UPDATE – 1:07 PM: Touch points are back up and running at the Magic Kingdom.
UPDATE – 12:41 PM: Cast Members are now using iPads to scan guests in as a back-up method while the physical touch points at the park appear to still be down. Entrance issues are also being reported by guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
While Cast Members at the Magic Kingdom are no strangers to phase capacity closures and heavy holiday crowds, add a system malfunction into the mix and you have a recipe for disaster. Today at the Magic Kingdom, technical difficulties at the entrance touch points led to a sea of backed up guests all along the Monorail ramp and ferry docks.
Issues with My Disney Experience led to a full stop of the guest entry process, and guests were held at the entrance for some time.
The entrance crowds were at a standstill until an official decision was made to allow all guests in without scanning a MagicBand or ticket. During peak crowd times, fingerprint scanning is sometimes disabled, but it’s rare to have no scanning of MagicBands or ticket media take place. Guests with MagicBand or tickets were simply waved in by Cast Members. Given the size of the crowds, it was likely a safety concern, which is why guests were just let inside.
Within minutes, the entire backed up entrance was cleared using this method. For a live look at the crowds passing through the touch points, check out our video below:
