Disneyland ultrasound beam measures height for kids tall enough to ride

At present, the virtual measuring system as stated in the article is just being tested.

If fully implimented the new measuring system will be located at each attraction as before, as well as in the Main St. Hub (near the attraction wait time tip board) and in Main Street's City Hall. Guests will be able to measure their child at any location as before- but the benefit here is they will only need to be measured once, rather than at each attraction and no-longer at the attraction entrance, the attraction Fast pass merge and the attraction load area as sometimes happened before.

The technological part of the system will benefit Cast members as parents will find it difficult to argue about the 'measuring skills' of the cast member- as the cast member won't actually be measuring- it will be the machine.

Greeters will still continue to be at all attraction entrances, saying hi, answering questions and handing out Mickey Mouse stickers ;)

Camel@Work, at Disney parks at least, even if the attraction greeter was taken away, which won't be happening- there would be no need for someone to tell smokers to stop, as smoking in the parks is not allowed -only in 'off the beaten path' designated areas anyway. *** This post was edited by BuzzLightyear on 12/20/2001. ***

I think RideMan summed it up best here. Cedar Point, Six Flags Great America, Paramount's Kings Island and (I think) HersheyPark have all had "Official Height Stations" for years now. Okay, they may use a pole or tape measurer or even yardstick, but it's the same concept. Hell, @ SFGAm, I even saw an op on the Eagle give a kid a wristband on the platform so they wouldnt have to get measured elsewhere. While the technology is cool, the concept is nothing special.

Oh, and one other thing, HersheyPark has an unoffical height check *outside* of the park, so you could see what rides you are eligible for before entering the park. (side note: the different height ranges are delineated by candy bars :))

BTW: Put me down for the People's Elbow; but the most electrifying LINE is sports entertainment has to be: "Can you dig it? SUCKA!"

jeremy
--Six Flags and Arrow: Is there a *better* combination?

This is definitly a very clever idea, that way a kid doesn't have to wait in line just to be denied to ride the ride.  But also put yourselves in the shoes of a kid who is just under the height requirement.  The ride is still pretty much safe for the child.  I know that there is pretty much no solution for situations like this.  Say you have a height requirement of 54 inches, and you lower it one inch for those who are just under it. Than those who are 52 inches tall are going to want to ride and there will be pressure to lower it again.  I think this is a good idea, just keep it one thing, one strict height requirment.  It makes the ride safer for the guests in the park.  And at the same time kids know what rides that can ride before they get in the line. 

I agree with Rideman and 2Hostyl.  The idea of height check once and get a wrist band is great, but certainly not new, and the ultrasound "measuring stick" is a gimmick for gimmick's sake.

(This coming from the man with 2 XBoxes -- long story -- so if *I'm* calling something a silly use of technology...)

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--Greg
"Beat the rush, sign up for your post-Mean Streak MRI now..."
My page  My other page  And my coaster page
*** This post was edited by GregLeg on 12/20/2001. ***

I think this is a pretty good plan, but here is one thing I hate about it. Lots of times, there will be a kid that is 1/2 or 1/4 inch short of the stick. If they are just that little bit too small, will it really make a difference? With this new system, kids that are just barely not tall enough by a fraction of an inch that won't matter will not get to ride. But it will save time and arguing, so it's a good plan I guess.

I do not like the idea. Myself working at PKI I would be leanent on measuring.  if its 1/4 of an inch i let it slide or if it doesnt quite contact the scalp and they have short hair i let it slide.  I took this personal policy after I was working at 7th portal and it took me 10 mins to get 1 kid though cause his mom tried every trick in the book. The kid was a inch too short and  That cannot be looked away at.  Ended up me calling a super and having to call security cause the mom went ape crap on me. What about rides with Over the shoulder harnesses and the kids shoulders arent broad enough to fit?

couldn't they just find a taller wrist band or "switch" with a taller person.  i think the old fashioned way is better, not enough people are honest
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HurricaneGeauga- Just in case

Being the parent of a 48 inch coaster lover I can tell you that Cedar Point employees will suggest the band and tell you where to get it (park ops or town hall).  They measure the kids, check their shoes for lifts, and then sign and date the band.  CP employees then check the band and date.  At Dorney they just use a stamp on the hand that rubs off.  PKD has been using bands for at least five years.  PKI, Hershey, and BGW measure at the rides.

We have learned to ask at the park info counter how they handle the measurement.

The one down side of sticks - we have learned that they are not all created equal (and depend on the skill of the ride op).  *** This post was edited by bwordsworth on 12/20/2001. ***

no wonder they are going to be in the hole for years...

love the idea though, it gives an accurate representation of the height

At CP, in addition to Park Ops and the Town Hall, children can also get an official measurement and a wristband at the resort gate by Magnum Hot Shots.  Entrance hosts are told to suggest the wristbands for children that are anywhere near close.  They will measure them "officially" at one of these locations, checking shoes, etc, and then the entrance hosts will not have to scrutinize the rest of the day with that child.  Many times, they'll hold the stick up to see if they are close and if they have a band, they just go through.  No taking shoes off or anything of that sort.  CP's goal is to have every borderline child obtain a wristband by noon or 1 o'clock to avoid problems throughout the rest of the day. 

Also, someone asked why they check at both ends of the line.  CP usually checks at the entrance and again at the turnstiles entering the platform.  This is to make sure that no one has snuck past the entrance person or possibly line jumped (through the trees into the Magnum queue for example).  Its all about safety and liability and CP's desire to keep its stellar safety record.

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

It is a good idea because it saves time, you won't have to wait for anybody in front of you to be checked to see if they are tall enough.  It would probably be pretty hard to switch bands. Don't they make them hard to take off without tearing it?  And even if they did some how switch bands, if the ride op has any doubt that this person isn't tall enough, check them at the station.  The only thing I don't like about this idea is that the kids who are just slightly under the mark will get turned away. 

Jeremy and Greg got my point exactly. As noted here, many parks have been doing height wristbands for years, and in that regard it's about time that Disney got on board. There are pittfalls...at Canada's Wonderland, the longest line in the park for the first couple of hours is the line for the official height check. I like Kings Island's solution where the attendants at the rides have a supply of wristbands and a couple of ink stamps. The borderline kid gets measured, if he passes, he gets a wristband and a handstamp (the handstamp confirms the validity of the wristband).

The other things that most rides ought to have is a post at the ride entrance (say, at the end of each chute on a coaster platform) marked with the minimum height requirement. So many times I've seen attendants (particularly at PKI) order a trainside measurement of a kid who is several inches over the height requirement...because the gate is only 42" high and the height requirement is 48" or 54" and nothing anywhere near the kid is marked at that height.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I see Dave, Greg, and Jeremys views but the reason I said it was a clever idea is if it is a mandatory at the front gate concept. If its only an option then it really isnt going to provide much better results. SFGAm already has the optional measure your kid and get a wristband routine. Just like the metal detectors at parks where its mandatory , they should also implement this.

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"""Forget the Peoples Elbow or the Spinaroonie. We now have Supermarket and Church brawls."

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""An hour wait for a 2 minute thrill. Yes, we need our heads examined""

LOL. I like your new sig chitown. BTW I think its a great idea and other major parks should look to enforce this type of technology.

I've seen a number of parks that have premeasurement, but I'm not sure that any of them require the wristband to ride.  This still leaves open the possibility to argument at the ride.

The nicest thing about the Disney concept is its high tech nature.  This should be a big help to both measurers and ride ops.  In essence, it becomes the machine that says you are too short to ride not the park employee.  People find it harder to argue with a machine.

SOBKI2k2,

So if they are 1/4 or 1/2 inch too short you will be lenient and let them ride?  Well, that is a lawsuit waiting to happen.  All the kid needs to do is get a bloody lip and King's Island would be headed to court.

I can hear it now.  "We didn't think he was tall enough but when the operator said it was ok we figured it was safe.  He shouldn't have let little Timmy ride."

If you worked for me.......you wouldn't.

It would be nice if measuring then stamping or giving a wristband was mandatory at the front of the park.

It's not fun when a family has been waiting in line for 1.5 hours, then little Johnny is a half of an inch too short, and we can't let him ride. What parents fail to understand is too short is too short, whether it be 6" or 1/4". They also don't see the safety issue, or how much trouble the op would get into if little Johnny rode and something happened to him. It can be very frustrating going back and forth with a parent about their child being too short, especially when the parents lose their temper and start with the "...but we measured him at the entrance and he was fine," "He rode last time." "Come on, he's just a half an inch too short," and the list goes on and on. Sure, I believe they measured him at the entrance but what they fail to realize is when they put their hand on the child's head, that adds about an inch, and that inch is the inch that determines if little Johnny can ride or not. The ones that are really bad are those who start yelling and refuse to get off of the platform. Then we can't send the train, then we have to call security or a supervisor, then have a train full of impatient guests that want their ride, then the people in line want to know why they have not moved in 10 minutes, etc..... *** This post was edited by Long Live The SKY WHIRL on 12/21/2001. ***

some people give ya a hard time. I always ask atleast 2 ppl on the cew for a 2nd opinion i should of clarifed that

BuzzLightyear- Yeah, I forgot about that. You're right. I was more making a point about how silly it is to have someone there just for that purpose.

The shame is that SO many park guests FORCE the ride-ops to be "the bad guy"...ride-ops are BUSY people already.  I like the idea mainly because it should reduce, greatly, the amount of time a ride-op has to screw up dispatches in order to keep a child from riding.  SAFETY is the real isue with height requirements, and many people seem to forget that whenever it's convenient.  This also eliminates the "judgement calls" when a kid is close to height, and while other parks have implemented systems to reduce the amount of height-checking (I think I recall some system at Dorney), Disney is in some aspects STILL considered an industry leader...

And as for the Disney-Philes, my last Disney season pass ran out about 3-4 years ago...there just weren't the types of rides/innovations I wanted to see...now I've got passes to Busch, Paramount, SF, and Wild Adventures (shameless plug).  Strange when Disney (FL) is two hours' drive away to have Paramount passes AND SF passes...definitely NOT a Disney-Phile anymore...(RnRC having Aerosmith was NOT the answer to get MY business back)... 

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PoTP acolyte - remove fear to reply
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!