Many Disney World guests (including us here at the DFB team) get flutters of excitement when they get to meet and get photos taken with their favorite Disney World characters. And if you’re a parent to little ones, you likely get a burst of joy seeing your kiddo meet Mickey Mouse for the very first time.
Disney World’s PhotoPass photographers have become a vital component of these character meet-and-greets, and many vacationers choose to purchase the Memory Maker package for unlimited downloads of the resulting photos. (Disney World Annual Passholders get Memory Maker for free). During our recent visits to a few meet-and-greet locations, we’ve noticed the addition of automated cameras in lieu of PhotoPass photographers, and Disney Fans are NOT HAPPY about it. We’ll explain why in a minute, but first let’s talk about what these actually are and where you can find them.
We’ve seen these automated cameras in use at Mickey and Minnie’s and Tinker Bell’s meet-and-greets in Magic Kingdom and at Chewbacca’s meet-and-greet in Hollywood Studios. We’ve also spotted what looks to be an automated camera box in Anna and Elsa’s Royal Sommerhaus in Epcot, but it was not in use during our most recent visit.
So, How Do These Cameras Work?
When we visited Mickey and Minnie’s meet-and-greet, we documented our entire experience so we could tell you about it! These new automated cameras have been placed inside a themed box. This one, in Mickey’s dressing room, is located inside a bookcase.
Guests will look at the camera as if they were looking at a PhotoPass Cast Member. The Character Attendant should assist you in knowing when to pose. The system is on a timer and took five or six photos when we were visiting.
After taking your photo with the box, you will scan your MagicBand on the PhotoPass kiosk so that the pictures will be linked to your My Disney Experience app.
Learn more about the automated cameras here!
But Wait…Why Are People So Mad?
Well…lots of reasons. Some people are upset that Photopass Photographers are losing jobs. Some are sad to lose that fun interaction with the photographers themselves. But the majority of folks are nervous and frustrated that the photopass photos themselves won’t be as good as when a human being takes them. Which is KIND of true.
While we still had a few decent photos at the end of our recent photo-box interaction, it was much more difficult to get those fun candid shots — like little Suzie hugging Minnie for the first time — that only a real human can capture, because…they’re not robots…or automated…or on a specific timer. They can see those special moments — Mom tearing up at Mickey bowing to Grandma, little Jimmy photobombing Tink’s photo with his sister, or even an actual proposal happening front and center. Imagine how badly a robot camera could botch up photographing a PROPOSAL. Or a gender reveal??!
Photopass photographers know how to get the shot…the best shot…the shot that will become a magical memory for your family forever. Can a robot box do that? In our experience so far…eh….kind of…but not really.
And while we’re getting LOTS of responses about this from our readers, we want to share one response in particular, which brings up a good point. Our reader visited Anna and Elsa’s meet-and-greet in 2017, and noted that Elsa “spent over 5 minutes with both [of her] grandchildren and the whole time the photographer circled them snapping away. Over 40 pictures were available from loads of angles on PhotoPass. That interaction, quality and quantity would never ever be achieved with a box on a wall.”
Disney World Cast Members really are the greatest, aren’t they? They go above and beyond to create magical moments like this, and many of our readers are understandably concerned that this magic might be lost with the addition of automated cameras.
But there’s one silver lining to remember — you’re not in there alone with the characters. There are cast members who are character handlers in the meet and greet with you, and they’re still happy to use your own camera to snap a few photos. So…maybe they’ll become the new de facto human photopass photographers?
Is Memory Maker Still Worth It?
Now, we’ve seen some calls for guests to stop buying Memory Maker — Disney’s pre-purchasing system to get access to all of the digital photos taken of you and your family during your vacation — in order to send a message to Disney that guests aren’t happy about the photo boxes. At $169 if you buy it in advance, it’s not all that cheap after all. But whether it’s still worth it to buy isn’t all that clear cut. It honestly depends on what you plan to use Memory Maker for.
Do you plan on riding lots of attractions with on-ride pictures and going to a character meal or two? Those ride photos are so much fun and can be great reminders of the memories you made on your vacation. Or are you planning not to ride too many photopass-enabled rides and only have one or two meet-and-greets scheduled? Think about how much use you’ll get from Memory Maker before buying it — it could easily still be worth it for your family since the automated boxes would only affect a few character meet-and-greet locations.
But it’s VERY important to note that we’ve only seen these automated cameras in a few places so far, so it’s difficult to say how prevalent they’ll become. Disney has stated that there are still over 100 Photopass Photographers in the parks. You still have plenty of opportunities to get those candid photos you love and cherish.
And if you do happen to visit a location with an automated camera, go ahead and ask the handler to snap a few pictures with your phone as well. Stay tuned to Disney Food Blog as we’ll keep you updated if and when we find any more cameras around the parks!
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Do you have an experience with an automated camera in Disney World? If so, tell us about it in the comments below!
The comment about Anna spending over five minutes with the one reader’s grandchild is precisely why they are going to this automated photo system. A lot of people say it’s to cut jobs from PhotoPass photographers, but the real money lost is in the people standing in line for their photo. They are not spending money just standing in line waiting for their pic. So to keep the lines moving, they are doing this automated system. It will accomplish both things that Disney wants – cut costs and increase guest spending.
Having used this system for several years as well as the latest change, we are also disappointed that you can no longer visit the website and add borders/stickers/zoom in to remove unwanted bystanders etc etc unless you have an apple phone or tablet. We have created many different images from an original photo this way. I assume Disney are in partnership with Apple forcing you to purchase the product if you require to carry out future changes.
I have not been to Walt Disney World in twenty years and it’s a bucket list item. I’m legally blind so taking photos is very difficult and when I’m having fun I forget to have photos taken so I can have those for momentos. Am I going to trust a robot inside a box to take just the right shots? Of course not. These photos are vitally important so much that my desire to go is much lessoned.
I’ll go on a Disney cruise instead where professional photographers are there to make sure my memories are rightfully captured on film.
My family and I caught on quick, and bought Memory Maker in advance. We left the big camera at home, and just took our phones for occasional shots where there were no photographers. We felt like we were having a “more liberated experience” than the many folks who walked around watching their vacations on the screens of their phones, because they felt they had to capture Every. Single. Moment. It seemed really sad, because while focusing on their phone screen, they miss so much of the periphery. They will get home, and look at all the shaky video and out of focus pictures and never really realize how much they missed by NOT putting down the phone. The fact that Memory Maker and the Photopass Photographers were there, actually let us enjoy our trip all the more, as we didn’t miss the sensory overload that is Disney while making our vacation seem like a third person experience from the beginning. Some memories just cannot be captured and lived at the same time, but it is so nice to have PEOPLE, not automated cameras, there to not only capture them for us, but to celebrate them with us as well. I will not boycott yet, but if they ever do away with the walking around photographers, even I would have to stop buying the package.
We were super upset with the automated photographs. While yes we got a great photo of all of us smiling at the camera, we didn’t get any great candid shots (the shots we purchase the pass for) because the automated photographer couldn’t move/adjust to what was happening. Also, completely contradicting the above comment, it was MUCH MUCH slower than any photographer we visited.
Totally agree with the others who are not so pleased with it. We just went to Disney a couple weeks ago and the pictures we got with Tinkerbell we by far the weakest. They weren’t able to capture when my son hugged her and other cute interactions with her that he had. I hope these don’t become the new norm around the parks.
What happens if you finish, go to the kiosk and hate every pic because eyes are closed, someone sneezed, oh no little one pulled up her dress and you didn’t notice? A person would see that and fix it, a robot can’t. Do you have to get back in line after waiting who knows how long? Or do they wait to make sure you are satisified before bringing in the next family? I enjoy Disney, but technology isn’t always faster or better. I mean BOG’s long QS line is the result of people bumbling through self order entry vs Other QS where a CM who knows how the computer system works quickly enters your order and you move on.
Please, not character ” handlers”. They are attendants!! I was one, and really dislike that ” handler” label.
Photo Pass CMs are reassigned elsewhere in the park so they don’t lose their jobs. Unfortunately , they do lose an awesome place to work. That was one of my favorite places to be working!! The box…it just isn’t the same. I hope anyone that uses this, finds it lacking ,will utilize any means possible to convey it isn’t working well.
I personally like to interact with the character before the picture.
I guess this will go away now.
First they remove talking Mickey. Then the photographer to get a picture with him.
I have heard NOTHING but horror stories about these auto picture machines. I will probably just choose to bypass the meet ups all together now.
Granted that’s probably Disneys plan anyway. To discourage line wait times.
If less people choose to do the meet up, the shorter the line will be.
This makes me so sad! We visited in 2017 and my son started the holiday so shy with the face characters but by the end of the trip his confidence ballooned because of the amazing interactions he got from those characters – culminating in an actual kiss on the cheek from Snow White that none of us expected! The candids that the Photographers got are my favourite, much better than the posed pictures, and an automated machine just isn’t going to get those different angles or close ups.
A big part of the magic is the enthusiasm and cheer that the cast members exhibit. It is sad to hear that some are being replaced and we will lose that touch that the photographers have in capturing special moments. I remember my friend’s granddaughter doing an impromptu interpretive dance with Doc McStuffins that an automated camera probably would have missed.
I also remember when they started playing recorded bus announcements. I miss the humorous and impromptu chatter that many of the Disney drivers provided during our rides. Another piece of the magic lost in time.
That’s a shame that Disney is cutting photographers and replacing them with boxes. We have used Memory Maker in the past and have loved it. The best pictures were taken by photographers who were able to capture the moment of our son approaching the characters for the first time. We’ll have to rethink Memory Maker going forward.
We just experienced the automatic photo boxes this past week and we’re slightly disappointed in the lack of candid shots but mostly thrown off at the fact they take up to 48 hours to appear on your PhotoPass. We called PhotoPass thinking they were lost photos after 24 hours but instead we were told that the photo boxes take longer to post as they have to be reviewed by more people before that can be attached to your photo collection.
Thanks for your perspective on these automated cameras. Our trip is in Oct. I’m still going to purchase Memory Maker and I guess we’ll just try to spend a little extra time with the characters in order to get more pictures and increase our odds of getting decent ones. Still absolutely hate this automated idea but will be trying to make the best of it.
I agree that moving people through the line and back out spending , and freeing up the labor costs of having to pay photographers (some aren’t real photographers, btw), are both most likely the foundation for this change. Perhaps we should be lobbying for a lower price of memory maker?? Or simply boycott memory maker altogether?
I was thinking of getting an AP with my upcoming trip with memory maker being a large reason for that potential decision. Now I probably won’t get an AP.
Disney may end up feeling some natural consequences because of this change in their photography offerings. But my guess is that they’ve factored in all that and will be coming out ahead in the end. They are a for-profit corporation, after all.
Agreed, the automated photos were in use when I was in Star Wars Launch Bay for both Chewie and Kylo Ren – I had great interactions with both characters and the attendants, but when it came to the pictures, they were stiff and posed in a way that Disney character photos usually aren’t – they’re not prom pictures, after all. I’ve only had excellent experience with photopass photographers who are enthusiastic, efficient, and great at their jobs. They enhance the experience, I hope Disney is just piloting this automation program to see how it works, if I get a guest satisfaction survey, I’ll be sure to tell them that it’s a definite downgrade in terms of experience.
We just got home from Disney and experienced some of the photo boxes. They actually made our experience much slower as we were having to stand and wait for the pictures to take. The box missed out on some amazing photos we have gotten in the past when meeting characters. We will not buy memory maker on our next trip if this continues. I had to constantly get my phone out and take my own candid shots, which is why we paid for memory maker in the first place. I want to be able to experience the meet and greets with my kids and not through the lens of a camera or phone screen. We were extremely disappointed with the experience and the photos we got from the boxes. The actual Photopass photographers were amazing.
I do not like the automated cameras. A very large group was before us at the Tinkerbell spot. They took many pictures, but did not scan them when they left. All of their pictures were on our account. While it was easy enough to delete them, I wondered if they had missed the kiosk to scan on the way out or just assumed that someone in their group had already done it.
Automated cameras at some spots would not make me decide to not purchase Memory Maker, the change in the way editing is done might. In the past we’ve enjoyed adding stickers, borders, etc to our pictures and saving them to our account. It was nice to have the edited pictures on the disc we purchased afterwards. I do have an Apple phone, but really couldn’t even see what some of the borders were. In the future I probably will not buy the disc and just save the photos to my computer.
I don’t have any experience with the automatic photo machine, but I am hoping that they have real photopass photographers at MVMCP. I want the pictures that they take, but also want pictures taken with my camera as well. How would you.get your picture taken with your camera then? Not everyone has someone with them.
The best photos happen through spontaneous emotion, and human photographers are able to capture those moments, but an automatic camera on a timer will not. So Disney just made PhotoPass nearly useless for most families, although snapchat obsessed teens can probably continuously pose well enough for automated cameras. It’s time to go back to carrying our own cameras.
The ride pictures are so expensive and we plan a lot of character meals this trip so we are getting Memory maker for this trip, but in future trips, if it spreads we are going to skip it. We’ll have pictures of us on rides from previous trips and we can purchase a few cheaper than memory maker as needed and take our own pictures. Some of our favorite pictures from our last trip were the ones taken by the Park Photographers. All of those pictures were made into gifts for family members (including things from Disney).
Sue.
Maybe you don’t quite understand how they will work.
My understanding is that they spit out about 5 pictures evenly spaced apart, like in a cheap photo booth.
Once it’s done. No more pictures. You can interact with the character but no photos.
As already mentioned these photo kiosks take away the ‘personal’ touch that the photographers offer. We were in WDW last year & have a lovely photo of us all with our fingers to our mouths suggesting that we keep quiet whilst our youngest granddaughter slept in her pushchair. Photos like this cannot be achieved with a box!
Stop the Photobots. I want a human photographer cast member. They are part of what makes Disney Great.
I do not like the photo box in the least. I used a FP for pictures of my 20 month old grandson with Mickey at MK. There was not one image useful to me at all. It was a total waste of time and waste of a FP. Once in a lifetime pictures should not be taken from a timed camera in a box. Very disappointed in this one, Disney!
Just got back from Disney World and I am a regular user of Memory Maker. I can honestly say I’m not a fan of these new photo boxes. We experienced a malfunctioning box with one character & I miss the multiple angles & shots provided by human photographers.
Sad, sad, sad. All three of our trips to WDW have allowed us to interact with the wonderful photo pass photographers. They take fabulous pictures and are fun to work with.
How can an automated camera coax a shy toddler to come out from behind Minnie’s skirt? Auto cameras are the answer for ride shots, not meet and greets.
Meeting and having fun with Cast Members and Photographers has always been an important part of our trips. I’ve waited in many lines to meet characters and it was so worth it! Why is it all of Disney’s changes seem geared to minimizing MAGIC and maximizing PROFITS??? Once the magic disappears so do the visitors.
My daughter is a Photopass Photographer at Disney and was upset when she learned about the photo boxes that were being brought in to replace the photographers in some locations . She loves the interaction with guests and the characters and capturing those candid shots. Sad to say that corporate greed prevails. I hope people voice their dissatisfaction and this endeavor fails.
Another reason why I will not be renewing my pass when it expires in November. I am so done with the new Disney. I don’t care what they do going forward because the heart and soul are being removed bit by bit. May as well go to Six Flags down the street if I’m going to be treated like people don’t matter.
We’re in WDW right now and had an issue with the ‘first time meeting Mickey’ photos. The pictures didn’t show up on our app until 48 hours later, by which time I had majorly panicked and spent 2 days convinced we had missed the capture of such a special moment. The cast members we talked too _all_ said they are having issues with the automated cameras not linking photos reliably.
Over our last two visits, in 2018 & 2019 we noticed fewer and fewer photographers. It seemed that although the Memory Maker price had not changed, the opportunities for photos had definitely declined. This makes our decision to not purchase Memory Maker on our next visit much easier, but I can’t say that I’m not disappointed.
I do believe these photographers do an awesome job. However, I am a little shy and tend not to stand in line or want someone snapping off a bunch of pictures of me. I might be more inclined to use an automated system. Maybe a combination of the two products might serve everyone well.
Wow, some people seem like they’re hitting their limit for being a cash machine.
I was VERY disappointed with the Auto camera. I am in an ecv and it takes a moment to move the ecv to a place outside of the picture area and hobble back to the character. By the time I got to tinkerbell, the camera had taken pictures of my hubby alone and my Bach side. Only got one shot of tinkerbell, hubby, and back of self picture that might be edited for use of him with character before we were told to move on. No more pictures would be taken.
Idea: let the bots just take a VIDEO instead, and the Photogs do what they do best at the same time! Win, win
This is a horrible idea. I have a five year old daughter with autism and it takes her a minute to warm up to the characters and the look at the camera. So now what?…all my pictures are going to be of her standing several feet from the character because the automated box took all the pictures too soon? And if I’m able to get her to stand close to the characters in time now she won’t be smiling because she needs that human interaction instead of me trying to tell her to look at the hidden camera in a bookshelf?!? I’m extremely disappointed in Disney World for this. We are actually going back to Disney World in two weeks and I’m already worried we wasted our money in the memory maker and sad for the pictures I know we won’t get this trip because of the automated boxes.
We went to Disney in March of this year. The last time I was at Disney World was October of 2015. This last trip left me wondering who has changed in the Disney Parks executive staff. It left me wondering why are they so determined to reduce the Magic? Very disappointing. This is another big let down.
I just got back from my Disney trip and I’m extremely disappointed in the amount and quality of the pictures I got from my minnie and Mickey meet and greet with use of the automated cameras. I only got 3 photos which were horrible. I waited in line for an hour for three measly photos and my interaction was a good five minutes! I bounded as briar rose and minnie realized it right away and was so excited about it and Mickey noticed right away that my husband was wearing our anniversary pin and was saying congrats and NONE of this was captured on camera, the only thing captured was the two of us beginning to pose with minnie and Mickey. I really hope they take those automated robot photo boxes away, if I know of a meet and greet that does not have a live photographer, I will make sure NOT to do that meet and greet because its just not worth it.
I guess next next will be self check out in shops? I go to Disney partly for the interaction with CMs. Our daughter was in College Program and then went back for additional internships. It’s a hard job but very fulfilling. I love CMs and the photopass photographers are the best and getting great shots. Capturing moments with our granddaughter has given us such joy! We’ll not buy memory maker anymore if this is a growing trend
It was mentioned in the article that the memory maker is included in the AP’s . Only in the top two levels. We have been thinking of moving up to get this but it would mainly be for the times that we are out around the parks.
I’m wondering if they are cutting back on the live photographers because so many people ask them to take photos with their phone. That cuts into the wait time and also shows that people probably aren’t buying the memory maker photos, so why pay a photographer to take your phone photos on their dime. I love the memory maker system and the candids that the live photographers capture. The price is a bit steep, but the time saved by not having to do everything myself and by capturing moments I couldn’t do on my own is worth it.
I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to visit WDW several times throughout the years and I finally decided to treat my family by purchasing the Memory Maker so we could ALL be in the photos. I was just at WDW in late August and faced the horror of the automatic photobooth in my character meet and greet with Chewie at Hollywood Studios. When Mum noticed there was no photographer, I immediately handed my phone to the Cast Member because I knew the booth wouldn’t do a good job, and sadly, I was right. Not one of the robot’s photos worked, NOT A SINGLE ONE. And I agree with a lot of people who posted that the photos look stiff and terrible. I was extremely happy with my decision to buy Memory Maker, because now I have tons of photos with all my family, and the photographers are AWESOME! But if the photobooths don’t get removed, I shall definitely not purchase Memory Maker again. I know you can just hand over your phone or camera to the Cast Member, but unless you are carrying a really good camera, it just won’t be the same as the professional shots, which is exactly what you are paying for when you buy Memory Maker. You want a stress free experience when you meet the characters, not worrying about whether your phone will decide to freeze when you are hugging Donald.
If anyone is interested, someone started a petition on change.org to keep the Disney Photopass Photographers. Over 80k people have signed to date.
Here is the link: https://www.change.org/p/the-walt-disney-company-keep-the-disney-photopass-photographers
We spent a fastpass to get our pictures with Mickey and Minnie. What we got was somebody else’s pictures. Went to photo pass booth were after fifteen minutes they found “our” pictures. Nothing of my wife, our onlypicture was of me moving off screen obscuring Minnie while Mickey was watching my butt and clapping. Yeah automated cameras are great. Not.
I often travel to WDW solo and have relied on the Memory Maker to get most of the photos of myself on the trip. Chewbacca is my favorite meet and I have many great photos from there. I don’t understand why the boxes, if needed, weren’t put in areas where there isn’t interaction. Like, in France by the Eiffel Tower. Put a marker on the ground to show people where to stand and bam, photo taken. But why put them where there is human interaction? As others have said, those candid moments before you actually get to the character’s side are some of the best pics, not just the ‘prom pose’.