Selfie sticks no longer allowed at Walt Disney World

[CAS239]

Their not enforced entirely yet. Currently in Epcot now. Saw one being used near the entrance and one in the world showcase so far

 

[Planogirl]

It'll take time for the CM's to get on board I imagine. I hope that people cooperate.

 

[Bree]

They aren't officially banned until June 30th.

 

[jec6613]

For cell phones?

Yup!

http://www.manfrotto.com/klyp

(there are others too)

 

[larryz]

I don't have a problem, I simply made a comment, and apparently misunderstood your reply as sarcastic. My apologies.

Couldn't have been sarcastic. Sarcasm, as we all know from reading the forum rules, is forbidden on the DISBoards.

 

[jec6613]

That was not defined or any reference to that in our training update.

I was wrong, it's 24" ... "Suitcases, coolers or backpacks with or without wheels larger than 24" (61 cm) long x 15" (38 cm) wide x 18" (46 cm) high"

It's on the website at least, but 24" covers _most_ of the tripods on the market, so I can see discretion here being important.

 

[JimmyV]

I am sorry but selfie sticks are not new at all. In fact they have been around a long time. Here is a photo I took in 2007 at the Grand Canyon:

Sure. But the picture that you posted above is a great picture that captures all three of you....and it wasn't taken from a phone on a stick.

 

[Bugdozer]

This is the best thing I ever bought for my cell phone! It is by Shoulderpod and is the S1 Smartphone rig. It fit even on my iPhone 6+. It has a very short handle but gave me stability when taking pictures or videos as I am getting a bit shaky. It comes in a nice small box which is nice for packing. the small handle unscrews from the unit and it can even be put on a tripod. LOVE mine.

 

[KurtC]

First of all I want to commend Disney for attempting to just ban them on the rides. And since this obviously did not work they had to take it to the next level. I, personally, am very happy about this. We visited WDW in March of 2014 and maybe saw a couple of selfie sticks, no big deal. This March we were in Washington DC and these obnoxious batons were EVERYWHERE!! My wife and I almost got hit in the face twice. We saw two different people actually get hit in the face, about a dozen near misses, many of which required the victim to duck or swerve out of the way. And one young lady almost fell down the steps of the Lincoln Monument because she was so focused on her selfie stick. And that was all in just one day! Factor in the danger of a high speed (or even low speed) ride and I can easily support Disney's decision.

And I will say that my wife and I regularly agree to take photos for couples and families when asked. And my wife very often volunteers to take photos of couples when she sees them trying to take pictures of each other singularly and trading off.

And one reason why I would never use a selfie stick is that, now that I have moved from an obsessive DLSR picture taker to an iPhone casual snapshotter, is that I like to whip my iPhone out of my pocket or holster, take the shot and put the phone away again quickly. This beats carrying around the phone on a stick all day. (I'm from Minnesota and we prefer our food on a stick, not our phones!)

And if they want to step up the bag search at the entry, more power to them! I now skip the backpack and do Disney with just cargo pants/shorts and a multi-pocketed travel vest in order to avoid the bag check line and breeze right into the park!

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

I know I'm going to be in the minority but I disagree with this decision. I 100% support not allowing the sticks on rides. But I've never personally had any issues with anyone else's selfie sticks (will they also ban the Go Pro sticks then?), and personally I think the sticks can be handy when you want a group photo that has more than 3 people in it in front of something. The stick allows more of the background than your arm can reach for, and I think they should be allowed in those cases. Sure, there are idiots who might walk around with them not paying attention (though I have yet to witness this personally), but banning them entirely from the parks in my opinion is lame and unfair to those who properly use the device.

The issue is though people are opening them on rides and they can't stop rides over and over because someone just needs another picture of themselves

 

[ArwenMarie]

First of all I want to commend Disney for attempting to just ban them on the rides. And since this obviously did not work they had to take it to the next level. I, personally, am very happy about this. We visited WDW in March of 2014 and maybe saw a couple of selfie sticks, no big deal. This March we were in Washington DC and these obnoxious batons were EVERYWHERE!! My wife and I almost got hit in the face twice. We saw two different people actually get hit in the face, about a dozen near misses, many of which required the victim to duck or swerve out of the way. And one young lady almost fell down the steps of the Lincoln Monument because she was so focused on her selfie stick. And that was all in just one day! Factor in the danger of a high speed (or even low speed) ride and I can easily support Disney's decision.

And I will say that my wife and I regularly agree to take photos for couples and families when asked. And my wife very often volunteers to take photos of couples when she sees them trying to take pictures of each other singularly and trading off.

And one reason why I would never use a selfie stick is that, now that I have moved from an obsessive DLSR picture taker to an iPhone casual snapshotter, is that I like to whip my iPhone out of my pocket or holster, take the shot and put the phone away again quickly. This beats carrying around the phone on a stick all day. (I'm from Minnesota and we prefer our food on a stick, not our phones!)

And if they want to step up the bag search at the entry, more power to them! I now skip the backpack and do Disney with just cargo pants/shorts and a multi-pocketed travel vest in order to avoid the bag check line and breeze right into the park!

That's interesting you saw that in DC. The Smithsonian Museums there just banned them this spring, seems like for good reason.

 

[Boopuff]

My friend has a theory about giving your phone to a stranger to take a picture. She looks for "older" people to hand off her phone - that way if they try to steal it she could outrun them!

 

[JimmyV]

My friend has a theory about giving your phone to a stranger to take a picture. She looks for "older" people to hand off her phone - that way if they try to steal it she could outrun them!

Finding people at WDW who you can outrun (for any number of reasons) isn't too hard. Unless, of course, you are one of the people that other people choose because they can outrun.

 

[sfbank]

So glad to see this. We are sitting in the airport on our way home from 10 days at Disney. Talk about annoying--people stopping in the middle of ride lines to take continuous pictures of themselves. They would even keep people from loading the ride. Glad it's being taken care of

 

[Jennasis]

Be honest....has anyone ever heard had or even HEARD of a phone/camera being stolen by someone at WDW after asking that stranger to take their picture?

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Sure. But the picture that you posted above is a great picture that captures all three of you....and it wasn't taken from a phone on a stick.

Haha

 

[rpb718]

I'm generally hesitant to a) choose a stranger to use my camera/iphone because hey, I don't know them, and there's a chance they could run off with my camera, and b) bother a stranger every single time I want to take a group shot.

There's may be ways to alleviate your fears. Maybe someone in your group could take a picture of the stranger and their family with their phone. Or you could offer to take a picture of them with your camera first and get their email or number to send it to them.

If I offered to take someone's picture and noticed they seemed uncomfortable, I'd probably let them hold a credit card with my name on it - and I'd show them my driver's license so they could see that it really is my name.

 

[johnsonet]

I know I'm going to be in the minority but I disagree with this decision. I 100% support not allowing the sticks on rides. But I've never personally had any issues with anyone else's selfie sticks (will they also ban the Go Pro sticks then?), and personally I think the sticks can be handy when you want a group photo that has more than 3 people in it in front of something. The stick allows more of the background than your arm can reach for, and I think they should be allowed in those cases. Sure, there are idiots who might walk around with them not paying attention (though I have yet to witness this personally), but banning them entirely from the parks in my opinion is lame and unfair to those who properly use the device.

They tried to ban them just on rides put too many people disregard rules and think the rules simply don't have to apply to them.

Indeed it is unfair- but a great many rules and restrictions Disney has are a result of people not being able to police themselves and use good judgement.

I'm generally hesitant to a) choose a stranger to use my camera/iphone because hey, I don't know them, and there's a chance they could run off with my camera, and b) bother a stranger every single time I want to take a group shot.

I'm generally the photographer on our trip which means unless I make a point to take a selfie or ask someone to take a photo, I don't get in the picture too often, which is a bit sad. When you look at your family's photo albums, do you want to see photo after photo of only your kids, or only your kids and your husband? No, you'd like to be in them too. Having to hunt down someone to take a photo wherever you want one isn't really appropriate. It's their vacation too, not just mine. I see nothing wrong with the proper use of a selfie stick for a group shot.

I'm the photog in my entire extended family, so I understand completely. But we survived this long...

We go to the parks fairly often, about twice a year for 2 weeks at at time. We were out in December and all was as usual, selfies but nothing obnoxious. When we were over in June we were flabbergasted by the amount of people taking selfies in the oddest places, with and without the infernal sticks, on rides. One couple in front of us on Big Thunder spent the entire ride taking selfie after selfie... I love taking pictures at WDW, but there is a limit to what you want to capture, surely? When do you get to live in the moment?

My travelling companion got slapped in the face by a selfie stick in the crowd this trip, so I can't say I'll miss their presence. On a serious note, these really do have serious implications. Does anyone remember the person who lost an eye at Universal on Dueling Dragons when a penny flew from another guest into someones face? Projectiles travelling at that speed, even Big Thunder / Space Mountain speeds could really do some damage if it hits someone. The only thing I want to leave WDW with is a few overpriced souvenirs and that odd tanline I always have from my sandals

It's ridiculous. I'm so happy that they've been banned before we go next month. I'm sure there will be plenty of brats sneaking them in but at least we won't have to deal with a sea of them.

 

[BlackMagicWoman]

Be honest....has anyone ever heard had or even HEARD of a phone/camera being stolen by someone at WDW after asking that stranger to take their picture?

No but we have all seen National Lampoon's European Vacation.

 

[KeithNotKieth]

Finally! I never got them anyway... They are meant to increase the depth of the shot for small groups, not for recording the holder's un-enthused walk through the park or face on Voyages of The Little Mermaid.