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Disney Bans Selfie Sticks

Posted by timothy on from the because-they're-goofy dept.

New submitter albimaturityr writes with a story from the Orlando Sentinel that Disney is banning selfie sticks from its parks, starting with Disney World (as of Tuesday) but continuing with its other parks in California, Paris, and Hong Kong. Says the report: The issue has been building at Disney. Previously, the sticks were prohibited from its rides, and "no selfie-sticks" signs were at select rides, such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom. Cast members have given verbal warnings to rule breakers. Several incidents preceded the change, but officials have been discussing the rules for some time, Disney said. This week at Disney California Adventure park, a roller coaster was halted after a passenger pulled out a selfie-stick. The ride was closed for an hour.

4 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. What were they thinking? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I imagine that there are parts of a given ride where you can safely deploy a 'selfie stick'; but what kind of idiot waves a pole around when moving at nontrivial speed near walls, beams, etc. that the pole can catch on? Roller coasters are designed not to subject you to unsafe levels of acceleration or deceleration; but that does not include sticking to speeds that are safe it a modestly rigid pole abruptly couples your moving, and squishy, body to an immobile structural element.

    If you are lucky, you bought a cheap crap stick, and it will snap(and not send a sharp end into anyone's eye) before some part of your body does; but that's not really a gamble you want to take just for a lousy picture of yourself.

    The little racket of selling pictures of the riders, taken by fixed cameras installed at strategic points, probably helped contribute to this decision, doing well by doing good and all that; but what a stupid idea.

    Do people also take care to wear ponytails and/or ties when near rotating equipment? And dangle loose clothing over any exposed gears and belts they find? Or do we have people who've never met a machine more dangerous than an iPad or a minivan and just don't think?

    1. Re:What were they thinking? by Shados · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The difference is that merely being a dickhead is relatively low risk

      People don't try to understand why rules are there. "Don't park there" could be because the snow truck has low visibility and risks ripping your car off. "Don't jaywalk" has a pretty fucking good reason behind it. Ignoring non-smoking signs isn't just being a dick head. My condo complex has a no BBQ rule, because its a group of historical buildings that are basically dry firewood close to each other. I don't think anyone aside me does NOT have a BBQ. Someday everyone will roast alive.

      Thats my point: people cannot make the difference between just being a dick head and putting themselves and others genuinely at risk. Rules are meant to be ignored, no matter how important they are, to these people.

    2. Re:What were they thinking? by beelsebob · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "Don't jaywalk" has a pretty fucking good reason behind it.

      It does? The UK doesn't have a "don't jaywalk" rule, and there don't seem to be any adverse effects.

  2. Now if only the US government could do it. by johnlcallaway · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I appreciate the right of people to look like idiots walking around talking to their camera. Documenting their journey for no one who cares to see.

    Why they think that they are what is worth filming is beyond me. Or that talking while filming is a good choice.

    My wife and I love to sail, and watch sailing videos on you-tube. The good ones take pictures of things AROUND them, things I actually want to see. They also either do voiceovers post-production, or use a separate microphone to eliminate wind noise.

    The rest are mostly just crap, only of value to the people that shot them. Not really worth sharing to the public.

    In our motorcycle group, I've witnessed people just vomit their pictures up to the web, with no care taken to edit or even select only the few that are worth posting. No pride in what they have taken, just a regurgitation of what's in their camera.

    Selfie sticks are just more of the same. I'll admit they have some valid uses.

    Too bad most people appear to be ignorant of what those uses are.

    --
    I rarely read replies, it's my opinion and if you thought about your opinion a little more, I'm OK with that.