Kids Are Beamed Up With New Disneyland Measuring Device

No more standing on tippy-toes or using mouse ears for extra inches. No more haggling with ride operators over a few centimeters. Disneyland is going high tech with the way it measures a kid’s height.

Soon, children will be measured with an ultrasound beam that sizes them up in seconds. The new device bounces a beam from a paddle placed on top of the child’s head, then lights up white, orange, blue or green--colors that correspond with wristbands indicating which attractions are safe, depending on the kids’ heights.

A green Goofy wristband, for example, tells parents and ride operators that children can ride on all attractions. A white Mickey Mouse band means children can ride only attractions that have no height restrictions.

Park officials say the ultrasound device is faster, more precise and tourist-friendly.

“This allows them to be checked one time rather than at each individual attraction,” said Jim MacPhee, vice president of attractions and guest service operations at the Disneyland Resort.

Disneyland already requires children to be a certain height to ride some attractions as a safety precaution.

Some of the park’s faster and more jolting rides are not designed for small children. Until now, the children have been measured at each ride, where lines on signs or posts show how tall riders must be.

The new system does not change any height policies; it just streamlines the process, measuring the children once and ensuring that undersized kids cannot slip through the system.

Disneyland has been testing the device since Dec. 5. Guest response was so positive, MacPhee said, that the question is no longer if the ultrasound beam will be used, but when and how.

The measuring device--which looks a bit like a small traffic light pole--is making its way around park sites while officials decide how many they need and where they should be used. For now, at least, the bands are not required for any rides, and the traditional measuring charts are in place.

So far, the wristbands are only at Disneyland, though they will probably be used at California Adventure and Disney parks in Florida.

“This is a lot more convenient,” said Ernie Granillo of Stevenson Ranch as his 3-year-old niece was measured Tuesday on Main Street. “She’s a blue. We didn’t know she could go on Space Mountain.”

Janelle Kluever, 30, of Tracy, Calif., said she has waited in line with her children on previous visits, only to get to the front and find out the kids were too short.

“We definitely know what we can go on,” Kluever said. “This solves a lot.”

Other parents said the automated system takes the guesswork out of measuring and that it also helps plan the day. New park maps will be printed and signs put up near the attractions that will match the colors and characters used in the new height system.

Alison Rivera, 46, of San Francisco said she read about the measuring device on message boards for Disney fans.

Before her 6-year-old daughter Samantha had been measured, Samantha tried to get on the Indiana Jones Adventure, only to be turned away.

“She started crying,” Rivera said. But when they found the new measuring gizmo, Samantha got the green light, literally, to ride Indiana Jones.

“Sure enough, she’s OK,” Rivera said before the two headed back to the attraction. “This eliminates so many problems. This is way cool. It makes it more fun, not only for kids, but for parents too.”

Most children seemed unfazed by the wristbands. Several simply pronounced them “Good!”

Ellie Kindlund, 5, of Bellingham, Wash., fingered her Donald Duck blue band and said, “I like it. My sister’s favorite color is blue.”