tWhen planning a Disney World vacation, a common question is, “Is the Memory Maker worth it?” That is an easy YES! Here are four reasons why I highly recommend Disney’s Memory Maker.
It’s Convenient!
Our phones are great. With them, most of us have better cameras than we would have ever wanted otherwise. We no longer need to lug a bulky camera around our neck to get great pictures, to make great memories.
As great as they are, though, even the best phones can’t capture as beautiful a picture as a professional photographer with professional equipment.
Disney allows you to focus on the fun. You don’t want the weight of a camera giving you a sore neck.
When you’re at Disney, time is money. You don’t want to waste time before photogenic moments digging out your phone and trying to find the perfect settings. Then you have to stretch your arm out as far as you can to make sure everyone fits in the selfie. Then everyone has to move again and pose again as you find the perfect positioning with everyone in the picture and Main Street’s amazing Christmas tree fully visible in the background.
You Can Keep Your Phone Safe!
Don’t you love handing the device for which you paid over $1,000, with all your family’s and business’s personal data, your treasured photos, and your credit card info over to a complete stranger and asking them to snap a picture for you? They’ll smudge your camera with their thumb. They probably just ate a Mickey bar, and you probably blinked.
What if they drop your phone? What if you drop it while messing with the settings, stretched out in front of you in a selfie pose?
Use the Memory Maker and focus on the fun. All you have to do is let a professional photographer scan your Magic Band and pose. Walt Disney World’s professional photographer will frame you and your family or friends perfectly in the frame with a perfect view of Cinderella’s Castle and the perfect settings for the current lighting and time of day.
Scan, smile, snap, next.
One, Good Photo for Every Moment
You want a perfect picture. Your phone can hold thousands, so go ahead and take about 20 shots of the same picture so that you can later look through hundreds or thousands of pictures, deleting hundreds of duplicates, comparing angles, smiles, and shadows to find the perfect picture.
Or you could allow Disney’s professional photographers to take one perfect picture. Then later In the day or when you return home from your trip, download all your perfect pictures.
The (OverPriced) Ride Photos are Included
Even the ride photos at Six Flags Over Texas are overpriced. You could select your favorite few amusement attraction action photos, or for the same price, you could purchase Memory Maker and have ALL of your action shots. Plus, all the professionally snapped photographs throughout the park in front of Disney’s iconic attractions.
If you’re even considering booking a Disney Vacation, do yourself, your family, and your wallet a favor and contact my friends at Wonder & Beyond Travel!
How Much Does Disney’s Memory Maker Cost?
If you purchase it 3 or more days before your vacation starts, the price is $185.00
The price to purchase it after is $210.00.
Memory Maker One Day costs $75.00.
How Disney’s Memory Maker Works
- Find a Disney PhotoPass Photographer at designated park locations and let them take your photo. Sometimes, they’ll find you!
- Scan your MagicBand, admission card, or PhotoPass card to link photos to your account.
- View and download all captured photos through the Disney PhotoPass website or the My Disney Experience.
- Ride photos are automatically linked when you scan your MagicBand or ticket after the attraction.
Features and Limitations of Disney’s Memory Maker
I covered four benefits of Memory Maker, which will make your trip more enjoyable and help you preserve more memories. Let’s cover the program’s features.
Features of Memory Maker
- Memory Maker provides unlimited digital downloads of all Disney PhotoPass photos taken during your trip. You can download them to your phone or in a batch on your computer.
- It includes attraction photos, character meet-and-greet photos, and park photographer shots. Pictures that would cost much more if you purchased them all separately.
- Disney allows all members of your travel group–up to 25 Family & Friends– to access and download shared photos.
- Photos can be downloaded for up to 45 days after they are taken. Of course, you’ll want them much sooner than that!
Limitations of the Program
So you know what you’re getting into (or what you’re not getting), here are the limitations:
- Memory Maker is not included with standard park admission. It must be purchased separately.
- It is only available for up to 25 people on a shared account.
- Photos expire after 45 days, so they must be downloaded before then.
- Memory Maker does not include printed photos. It only includes digital downloads.
Capture Your Moment
You can book a 20-minute session in Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, or EPCOT with one of Walt Disney World’s professional photographers. For more time, you can book two sessions back-to-back for a 40-minute session. Each 20-minute session costs $99 as of May 20, 2025.
You’ll have 20 minutes with that Disney World photographer with their focus solely on you. Capture Your Moment is a great way to get spectacular shots of your special occasion. You’ll have the opportunity for photographs customized just for you and otherwise unavailable.
The Memory Maker price includes all photos taken during your Capture Your Moment photo session. You have to pay for the session, but the images are included!
You can make Capture Your Moment reservations up to 180 days in advance, 120 days before your dining reservations, and I recommend booking as early as possible!
How Capture Your Moment Works
- Book a session online or through the My Disney Experience app.
- Check in at the designated location (e.g., Liberty Square Ticket Office for Magic Kingdom).
- Meet your photographer and choose a backdrop (Main Street, Cinderella Castle, etc.).
- Pose for photos during your 20-minute session.
- Download photos if you have Memory Maker or purchase them separately.
To make sure you get to your session on time, you’ll need to know all the ways to get around Walt Disney World.
Limitations of Capture Your Moment
To ensure that you know exactly what you’ll get (and what you don’t get), here are the limitations:
- It costs $99 per 20-minute session.
- Park admission must be purchased separately.
- Disney allows a maximum of 8 people per session. Larger groups must book multiple sessions.
- Sessions are only available during regular park hours and not during special events.
- The session price does not include photos unless you have Memory Maker.
To get the most out of your hard-earned money, make sure you know how to maximize your time at Disney World.
Here are a few examples of Memory Maker Photos
Mad Hatter Tea Party
This is a stunning table setting from the Mad Hatter Tea Party at the Grand Floridian. We dropped our kid off at the Grand Floridian’s 1900 Park Fair restaurant.
My wife and I didn’t get to attend the party. We instead wandered around the Grand Floridian. Since we had the Memory Maker Package, we were able to download all the pictures from the party!
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
We did not take this awesome photo from Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party with our phone or camera. A cast member took it. She knew exactly where we needed to stand, the correct settings on her camera, and she snapped a perfect picture.
We love this picture! We love all the pictures from the Memory Maker package.