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Tips for finding PhotoPass photographers
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Is the PhotoPass worth it? Where to get PhotoPass photos in addition to ride photos? I've recently seen these questions posted here, and it's also something that I wondered before making the purchase. I thought I'd offer my two cents now that I've been to the parks and had a PhotoPass myself.

Was the PhotoPass worth it to me? Yes, but I had an annual pass, and the annual photopass only cost me 59 € for the whole year. I have over 200 photos from four different trips to the parks. Most of the photos are good quality. We also prioritized the character meet & greets, sometimes over rides etc.

I think the cost of the pass is usually 75€ per trip. For a longer trip it's probably worth getting, for a short trip you will have to decide whether you will want to queue for the photo opportunities or the rides. You can get ride photos on some of the rides, but...

Are the ride photos worth it? Personally, I don't really care for them. I like the Buzz Lightyear ride photo, because we're a group of two and get a fun photo with only the two of us in the ride vehicle. However, if you're a large group on Buzz, you will be separated into different vehicles and different photos. All the other ride photos have lots of other people in them, and they might block you from the view if you're seated in the back. Also, sometimes it feels like a waste of time queueing for the photo preview and then the photo desk after the ride.

Are the character meet & greet photos worth it? Yes, but you will have to prioritize queueing for the meet & greets. The wait can easily take 30-60 minutes (or longer for popular characters!), even if the queue looks short. The characters take short breaks every 30 minutes, and there might be many priority card holders waiting for their turn somewhere outside the queue. Would you rather wait for the character meet & greets or the rides?

Also, sometimes the photographers take lots of pictures of the whole character encounter, sometimes they just snap a couple of group photos. I feel like the characters also spend more time with families than with couples or solo guests.. but don't let that stop you from meeting characters! They're lovely, and they're there for everyone.

A PhotoPass isn't actually necessary to get fun character photos. The character attendants will also happily take photos with your phone if you ask nicely (okay so on my first trip I came across a rude cast member who pretended not to understand me until I asked extra nicely)... But most of the cast members are super nice and happy to help if they are not busy with e. g. handling the priority queue. But if you have no one else to take pictures, you can ask the next person in line or take a selfie.

Where to find the PhotoPass photographers? Keep an eye on beige and green umbrellas. They might be either Magic Shot locations or character meet & greet locations (with or without a photographer). Even if the umbrella is closed when you walk by, it might open up later.

The photographers can check the schedule of other photographers, and can usually tell when & where to find other photographers. The Magic Shot photographers are great for this. They're usually not busy compared to character photographers.

Which character meet & greets have a photographer? In my experience, the following characters are usually with a photographer.

Disneyland Park:

The meet & greets at both ends of the Liberty Arcade, currently Winnie the Pooh and Stitch. I've never done the Pooh m & g, but there is always a long line to meet Stitch. Get there during the Extra Magic Hour! It can still be over 30 minutes, if you are not one of the first to get there.

Darth Vader in Discoveryland. I believe the other meet & greets that have their own building have a photographer as well, including Princess Pavillion, Mickey Mouse, and the new Minnie & friends in Discoveryland. Perhaps also the friends of Pooh characters in front of Plaza Gardens (Tigger, Piglet...)?

The other meet & greets in further away locations do not have photographers, e. g. Baloo, Captain Hook, Jafar, Queen of Hearts, Phantom Manor Mickey etc. At least I've never gotten other than phone photos from these character encounters. However, these can be fun too, and the queues are not always long. Jafar scares me, but is fun to watch from afar. Keep an eye on the umbrellas, it might be a surprise character location even if it's not a PhotoPass photo location.

Walt Disney Studios:

Heroic Encounter (the outdoor photo location on Avengers Campus). Usually it's either Antman or the Wasp.

Hero Training Center (the indoor photo location on Avengers Campus). Requires joining the virtual queue in the app. Sometimes the wait inside the building takes a good while, but overall the virtual queue requires the least effort.

Olaf. The queue seems to take at least 45-60 minutes every time, but Olaf is the best.

Jessie or friends. The photographer seems to be around when the Toy Story characters (Jessie or Woody) are around. However, if the same location is used by other characters, there might not be a photographer (e. g. last week it was either Mr. or Mrs. Incredible). This location always seems to have relatively short queues.

Goofy I'm not sure about, never queued for this. There probably is a photographer.

Disney Hotels:

I believe all the meet & greets that take place in the Disney Hotels will have a photographer.

Where to find other photo locations? In my experience, these locations in the parks sometimes have a photographer taking Magic Shots. The photographs will usually feature some fun extras that are added to the final digital photo. The photo location will have a sample picture, if the photographer is present.

Disneyland Park:

In front of Plaza Gardens. Near the fountain and the meet & greet with friends of Pooh (e. g. Tigger). The design of the photo seems to change quite often. Most recently they added a rainbow.

In Frontierland, near the exit of the Thunder Mesa Mercantile Building. Lately it's been a picture of Bambi and Thumper.

In front of the castle. This seems to be be a rare occasion, but I've ran into photographers in this location a couple of times. Once on Central Plaza, and more recently on the way to Adventureland. Unlike other photo locations, there's no umbrella. Keep your eyes open, or ask the other Magic Shot photographers. These photos sometimes have an added frame.

In the back of Space Mountain... Or not. There was supposed to be a Stitch Magic Shot in this location in December, but we never saw anyone at the umbrella despite checking multiple times and asking different cast members. The umbrella had been removed the last I checked in June.

Walt Disney Studios:

In front of the Partners (Walt & Mickey) statue. These photos sometimes have an added frame. We've usually asked the photographer to include the Tower of Terror in the background.

Hope this helps!

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