My Universal Photos

My Universal Photos Service and Photo Packages

While some guests still find their point-and-shoot or smartphone sufficient for documenting their vacation, Universal (in partnership with Colorvision’s Amazing Pictures) has capitalized on advancing digital photo and social media technology with its My Universal Photos program. All the images captured during your day by Universal—either by roving paparazzi near the park entrances, at organized character meet and greets, or inside attractions—can be collected on plastic cards (distributed free from every photo location) and retrieved at the end of the day at the photography shops at the front of the parks: On Location at USF, DeFotos Expedition Photography at IOA, or Krakatau Katy’s and Waturi Marketplace at Volcano Bay.

Photos can be purchased individually, but that quickly gets expensive, at $21 for a single 5-by-7-inch print or $26 for both a print and digital download. The MUP daily packages are a better value, offering 1, 3, or 30 days of unlimited digital photos and a souvenir lanyard to hold your MUP card. With a MUP package, you receive two free printed photos (one 4-by-6-inch and one 5-by-7-inch) as well as deep discounts on videos ($20 for Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit) and additional prints ($2 for 4-by-6-inch; $5 for 5-by-7-inch; $10 for 8-by- 10-inch), along with 20% off Amazing Pictures green screen photo ops. MUP packages are valid in all three parks and include all street photographers, on-ride still images, and even unique photo ops such as E.T.’s flying bicycle.

Digital images can be downloaded at MyUniversalPhotos.com or through the free Apple or Android app (search for “Amazing Pictures Mobile” in your app store or go to amazingpictures.com/app), from which they can be emailed, shared on Facebook and Twitter, or saved at a resolution good enough for printing (though not for poster-size enlargements). You can also purchase an archive disc of all your photos ($59.95) or have your prom picture with Optimus Prime printed on anything from pillows to iPad cases through the website.

To use the MUP package, simply present your card to every Universal photographer you approach, or at the photo counters at the exits of rides. Ride photos can be edited to zoom in on your party, and some photographers can set up special effects shots.

Universal also has automated MUP kiosks at the exits of select attractions, including Men in Black Alien Attack, Revenge of the Mummy, and The Incredible Hulk Coaster, letting you register your photos without waiting in line, though MUP team members are still available to help find and edit your photos if you don’t want to use the self-service stations. You get two cards per MUP package, in case your party splits up, and any additional images you get on other photo cards can be added to your MUP account at any photo service center.

In addition to on-ride pictures and wandering photogs, you’ll find a few automated photo ops scattered around the parks, including the Back to the Future car in USF, the Jurassic Park spinosaurus in IOA, and several selfie stations at Volcano Bay. Scan your MUP card (or TapuTapu wristband) at the kiosk, then pose at the designated spot while the camera counts down to the flash.

Photo packages also include free poses against green screens that digitally insert you into scenes with the Minions, Transformers, and other Universal characters. Located at The Darkroom on USF’s Hollywood Boulevard, there are two different green screen photo booths with a total of eight backgrounds, two of which are exclusive to MUP package holders.

If you prepurchase your MUP package online, it won’t begin expiring until you activate it at the photography shop near the front of each park. Once activated, MUP packages are valid for the purchased number of consecutive days. Online prices (plus tax) are $69.99 for 1 day, $89.99 for 3 days, and $119.99 for 30 days. A full year of MUP service costs $139.99 and is sometimes discounted for annual pass holders. A one-day photo pass valid only at Volcano Bay is $39.99; all other packages are valid in all three parks. Finally, a package combining a three-day MUP package with a video session at Shutterbutton’s in Diagon Alley (see page 295) costs $139.99 online. MUP packages cost $20–$30 more if purchased inside the park.

If buying ride and character photos is important to you, you’ll save money buying a package versus buying à la carte; if not, the freedom of unlimited snapshots may seduce you. That said, there are some deficits and gotchas to MUP that you should be aware of before buying.

For starters, MUP photographers can be found at each park’s entrance, and occasionally at impromptu character greetings, but they aren’t on every corner. You can sometimes find an exceptional Universal photographer who will spend time posing with your family in various locations, but you’re equally likely to encounter a meet and greet where the photog has gone mysteriously MIA. You certainly shouldn’t leave your camera at home expecting that MUP will be able to capture all your vacation memories.

Second, if you want to purchase any photos, you must do so (or buy and activate a MUP package) before you leave the park—once you exit at the end of the day, any photos not paid for or connected to an active MUP account will be erased. Likewise, if a photographers asks you to pose pointing or with your empty palm extended, you should stop by the photo store before leaving to have characters edited into the image; otherwise you’ll look pretty silly in the shots. Even if you didn’t take any “magic” photos, you should still review your pictures from the day on your phone or at a photo center before you leave, because images occasionally get mysteriously lost on the way to your account.

Finally, a few specific attractions have their own quirks. All digital photos in The Wizarding Worlds are included with MUP, but if you want to use your included free prints for the Forbidden Journey or Escape from Gringotts ride, you must get your photo printed at those attractions. All other attraction pictures may be printed at any photoservice location. For the record, below is where you can always find MUP locations throughout Universal’s parks:

For the record, here is where you can always find Photo Connect locations throughout Universal’s two parks:

Universal Studios Florida My Universal Photos Locations

• Park entrance
• Meet and greet near Shrek 4-D exit
• Minions Meet and Greet at Despicable Me ride exit
• SpongeBob shop in KidZone
• Transformers meet and greet
• E.T. shop
• MIB on-ride photo
• Revenge of the Mummy on-ride photo
• Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit on-ride photo
• Gringotts queue photo
• Roaming Photographers during Halloween Horror Nights and other events(seasonal)
• Minions meet and greet at the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride exit
• Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts queue photo
• Back to the Future car automated photo op

Islands of Adventure Photo Connect Locations

• Park entrance
• Incredible Hulk on-ride photo
• Spider-Man meet and greet
• Spider-Man on-ride photo
• Spider-Man meet and greet
• Ripsaw Falls on-ride photo
• Jurassic Park spinosaurus automated photo op
• Jurassic Park River Adventure on-ride photo
• Jurassic Park Raptor Encounter
• Forbidden Journey on-ride photo
• Seuss Trolley queue photo
• Grinch Meet and Greet during Grinchmas (seasonal)
• Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure on-ride photo
• Raptor Encounter