Disneyland Park expands facial recognition across most gates
Disneyland park has expanded facial-recognition technology at entrances to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure after months of limited testing. By Friday, the system was in most entrance lines, and only four lines were spared, shifting how guests get back in after leaving the resort.
Most entrance lines now use it
Disney says the technology is meant to make reentry easier and prevent fraud. The system compares a camera image taken at the entrance with the image saved when a guest first used a ticket or pass, then converts both into unique numerical values to look for a match.
Guests who do not want to use facial recognition can enter through non-facial-recognition lanes, where a cast member manually validates their ticket. Disney also says guests may still have their photos taken even when they do not use facial-recognition lanes, and that biometric technology is not used on those images.
Opt-out lanes and posted signs
Disneyland Resort officials said the technology was being used to improve guests’ arrival experience, including re-entry into the park, and said there is signage in the park telling visitors which gates have it. A sign at the park read, “Facial Recognition at Park Entry.” It also said, “Disneyland Resort park entries use facial recognition technology. Use of these lanes is optional.”
The same sign directed guests who do not wish to participate to the lane with overhead signage showing a silhouette with a line crossed through the middle. Some guests told the Los Angeles Times they did not realize they could avoid the system before entering the lines, which leaves the opt-out available in practice but not always obvious at the point of entry.
Privacy limits for minors
Disney says it deletes the numerical data within 30 days unless it must be kept for legal or fraud-prevention purposes. Guests under 18 can use the system only with parent or guardian consent, and California guidance treats biometric information processed to identify a consumer as sensitive personal information with a right to limit its use and disclosure.
A visitor told the Los Angeles Times the system is “a little scary,” and a mother said she felt uneasy when it was used for her young children. That reaction lands at the same moment Disney is widening use across the gates, which makes the signage and lane choice the difference between walking into the new system and stepping around it.
