Down Under Disneyana Australian Disney Forum

Disney will officially ban selfie sticks from its parks from next week following increasing safety concerns.

This all came to a head this week after some brainiac decided it would be a good idea to pull out a stick while on California Screamin' which forced ride operators to hit the safety stop on the coaster. This of course required a lengthy evacuation of the ride for stuck guests.

Now if only Disney would also ban iPads for filming night shows! iPads are also a safety issue, because if some tool raises one in front of me again to film the fireworks, I'm going to punch him

Now if only Disney would also ban iPads for filming night shows! iPads are also a safety issue, because if some tool raises one in front of me again to film the fireworks, I'm going to punch him

That's ver unDisney Keith, but I agree with the sentiment .

It has happened to me a couple of times - particularly in Hong Kong. You know what it is like - you sit on the concrete for an hour with a perfect view of the castle...the lights dim and the music starts...and bam! Up goes an iPad right in front of you and your view is completely obstructed...grrrrr!!!!!

Jess was skyping from Wishes one night, responsibly of course and some nob in front of her stuck his iPad up and blocked hers, mine and everyone behind her view. I do rate kids on shoulders a worse offends though.

I do rate kids on shoulders a worse offends though.

Oh yeah - that's right - good one Anthony, we should ban kids too!
(just kidding folks, just kidding - I mean we should ban those parents hahahaha!)

This ban makes me so sad ....
( waits for the crowd to quiet down)...
I totally agree that its the complete knobs who can't keep it in their pocket who have ruined what is essential a great photographic tool usage. It irks me that people couldn't use a bit of common sense where the selfie stick was involved ... they are a wonderful way to get everyone in the shot... and believe me I will never hand my camera to a stranger, and haven't yet had a decent shot by a CM - yes, even the photographic ones.... in fact, in Paris, we noticed how they went out of their way to take worse photos on my camera compared to the ones they took on theirs.
When we were in Singapore in the markets, people were whipping them out in shoulder to shoulder crush without upsetting anyone... why cant that happen in the US? Its purely inconsideration that has brought this about .

What worries me, is now they are also cracking down on tripods and other photog equipment, which for someone like me for whom taking shots in the parks is a BIIIIIG part of the experience, this is a scary thing. I don't want to be in a park without my camera equipment. Period. I've left the park before because of a flat battery and not returned till I could take photos. I am worried about this slippery slope.
IPads though, can be banned any time they like... I totally agree with how they block out everyone and everything - and I've asked people to put them lower in the past - and again, is purely inconsideration, as well as stopping the kids on shoulders and while we're banning things, please ban those double Hum-V style strollers that run into too many ankles.

The banning of any photo equipment is a sad day to me...

Talking of the slippery slope, tripods of any sort are banned in the Japanese parks, but they are still good in the US (for now).

I'm not concerned by the selfie stick ban as they really only cater for smartphone photos anyway, although I can see how they can be useful for those self shots in front of the castle etc. (also, I have a distinct advantage in having long gorilla arms, so I can still selfie shot Della and me with no trouble!).

(also, I have a distinct advantage in having long gorilla arms, so I can still selfie shot Della and me with no trouble!).

lucky you

There's been quite a lot of discussion about this on the Disney photographers pages that I'm part of and they are all worried that the tripod will be the next to go... they're already enforcing the size of them ( which they've never done unless they were ridiculously oversized) and a few have been asked if they're pro because of their equipment ( some are pro but are only shooting for personal use) and they've mentioned ( although I will say most frequent WDW rather than DL) they have noticed more questions and some refusals since the selfie stick ban. This scares me because now that I have some proper equipment, they might ban it all before I can get there to use it

I know I am one of very few though that wished they hadn't banned them all together. The ban on the rides should have been a given for any person who actually thinks anyway, but the all out ban has saddened me a bit... we use the stick for the goPro as much as with phones and it makes for a much smoother result.
Oh well, I guess what happens, happens, but I hope I can still get those long exposure shots of the fireworks with my tripod when I finally make it to WDW next year.

Oh well, I guess what happens, happens, but I hope I can still get those long exposure shots of the fireworks with my tripod when I finally make it to WDW next year.

Yep - this is where it could get ugly.

Unfortunately it is the unthinking minority that spoiled the selfie sticks for everyone else. It was the California Screamin' emergency stop that caused the ban - up to then, Disney were happy for people to have them on the proviso you didn't use them on rides, but after that incident, they realised they couldn't trust their guests to abide by the rules.

Using a selfie stick on Screamin' must make you a potential candidate for the Darwin awards!

The guys who monitor this ride must have quick reflexes!

Using a selfie stick on Screamin' must make you a potential candidate for the Darwin awards!

The guys who monitor this ride must have quick reflexes!

totally agree!!!