Using the PhotoPass Service at Walt Disney World

First of all, the PhotoPass service is free, meaning you can get a PhotoPass card and have pictures taken for free. Should you decide to keep some or all of the photos, you will need to purchase them.

To get a PhotoPass card, simply go up to any PhotoPass photographer and ask to have your picture taken. They will ask for your PhotoPass card, so simply tell them that you need one. Once your picture is taken, they will code the photos with your new PhotoPass card and you're all set.

TIP: If you're with a group and have a group photo taken, the picture can be scanned on to multiple PhotoPass cards.

Everytime you go to a different PhotoPass location, simply give the photographer (or their assistant) your card and all photos will be added to that card.

If you should forget your card, or if your family splits up going to different parks for the day, no problem. You can each get PhotoPass cards. On our last trip to Disney World we ended up with 3 PhotoPass cards.

To make viewing, and purchasing, you photos easier, you can go to any of the camera centers (there is one located in each theme park) and have all of your photos transferred to a single card. The locations of the camera centers are as follows:

Magic Kingdom - Exposition Hall on Main Street U.S.A.

EPCOT - At the main entrance Plaza - to the left of Spaceship Earth

Animal Kingdom - Garden Gates Gifts to the right of the main entrance plaza

Hollywood Studios - The Darkroom on Hollywood Blvd



Downtown Disney - In the Marketplaec between Team Mickey and Arribas Brothers

The Grand Floridian Resort & Spa - Mickey Mouse Mercantile Resort Portrait Locations

No trip to Walt Disney World would be complete without a visit to The Magic Kingdom. This is the essential stop for kids of all ages. Whether it's a young princess getting her first view of Cinderella's Castle, or a young bucaneer wanting to take his first trip with the Pirates of the Caribbean, this is the park that defines Disney World.

There are many memorable photo opportunities throughout the park, and you will find PhotoPass photographers at the following locations in the Magic Kingdom.

The Main Entrance/Train Station - Between the park entrances soon as you pass through the turnstiles, get a family photo in front of the landscaped Mickey Mouse, with the train station above. Occassionally, Mickey and Minnie will be here.

Town Square - Get a photo in front of the statue of Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse.

Main Street - One of the most popular PhotoPass locations, get a family phot with Cinderella's Castle in the background.

Castle Hub - Another very popular location for a photo with Cinderella's Castle in the background.

Adventureland - Character Greeting by The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Usually Aladdin, Princess Jasmine and Genie.

Frontierland - Occassional character greeting at the exit of Splash Mountain. Characters include Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Bear, Br'er Fox.

Ariel's Grotto - Character greeting with the Little Mermaid

Mickey's Toontown Fair - Three Character greeting possibilities inside the Toontown Hall of Fame Tent. Characters change daily, but typically include Princesses, Mickey/Minnie/Donald/Daisy, and other minor characters. You must wait on each line separately and the actual lineup of characters will vary.



Tomorrowland - Character greeting typically located between Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and the Carousel of Progress.

EPCOT has the largest number of PhotoPass locations due to the World Showcase. Here, as you walk around the World Showcase, you can get a world of memories taken by professional photographers. There are also several opportunities in Future World.

The Main Entrance/Spaceship Earth - Once you pass through the turnstiles is one of the best photo opportuinites with Spaceship Earth in the background.

Character Connection - Character greeting at Innoventions West. Similar to the Toontown Hall of Fame Tent in Mickey's Toontown Fair, multiple hcaracters are here, typically Goofey, Pluto, Minnie, Chip & Dale. Characters will change daily.

Mission Space - Character greeting to the left of the entrance in the courtyard. Get a photo with Goofey in his space suit.

Test Track - For this PhotoPass opportunity you must actually ride Test Track. The photo taken during the ride can be transferred onto your PhotoPass card after you exit the ride and view your photo.

The World Showcase -There are PhotoPass locations all around the World Showcase. These will typically be Disney characters located at/around their country of origin. For example: Princess Jasmine & Aladdin - Morocco, Mary Poppins - England, Snow White - Germany, Mulan - China, and more.

If you always wanted to be in the movies, here's your chance. Hollywood Studios is full of locations with movie set backgrounds and lots of character greetings. Here's where to find them.

Hollywood Blvd - Through the turnstiles, Hollywood Blvd leads directly towards the Sorcerer's Hat. PhotoPass photographers are plentiful so get a family photo with the Hat in the background.

The Sorcerer's Hat - Character greeting in the plaza area surrounding the Sorcerer's Hat. This is a large area and there will be anywhere from 4 - 8 characters out at one time, spaced throughout the plaza, each with their own photographer. If you get lucky, you may get a photo with Daisy Duck.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster with Aerosmith - On the left side of the courtyard towards the attraction's exit, you can get a photo in front of the rollercoaster-guitar sign.

Al's Toy Barn - Character greeting with all of your friends from Toy Story, including the Green Army Soldiers. Al's Toy Barn is located to the right of Mama Melrose's Riwstorante Italiano.

Avenue of the Americas - Multiple locatons with an assortment of character greetings, ranging from Kim Possible to the Power Rangers. Characters and locations will vary.

Animation Courtyard - This covers a wide are with Character greetings throughout. Characters are found in front of Playhouse Disney (Little Einsteins), inside The Magic of Disney Animation studio (The Incredibles), across from Toy Story Mania (Woody), and as far down as by the Backlot Tour (Sully & Mike Wazowski). Locations and characters will vary daily.

The Animal Kingdom offers several locations for PhotoPass pictures with some of the most dramatic backgrounds in all of Disney World.

Main Entrance - Through the turnstiles, photo has the Oasis in the background.

Tree of Life - Past the Oasis, PhotoPass photographers will be either on the bridge and/or just on Discovery Island. Terrific shot in front of The Tree of Life.

Expedition Everest - As you walk towards Expedition Everest, with Discovery River on your right, get a photo with Everest in the background (sorry, no Yeti).

Camp Minnie-Mickey - Located to the left of Discovery Island, and across from the Festival of the Lion King, you will find four gazebos, each with its own character and PhotoPass photographer. Characters typically include Mickey, Minnie Donald Duck, and Goofey.

Character Boat Landing - This character greeting is easy to miss, located on Discovery Island on the left side immediately before you cross the bridge into DinoLand U.S.A. Multiple characters from Winnie the Pooh can be found here.



Africa - Character greeting, once you cross the bridge from Discovery Island into Africa, on the path to the right, heading towards Asia. Characters are from The Jungle Book and are located on the left side of the path. (if you turn arounf towards the Tree of Life, you can get another excellent family photo (but you'll need to take this one).

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In addition to the many locations in the theme parks, there are PhotoPass opportunities in several of the restaurants which have character themed shows. The characters at these events are more consistent from day to day, although there may be some changes in the minor characters (for example Cinderella and Prince Charming will ALWAYS be at Cinderella's Royal table, but appearances by the Wicked Stepmother, Fairy Godmother, Mice, Step-sisters, etc may differ from day to day).

Cinderella's Royal Table - At the Once Upon a Time Breakfast, table side photos are included with the price of the meal and are automatically added to your PhotoPass card.

Princess Storybook Dining - Located at Akershus (Norway) in the World Showcase in EPCOT. If your reservation for breakfast is before the park opens, tell a cast member and they will verify your name is on the reservation list. Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early as you will have to walk through Future World to the World Showcase, and around to Norway. Here also, photos are included with the price of the meal and are automatically added to your PhotoPass card.

Chef Mickey's - Located in the Contemporary Hotel, and available for both Breakfast and Dinner. A group photo is taken before you are seated, which must be purchased separately. Photos of the characters as they visit the tables must be taken personally.

Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show - This luau style family dinner is located at the Polynesian Resort.

Hoop-Dee-Doo Review - Located in Pioneer Hall at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground.

Mickey's Backyard Barbecue - This outdoor picnic is located in The Pavillion at the Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground.

There are two Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutiques. One is located in Downtown Disney and the other in Cinderella's Castle. My daughter Grace has only been to the one in Downtown Disney where this image was taken. I can only assume that with typical Disney efficiency, there will be a PhotoPass photographer at the Cinderella's Castle location also. What Princess would not want to have her picture taken after her makeover.

Now that you've got your images taken, and your PhotoPass in hand, now what?

If you have the time, you can view your photos, and purchase them, at one of the camera centers. Another option, the one we prefer since it doesn't take any tiem away from our vacation, is to view the images, and purchase them, online.

On the back of each PhotoPass is the web address that you will need to visit, Disney PhotoPass. The first time here, you will need to create an acocunt during which you will be asked to enter the 16 digit ID number from the back of your PhotoPass card. If you have multiple cards, you have the option of adding up to 9 cards during your initial registration. Once registered, you will have the option of adding more to your account.

Your photos will remain stored in your PhotoPass account for up to 30 days. If you have not made a purchase within the 30 day period, your photos will be removed from the system.

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