Disneyland Resort is testing a new facial recognition entry system and we were able to participate in a test on Wednesday.

Disneyland Resort Facial Recognition Test

New gates were installed at Disney California Adventure a few weeks ago. They’re on the far right end of the park’s entrance area. At least during testing, guests can’t use MagicBand+ at these gates, but there are MagicBand touchpoints.

Step one is a Cast Member scans a guest’s ticket on their phone to see if they have a photo in the system. If they don’t, the Cast Member takes their photo.

Then, the guest approaches the gate. Here, they scan their ticket again. A camera above the mounted screen then scans your face to see if it matches the photo in the system.

When we were taking a photo of the screen, it detected “too many faces.” We also had to take off our sunglasses for the photo validation to work.

Once your identity is confirmed, a pair of clear gates open, letting you into the park.

Though the system is supposed to streamline the entry process, we found it took much longer than usual. Hopefully, bugs will be worked out during testing if Disney decides to move forward with this system.

Walt Disney World Resort tested facial recognition technology back in March 2021. The system was similar to the one at Disneyland Resort but without clear gates. The test ended in May 2021 and the system was never permanently installed.

Universal Orlando Resort began using facial recognition technology for entry last year and it remains in use. Their third park, Epic Universe, will also use facial recognition.

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