afterward and find that Tinkerbell is perched on her finger! That’s the magic of Magic Shots. (These opportunities are not available at every PhotoPass location.)
- The photographers are professional. You can depend on getting a good image: No cut-off heads or fingers in the frame.
What are the cons of the Disney PhotoPass?
There aren’t a ton of cons of the Disney PhotoPass, other than the cost. Some people will shrug at the Disney PhotoPass cost—$10/day isn’t prohibitive for many. But if you’re doing Disney on a budget, every cent counts.
Here are the other cons of the Disney PhotoPass:
- Scarcity. There aren’t many Disney PhotoPass photographers throughout the park.
- Photo Pass photographers are hard to find. If you filter the map on the Disney app, it will show where photographers sometimes are posted, but it’s not updated in real-time, so you find them based on luck.
- Most characters don’t have a PhotoPass photographer. When we visited Disney over three days, I think there were only 4 Photo Pass photographers at the Disney characters we met: Buzz Lightyear, Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, and Tinkerbell.
- Photos aren’t that different. When you compare photos taken with an iPhone to those taken with the Disney PhotoPass, the quality isn’t much different. (Scroll down to see a side-by-side comparison.)
Is Disney PhotoPass worth it & do you need it?
As with most family travel planning questions, the answer is individual. That said, let me help you with the decision.
If you’re already set on adding the MaxPass to your Disney passes, the answer is of course yes: You get the Disney PhotoPass automatically when you use MaxPass.
So what did we do?
The first day of our budget Disney vacation, I bought Disney MaxPasses for our family of four—for $40. The MaxPass cost would have been fine except we didn’t use the FastPass feature at all! You see, my kids are too little to do most of the rides that actually have the FastPass feature.
What’s more, we only met one character on our first day that had a Disney PhotoPass photographer. And when I saw the photos after the fact, I could hardly tell the difference between the photo the PhotoPass photographer took (on the left) and the one my mother-in-law took on her iPhone (on the right).
So after hardly using the Disney MaxPass on Day 1 of our Disney vacation, we didn’t buy it the following days. And I didn’t miss it at all.
Signs you don’t need to invest in the Disney PhotoPass cost
Adding the PhotoPass on your park pass (via MaxPass, at $10/person/day) doesn’t make sense for everyone. Here are the signs you don’t need the Disney PhotoPass:
- You have a decent camera on your phone.
- Your kids are little and won’t ride most of the rides with FastPass features.
- You don’t mind asking other people to take your photo (This is my go-to way of avoiding the Disney PhotoPass cost)
- You consistently take decent photos of your kids—ones that aren’t blurry, cropped weird or with fingers in the frame.
Read More: Anxiety At Disney: The Anxious Mom’s Survival Guide
Disney PhotoPass takeaways
Here are my last 2 pieces of advice to make the most of your Disney PhotoPass.
Let’s say that you’re willing to pay the Disney PhotoPass price but your kids are little or uninterested in the FastPass rides. Then you can buy just one MaxPass.
You’ll still get the PhotoPass feature at just $10/day, and if you’re using MaxPass primarily for the photography, not everyone in your group needs one. Just designate one person to be the official CEO of Disney PhotoPass—and be responsible for having the pass’s QR code ready for the photographer.
If you’re still on the fence about whether or not the Disney PhotoPass is worth it, here’s my advice: Don’t buy it at first.
Get a QR code from one of the PhotoPass photographers and show the card to all the others you encounter that day. At the end of the day you can decide whether you want to buy a $10 MaxPass and connect it to that day’s photos.
That way, if you only see one Disney PhotoPass photographer in a day (like we did), you can skip buying that day and save your $10.
I hope this article on the Disney PhotoPass cost, details and logistics was helpful. It’s actually the post I wish I’d found and read before our first Disney vacation.
If you liked it, will you please share by pinning to your Disney Pinterest board or emailing to a friend who’s planning a Disney trip? I’d so appreciate that because they could use the practical, detail-oriented advice, too.
And if you haven’t already read my post detailing how my family of 4 spent 3 days at Disneyland for just $138, don’t miss out! In that post, I detail every step I took to save $2,289!
Finally, don’t forget to snag your own free Disney quotes printable!
This is a question I’m sure many parents have asked themselves and will continue to ask till the end of time. Great post.
Thanks Aditi! I hope it helps parents answer the question.
Great read, i love how detailed u were about the pros and cons of getting a photo pass — I personally never got one but once I have kids im sure it’ll be an option
Yeah, having kids makes it way more attractive – but again, not necessarily an automatic add-on!
This is so helpful! This is the kind of stuff I tried to research before our trip to Disney a couple of years ago., and lots of the info was very confusing. This post lays out all the info and makes it easy to make a decision. Pinning for the next time we go…
Yes!!! I thought the same thing. I really didn’t understand the PhotoPass situation until we were there. This is exactly the post I wanted when I was researching, too.
I used to love having the photos included in our annual pass at Disney World, but because the photo pass people always take the photo on iPhones, too, I don’t see the point anymore. Lol the quality of the photo pass photos aren’t THAT great and as you said, they aren’t always where you need them! I think for first-timers it might be great to have those memories together, but there are always people available to take photos of the whole family. 🙂 Such a great post for Disney planners!
Thanks Katherine, I hope it helps other folks, especially first timers at Disney!
This is super helpful! Honestly, I think that your MIL’s iPhone picture is just the same, if not better, in quality. I do like the fact that the whole family can get in the shots, but if you weren’t seeing many opportunities for the photos, I can definitely see why it’d be a better idea to just save your money.
I thought so too! And the photographers are able to take pics with your phone anyway, so if you won’t use it a ton, it may not be worth the cost.
Great read. Thanks for laying out all the pros and cons. I’m a picture junkie so I’m sure I’d opt for taking my own photos (thought the idea of getting a family photo without having to ask a stranger to use your camera is tempting!).
The ease of getting family pictures with Mom actually in them is a major plus for the Photo Pass. 😉
Thanks so much- It’s a nightmare for me to plan a trip to Disney for four kids so you’ve just saved me a ton of research and a headache! xoxo
Oh you’re so welcome! Planning for Disney is SO much easier when all the information is in one place.
As someone who is photo obsessed, I would TOTALLY splurge on the PhotoPass!
Yes! It’s not for everyone but the key is knowing yourself and deciding if it’s a good investment for YOU.
Great read and useful info. Hope to visit Disney soon x
I thought it was super expensive but I agree there are times when it is nice for someone else to take your photos. I have a really nice camera and I enjoy taking nice photos but sometimes I like a break to enjoy my family.
I’m with you! And even iphone photos are on par with the PhotoPass service.
I agree with you, if you are on a budget every cent counts. So if you have a decent camera or mobile phone, I think it’s best to opt out of it.
All the extra expenses add up!
This is really interesting! I had no idea this was even an option. I will definitely check into it on our next Disney trip.
Glad you learned something new! Honestly the internet is so full of Disney tips that I’m happy to provide something I haven’t seen elsewhere.
We always have them take photos, even though I take them with my camera. You never know when they will capture something you missed.
That’s a really good point, Heather. You could always have them take the photos, check to see if they captured something special, and get the PhotoPass only if there’s a gem!
We’ve never gotten it but I think we will once we have kids 🙂 Awesome breakdown! Loved seeing the photos side by side
So glad this was helpful, Jenna! Yep, some things are more worth it once you have kids.
I am a photographer, so those type of pictures always make me cringe. They’re usually unedited and low light. So I honestly rather take my own.
Yeah, I wasn’t terribly impressed with the PhotoPass pictures. I preferred the ones I took with my iPhone, actually.
Thanks so much for taking the time to put all this information together, Catherine. Personally, I like taking my own pictures – I think the pass may suddenly have caused some stress if we’d had it when my kiddos were little.
I like taking my own photos too, though sometimes I go a little overboard. I think the PhotoPass totally depends on your personal preference, but I wasn’t terribly impressed with it.
If you’re gonna have Photopass or a character attendant to take a picture with your phone, ALWAYS ASK. Do not simply shove your phone in their face. Also take turns with the photographer so everyone is facing the same direction. Characters tend to look at the photographer first while kids look at mom. Have the kids look at the photographer first and then have everyone look at your phone. You can talk to the character. Better poses. Better photos. Just ONE phone is needed. You can send them to each other. Don’t confuse kids by pointing multiple cameras that they don’t know where to look.
Such a good reminder, Daniel! I always go out of my way to talk to the photographer or character attendant—or really anyone in service. They have hard jobs and see sooooo many people in a day. It’s also a great idea to take turns so that the kids know where to look!