via Theme Park Tourist we get noteworthy information.
Though Disney fans were disappointed when Disney cancelled the 24 hour day at the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland park earlier this year, after a disappointing summer, Disney is bringing back special events in a big way. From an extended Epcot International Food and Wine Festival to the current Art in August festival happening now at Disney Springs, there are plenty of things going on this fall that should help bring guests back to the resort.
However, Disney surprised us recently by announcing a brand new event a few days ago that is unlike anything we’ve seen at the resort in recent memory. It’s called PhotoPass Day, it is happening on Friday, August 19th, and here’s why you absolutely must attend this event, especially if you are a fan of hard to find characters:
1. Guests are going to get the rare chance to meet some long lost characters during this event
via Disney
One of the biggest successes of the Limited Time Magic campaign a few years ago was the “Long Lost Friends” event that brought vintage, obscure, rare, and virtually unknown characters back into the Walt Disney World theme parks for a few days at a time. And though we’ve seen some rare characters pop back up at Disney’s Hollywood Studios intermittently over the past few months, during PhotoPass Day, guests will be able to meet the following lesser-known characters at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot:
Magic Kingdom Park: Confirmed characters for this park include Pinocchio, Gideon and Foulfellow in Storybook Circus, who will be meeting guests from 9:00 AM to 4:00PM
Epcot: During their regularly scheduled meet and greet times, several Epcot characters will be joined by additional “friends and foes” at the World Showcase. Mushu will be joining Mulan in the China Pavilion, Snow White will be joined by Dopey in the Germany Pavilion, and the Queen of Hearts will be meeting guests alongside adversary Alice in the United Kingdom Pavilion. Check the times guide on Friday for specific meeting times for these one day only duos.
2. Complimentary PhotoPass locations will be set up at all Disney parks & Disney Springs
via Disney
On PhotoPass day, Disney will have special locations at each of the four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort (as well as Disney Springs) where guests can take PhotoPass pictures that will appear in My Disney Experience without watermarks and will be absolutely free to download on PhotoPass Day and beyond. Here’s where all of the confirmed complimentary PhotoPass spots at Walt Disney World will be:
Magic Kingdom: This park will actually have two complimentary PhotoPass locations, with the first in front of Tomorrowland’s purple wall and the second in front of the right side fountain at Cinderella Castle
Epcot: Under Spaceship Earth at the front of the park
Disney’s Animal Kingdom: At the Festival of the Lion King entrance in the Africa section of the park
Disney’s Hollywood Studios: At Echo Lake near The Great Movie Ride
Disney Springs: In The Marketplace district next to the Pearl Factory kiosk
3. Guests can also participate in a Disney PhotoPass challenge to earn a free PhotoPass voucher
In addition to getting a free PhotoPass download at the complimentary PhotoPass spots above, guests who visit Walt Disney World on PhotoPass Day can complete a Disney PhotoPass Challenge at any of the four parks at the Walt Disney World Resort to earn a Disney PhotoPass photo download of your choice for free. However, you’re going to have to get an early start if you want to complete this challenge
Guests who want the free photo download voucher will need to get their photo taken at each of the designated challenge locations listed previously and then visit a Disney PhotoPass Sales Center at any park (or Disney Springs) with proof of their adventure to receive a voucher that will allow them to redeem one Disney PhotoPass download of their choice at no cost.
4. The first annual PhotoPass Day is happening at Disneyland Resort too
Though we haven’t gotten a complete character lineup for Disneyland Resort yet, we do know PhotoPass Day is happening on the west coast as well on Friday August 19th, and will also have free photo download spots at the following locations:
Disneyland Park: In front of Rivers of America by the waterfront
Disney California Adventure: In front of Mickey’s Fun Wheel on the side where the Games of the Boardwalk are located.
In addition, Disneyland will also have its own version of the PhotoPass Challenge, but instead of getting a PhotoPass download voucher like at Walt Disney World, guests at Disneyland who complete this challenge will be able to receive a complimentary 5×7 print of a Disney PhotoPass photo of their choice (which seems like a much better deal).
Though all of these special PhotoPass deals and free downloads may not be of interest to guests who have already purchased Memory Maker (or are annual passholders who get free downloads as part of their pass) we are pretty excited about the prospect of getting to see some rare characters at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and potentially Disneyland as well as part of this event. Hopefully this is the start of more events in the future that will bring these kinds of limited-time experiences back to the parks. Disney is referring to this event as the “first annual” PhotoPass day, which implies there will be more of these special days in the future. However, if this event is a bust and fails to attract substantial crowds to the parks, we’re sure there won’t be a second (which would definitely be a shame).
Will you be visiting Walt Disney World (or Disneyland Resort) on the first official PhotoPass Day this Friday? Do you think this this character and photography-focused event will be a success or a failure? Let us know what you think in the comments below!