Disney World Debuts New $400 Private PhotoPass Shoots at Resorts

Walt Disney World has announced a new pilot program, Signature Portrait Sessions, which offers private photo shoots with PhotoPass photographers at select resorts for $399. Here are full official details & FAQ, plus background about what might’ve led to this offering, whether we’d book this, and more commentary about this new service.

Book a private 40-minute photo session with Disney PhotoPass photographers at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels, currently available for $399. Guests should receive approximately 60 photos per Signature Portrait Session.

A Signature Portrait Session booking includes:

• Consultation, guidance and capture by a specially trained Disney PhotoPass Portrait photographer and assistant using advanced photography and lighting equipment
• Access to a variety of props to enhance your photos
• Professional retouch of photos prior to delivery
• Downloads of images taken during the session

Signature Portrait Sessions are available at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels.

Choose between the Victorian elegance and modern sophistication of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa or the tropical oasis and island ambiance of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.

Indoor and outdoor locations are available. Your photographer will provide guidance on the locations best suited to capture your photos. Walt Disney World’s Signature Portrait Experience Team can also share recommendations and answer questions about ideal locations during the booking process.

To book your private session, please email the Signature Portrait Experience Team at [email protected] to get started.

WDW Signature Portrait Session FAQ

What does a Signature Portrait Session cost?

Each 40-minute photo session is currently available at $399, which includes downloads of images taken during the session, with professional retouch provided prior to delivery.

Full payment is due at the time of booking. Prices and services are subject to change without notice.

How do I book a session?

To book a session or make inquiries, please email the Signature Portrait Experience Team at [email protected].

Due to the custom nature of these photo sessions, advance reservations are required.

This experience may be booked up to 60 days in advance. To ensure availability, please reach out to begin the booking process as soon as you are ready.

When are Signature Portrait Sessions available?

Signature Portrait Sessions are designed to be customizable. Please email the Signature Portrait Experience Team at [email protected] to request your desired session date and time, and the team will do everything they can to accommodate your request.

Can I bring my own props to my photo session?

Yes, but Guest-supplied props must comply with Walt Disney World Resort Property Rules.

Can I wear wedding attire during my photo session?

While Signature Portrait Sessions are ideal for capturing celebrations such as proposals, engagements, anniversaries and save-the-dates, wedding attire is not permitted. For inquiries about wedding photography at Walt Disney World Resort, please contact Disney Fine Art Photography and Video.

How many photos will I receive and when will I receive them?

Signature Portrait Sessions are highly customizable, so the number of photos you receive will depend on numerous factors, including how many locations you choose to visit during your session and the travel time between them. While it is not guaranteed, most parties will receive around 60 retouched photos. Only photos meeting Disney’s quality standards will be made available to view and download.

Once the photo retouch process is complete, session photos will appear in your Disney PhotoPass gallery, accessible online or via the My Disney Experience app. A MyDisney account is required. Images will expire according to the expiration policy and are subject to the Disney PhotoPass Service terms and conditions.

Please allow up to one week after your session for photos to appear in your gallery.

How many Guests can be included in each Signature Portrait Session?

Please email the Signature Portrait Experience Team at [email protected] to discuss how many Guests will be in your session.

A large party may reduce the number of photo locations you can visit during a session and/or the number of photos you capture, but the team will explain your options.

Guests 14 years of age or younger must be accompanied by an adult age 18 or older.

What is the cancellation policy?

If you cancel within 24 hours of your reservation time or are a no-show, you will be charged the full price of the session.

Our Commentary

A few months ago, Walt Disney World sent cease & desist warnings to small businesses providing unauthorized guest services in the theme parks & resorts, threatening trespass notices for those who don’t comply. A wide variety of third party service providers were impacted, and photographers doing shoots at the resort hotels were one of the biggest.

Prior to this crackdown, Walt Disney World was directing guests to these third party photographers for portraiture sessions at the resorts, since there is no “competing” service offered directly. Resort managers had good working relationships with some of these photographers. That’s because these professional photographers were an asset to guests and Disney, not a liability.

We covered the crackdown comprehensively in Walt Disney World Bans Third Party Businesses from Unauthorized On-Site Guest Services. It was an especially controversial move given that the group targeted by the ban, Ear for Each Other, was formed by Cast Members who were laid off during COVID.

However, it was also an understandable move, and one that we hoped would result in an ‘approved vendors’ list for third party photographers with proper insurance and approvals to work at Walt Disney World, a reasonable exception given that many of them are similarly approved providers for Disney Fairytale Wedding.

Instead, we’re getting Signature Portrait Sessions by PhotoPass.

The upside of Signature Portrait Sessions by PhotoPass is that they’re only $399.

I know some Walt Disney World fans are going to balk at that price, but respectfully, you don’t know what photography costs. The cost for a session with a skilled photographer could easily cost over $1,000. Given the time for the shoot and the editing, $399 strikes me as absurdly inexpensive, especially by Walt Disney World standards.

The problem, and why this may not be worth it, lies in the “skilled photographer” part of the above.

PhotoPass photographers are professional in the strict definitional sense, in that they are photographers who are monetarily compensated. That makes them a professional. By that same standard, Homer Simpson is a Nuclear Safety Inspector.

In reality, PhotoPass photographers vary widely in both technical proficiency and the soft skills necessary to make for a good portrait session leader. If you’re unlucky, you could get a photographer who barely bothers when composing shots, and even free isn’t worth it because it’s a waste of your time.

On the other hand, you could luck into one of the passionate Disney Fine Arts photographers. They are tremendously talented and adept, and $400 would be a bargain. One of these photographers captured the above image of our daughter and Daisy Duck as part of Caravanning ‘Round The World, and we ended up with about two-dozen incredible photos out of what started as an impromptu moment, purely by chance.

While I don’t have extensive firsthand experience with this type of shoot, just being in the orbit of the Orlando photography community has taught me that the Cast Members assigned to these roles are usually the cream of the crop.

I can’t say that with complete confidence since, again, I’ve never done one of these sessions. But I would do it based on what I’ve heard, even knowing it’s a bit of a gamble. There was something short-lived like this on Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, and I really regret not doing it. The photoshoot was a steal for the cost.

Ultimately, it’s unfortunate that the full-circle resolution to Walt Disney World’s crackdown on third party photographers at the resorts is launching an alternative service as opposed to working with small businesses as part of an approved vendor program. That’s doubly true since Disney Fairytale Weddings is already partnering with many, if not most, of these photographers.

At the same time, the Signature Portrait Sessions by PhotoPass are much more reasonably-priced than I would’ve expected for a service being offered directly by Walt Disney World, to the point that I’m tempted to book a session at the Grand Floridian ASAP to capture Christmas card photos before the price skyrockets.

That I would book a Signature Portrait Session for my own family is probably as good of a bottom line as any. While I recognize that it’s a risk and we could walk away having wasted $400 plus a few hours of our time (getting a toddler dressed up and over to Grand Floridian is not just a 40-minute endeavor, but more like a half-day affair), my gut is that the odds are favorable that we’d walk away with some great photos. We’re really looking forward to giving it a try…unless the early reviews are abysmal. In which case, we will not make that gamble!

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

Thoughts on Walt Disney World’s new Signature Portrait Sessions by PhotoPass? Do you think this is the direct or indirect result of WDW cracking down on third parties doing business on-property? Does this strike you as a good or bad value? Agree or disagree with our perspective? 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!