Teresea:
With what I call the new "tiered" system for
Disney's Annual Passes, I can see the confusion with different benefits and different pricing.
The new Platinum, Platinum-Plus and Gold (only for Florida residents) Annual Passes will include unlimited downloads from your PhotoPass account, essentially giving you all the benefits of Memory Maker. (Only Florida residents can choose Annual Passes at lower tiers without the PhotoPass download benefit.) This value is worth $169 to $199 for all new annual passes.
Keep in mind that this benefit comes with the new passes, not your
current pass, however, you can "upgrade" your current Annual Pass, paying the difference. For some this may mean a savings NOW. For example, if you were planning on purchasing Memory Maker anyway, and you are a Florida resident, upgrading your current annual pass to a Gold pass brings in a nice net savings.
I think touringplans.com's Steve Bloom wrote a great blog post on the benefits of the new passes on October 8. You may want to check it out. And if you have any more questions, please feel free to come back and ask!
Whitney