We announced this morning that new facial recognition technology was being tested for park entry at the Magic Kingdom. The facial recognition test is now active again and we got to check it out for ourselves!
Signs point to the designated Facial Recognition Test lane to enter Magic Kingdom.
The process is extremely efficient and seems like it might go a long way to help eliminate long lines to enter the park.
Large signs make it clear that this lane is specifically for guests wanting to participate in the test. It is completely optional.
Guests must keep their masks on, however they are asked to remove hats and sunglasses while passing through the entrance.
Guests can hold their park ticket or MagicBand up to the scanner while looking at a camera to have their image captured. The scanner shows the Mickey head that can be seen on MagicBands and the correlating touch points. Stars appear while the scan is taking place, and then guests are free to enter the park. The image that is captured here is then converted into a numerical code that corresponds to each guest’s park admission.
During the test, the new scanners sit just behind the normal MagicBand touch points.
Directions are placed on the ground telling guests to face towards the scanner and camera.
More information was released on the Walt Disney World website about the process and addressing any privacy concerns.
Keep checking here at WDWNT for more updates to new technology around Walt Disney World.
It’s to prevent park ticket sharing, not for efficiency.
Big BrotherDisney is tracking your face now.I would be interested in testing it out, but will not simply for the stupid requirement they keep emphasizing that facial recoverings must remain attached. Seriously? Pulling off a mask for three or five seconds is a big deal? No thanks. Maybe I’ll test it when sanity returns.
How are they doing face recognition with face covered? It must mean when you wear a different mask, it won’t recognize you anymore.
So it is just tying your facial image to your tickets similar to the fingerprint method. I was kinda wondering if it really was true facial recognition which could be a huge plus for security.
My guess is people will enter the parks with their mask on, then they will take their mask off at some point after they go through the turnstiles.
It would be about .05 seconds before a cast member told you to put it back on.
Are there enough cast members all over to make that happen?
Gee, something that Seaworld/Busch Gardens has been doing for over 2 years!
Reminds me of the facial recognition debacle in Minority Report. No thanks.
If this eliminates one job. It’s terrible… I love the initial Greeting of coming into a Disney World Park. The cast members from the time you hit your magic band to the end of the day or night make the magic.
I was mad when the invention of the automobile eliminated the job of the blacksmith.
Although this FEELS like a big invasion of privacy (a major reason that Disney passed on it not long ago), in essence it’s no different from the finger sensors. Instead of measuring your finger positions, it’s measuring your face contours — and then, in both cases, hashes those measurements into a numeric code that it attaches to your ticket. Assuming they don’t save the actual images — and there’s no indication or reason that they would — the only practical difference is that this method is touchless.
Still feels icky, though.
I think Disney needs to seriously affirm and prove that they’re not saving the images if they hope for people to be comfortable with this.
nope don’t like it, too much data for one private company…at some point you need to own your own face not some big private company doing with it who knows what!
Pretty sure Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any phone that uses facial recognition to unlock the screen has your face linked to you. If there was no problem with the finger print scanner, then face should be no different. The magic band can already know where you are and get a pic on a ride linked to your account. Face is faster, and eliminates a touch point for a post-Covid world.
and I used NONE of those
There is a big difference sorry. I dont use that on my phone for the same reason. It’s a big privacy issue. Why people would do this is beyond me but people no longer surprise me anymore lol. I dont use a magic band either . I would never go b to wdw if they implemented this. There are other places who need my money and I dont have to put up with the nonsense!
So is this why Disney stopped sorcerers of the magic kingdom? Just so they could reuse the cameras? Well I hope this new way of entering the park works better than the game did.
wonder how long it will take for the new all for profit disney to sell your image to the highest bidder and the government? always eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. asleep or awake, indoors or out of doors, in the bed or bath-no escape.nothing your own except for the few centimeters in your skull.
Hey Mickey, just figure out how I can get back on the dog-gone (sorry Pluto) ship and GO on my re-booked cruise this year… and book yet another one for next year… the dvc points are piling up, we just want to cruise you silly mouse…
Makes you wonder if this is what Disney had to stoop to to get the gates reopen in California attach Big Brother surveillance to their theme park and I wonder how much of that information goes back to the government
Blah, blah, blah… insert insane conspiracy theory here… you know that it’s Disney’s way of mind control and inserting into your brain that you NEED to buy churros, turkey legs and overpriced mini loungefly backpacks!