Disney PhotoPass Service and Snap Collaboration Continues with New Augmented Reality Lenses

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

Favorite Disney characters and Disney Parks icons will soon come to life in immersive new ways at Walt Disney World Resort, as Disney PhotoPass Service and Snap are continuing their collaboration with new augmented reality photo moments!

Combining camera technology developed by Snap with beloved Disney stories, our interactive new Disney PhotoPass Lenses create a magical, one-of-a-kind experience sure to make you smile. These latest Disney PhotoPass Lenses will be available directly through the My Disney Experience app as part of the purchase of Disney Genie+ service, launching on Oct. 19, 2021. A select sampling of these lenses will also be complimentary through the Snapchat app.*

Have you ever wanted to transform into a Disney villain? Or cook ratatouille with help from Remy? Or maybe even take a step back in time and see Cinderella Castle magically transform into a birthday cake? With this amazing technology, guests can make their own magic as the world around them transitions into one of fantasy. Take a look for yourself! 

The lenses are also a special way to capture memories during “The World’s Most Magical Celebration,” the incredible 18-month event commemorating the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort.

Whether guests are in their Disney Resort hotel room, traveling on the Disney Skyliner or waiting for the character cavalcade to begin, they can capture photos and videos with Disney PhotoPass Lenses to your heart’s content. While many Disney PhotoPass Lenses can be used across Walt Disney World Resort, others like the Remy’s lens will be available exclusively in specific areas of the parks. 

The fun continues even after a Disney vacation – guests can also enjoy some Disney PhotoPass Lenses up to 45 days after the day they visit with Disney Genie+ service, including one of our favorites, which lets guests recreate one of the most iconic scenes from “Lady and the Tramp.” Guests can open the My Disney Experience app and be sure to try it with their dog or cat! 

At Disney, innovation and storytelling is at the heart of everything we do, and by collaborating with Snap, we’re excited to further transform how guests experience their favorite stories. Every day, we are exploring new ways for technology to help us bridge the physical and digital worlds in what we call the “theme park metaverse” to further immerse our guests in experiences they cannot find anywhere else.

These lenses will join the many other ways to capture your vacation memories with our amazing cast of Disney PhotoPass photographers throughout Walt Disney World Resort – from family photos in front of park icons to Magic Shots, the Capture Your Moment photo sessions and more. 

The Disney PhotoPass Lenses featured are just the beginning, as we’re creating more for you to enjoy in the future. Stay tuned to for more details! 

With the purchase of Disney Genie+ service, Walt Disney World Guests can access many Disney PhotoPass Lenses in the My Disney Experience app as soon as they enter the park. Select Disney PhotoPass Lenses are accessible only within designated areas of Walt Disney World Resort. Other Disney PhotoPass Lenses will remain accessible in the My Disney Experience app until 5:59 a.m. on the 45th day after the day on which the Disney Genie+ service was used; certain states and localities are excluded. Many Disney PhotoPass Lenses use technology that detects the coordinates of key points on a Guest’s face and/or hands and may be used only by Guests 18 years of age and older who have consented to use of this technology. Therefore, Guests unable to provide such consent, as well as Guests under 18 years of age, will have fewer lenses available to use. To access Disney PhotoPass Lenses, an eligible mobile device with the My Disney Experience app with access to the device’s camera and location is required. A purchase of Disney Genie+ service at Walt Disney World Resort does not include downloads of a Guest’s Disney PhotoPass photos or videos that were captured by photographers and onboard attractions. Use of Disney PhotoPass Lenses is subject to the Terms and Conditions. Subject to restrictions and change without notice.

*Use of the Snapchat app is subject to Snap Inc.’s terms of service and privacy policy.

Disney Passholders Will Now Have to Pay for PhotoPass

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Uncategorized

We previously shared the news that Walt Disney World is introducing a new Annual Pass program at Walt Disney World. While it differs from the new Disneyland “Magic Key” Annual Pass program, east coast Disney fans can still expect four new tiers when Disney World passes go on sale on September 8. We’ve been getting used to changes taking place at Disney – including the reveal of the Disney Genie and the upcharge of the former complimentary FastPass service in the Parks. Not only is the free perk of FastPasses gone, but we’ve slowly seen Disney remove complimentary MagicBands for Disney Resort Guests, as well as Annual Passholders. The complimentary Magical Express Service to and from the airport is also going away. And now, another former “freebie” has been scratched off the list. Disney’s PhotoPass service will no longer be free with the purchase of an Annual Pass.

The new Walt Disney World Annual Passes include the Incredi-Pass for $1299, the Sorcerer Pass (only for Florida residents or Disney Vacation Club Members) for $899, the Pirate Pass (only for Florida residents) for $699, and the Pixie Dust Pass (only for Florida residents) for $399. Basically, if you’re not a Florida resident or Disney Vacation Club member, the one pass you can purchase is the Incredi-Pass for $1299. Select passes to have block-out dates to be aware of as well, with fewer block-out dates the higher you go up in Pass tiers. And now, Disney has announced you can ADD ON the previously included PhotoPass option.

If you’ve never used Disney’s Photo Pass, it’s a service that includes a professional Disney Photopass Photographer taking a photo of your family and/or friends using special Magic Shots with props, surprise Disney character visits, or just a standard happy Disney photos in front of the Magic Kingdom Cinderella Castle for example. There are select PhotoPass locations spread throughout Walt Disney World theme Park. Once the photo is taken by a photographer or from a ride photo, your Magic Band or PhotoPass Card is scanned and the image is uploaded to your My Disney Experience account. You can buy photos individually or you can purchase Disney Memory Maker which allows you to have all of your photos for one set price. As a Disney Annual Passholder however, this service was included in your Pass, so it was a perk to use regularly for all the great Disney PhotoPass photos.

The official verbiage stated on the Walt Disney World Resort website states: “Disney PhotoPass Downloads: Capture every magical moment with unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads for just $99 plus tax for the year—or even less when renewing your pass.” Obviously, Disney fans aren’t happy they will need to dish out an extra $100 to take advantage of the occasional Magic Shot and PhotoPass Photos … and took to social media to share their disappointment in another upcharge:

Are you willing to pay the extra $99 plus tax to add on the PhotoPass to the Annual Pass cost to capture magical moments on your Disney vacation? We’ve been Annual Passholders for some time now and use PhotoPass regularly for the majority of our Disney photos. We likely won’t be purchasing the PhotoPass pictures add-on going forward. We suppose the good news is that we do still get a free new Passholder magnet as Disney’s way of saying “thank you” for being a Walt Disney World Annual Passholder.

New Magic Shot Arrives at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks

Happy Earth Month, Disney fans! Disney PhotoPass Service is celebrating by launching their newest “Tiny World Magic Shot” at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. These “Tiny World Magic Shots” are a fun way to capture the moment with friends, family, or even if flying solo!

As shared by Disney: “This exciting new photo opportunity is a 360-degree capture experience that’s sure to delight your entire family tree. It’s available daily starting today from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. (weather permitting) from the Disney PhotoPass photographer located close to the exit of It’s Tough to be a Bug! on the Tree of Life Trails. You can capture this photo (which is located at the base of the Tree of Life) after exiting the attraction, or you can reach it by following the walkway across from Adventurers Outpost or the walkway next to the Africa entrance gate.”

On-Ride Photos Now Watermarked at Attraction Exits in the Magic Kingdom

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Magic Kingdom

To stop “Photo Theft” by guests, Disney has been putting watermarks on their attraction exit photos. The watermarks can be seen at the on-ride photo walls lining select attraction exits, such as seen above at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. These watermarks would show on guests photos when viewed in the app or online, so it may look familiar.

This also follows on the heels of MagicMobile releasing for Apple devices, and soon for Android devices. This My Disney Experience in-app feature will allow guests to receive their on-ride photos directly to their mobile devices via Bluetooth, not requiring guests to tap their MagicBands to add the photos to their account.

PhotoPass Reveals NEW Taste of the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts Magic Shots

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Epcot

Disney PhotoPass recently revealed a few of the Magic Shots guests can expect to see around EPCOT during the Taste of the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts this year.

The Twitter post features three different “drawings” guests can stand in front of to take a unique picture. The photos are shot with a construction wall in the background, but then the art is digitally added to your photo after.

The designs include some of EPCOT’s icons, such as Spaceship Earth and Figment! There is also a rainbow you can stand under. All of the photo-ops have “EPCOT Festival of the Arts 2021” written next to them.