Selfie sticks - is this a thing at WDW yet? Disney clarifies policy

Kaznagan

Kaznagan

Member
ok i'm probably going to get rotten tomatoes thrown at me but yes i own a selfie stick (i'll just put on my poncho and goggles to protect myself from the tomatoes :) ), was i planning to take it with me to DW? Yes.

But like all things theres an etiqutte. The rules i follow are if it would annoy me, i shouldnt really be doing it cause it may annoy others. (The whole do unto others.....)

Using it while on a ride? No - i have held a camera on a ride now and again but it stays at a level where its not in the way (i hope), its normally at my chest height and held close to my chest (due to me being accident prone) and i just cut the video to get as much as i can (i have come to accept im a terrible filmer so i work with what i got). But then again - i and quite happy just enjoying the ride, more often then not you can hear me laughing and experiencing it rather than hold a camera.

Using it to film a parade or a show? No (i'm tall enough and i feel awkward because i know there must be someone behind me moving from side to side to get a better veiw #tallpeopleproblem) besides i may film a little with my camera, but i acutally want to enjoy the experience and watch it, not watch it all through a camera screen. Lets face it, if your wanting to get footage most people go and get a good spot and are willing to wait to get those spots, and you wouldn't need to use one).

My plan was use it taking photos around the park, but im one of those folks, take my photo and put the stick away.
Well my plan WAS to take it, but honestly lets face it, there is always someone (staff or guests) offering to take your photo for you so all your group will be able to get in the shot, and my arm is long enough i can get a random selfie in without the stick if needed (some of my fave photos from my last trip to DL were selfies taken with disney characters).
 
BuddyThomas

BuddyThomas

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
EpicMickey said:
I don't own a selfie-stick nor I'm planning to buy one, but I don't get bothered with it. It doesn't poke my eye or anything. Some I know just follow the hate trend, but to those who really have a good reason, I honestly want to know why.
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Speaking only from having seen them in NYC, my issue with them is that it makes clueless tourists even more clueless when a group of 20 of them are stopping dead in their tracks in the middle of Times Square or, say, 57th and 5th, clogging the sidewalks and bringing foot traffic to a standstill while they wave their stupid sticks all over the place, ignoring anyone else around them. Like I said before, I've not yet gotten clocked in the head with one of these things but I've had some close calls. They are everywhere here, and it seems to be getting worse on a weekly basis, probably helped by the fact that every Duane Reade, CVS, and Rite Aid in NYC has them prominently displayed and selling for around ten bucks. If these people using them would be slightly conscious of their personal space and those around them, I would have no problem with the sticks. But unfortunately that is not the case.
 
mousehockey37

mousehockey37

Well-Known Member
Kaznagan said:
ok i'm probably going to get rotten tomatoes thrown at me but yes i own a selfie stick (i'll just put on my poncho and goggles to protect myself from the tomatoes :) ), was i planning to take it with me to DW? Yes.

But like all things theres an etiqutte. The rules i follow are if it would annoy me, i shouldnt really be doing it cause it may annoy others. (The whole do unto others.....)

Using it while on a ride? No - i have held a camera on a ride now and again but it stays at a level where its not in the way (i hope), its normally at my chest height and held close to my chest (due to me being accident prone) and i just cut the video to get as much as i can (i have come to accept im a terrible filmer so i work with what i got). But then again - i and quite happy just enjoying the ride, more often then not you can hear me laughing and experiencing it rather than hold a camera.

Using it to film a parade or a show? No (i'm tall enough and i feel awkward because i know there must be someone behind me moving from side to side to get a better veiw #tallpeopleproblem) besides i may film a little with my camera, but i acutally want to enjoy the experience and watch it, not watch it all through a camera screen. Lets face it, if your wanting to get footage most people go and get a good spot and are willing to wait to get those spots, and you wouldn't need to use one).

My plan was use it taking photos around the park, but im one of those folks, take my photo and put the stick away.
Well my plan WAS to take it, but honestly lets face it, there is always someone (staff or guests) offering to take your photo for you so all your group will be able to get in the shot, and my arm is long enough i can get a random selfie in without the stick if needed (some of my fave photos from my last trip to DL were selfies taken with disney characters).
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You seem to be an exception in that you actually have etiquette when using the stick. You realize that you're not the only person in the park and would use the thing respectfully.

It seems you've come to realize though that you pretty much don't have a need for your stick in the parks (ie, CM's are helpful and you've got a good wingspan, lol)... If only some others thought this way...

Now... as a selfie stick user yourself, do you see people using these things and abusing what it was made for? And do you think there's enough happening out there that they can/will ban them in the parks?
 
mousehockey37

mousehockey37

Well-Known Member
BuddyThomas said:
Speaking only from having seen them in NYC, my issue with them is that it makes clueless tourists even more clueless when a group of 20 of them are stopping dead in their tracks in the middle of Times Square or, say, 57th and 5th, clogging the sidewalks and bringing foot traffic to a standstill while they wave their stupid sticks all over the place, ignoring anyone else around them. Like I said before, I've not yet gotten clocked in the head with one of these things but I've had some close calls. They are everywhere here, and it seems to be getting worse on a weekly basis, probably helped by the fact that every Duane Reade, CVS, and Rite Aid in NYC has them prominently displayed and selling for around ten bucks. If these people using them would be slightly conscious of their personal space and those around them, I would have no problem with the sticks. But unfortunately that is not the case.
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fann-y packs, selfie sticks, and foakley's... OH MY!!! :D
 
Kaznagan

Kaznagan

Member
mousehockey37 said:
You seem to be an exception in that you actually have etiquette when using the stick. You realize that you're not the only person in the park and would use the thing respectfully.

It seems you've come to realize though that you pretty much don't have a need for your stick in the parks (ie, CM's are helpful and you've got a good wingspan, lol)... If only some others thought this way...

Now... as a selfie stick user yourself, do you see people using these things and abusing what it was made for? And do you think there's enough happening out there that they can/will ban them in the parks?
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Selfie sticks are only really going off here in australia (who would have thought i was onto a trend before it happened) but i havent had the experience of seeing them to much in theme parks (only a small handfull when i was at DL last year). I recently did a fun run and there were plenty of go pros on sticks, but they werent in the way that much other than they looked like they should have been the lead for a marching band or something, but some of the people with phone selfie sticks...... they were a bit more of a pain.

Do people wave them about? Yes they sure do. Does the excitement of being somewhere like disney world distract people from thinking straight? i think this come into account! Trust me you can see me running towards a line to meet a character (it brings out the inner child). Are they abusing what it was made for? Possibly. Some people its all about them, others if asked nicely are happy to put the sticks away and say sorry. This comes down to the person not the stick (sadly this can be said about many things).

Its an era where people are too busy thinking about wanting to keep a digital record of their memories #letstakeaselfie more than how it might interfer with other people - hence why i think we can add the #photobomb. If someone is taking a selfie with a stick in the middle of a walk way i will photo bomb (the ones that actually had selfie sticks at the colour run i was doing this to them..... you want to stand in the middle of everyone walking - i will join in on the photo)

Karlie :)
 
Dwarful

Dwarful

Well-Known Member
EpicMickey said:
I don't own a selfie-stick nor I'm planning to buy one, but I don't get bothered with it. It doesn't poke my eye or anything. Some I know just follow the hate trend, but to those who really have a good reason, I honestly want to know why.
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We saw a guy create quite a blockage on Main St. while he was enjoying filming every bite of his ice cream sandwich.... I get it...they are awesome...but not that awesome. However, this guy had a GoPro strapped to his head and was filming every bite with the selfie stick...really? The worst part was it seem pretty obvious that he was trying to photobomb all of the people who were using the photopass photographer for photos on Main St. with the castle in the background. So those people were trying to wait for him to move which caused even more congestion.
 
Kaznagan

Kaznagan

Member
Dwarful said:
We saw a guy create quite a blockage on Main St. while he was enjoying filming every bite of his ice cream sandwich.... I get it...they are awesome...but not that awesome. However, this guy had a GoPro strapped to his head and was filming every bite with the selfie stick...really? The worst part was it seem pretty obvious that he was trying to photobomb all of the people who were using the photopass photographer for photos on Main St. with the castle in the background. So those people were trying to wait for him to move which caused even more congestion.
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to me that is just plain rude - its one thing photo bombing a selfie photo but i know people spend the money to get the quality of a professional photo when they get the memory maker (me being one of those folks).
But then some people would say me photo bombing some photos would be rude.
 
mousehockey37

mousehockey37

Well-Known Member
Kaznagan said:
pretty much, which is sad that so many people are like that
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That's where it comes back to the entitlement of this society. "I paid a lot of money to be here, so I'm going to do what I want, how I want and who cares about anyone else...".

This is why we can't have nice things, lol.

I still say that at some point, there will be an incident (we've heard of several so far where the poster somehow kept their head and didn't take off someone else's with a selfie stick) and things are going to get very ugly, very quick. If other places (which have been mentioned earlier) are banning them, Disney needs to be proactive on this one and not reactive and do away with them now, before someone boils over in the Florida heat during a parade or gets bopped or a view blocked during fireworks and takes matters into their own hands in a not-so-nice manner.
 
jw24

jw24

Well-Known Member
I don't know if some of you know this but I know South Korea banned the sticks and venues in the UK are banning them claiming they block spectator's views.

I'm in my mid 20s and I am 1000% embarrassed about my generation. I don't own a selfie stick nor do I have an Instagram account, two big causes of narcissism in this day and age. It feels like everyone is trying outdo or one up on everyone else by showing off how they're in one cool place in the world and/or doing cool things and others are not. They're in a race to win the "followers" race or attain the most "likes" and having the me first mentality. You won't see photos about people filling gas or doing the laundry or buying groceries. Instagram is supposedly a "highlight reel" for some people where people only show the best events happening in their life. It's disgusting and egotistical.

Do I think selfie sticks should be banned from Disney? Absolutely yes. They're a safety hazard and it's a blind man's nightmare! Bumping arms with another person is one thing, bumping into a hard steel stick hurts like the opposite side of heaven if you know what I mean. Tablets should also be banned as well or the least have dimension restrictions enforced on them. My biggest worry is that Disney won't do a thing about it and continue to be lenient. I mean, how the CMs don't react to Brazilian Tour Groups' antics and rude guests in general, epitomizes how lenient management and the CMs are.

And when it comes to pictures, I'm all about quality not quantity. I'd rather have my pics focus on everything. The environment, the angle, the perspective of other buildings, etc. I won't get that in a selfie plus I trust the Photopass photographers won't take pics of some idiot trying to photobomb me either.
 
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Tinkerkelle

Tinkerkelle

Well-Known Member
One of the lovely things about a trip to the world is that moment where someone extends a thoughtful kindness, often not seen elsewhere, and spontaneously offers to take your photo just because. You then pass on that favour to others.
On a different note, aren't long steel batons classed as offensive weapons? To good taste and sense I mean!!
 
Bugz

Bugz

Well-Known Member
Tour groups probably will have them pre mounted on each person to be even more annoying :mad: (If thats possible)
 
cat hem

cat hem

Active Member
I still think the old fashioned, interaction between people is the best.... Hey would you take our picture please and we'll return the favor..... Good old fashioned communication. But I think people with the sticks lack the ability to speak to others... so sad... sometimes you get to meet really cool people just by asking...
 

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