Disney Sizing Up Young Riders With Ultrasound

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 using an ultrasound beam that sizes them up in seconds. The device bounces a beam from a paddle placed atop the child’s head, then lights up white, orange, blue or green--colors that correspond with wristbands indicating which attractions are safe for the children depending on their height.

A green Goofy wristband, for example, tells parents and ride operators that children can go on all attractions. A blue Donald Duck wristband means they can ride such attractions as Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and Star Tours.

Park officials say the device is fast, precise and tourist-friendly.

“This allows them to be checked one time rather than at each individual attraction,” said Jim MacPhee, a Disneyland Resort spokesman. “It also engages the children, and . . . it’s more about what they can do versus what they can’t do.”

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. But until now, the children have been measured at each ride with lines drawn on signs or posts.

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 has been so positive, MacPhee said, that the question is no longer whether the park will implement it, but when and how.

The device is making its way around park sites while officials decide how many they need and where. For now the bands are not mandatory, and the traditional system remains. The devices are only in use at Disneyland, though they will probably be offered at California Adventure and Disney World.