Capture Your Moment: Epcot Japan

On my 39th birthday in 2023, we accidentally started this Capture Your Moment series with a fabulous Hollywood Studios session. On our next trip to the vacation kingdom, we tried our luck at Epcot. We didn’t love our first Epcot session, but I decided to give it another try when we visited Epcot’s Festival of the Arts for the first time in 2024. I had gotten these adorable outfits specifically for the festival from Princess Awesome & Boy Wonder, and I just knew I wanted them well documented. Read on to see how it went in Epcot Japan!

What is Capture Your Moment?

We are big fans of PhotoPass and love that with the service, everyone, even shutterbug mom, gets in the photos. Capture Your Moment plusses that and gives you your own private PhotoPass photog. You also have an assistant (for crowd control and creative) for a 20-minute shoot in the park.

What do you need to know?

Reservations are highly recommended! Magic Kingdom is the only park I’ve seen without availability since we started the series (check at 60 days for best options). I was able to grab Studios about two weeks prior to our December trip. Additionally, Epcot and Animal Kingdom reservations were both showing availability the day before when I checked for each. I grabbed this session about two weeks out.
Inquire on the day of at the PhotoPass shop in each park for availability if you weren’t able to get an advanced reservation.
Currently, the cost is $99 and includes the shoot only. Photos are included in Memory Maker and/or can be purchased individually.
You will check check in at the PhotoPass podium outside the Art of Disney shop in the American Adventure.
You and the photog can discuss any ideas you have for locations, groupings, celebrations, etc. S/he will also let you know of any areas off limits (Galaxy’s Edge, for example) in the park. At Epcot, currently America, Morocco, Japan, Italy and Germany are available.
Once you’re ready, the clock starts and you can strike a pose!

The Review

If you made your way to this review from our previous shoots, you’ll see that we were thrilled with our initial shoot at Hollywood Studios. It was most definitely “worth it” for my crew!! Our first Epcot experience didn’t garner the same enthusiasm, unfortunately. I may not have rebooked another shoot had the Epcot session been our first. That said, the experience is really make or break based on the photog’s skill, attitude and creativity. With that in mind, we booked another Epcot shoot in hopes of being paired with a great photographer.

We absolutely were! Jenni and her assistant Eve were a personable and funny pair who both worked really well with my sassy pair. I gave Jenni carte blanche with the location and creative, and she did her thing. Although Disney wouldn’t let us make a “FARTS” sign for our first visit to Festival of the Arts, she had plenty more ideas. She played a lot with the kids’ personalities, and it shone through really well in the pictures.

I will note that the exposures were a little off in this round of photos. The sky was overcast, and if you’re not super familiar shooting darker skin tones, you might not be able to adjust. However, I was able to take care of most of it in post-editing.

The team struck a good balance between knowing their location and having their own ideas and asking us what we’d like or were open to for different shots. For example, Jenni asked if I was ok getting on the ground for a few shots. You’ll see that I was fine with it…I’m an elementary teacher. I have no qualms sitting on the floor or getting a little dirty. 😉 Had she not asked, we’d have missed out on some cuuute photos. The kids were asked to race to me, and Mo’ grabbed a head start. Maui is seen expressing his displeasure with her method.

Overall, this was a great session, and I’m glad we took another shot at Epcot’s Capture Your Moment.