What is biometrics all about? About This Page:

[cmmdisney]

We purchased the old hopper passes in December. Will we still go through these gates? Why do you put your fingers in? Does it check fingerprints? Whats this new technology all about?

[WDWOctober]

From what I understand (I asked this question myself on the TourGuideMike Boards) the only people that will have to use the new Biometrics reader are the people with the new MYW passes. Us folks with the old hoppers are exempt.

I believe the new Biometrics readers ask you to insert your pass and then place your fingers (think Star Trek!) on the reader and it takes a "picture" (bone structure, length???) of your hand to compare to on later visits.

I am sure someone will be along that knows more than I do....

[ladyt]

I read that it compares the space between your fingers, not your actual finger prints. I think the whole thing is ridiculous. The tickets are paid for - Disney got their money - what's the difference who uses them? I know they are trying to reduce re-selling or sharing because the tickets are cheaper the more days you buy, but geez.

OK, getting off my soapbox now.

[crystalloubear]

I know you have to do this with Annual Passes. You put in your 1st 2 fingers and it reads your bone structure. Basically, it is a safe gaurd so that no one else uses your pass.

[WillCAD]

Your old hoppers will still work at the gates, and you will not need to use the finger scanner.

The finger scanners have been in use for annual passholders and some specialty tickets, including 10-day Worldpass tickets that were sold in the U.K., for several years. They're pretty reliable but not infalible. With my AP, I always have the most trouble getting the scanners at Epcot to read my fingers and let me in.

[bali]

It's pretty neat, though, to see all those little lights go out when you put your fingers in.

[BabieeMelly]

I think it's a lottoe ridiculous to have to do this, as well. As long as you bought the tickets anyone you want should be able to use them :X

[Courtney]

That little finger scanner doesn't like my fingers! We had to use it with our military tickets, and I always had such a hard time...I would try to make all of the lights turn green, and in trying, would end up pulling away from another area it had to scan.

SIGH, just take my ticket and let me in! LOL!

[Dave Marx]

Let's look at this from Disney's perspective. You buy a 10-day ticket at around a 50% discount. You use half, and sell the rest to someone else. Disney makes half as much as they would have. That's no small amount of money when you start adding it up. Disney's goal with these new, heavily-discounted tickets is to encourage longer visits, so they added a safeguard to ensure that that's actually the way they are used. What would you do in Disney's position?

Disney's tickets have always been non-transferrable, but most didn't offer the kind of discounting that made resales a major issue. For those that did (annual passes), they had safeguards in place. Maybe I'm so used to sticking my fingers in the scanner that it doesn't seem like a big deal to me - I just consider it a small price to pay for having a pass that delivers such good value.

[graygables]

My issue with it is that it is my money, they are getting their 10 days worth of "other" income (food, lodging, souvenirs, etc) and I should be able to share my ticket within my family. I understand that they don't want you to resell it, so maybe if, when you bought it, you could add names to the "account" or whatnot, that would ease my pain. For instance, this trip w/ my mom, she's not going to use 10 days in her life, so the balance I should be able to give to DH to use up. BUT since DH isn't with us on this trip, they can't add him to the family "unit" (or whatever they're calling it) and his last name is different, too. I just think Disney could make it easier on families who don't necessarily always travel together.

[DISNEYGOOF]

I don't mind putting my fingers in the scanner but I think it would be cool to have my picture on it instead. I think the old ones did have pictures

[disneyfan4994]

I don't mind the scanners, but I like Kelly's picture idea as sometimes the scanners don't work well & make lines slow.

[Courtney]

I don't mind them scanning me for their security purposes, I just wish *I* didn't have such a hard time making it work!

[WildForWD]

I am so used to these scanners that it hardly makes a difference to me now.
We use this kind of a scanner at work for a time clock and this is how we punch in and out.
For those of you who have problems it has nothing to do with your finger prints. It is actually taking a reading of the TOP of your hand NOT the bottom as most think.
It seems more of the ladies have trouble than the men. If you change your nail length or have on different rings it can make a difference.
My advice is take off your changable rings on your first scan (if you have a wedding ring that is ALWAYS on that is OK) then do the same thing each day you enter the park.
The goal is to make the TOP of your hand look the same each time you get a scan.
Good Luck!!
Tim

[WillCAD]

[ QUOTE ]
Let's look at this from Disney's perspective. You buy a 10-day ticket at around a 50% discount. You use half, and sell the rest to someone else. Disney makes half as much as they would have. That's no small amount of money when you start adding it up. Disney's goal with these new, heavily-discounted tickets is to encourage longer visits, so they added a safeguard to ensure that that's actually the way they are used. What would you do in Disney's position?

Disney's tickets have always been non-transferrable, but most didn't offer the kind of discounting that made resales a major issue. For those that did (annual passes), they had safeguards in place. Maybe I'm so used to sticking my fingers in the scanner that it doesn't seem like a big deal to me - I just consider it a small price to pay for having a pass that delivers such good value.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry Dave, that's a flawed arguement.

If I buy a pass for $200, Disney makes $200. If I use half of it and sell the other half to a friend or family member for $100, Disney has still made $200. But since the second half of my pass is getting used instead of moldering in a drawer someplace, Disney is ALSO making money off the person who uses the second half of my pass when they buy Coke at $2.50 a bottle, water at $2, $18 hats, $24 t-shirts, pins ranging from $3-$12, and meals ranging from $8-$30.

What this is all about is that Disney wants to force that second person to buy a new $200 pass instead of using the second half of mine, because that's an additional $200 in their coffers. It's part of Disney's new corporate philosophy: "Wring every last penny out of each Guest for the absolute minimum amount of effort and expenditure. Who cares if they ever come back as long as we get ALL their money now?" This is stupid for a number of reasons, lot the least of which is the fact that many folks will steer away from WDW based solely on the gate price, but might consider taking a trip if they can get a deal on the park passes.

This philosophy also differs substantially from the business philosophy Walt used in running Disneyland, and which Roy continued when he opened WDW: "Make every Guest feel like the most special person on Earth, make every vacation the most Magical and joyful experience they'ver ever had, and encourage them to come back over and over and over again, thus guaranteeing us a massive return on our Magical investment by establishing a loyal repeat customer base."

Most businesses subscribe to the latter philosophy, since it is more sensible for long-term business viability, but a few prefer the former, which is more likely to generate larger short-term profits at the expense of long-term viability. You see, it's much harder to bring new customers into any business than it is to generate customer loyalty with those you already have, particularly in the cutthroat entertainment and travel industries.

But for the past few years, Disney has been staring myopicly at the returns for next fiscal quarter instead of figuring out good business strategy for the next decade.