In 1996, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida started using finger geometry scans to identify annual and season pass holders. Over the past six months, they have quietly extended this requirement to all ticket holders, meaning that anyone coming into the park must have their fingers scanned and verified. Disney officials say that records are not kept after the tickets expire, but it’s not clear if they are immediately purged from the system.

The scan does not make a record of a person’s fingerprints. Guests place their index and middle fingers on the scanner and the system recognizes certain characteristics such as finger thickness and length. A number is assigned based on these measurements, and this number is stored in the system for future comparisons. Injuries to the index and/or middle fingers can cause the system to falsely reject a guest’s profile, as can more mundane changes such as the presence of a ring that was not worn during the initial scan. AllEarsNet, an unofficial Walt Disney World guide, has an online FAQ about the scan. At present, the system is only being used in Walt Disney World, and not in Disneyland in California or any of Disney’s international theme parks. Universal Studios Orlando and SeaWorld are said to be planning to introduce similar verification systems in the future.

Larry Spalding of the American Civil Liberties Union was quoted as saying that while the Disney system, known as Ticket Tag, had been brought to the ACLU’s attention, no one had yet filed a complaint. Spalding expressed concern about the system, saying “Slowly but surely we’re just giving away our right of privacy, and the question is what are we getting in return?” Even if the records aren’t kept and can’t be matched to other biometric identifiers such as fingerprints, it still seems a bit disconcerting. As Civil Liberties Union spokesman George Crossley said, “I think it is a step toward collection of personal information on people regardless of what Disney says.”

Slashdot discussion here.