POLL: Disney World Theme Parks Now Require Children to have a Biometric Fingerprint Scan

[asianway]

OK guys here's the deal

As a former Park greeter I have experience with this.

1. Kids, nine times out of ten put their finger on the reader anyway.
2. The readers do not read the finger print but rather the shape of the finger and the underling blood vessels as it's actually not legal for disney to collect guest fingerprint records.(what I was told in training) (This is why the readers don't work if you push too hard like a lot of seniors do)
3. There is now a photo alternative to fingerprints created for those who have issues with the readers (seniors and ADA mostly) and for those who object to having their finger scanned.
4. Finally and here's the reason they are doing it, Adults have been using Child tickets linked Magic bands to get into the park and because the readers were not activated for those tickets it was difficult to catch as a park greeter.

Im sure theres a few threads on the DID budget board on how to do this....

 

[DisneyDaver]

And people wonder why childrens immune systems are not developed properly and end up needing antibiotics for illness that people never used to bother about.

I understand the effect on immune systems and that there are cost/benefits to the use of hand sanitizers. The best practice is to teach kids to keep their hands out of their mouth/nose and to wash their hands before they eat, but my 15 month old still puts her hands in her mouth so, yes, I try to use hand sanitizer (without alcohol or triclosan) or wash her hands when she touches things that many others have touched. There are certainly downsides and risks to using hand sanitizer ... I wish you would have pointed those out instead of making your non-sensical (and untrue) comment about new illnesses that need antibiotics now, but in the past "people never used to bother about". It makes me "wonder" how many people out there have a lack of basic understanding of immunity, bacteria, viruses, allergies and antibiotics.

 

[DisneyDaver]

Why are scanners any more germ laden than anything else you or your kid touches in the parks? Railings? Queue chains? Door handles? Ride bars? Tables and chairs? Interactive queue features? Do you whip out your sanitizer each and every time?

You are 100% right in asking these questions... this fall will be my first WDW visit with my 15 month old so I don't know exactly how I will handle all these things. I will try to keep my use of hand sanitizer/hand washing to a manageable level. She's still a bit young to know to keep her hands out of her mouth ... that would solve the issue.

 

[TeriofTerror]

I feel very horrible for laughing as hard as I did..

Pardon my ignorance, but how is a hallucination a positive effect?

I guess it depends on what you hallucinate.

 

[Siren]

Wow. I expected this thread to totally go poof. Thank you to everyone who voted. I enjoyed reading all of the comments. You all are so totally awesome!

Here are the final results of the poll.

• 80% - agree with Disney's decision and will let their child use the fingerprint scanner.
• 11% - disagree with Disney and will not allow their child to use the fingerprint scanner.
• 9% - voted other.

Okay so, the majority here have spoken and this appears to be a non issue for most guests. However, there is some concern regarding backed up lines.

This thread goes to show that even the most insignificant news can bring about interesting and thoughtful discussion.

 

[xdan0920]

Finally and here's the reason they are doing it, Adults have been using Child tickets linked Magic bands to get into the park and because the readers were not activated for those tickets it was difficult to catch as a park greeter.

Adult tickets are like, $5, more the child tickets. Big scam they got going....

Why are scanners any more germ laden than anything else you or your kid touches in the parks? Railings? Queue chains? Door handles? Ride bars? Tables and chairs? Interactive queue features? Do you whip out your sanitizer each and every time?

Science tells us the average human's immune system is strengthened by exposure to normally occurring microbes. You're not doing yourself any favors by trying to live in a germ free bubble. Just keep trying to teach your kid to quit putting his fingers in his mouth, and to stop licking the handrails.

The red glass where people deposit their boogers just seems grosser.

How is your DNA going to wind up in a database from a finger scan on a piece of glass that thousands of people have put their fingers on before you?

Explained in my earlier post. High speed nano needles.

 

[rael ramone]

Wow. I expected this thread to totally go poof. Thank you to everyone who voted. I enjoyed reading all of the comments. You all are so totally awesome!

Here are the final results of the poll.

• 80% - agree with Disney's decision and will let their child use the fingerprint scanner.
• 11% - disagree with Disney and will not allow their child to use the fingerprint scanner.
• 9% - voted other.

Okay so, the majority here have spoken and this appears to be a non issue for most guests. However, there is some concern regarding backed up lines.

This thread goes to show that even the most insignificant news can bring about interesting and thoughtful discussion.

I voted 'other' - 'Other' meaning leave the kids at home.

 

[Siren]

I voted 'other' - 'Other' meaning leave the kids at home.

Hi @rael ramone! LOL. You are just too funny. And, thanks so much for your comment and vote. Leaving the kids at home is totally unfair. Like, if my parents ever did that to me... oh wait, never mind.

 

[FutureCEO]

Disney has been their own worst enemy lately. I could less about kids being fingerprinted and in the system but it will cause even more problems at the gate when everything is a line now (it's like it's own attraction).

 

[OliveMcFly]

Doesn't bother me. Now, I only have a child that has paws but I wouldn't be bothered by my nieces and nephews doing it and I'm the goofy aunt who gets upset when a player on the opposing team pushes my nephew so I'm a bit protective.

 

[HouseHacker97]

Honestly, I can't think of any reason besides backed up lines that would make me oppose the fingerprint scans.
@Siren, since you were the original poster, what are your thoughts on Disney's decision?

 

[KevinYee]

How effective can it be though? Kids grow like weeds! I would think that on an AP, the scan from the beginning of the pass would be totally out of sync with the measurements by the end of the year! It seems like it might be...a challenge, let's say to get some more fidgety kids to (a) stand still enough to take the measurement and (b) put their finger back in the same spot consistently. Seems like it'd just be easier to use a parent reading. Faster too. *shrugs*

This is a salient point that hasn't gotten a full answer that I've seen.

Since Disney isn't storing fingerprints so much as a "hash" created by identifying key points on the fingerprint and/or bone and blood vessels (they've admitted to both at various points) and then dividing those lengths by each other to create the hash, it seems to me that the hash values will CHANGE as a child grows.

I do have tween kids and expect every few years to need to re-set the hash. It's happened before, in fact.

That said, if the purpose is to stop adults from using a kid Magic Band, then I'm guessing the workers won't give any pushback when they've got an actual kid in front of them, and the re-set will be allowed without much fuss. That's what I'm hoping, anyway.

 

[WondersOfLife]

OS: Disney World starts scanning kids' fingers

Walt Disney World has begun requiring children from 3 to 9 years old to have their fingers scanned when they enter the theme parks, just like older kids and adults.

Disney said the new process will help block the use of stolen and shared tickets. Previously, kids' tickets would have been easy to transfer because they had no finger images attached to them.

Parents who feel uncomfortable with having their kids' fingers scanned can use their own instead.

Disney introduced scanners more than a decade ago that used "finger geometry" — pictures of several points on people's fingers.

What's the big deal? They're only scanning the size and shape of your finger. Nothing else

 

[rob0519]

Doesn't bother me. Now, I only have a child that has paws but I wouldn't be bothered by my nieces and nephews doing it and I'm the goofy aunt who gets upset when a player on the opposing team pushes my nephew so I'm a bit protective.

 

[21stamps]

You are 100% right in asking these questions... this fall will be my first WDW visit with my 15 month old so I don't know exactly how I will handle all these things. I will try to keep my use of hand sanitizer/hand washing to a manageable level. She's still a bit young to know to keep her hands out of her mouth ... that would solve the issue.

How do you manage it while out in your hometown? i.e. Zoos, museums, parks etc.

It will be fine! Not really any different than anywhere else you go

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Disney has already said, if parents are uncomfortable about the child's finger scan, the parents scan can be used.......end of story.

AKK

 

[flynnibus]

I'm exposing my germaphobic ways ... but the first thing that came to my mind was that I would have to hand sanitize my daughters hands each time she entered the park. Other than that, I saw no negatives.

Do you wipe down every ride she gets on too? Forbid them from touching the queue walls, poles, etc too?

 

[flynnibus]

For what it's worth, its re-GD-diculous that Disney is worried about this "fraud." Whatever though, in the grand scheme of things, I guess it's not a huge deal.

When you are motivated to shutdown the resale market... You gotta go after their tricks

 

[flynnibus]

I would have been easier to just make child vs adult scans easier to identify I think. Make the scanner make different sounds or lights... Then the people watching can watch for mismatches.. And the higher visibility would be a deterant

 

[DisneyDaver]

How do you manage it while out in your hometown? i.e. Zoos, museums, parks etc.

It will be fine! Not really any different than anywhere else you go

We do a lot of hand washing ... but yes, sometimes the hands go from the swings (or other things) to the mouth.