Walt Disney World to start fingerprinting everyone

There aren't that many places (yet) where you have to provide biometric data to gain access. Usually they're limited to high-security areas, you know, places like nuclear research facilities, airports, libraries (!) and by the end of this month, Walt Disney World. Oh yes, the Magic Kingdom will soon be taking fingerprints of its visitors at all four Orlando-area theme parks, and is well on its way becoming a real nation-state, given that it already issues passports and has a standing army of costumed characters (and let's not even speak of their monstrous robot dominion). Disney says that this is to prevent ticket fraud and officials claim that the company is not actually taking "fingerprints," but rather, mathematical representations of fingerprints, as calculated by series of points measured on a fingerprint. A little math never hurt anymore, right? Except when it can be tied to an individual's identity, a record of their whereabouts, and corresponding physical traits. It's a world of hopes and a world of fears, indeed.

[Via BoingBoing]

[Spam Badger @ Sep 1st 2006 10:50PM]

If I am not mistaken, they have been doing this in the Orlando Disney (World or Land I don’t know). I went there in '04 and I very much remember having to stick my index and middle finger in a machine to be scanned to get my ticket.

[Devin Cox @ Sep 1st 2006 10:55PM]

I was there in the beginning of May, and they had these systems set up at every park at Disney World....so this definitely isn't a new thing, its been in place for a while now.

[rijit @ Sep 1st 2006 11:13PM]

We went this past Christmas and this system was not in use at Disneyworld. I don't recall seeing the boxes either. I hope they drop this before my next visit, though it will probably still be in use. Just gotta go with the flow or cancel the trip I guess.

[thejedipunk @ Sep 1st 2006 11:13PM]

SOMEBODY TOLD ME "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!" SOMEBODY ELSE SAID "YOU KNOW IT'S NOT TRUE!" WHO DO YOU BELEIVE?!?

[Niightkrawler @ Sep 1st 2006 11:13PM]

They actually already have this in Universal Studios Orlando...

[Micheal Overton @ Sep 1st 2006 11:26PM]

The family and I were at all the parks in June and these were there

[saboola @ Sep 1st 2006 11:37PM]

They have been doing biometrics at Disney World since 2001.

[Philip Rutkowski @ Sep 1st 2006 11:42PM]

I think we need another comment saying that they have been doing this for awhile. Who's next?

[Mike @ Sep 1st 2006 11:42PM]

As saboola said, they have indeed been using biometric scans for over 5 years now. It started off just being used for season ticket holders, but now is used for anything more then a one-day pass.

Universal has a fingerprinting-type system that they use sometimes (although, they still stick with Photos on their passes for annuals and stuff...).

[David @ Sep 1st 2006 11:44PM]

Busch Gardens also does it. . . only for season pass holders, though.

[buildernick @ Sep 1st 2006 11:45PM]

i went to disney world two months ago, and because we ordered our tickets ahead of time and we got a "hopper pass" (can jump around from any of the parks on the same ticket) for some reason we didn't have to do the fingerprint thing to get in. other people did, but i don't remember seeing anyone ever get denied by the system. i'm thinking it might just be a fake system, to make people think that they are being tracked so they don't share passes.

[Inconspicuous Fake Name @ Sep 1st 2006 11:55PM]

Lucky for me I burn off all of my finger prints with acid. Me: 1; Walt Disney: 0.

[Lou Mongello, Author of the Walt Disney World Trivia Books @ Sep 2nd 2006 12:03AM]

It should be made very clear that these do NOT take any fingerprints of the Guest, just as the prior two-finger system did not as well. The old system only took approximate measurements of finger length, etc. This new system uses a geometric formula create an identifying number that will be attached to the ticket (known as your "ticket tag"). It is not necessarily unique, but will be statistically accurate enough to identify the owner of the ticket.

The issue is more about people trying to resell tickets with unused days on them, as opposed to trying to ID and "track" Guests.

I also believe that if you refuse to use the finger scanner, you may show a Cast Member valid photo ID along with your ticket.

[dee-dee-deetarded @ Sep 2nd 2006 12:08AM]

has anyone said they haven't been there forever, because believe it or not dis ain't news to anyone. Sorry about the bad grammar, but this is actually pretty ridiculous (this blog entry) because they were working on them when I went almost six years ago.

[Big Sam @ Sep 2nd 2006 12:12AM]

"They have been doing biometrics at Disney World since 2001."

I remember seeing hand scanners in the tunnels under the Magic Kingdom back in 1998.

[dee-dee-deetarded @ Sep 2nd 2006 12:13AM]

oh and if you follow the "[Via BoingBoing}," it says this procedure has been going on for awhile

[rcme @ Sep 2nd 2006 12:22AM]

My family was at Disney World this past Spring and they had the hand scanners at the entrances to all parks.

I have to say this "security" method is a joke!!!

All members of my family had park hopper passes, which were actually plastic mag-stripe cards (which doubled as room keys and even credit cards), recieved at the Disney property hotel. At no time before actual use did we need to register our biometric "identiies" to the actual card.

The device works by inserting your park pass into the machine at the park entrance, then performing the biometric scan. If everything "checks out" your card comes out the other side of the machine, the turnstile rotates and you get to enter.

When entering the first park we were asked to place our index and middle fingers into the scanner. It is not clear how this can prevent fraud, since they have no association between the park pass and my biometric identity. How do they know the card hasn't already been stolen at this point?

Just for fun, I put my right hand index and middle finger into the scanner _upside down_ (to my wife's trepidation). The Disney "cast member" monitoring the scanner noticed and said I needed to put my hand in "right side up". I smiled and just as she finished stating this, my biometric was "accepted", my card came out the other side and the turnstile let me into the park. Interesting, I thought! The Disney "cast member" just shrugged.

At the next park, I used the little finger and ring finger on my right hand "right side up". Again, the cast member monitoring quickly stated that I needed to use my index and middle finger. Smiling, I said these were the same fingers I used at the other park (not really). At first it didn't work, but after moving my hand a bit in the scanner... Success! My card came out and in I went, no problem!

Ok. How did that work? The geometry of two completely different parts of my hand in completely different positions!

It gets even better! We were at Disney for over a week and went to all the parks multiple times. Each time I entered I used different fingers, hands, and hand positions. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't (working more often than not). When it didn't work, I simply "played dumb" and said that that was how I did it at the last park. The cast member would ask me to move my hand, and when that didn't work, they just let me into the park. I was never denied entry to any of the parks, and there was clearly no consistent biometric identiy associated with my park pass. I could have been a different person each time.

[Zach Marshall @ Sep 2nd 2006 12:46AM]

what if you didn't have hands? I smell a discriminatory lawsuit a brewin.

I am happy to report though - Six Flags Great Adventure (a much better theme park that I live next too :) ) does not in fact, track your hand data. Big Brother has not hit WB and all their crazy antics.

btw, I hate having to confirm my comments

[nikescream @ Sep 2nd 2006 1:01AM]

I wonder what Walt Disney would have thought of all this if he were alive.

[John @ Sep 2nd 2006 1:26AM]

Great Adventure a better theme park than any of the Disney theme parks?

Yeah, maybe if you like your rides to be broken or closed, vomit to drip off of your shoes as you walk, gang riots, rednecks, staff that stares at you for wanting to ride their rides, and flying pieces of shrapnel from your 400 foot coasters.

[Waylan B. @ Sep 2nd 2006 1:29AM]

Pretty much everyone has been saying the same thing, including me...we, all 115, i think, band nerds went during Spring Break and they had those...half the time they didn't work...and the didn't look like any fingerprint readers i've ever seen b4...weird...more 'Walt' conspiracies to play with...

[Paul Wren @ Sep 2nd 2006 3:03AM]

We were at all four Orlando Disney Parks the second week of August, right after liquids became forbidden on airplanes. Not only were biometrics used at every park, they were searching every bag (backpack, camera, purse, and they even made my wife remove her fanny pack because it might have a hidden zipper...).

On multiple occasions, I inserted my index and middle fingers as instructed, but it wouldn't give me the green light. The cast member would say "push them all the way in," and I would truthfully reply "they won't go any further." One even said "push harder!" Geez.

[LTM @ Sep 2nd 2006 3:36AM]

Ah, the good old days when all you did was hand out an E-Ticket ( for those old enough to know what I'm talking about ) to get on the best rides!

[Dave Zatz @ Sep 2nd 2006 3:52AM]

They were doing this last year. I asked the woman what would happen if I refused - she said no problem, just show a drivers license.

[CJ @ Sep 2nd 2006 4:51AM]

I think the bottom line is that biometrics or not, they have had the ability to track your use of your ticket since they instituted electronic ticketing.

We've used the biometric readers for a few years now, since we get Annual Passes. Are they saying that everyone, regardless of ticket type, is going to start using them? Eek, get your Purell ready...

Nontheless, the bio readers, like others have already said, do not read fingerprints. They actually read the 3-D geometry of your two fingers (so it's possible that you can use other fingers if they are roughly the same size and length). The devices are manufactured by a Swiss company called BioMet Partners, and are called the Digi-2. (The Digi-2 is also in use in other technology requiring two-factor authentication like vault doors or punch clocks...see http://www.specialtysys.com/Digi2BioMetric.htm) They are not foolproof by any means, but they make it easier for you, the annual passholder, so you don't have to whip out your ID at every turnstile. They will deter the average thief or reseller of high-value park tickets like Annual Passes, which is really all they're designed to do. If you fail the scan, they're supposed to ask you for your ID (Cast Member security lapses aside, of course), which again should deter the average reseller.

[CJ @ Sep 2nd 2006 4:58AM]

@rcme,

I would hope that if your card (which is also your room key and can also be a charge card as well) is stolen, especially before the first time you use it in a turnstile, you would report the theft. This would invalidate the old cards as they issue you new cards, and will catch the thief as he tries to use the card in a turnstile or as a charge card.

Also, the readers have to accept a little bit of slop to take into account the wide variety of finger geometries or they would fail more than they match (i.e. false negatives would be far higher). And I'd say that the geometries of your own fingers (albeit different ones than you initially registered) are close enough to the fingers that you initially registered to allow you access. Ideally, isn't that the point?

[iMe @ Sep 2nd 2006 5:55AM]

why is it that important to have that high security at a theme park???? if people were interested to do bad things - they´d always find a way... i think it is just being put in place to get people used to the technology...

it is ridiculous

[jacks @ Sep 2nd 2006 7:39AM]

thats scary :(

[DerekVOF @ Sep 2nd 2006 7:56AM]

You forgot to mention that Walt Disney once said he had "the eighth-largest submarine fleet in the world." Maybe he was planning for nation/state status all along...

[Amin @ Sep 2nd 2006 8:07AM]

Ridiculous. There is no need for such intrusive measures and this is tracking of the populace being introduced by stealth. Once everyone is used to this technology there will be no complaints every time it's used somewhere new.

Next, you'll have to prove your id to use a public toilet. This doesn't make any of us safer - quite the reverse.

Read some of David Icke's stuff for his view on it at http://www.davidicke.com

[Coasterjob @ Sep 2nd 2006 8:58AM]

I was in DW two weeks ago, and the MAgic Kingdom already had the new fingerprint devices.
I felt like I was entering some high security facility, not a theme park....

[TikiScott @ Sep 2nd 2006 9:44AM]

Just returned from WDW this week. Indeed EVERY park is now using [quasi] bio-metrics for admission. We learned that this started around the time WDW bagan selling a park pass option with no expiration date. The more days you purchase, the better per day price you get. Imagine the "gray" resale market on these tix if they didn't have a way to match with the individual who first uses 'em. They would be all over eBay.

The problem, as noted above is that the 2 finger system doesn't work well. I would guesstimate that it slows admission thruput by 3x and probably fails 50% of the time, requiring manual override.

This week, I noticed that 1 or 2 of the parks had gone to a single index fingerprint scan instead of the [useless] 2 finger metric scan. I think they've gotten themselves backed into a corner with the no-expiration tix and now MUST do something to move people faster thru the turnstiles. Its frustrating when you have your passes and it still takes 15 minutes to get thru the gates in the morning.

[Nic @ Sep 2nd 2006 9:57AM]

My family was just down in Disney World, and didn't want to put their fingers there... not necessarly for the biometrics, but because of all the germs.

My mom & sister said they have a fungus on their fingers (total lies) so they didn't want to use it, and the cast members very quickly let them through without any more questions.

[Zach @ Sep 2nd 2006 10:07AM]

They have done this for at least the last 4 years.

[Alex @ Sep 2nd 2006 10:15AM]

That's just strange. It seems like everyone is being tracked everywhere they go. RFID tags in passports, now Disney is tracking people. What next?

[Tboone @ Sep 2nd 2006 10:32AM]

China's Zhangjiajie "national forest park" requried that we do the same thing, entering and leaving.

[Nathan @ Sep 2nd 2006 11:23AM]

My orthodontist requires everyone to get fingerprinted

[spil @ Sep 2nd 2006 11:33AM]

What is America coming to? What next, turn into Britain with security cameras on every street corner? I think this is taking "security" too far. If someone's ticket/card thing is stolen, they should just reporti it to the security people at Disney land/world/magic kingdom and they wouldn't cancel the card, but hen the thief was leaving, charge him for all of the fraudulent charges and see how he likes that.

[gargamelo @ Sep 2nd 2006 12:30PM]

most of us dont see red yet, but when corporate databases in the future is going to mesh with corporate controlled goverment agencies it could be missued to controll our way of behavior and thinking in ways whe cant today imagine. anyhow microchips would be a worse scenario.

[grable @ Sep 2nd 2006 12:42PM]

People just need to learn to say NO to this kind of treatment! anywhere there is ANY biometrics or id checks to allow you to buy/sell/get inside (unless its a real age-check), go someplace else.

The more people comply, the more places will get them.

[zedwards @ Sep 2nd 2006 1:06PM]

You can't complain about biometrics going into the most famous amusement park in the world. Security is mostly there for middle amerika to feel like it is doing its part to thwart terrorism and so they vote for the supposed people who put this in place. Just pretend you are living in a blade runner world. Admit it, you always wanted to know what that was like anyways ;)

[Elias @ Sep 2nd 2006 1:12PM]

They have been doing this for YEARS!!! We normally got at least once a year since 2000.

And it doesn't really work, either. When you have a stack of tickets and everyone is trying to get in... you end-up putting your fingers for someone else's ticket and it still lets you in.

Maybe the difference now is that they're actually start enforcing the biometrics.

It seems they use this mostly on park-hopper tickets because they're valid for multiple days and entrances.

[Corey @ Sep 2nd 2006 1:31PM]

Good thing I don't even like Disney Land. Six Flags Magic Mountain is way better. :)

[JBo @ Sep 2nd 2006 2:23PM]

Biometric ID, even pseudo biometric ID like this, is totally inappropriate for something as trivial as entrance to an entertainment facility. This should be outlawed. The only appropriate use of biometric ID is for access to facilities and information that could impact national security. Mickey Mouse doesn't qualify.

It surprises me that Disney would take such a risk over something so ridiculously unimportant as ticket fraud. Just the suggestion that biometric information was stolen would put them in a world of lawsuit hurt. This is far worse than getting your SSN or credit card data stolen.

[Kyle Derouen @ Sep 2nd 2006 2:38PM]

Not a new thing; I've been several times and they've been doing this for a while.

[chr0n1c @ Sep 2nd 2006 2:51PM]

HEY!, i think i maybe heard someone say that this has been inplace for a while now... i am not sure where i read/overheard it at, but i can tell you that when i was there (twelve years ago) the one in florida did not have this in use... no but really i think this has been going on for a while... someone told me it may be a "fake" system?

[Rick Burns @ Sep 2nd 2006 3:40PM]

OK, since no one has said it yet... I for one welcome our new cartoon overlords

[bv @ Sep 2nd 2006 4:10PM]

I'm suprised no one has mentioned that Walt Disney World in Orlando is already doing this.

[daniel @ Sep 2nd 2006 11:05PM]

they've been doing this for a while. I went for spring break this past year and had to stick my index finger in that stupid thing. It really slowed things up because it had to be positioned properly or it wouldn't work.

[Paolo @ Sep 2nd 2006 11:36PM]

I did work for Disney, onboard the disney wonder, and although its truly a wonder, and disney make it magical, is also true that after 6 months in there, I couldn't stop talking about Disney... I was brainwashed... everywhere you look, anything you hear, anything I touched was on a shape, sound even the food, looked like their cartoons!
They've got big plans :P