- Joined
- Jan 3, 2001
By Beth Kassab | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted July 14, 2005
After the ticket line and a bag-search checkpoint, visitors to Walt Disney World now have to make one more stop before entering one of its theme parks: at a finger scanner.
Disney guests must now put their index and middle fingers into a device at the turnstile that assigns a code to link the image of their fingers with their name and ticket.
Disney says it's simply part of an attempt to find a more foolproof system to block the use of stolen and shared tickets.
But privacy advocates say the practice is troubling because it moves consumers a step closer to eventual acceptance of a national ID card or a drivers license that stores biometric data.
"Slowly but surely we're just giving away our right of privacy, and the question is what are we getting in return?" said Larry Spalding, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union. "We get all these massive databases, and how secure are they?"
Some tourists also questioned the finger-scan machines.
"We asked what it was and what it did, and they told us it's so no one can use your ticket," said Kathy Wilson, on vacation with her family from Louisville, Ky. "It makes you wonder if that's the only reason they're doing it."
The technology, used for years for annual pass holders, has been phased in for all ticket holders during the past six months.
The company doesn't save the information after the ticket expires, said Disney spokeswoman Kim Prunty.
"We're not keeping a database of fingerprints," Prunty said.
The system, known as Ticket Tag, uses "finger geometry" rather than traditional fingerprints, she said. A camera takes a picture of several points on each person's index and middle fingers and assigns a number value to the image, she said.
The finger scanning began in January in some parks before expanding to the entire complex.
Last month, Disney officially abandoned the old method of stamping visitors' hands when they leave a park to allow re-entry. Now only the combination of a finger scan and ticket with the visitor's name printed on it will permit re-entry or travel from one park to another.
If a crime were to occur inside a park, police would not be able to use the images to match a fingerprint to a person, Prunty said, because the numerical values -- not fingerprints -- are saved in Disney's system.
Spalding, of the ACLU, said several people brought Disney's system to the group's attention, but so far no one has complained.
"If you're that offended, you don't have to associate with Disney," Spalding said.
Disney is not using the technology at its parks in California and overseas.
Universal Orlando relies on photographs to identify pass-holders, but by the end of the year it plans to roll out a new system that uses finger geometry. SeaWorld uses a variation of the finger-scanning device for its multiday pass holders but does not require it for single-day ticket holders.
"Tickets are very expensive for these facilities. If you can hand them off, it costs the parks money," said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati. "It really is an attempt of the introduction of a system that will be used more broadly in the industry in the future."
Prunty said visitors who don't want to have their fingers scanned can still enter the park. Children under age 10 are not required to use the system.
"If a guest feels that they really aren't comfortable with it, they can show an ID if their name is on the ticket," she said. Visitors to the parks, though, seemed more worried about the inconvenience. "Overall it's good," said Simon Henson, on vacation with his wife from England. "But it seems to make the queues longer. No one seems to put their fingers in all the way on the first try."
Posted July 14, 2005
After the ticket line and a bag-search checkpoint, visitors to Walt Disney World now have to make one more stop before entering one of its theme parks: at a finger scanner.
Disney guests must now put their index and middle fingers into a device at the turnstile that assigns a code to link the image of their fingers with their name and ticket.
Disney says it's simply part of an attempt to find a more foolproof system to block the use of stolen and shared tickets.
But privacy advocates say the practice is troubling because it moves consumers a step closer to eventual acceptance of a national ID card or a drivers license that stores biometric data.
"Slowly but surely we're just giving away our right of privacy, and the question is what are we getting in return?" said Larry Spalding, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union. "We get all these massive databases, and how secure are they?"
Some tourists also questioned the finger-scan machines.
"We asked what it was and what it did, and they told us it's so no one can use your ticket," said Kathy Wilson, on vacation with her family from Louisville, Ky. "It makes you wonder if that's the only reason they're doing it."
The technology, used for years for annual pass holders, has been phased in for all ticket holders during the past six months.
The company doesn't save the information after the ticket expires, said Disney spokeswoman Kim Prunty.
"We're not keeping a database of fingerprints," Prunty said.
The system, known as Ticket Tag, uses "finger geometry" rather than traditional fingerprints, she said. A camera takes a picture of several points on each person's index and middle fingers and assigns a number value to the image, she said.
The finger scanning began in January in some parks before expanding to the entire complex.
Last month, Disney officially abandoned the old method of stamping visitors' hands when they leave a park to allow re-entry. Now only the combination of a finger scan and ticket with the visitor's name printed on it will permit re-entry or travel from one park to another.
If a crime were to occur inside a park, police would not be able to use the images to match a fingerprint to a person, Prunty said, because the numerical values -- not fingerprints -- are saved in Disney's system.
Spalding, of the ACLU, said several people brought Disney's system to the group's attention, but so far no one has complained.
"If you're that offended, you don't have to associate with Disney," Spalding said.
Disney is not using the technology at its parks in California and overseas.
Universal Orlando relies on photographs to identify pass-holders, but by the end of the year it plans to roll out a new system that uses finger geometry. SeaWorld uses a variation of the finger-scanning device for its multiday pass holders but does not require it for single-day ticket holders.
"Tickets are very expensive for these facilities. If you can hand them off, it costs the parks money," said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati. "It really is an attempt of the introduction of a system that will be used more broadly in the industry in the future."
Prunty said visitors who don't want to have their fingers scanned can still enter the park. Children under age 10 are not required to use the system.
"If a guest feels that they really aren't comfortable with it, they can show an ID if their name is on the ticket," she said. Visitors to the parks, though, seemed more worried about the inconvenience. "Overall it's good," said Simon Henson, on vacation with his wife from England. "But it seems to make the queues longer. No one seems to put their fingers in all the way on the first try."
