New Automated Cameras at Mickey & Minnie Meet in Magic Kingdom
New automatic cameras have replaced PhotoPass photographers at Walt Disney World, most recently at the Minnie & Mickey Mouse meet and greet in Magic Kingdom’s Town Square Theater. In this post, we’ll share thoughts, photos, and info.
By chance, we’ve done this exact same meet & greet several times in the last two weeks, both before and after it switched to automated cameras. Our first two times were a couple of weeks ago during separate Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties (the low crowds ones mentioned in this post when Mickey had literally no wait) with a PhotoPass photographer.
Our most recent two visits over the weekend when both Minnie and Mickey Mouse were meeting in their Surprise Celebration costumes after the automated cameras were installed. As such, we figured it’d make sense to explain how the new system works, and offer our before v. after review…
The before experience is more or less your standard PhotoPass interaction. Note that this isn’t exactly an apples to apples comparison, as during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, it’s just “County Mickey” dressed up in his costume. During Surprise Celebration, it’s both of them in their Wonder Bread get-ups.
Our interactions with fur characters are incredibly formulaic: we approach and do basic introductions and almost without fail, they notice something that Sarah is wearing that either feature the character or something that the character(s) “like.” Both times, this happened with Count Mickey.
At this point, the interaction is totally about Sarah, so I usually just awkwardly back off a bit so it’s not like I’m the third wheel creeping on the action in photos. This is pretty easy for a human to observe, and usually (75-80% of the time) the PhotoPass photographer will zoom in to focus on Sarah or compose the photos so I’m not in them.
With that said, the success or keeper rate on these spontaneous interaction photos still isn’t the greatest. A fun or cute moment in person with Mickey Mouse pointing to a hat might inadvertently look like him hitting a nose, etc. I’m sure anyone who has done a character meet and greet has been there, and has that uncomfortable mid-hug shot or something of the sort. It comes with the territory.
Nevertheless, human photographers generally do a good job with timing their photos for maximum impact, capturing awesome and special moments along with a few of the awkward ones. We have plenty of fun and goofy photos from interactions that we still look back on today and smile or laugh at, remembering the exact experience, all thanks to the timing, skill, and intuition of a good PhotoPass photographer.
Now for the automated cameras. As you can see in the photo above, there’s now a bookshelf directly opposite the character meet & greet, and there are two cameras installed (upper and lower) in the shelf on the left side. As guests are meeting with the characters, these cameras take photos (with flash) about every 3 seconds or so.
I have no clue how the technology behind this works (facial recognition? some sort of fancy algorithm?), but I don’t think it’s simply a timer as it wasn’t consistently 3 seconds. In any case, the technology is far from perfect, as the cameras continually captured those in-between moments of awkwardness as people were getting positioned or moving around.
In watching other groups during both of our times through, this is the first thing that struck me–the ‘trash to keeper’ ratio is undoubtedly worse with the automated cameras. The new system is perfectly adept at capturing the perfectly-posed moments, but not so good with anything else. This simply requires instinct and a deft photographer’s touch, and a computer lacks both.
Then there’s the obvious impersonal quality of it all. There’s still one Cast Member (character attendant) working at this meet, and that person does an admirable job attempting to direct guest attention towards the “magical bookcase.” However, even with a superlative Cast Member this still feels a bit like getting your picture taken at the DMV.
That might seem hyperbolic, and perhaps it is, but there should be absolutely zero room for comparing a meet with Mickey Mouse to the DMV. There’s nonetheless a discomforting quality to both and it’s hard to fully articulate this, or appreciate it until you’ve experienced it.
“Discomforting and impersonal” is probably the best case scenario if you’re a party of adults. We observed several families with small children have more issues than that. In fairness, this happens even with a PhotoPass photographer, but the Cast Members in that role have plenty of personal experience and humanity to employ every trick they know to overcome this. A bookcase has no such tricks up its sleeve.
On the way out, you scan your MagicBand at a kiosk to save the photos. I would share ours from this meet & greet to show what they looked like, but unfortunately, we still don’t have any of them. (Hence doing it twice.) It’s odd that this happened with both of our meet & greets, but we’ve now waited 48 hours and filed a claim, and still nothing. (We’ll update this if/when we get them.)
Here’s a file photo of us with the Surprise Celebration Mickey & Minnie, just so you don’t feel cheated:
Walt Disney famously once said, “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” That quote is famous in large part because the modern Walt Disney Company has made it famous. The line is used a lot when touting Cast Members and the Disney Difference.
I think Walt Disney World leaders would be well-advised to take this quote to heart when undertaking decisions that impact Cast Members and the guest experience. Again, people aren’t coming to Walt Disney World simply because it’s a collection of rides. As with entertainment, face to face interactions with Cast Members are one of those essential core underlying components that help define a trip.
I understand that automation is a fact of modern life, and something that will occur more, not less, going forward. With that said, there are good and bad forms of automation, and it takes thoughtful leaders who understand what defines Disney’s theme parks to realize that just because something can be automated doesn’t mean it should be automated. In some cases, automation is great. I don’t think many guests are going to come out against Mobile Ordering, even if its ultimate goal of cutting labor costs is identical to these automated cameras.
The differences lie in the how, why, and ultimate feeling it gives guests and Cast Members. It doesn’t take extensive studies with psychologists or human behavioral experts to tell you how people were going to respond to these automated cameras. As a society, pretty much our only experiences with automatic cameras are in “negative” situations, and this stands as a very obvious and in-your-face example of removing the humanity from what should be a fun and personal interaction.
Just about anyone reading this could probably predict the consensus reaction to automated cameras at meet & greets. I’m honestly a bit surprised that Walt Disney World has plowed forward with the idea, and I’m even more surprised that the face being attached to this is now Mickey Mouse. I would’ve thought that a meet with the company’s most enduring and beloved icon would’ve been safe from this–or at least one of the last in a slower rollout–but it looks like I guessed wrong.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Have you done the Mickey & Minnie Mouse meet and greet or any of the meets with automated cameras? What did you think of the experience? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Do you think Walt Disney World should be more careful when eliminating Cast Member roles like this? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I’m so sad to read this. Disney makes so much money from everything they do and own they resort to cheap tacky photo type booths and taking jobs away from the human photographer. Not on Disney!
I think replacing the photographers is a terrible idea. Do you know if they will be replacing more locations and when it would happen? I am not going to purchase memory maker for my December trip if I am paying for awkward photo booth photos.
Well I’m just ticked reading this right now! We are coming in November and have purchased our photopass. This just seems weird! And wrong! They sure seem to making a lot of cuts to help pay for SW land! I’m not sure it’ll even be worth it!
Is there a way to get a list of locations where there is a photographer and where there is not? We have a trip coming up in November. Last year we had purchased the photopass. Was a huge reliever, especially with our crazy toddler. But now…if they are just going to add more automatic cameras, I think it will defy the purpose. My little one would be a blur! Trying to decide if it’s worth it. I’m not totally opposed to the automatic ones in locations where there aren’t meet and greets or perhaps one that can get graphics worked in. It should be an ADDITION, not an elimination of a benefit. The cast members are what make the experience memorable. 🙁
I had the same problem yesterday. Took photos with Chewbacca and Darth Vader at Hollywood Studios at midday and until today there were none in my Photopass album. I had to ask for them today at the Photopass office al the park.
Not a Disney style service.
i agree – our automated ones with Chewie in same place never came through. Ended up queuing at the office days later – then had to remember for them what time of day (and what day) we met him as they had to scroll through all the pics around that time.
I sent an email to Disney as we all should. There is also a petition circulating to try to keep the photopass photographers https://www.change.org/p/the-walt-disney-company-keep-the-disney-photopass-photographers?cs_tk=AoTsG3PhH-3nO-mzh10AAXicyyvNyQEABF8BvPquxCdUTSq96bejMACsVjk%3D&utm_campaign=7fdc23046be34e68b8b65b89e2441565&utm_medium=email&utm_source=petition_signer_receipt&utm_term=cs
I signed the petition. Thanks for sharing!
Memory Maker is how much now? $150, more or less? That’s a lot of money for a photo booth.
The only way to combat this is to not get Memory Maker. If you want a family photo ask the person behind you to take it.
Sad times is all I can say, Disney go down and down with each post blogg or vlogg I see , I’m thinking flying 9000+ miles is getting less and less likely every year
OMG YES I thought I was the only one who thought these celebration costumes look like they are wearing WONDER BREAD BAGS.
This is an awful idea , I hope they revisit this
Automated cameras are a horrible idea and scream “cheap.” Seriously, Disney? After what we pay for our vacation you send us to the equivalent of a 50 cent photo booth? Boo, hiss!
I am appalled Disney would create such an impersonal experience with beloved Characters. Until they bring out an AI that walks and talks and emulates emotions and skills I will speak out against this. I agree with your comment about food orders. That is an appropriate time to automate-not helping guests create memorable photos and greetings with characters. Poor move Disney. 🙁
We went in July. One of my daughter’s favorite characters is TInkerbell. The automated cameras were awful. We did not get the picture like we had from years past. WE also had a track of my son crawling into and out of the frame. Furthermore, when we scanned out bands, we got the pictures for the people in front of us. We had to go to the help desk and ask them to look up our pictures for us. The poor CM working there said it had been happening all day and that was pretty much all she did anymore. I’ve always told others buy the MemoryMaker – It’s SO worth it, but as more and more become automated that 130 I think I will keep in my pocket. I’m not a photographer by any means, but I do better than an automated camera. I’m so disappointed in Disney for these changes. Your photographers are the ones who capture our memories and remind us why we want to return each year.
On our last visit back in April, they were very new and luckily we only had one (Tinkerbell). With a family of 2 young children (both under 3.5 at the time) – the photos from that one interactions were useless. We just deleted them all, I think the article is well articulated and pointed out the obstacles for young families.
it would take pictures well before we were set. Although this is a small sample with one instance – I would not buy the magic maker package and instead have myself or my wife just take the photos with our camera so we can get those more impromptu photos with our kids. But then we lose out on our family shots, it’s really a lose-lose situation and have hope they will re-think this one.
So sad! I hope this post and other complaints make Disney execs reconsider!
The automated cameras are a real disappointment. It ruins the Character Meet and Greet. I am especially frustrated that it is a Fast Pass experience, and they took the fun out of it. The photographer at the Meet and Greets do an awesome job, and an automated camera is not the same. Also they claim they are moving photographers to other places in the parks. I would rather get good pictures at the Meet and Greets after waiting in long lines or using a Fast Pass. I have also found these park photographers sometimes do not do their job. They hide out near Big Thunder Mountain or the Safari (Animal Kingdom) and do not even engage the guests. I have to go approach them and ask for a photo. New Visitors do not know these photographers are available to take pictures, so they just blend in the background an do no work. Why get rid of Photographers who have a whole line of people and move them to places where they have few subjects.
Yes, we were there recently and feel like the automatic cameras are a mistake. Not to mention that we scanned our magic bands after a m&g with Tink (auto camera) and we got the pics of the person in front of us because they failed to scan on their way out. So now whoever’s was after us got ours and so on and so on. Bad move!
PS we did get our pics with a visit to the front of MK at the photo area but it was a process to find them. And they could not get the other pics off of our app.
We just got back from a visit with our 3 year old son. We did a LOT of meet and greets (I think 2 dozen total) and had these cameras at 3 of them (Tinkerbell, Darth Vader, and Chewbacca). They are definitely the most awkward photos of the bunch and you totally miss out on the special shots a human photographer gets. And it was super hard to explain to a 3 year old where to look for photos. We also had the same experience of it taking days for some of the automated photos to show up in our account which was a little unnerving and disappointing. The automated cameras get 2 thumbs down from our family.
Completely disappointed in Disney about this. I too agree that it takes away from the experience and I whole heartingly hope that whoever is making these decisions at Disney come to realize this is a bad one quickly and do away with these automated cameras. I detest them at Disney, I pay TOO MUCH money for the experience I want at Disney and automated cameras are NOT it!
This is so frustrating! At the beginning of August, we had our picture taken with Tinker Bell using the automated cameras and we too never received our images even after filing a claim. This is a huge disappointment for me as an avid Disney World fan. I hope Disney gets enough complaints to go back to the old-fashion way with real life photographers.
This will be our LAST visit to Disney. I already have a non-refundable flight, party tickets, Memory maker, so I will go to Disney one last time. With all the magic leaving Disney, it is definitely not worth the $$$$$. But, the world is big, with plenty of vacation spots that cost less money, and less stress.
well said. penny wise and pound stupid. this is because millennials are now in charge of corporate America. Too many snowflakes now running Disney.
It is not millennials making this decision, it is the Generation X: Born 1965-1980 (38-53 years old) and boomers doing this.
Disney cutting corners at parks to help pay for costs of the new Disney Shanghai park
If I could post example pics here I totally would do do to illustrate the clear and obvious difference between the box camera photos versus photographer photos we’re gotten. There’s no comparison and the photos speak for themselves. No automated camera will ever capture the magic the way a photographer does!!
Well that’s just a ridiculous remark! My children are millennials and it’s not people their age making these kind of decisions. And even if there are, you don’t think corporate executives our age make stupid decisions just to save money? Hmm…
Sure. Millennials. Let’s blame them even though they’re nowhere near the age of the average executive.
I’ve heard that there has always been an option to hand your camera over to the photographer so that they can take a photo with it. With going to automation this will no longer be a doable. This will be missed.
Is there still a character attendance person that can take pictures using your camera? Or are they not allowed to take pics because they are attending the characters?