5 Tips for Capturing the Best Pictures on Your Disney Vacation!

If you, like me, grew up in the age of Disney Sing Along tapes, this blog entry is brought to you by Makin’ Memories…

“Makin’ memories, taking pictures is making memories. Catching little pieces of time, making them yours, making them mine. Great vacations and celebrations can fade away in a year. But when we’re makin’ memories, happy days are always here!”

The absolute best souvenir from a great trip is, to me, the pictures you can look back on in years to come to remember the incredible memories you made with your friends and family. But there’s so much to see and do at Walt Disney World that even the idea of taking pictures can be overwhelming. So here are my 5 best tips for capturing the “little pieces of time” while on your magic vacation that you’re going to want to cherish forever!

1. Utilize Disney Photopass Photographers!

Say cheese!

These Cast Members (that’s Disney employee!) are magic behind the camera, I swear to you. Not only do they typically have the best spots for the most incredible backdrops for your photos, they also use top of the line digital cameras to capture your smiles. I would even swear they have some extra pixie dust up their sleeves, because I typically hate pictures of myself and they ALWAYS seem to capture the exact right second with a great smile and my perfect angle.

Plus, if you’re the designated family photographer, this is a great way to make sure you get to be in the shots! You don’t want to get home only to realize you took all the pictures and now don’t have any of the entire family to frame for your wall.

While your Disney Photopass pictures do require a purchase, the photographers will also gladly take pictures in the same spots with your camera or phone if you ask them nicely!

2. Schedule a Capture Your Moment!

Want to take your Disney Photopass pictures to a whole other level? Schedule a Capture Your Moment Session.

This is the chance to feel like a total VIP (and maybe even a celebrity) by having your own private session with a Disney Photographer, who will snap pictures of you and your family or friends, up to 8 people, exclusively for 20 minutes. 

They even have props if you’re celebrating something special like a birthday, wedding or engagement. Please, do yourself a favor and check out their pictures, they’re genuinely magic. I’ve experienced this at both Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom and I’m already planning my next session for EPCOT.

The pictures are worth every penny!

3. Dress to Impress!

There’s a lot to think about when you’re getting dressed for a day in the park - most importantly comfort and the weather. It’s going to be a long day outside, and you want to make sure your clothes aren’t going to hinder any of your fun. But I’d also like to suggest trying to plan ahead for your group to wear outfits that coordinate. 

I’m not saying you need matching vacation tshirts (though if you want to, I fully support that, I think they’re so fun and CUTE) but if you know you’re going to be taking a lot of pictures together, dress in shades of the same color or in colors that compliment each other. Any color of the rainbow will do, but choosing colors that are similar in hue and brightness tend to look best for pictures and will be the most pleasing to the eye later when you have them developed.

4. Choose your time wisely!

There’s nothing quite like those end of the night pictures you find on your camera roll. You know the ones, where the sugar has worn off, the heat has definitely gotten the best of you and just maybe your tongue is dyed blue from that last slush you drank on your way out through the Main Street Confectionery.

The best way to combat this is to plan to hop in line for that Photopass photographer or grab a coveted picture in front of the castle early in the day - before your hair has gotten crazy from back to back rides on Big Thunder Mountain, your kids have gotten Mickey Ice Cream Bar chocolate all over their faces and you’re all sunburned or red from heat. You’ll be glad you’ve gotten the most important pictures done, so you can simply move on and enjoy your park day!

5. Find Out of the Way Spots!

Right off a little dock!

Sometimes the hardest part about taking great pictures at Walt Disney World can be all the other guests. If you want that magic picture in front of the castle, sometimes there are going to be other people walking behind you in your shot.

But in all the parks there are spots that are less front and center and yet still just as beautiful and monumental! For example, instead of standing directly in front of Cinderella’s Castle, try standing off to the side! These spots typically have less guests and still offer a great view. In Animal Kingdom, you can get incredible pictures BEHIND the Tree Of Life if you follow the path from Africa to Asia and take a look.

Don’t be afraid to try out some of these alternatives, you never know, you just might end up liking these spots better!

Disney is all about the chance to be a grown up kid, to have fun and allow yourself to feel the magic no matter how old you are. So laugh at the silly jokes the Cast Members tell you to make you smile, be brave and ask another guest walking by to take your family’s picture (I promise people will stop to help you!), don the mouse ears and Goofy hats and have a good time. 

Know you’re NEVER too old to get in line for character pictures! Be silly with them, let your kids be amazed by them, and just soak it in.

Take selfies, candids and posed pictures. The more fun you’re having, the better all of them are going to turn out!