Universal Parks and Resorts & Facial Technology

[Brian G.]

I know ultimately they represent the company - but USH's security is outsourced, not in-house.

 

[Jake S]

I know ultimately they represent the company - but USH's security is outsourced, not in-house.

And I think this is, generally, a big mistake. I understand why contractors are used, but I’d really try to avoid it at these big, service-oriented theme parks.

 

[Chumpieboy]

I had the complete opposite issue at Disney Springs, so they very much could train their employees to be nicer. I was ANNOYED at DS for waiting in this line which I thought they randomly made me go into. That security guard was so patient when I got to him. First off he immediately apologized for the wait, he then explained why I got stopped (scanner went off) and he even helped me discover what went off and how to prevent from being stopped next time (hold glasses case outside of the bag). It couldn't have been a more friendlier and helpful experience. I just don't think Universal trains their security staff to be nice.

My issue is more the lack of clear directions *after* the first scanner. There's a SO in front greeting guests, telling them "strollers over here, keep your backpack on, just walk through, have a nice day!" After you walk through there's nothing.

So you either continue walking into the park and then three SOs walk up to you "Sir, SIR SIR SIR!! You need to go over there for additional scanning. HOW DARE YOU TRY TO SNEAK PAST ME!!"

Next time you enter a park you walk through the scanner and await further instructions only to hear "Sir, SIR SIR SIR!!! keep walking STOP HOLDING UP THE SYSTEM STANDING THERE HOW DARE YOU!!11"

Clear and consistent instructions would avoid that.

 

[IzzyB]

My issue is more the lack of clear directions *after* the first scanner. There's a SO in front greeting guests, telling them "strollers over here, keep your backpack on, just walk through, have a nice day!" After you walk through there's nothing.

So you either continue walking into the park and then three SOs walk up to you "Sir, SIR SIR SIR!! You need to go over there for additional scanning. HOW DARE YOU TRY TO SNEAK PAST ME!!"

Next time you enter a park you walk through the scanner and await further instructions only to hear "Sir, SIR SIR SIR!!! keep walking STOP HOLDING UP THE SYSTEM STANDING THERE HOW DARE YOU!!11"

Clear and consistent instructions would avoid that.

At DS? I was pulled right away and TM told me to step to the side. They didn't have to chase me down. Where my family just kept walking and were not pulled. It wasn't confusing.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I wanted to jump back in here - we spent a week at Universal 2 weeks ago. The facial recognition worked great, and we VERY much prefer it to the fingerprint scanning.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

A lot of express facial recognition scanners are slowly being added to the parks now. Mummy, MIB and Simpsons all have it at the moment. I have to imagine they'll also have some portable versions (like at the turnstiles) as they are quite bulky at the moment.

Haven't looked at IOA just yet, but I think I recall one at JPRA.

Also, while it may be an error, a friend of mine accidently showed their HHN pass instead of their AP when trying to get into the park for S&S. I wonder if the system can finally recognize a face and still grant entry even if scanning the wrong barcode?

 

[Mad Dog]

I wanted to jump back in here - we spent a week at Universal 2 weeks ago. The facial recognition worked great, and we VERY much prefer it to the fingerprint scanning.

It worked OK for us in March, better than the fingerprint scan that we always had trouble with. And it was an improvement on the hotel express facial passes of a few years back, that worked slowly and poorly.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

We didn't use it for any Express passes, but it looked like there was facial recognition devices at every turnstile at the entrance of both parks. But not Hogwarts Express for some reason

 

[saint.piss]

 

[Jake S]

this is so grim lmao

 

[Viator]

I know ultimately they represent the company - but USH's security is outsourced, not in-house.

I didn't admittedly knew on this until just now--but that suddenly clicks a few things to sense. I wonder if this is changed when P515 begins construction and affects security more directly.

I wonder if the intent of this is to further prepare and make sure that things go off without a hitch with the facial recognition tech that will be implemented with Epic Universe.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

this is so grim lmao

How so

 

[GAcoaster]

At least they're being honest about their use of it and showing its use for good. So much is happening with all this technology that you DON'T know about already.

 

[Wesker69]

Are they going to know when I went to the bathroom to!? And when it was a liquid or a !?

I almost feel like between Universal & Disney, they're actively trying to make Terminator a reality! Soon we'll all sleep soundly knowing that Skynet is running the show!

 

[fryoj]

phone beeps: It's been 2 hours since you had that burrito at el cantina de muerto, have you considered visiting our closest restroom?

 

[GA-MBIT]

phone beeps: It's been 2 hours since you had that burrito at el cantina de muerto, have you considered visiting our closest restroom?

This was the utopia the Magicband designers were dreaming of back in 2014.

 

[Rhian]

I wonder if the intent of this is to further prepare and make sure that things go off without a hitch with the facial recognition tech that will be implemented with Epic Universe.

The growing use of it at the current parks you can think of as a kind of stress testing, yes.

They're currently building the systems which will be used in EU right now, and honestly I can't think of another way to make sure it works on Day One (because it has to) other than utilize a real theme park. It's very convenient they had a couple to pick from right down the street!

IIRC from details about what the intent is, the system will not just track entry into the park it will also track what lands you're in, restaurants you eat at, what rides you go on, etc. That also includes being used to determine express pass holders, who are annual passholders, and things like that. The idea is for you to walk around EU without ever having to reach for a ticket or even wallet, where instead you'll tap your forehead on the card scanner to make a purchase.*
* That's a joke. Kinda.

A lot of express facial recognition scanners are slowly being added to the parks now. Mummy, MIB and Simpsons all have it at the moment. I have to imagine they'll also have some portable versions (like at the turnstiles) as they are quite bulky at the moment.

Haven't looked at IOA just yet, but I think I recall one at JPRA.

Also, while it may be an error, a friend of mine accidently showed their HHN pass instead of their AP when trying to get into the park for S&S. I wonder if the system can finally recognize a face and still grant entry even if scanning the wrong barcode?

Keep watching where they show up because we'll likely see parallels of these implementations in addition to new ones everywhere at EU.

It does sound like system now basically checks by face if they have any valid pass for that park/time frame/event and responds with the ok and treats the barcode as secondary. Considering that's how seamless it's supposed to be moving around EU it seems to be working so far.

How so

There's the obvious dystopian angle which cannot be ignored but I don't want to nosedive the thread with that. Yes, there are a few privacy protection laws but keep in mind laws can change.

On a related subject that's easier to discuss though, Jake bought up a point earlier about reasons not to use contractors and a similar logic applies to the facial tech here.

Security is only as strong as your weakest link, and for something as sensitive and unique like biometric data at such a massive scale, it should be in-house. When this was first brought up it was stated that Universal will keep this information for 6 months, the same as they did with fingerprints. Putting aside my personal thought that that sounds like an unnecessarily long time to hold on to that whose to say the companies they work with will do faithfully delete that information too?

I mention this because contracts with external companies usually allows wiggle room of exchanging data for testing and quality assurance purposes (something you'd often hear on the phone too), but once they have that data and they're in another location that doesn't have the same laws—what actually happens to your data after that? Currently in the US this technology like so many others has outpaced lawmaking and it's very much 'trust me bro' territory with your biometric data; Universal is working on this with a Chinese company.

I'm not expecting a big discussion on this because it's a heavy/touchy subject just bringing in some thoughts from my perspective on the grim side of things. I'd much prefer if companies who were relying on this data to be legally required to have it all in-house wholly and completely at all times.

There's some good in this like getting out extremely disruptive guests. Being able to track down people who abuse scareactors during HHN would be a big welcome I'm sure. What will be interesting are things like how they will separate people who are cutting in line vs those catching up to their party.

Still, I don't feel at all comfortable with a theme park of all places giving me a virtual physical when I'm in the park.



Not only watching but listening in on me as well? If I make a dark joke to my friends is the system going to flag that?

Combining data from multiple sensor types could help the system to determine specific scenarios, like whether or not a guest is too drunk to continue drinking. Automatically compiling data from facial recognition or cameras the system could count how many beverages a guest has consumed and cross-reference that with data collected by sound sensors that have detected disruptive yelling to “determine that the guest is likely in an inebriated state.”

And remember, they are holding this at least some of this data for 6 months at minimum. I can't assume all aspects of this will be implemented but nonetheless this feels like overkill for a theme park. Every drink you take and every word you speak. Every move you make, every step you take it'll be watching you.

At least they're being honest about their use of it and showing its use for good. So much is happening with all this technology that you DON'T know about already.

A lot of times describing how it works for a patent and how it will ultimately be used in the real world are two different things.


All that said I do think some parts of this are cool and does simplify things for both guests and the TMs. I also think certain parts of this extend beyond the basic needs of a guest at a theme park and there's valid reason to be concerned about who has access to our biometric data and how it's going to be used in the future.

 

[Disneyhead]

The growing use of it at the current parks you can think of as a kind of stress testing, yes.

They're currently building the systems which will be used in EU right now, and honestly I can't think of another way to make sure it works on Day One (because it has to) other than utilize a real theme park. It's very convenient they had a couple to pick from right down the street!

IIRC from details about what the intent is, the system will not just track entry into the park it will also track what lands you're in, restaurants you eat at, what rides you go on, etc. That also includes being used to determine express pass holders, who are annual passholders, and things like that. The idea is for you to walk around EU without ever having to reach for a ticket or even wallet, where instead you'll tap your forehead on the card scanner to make a purchase.*
* That's a joke. Kinda.


Keep watching where they show up because we'll likely see parallels of these implementations in addition to new ones everywhere at EU.

It does sound like system now basically checks by face if they have any valid pass for that park/time frame/event and responds with the ok and treats the barcode as secondary. Considering that's how seamless it's supposed to be moving around EU it seems to be working so far.


There's the obvious dystopian angle which cannot be ignored but I don't want to nosedive the thread with that. Yes, there are a few privacy protection laws but keep in mind laws can change.

On a related subject that's easier to discuss though, Jake bought up a point earlier about reasons not to use contractors and a similar logic applies to the facial tech here.

Security is only as strong as your weakest link, and for something as sensitive and unique like biometric data at such a massive scale, it should be in-house. When this was first brought up it was stated that Universal will keep this information for 6 months, the same as they did with fingerprints. Putting aside my personal thought that that sounds like an unnecessarily long time to hold on to that whose to say the companies they work with will do faithfully delete that information too?

I mention this because contracts with external companies usually allows wiggle room of exchanging data for testing and quality assurance purposes (something you'd often hear on the phone too), but once they have that data and they're in another location that doesn't have the same laws—what actually happens to your data after that? Currently in the US this technology like so many others has outpaced lawmaking and it's very much 'trust me bro' territory with your biometric data; Universal is working on this with a Chinese company.

I'm not expecting a big discussion on this because it's a heavy/touchy subject just bringing in some thoughts from my perspective on the grim side of things. I'd much prefer if companies who were relying on this data to be legally required to have it all in-house wholly and completely at all times.

There's some good in this like getting out extremely disruptive guests. Being able to track down people who abuse scareactors during HHN would be a big welcome I'm sure. What will be interesting are things like how they will separate people who are cutting in line vs those catching up to their party.

Still, I don't feel at all comfortable with a theme park of all places giving me a virtual physical when I'm in the park.

View attachment 23744

Not only watching but listening in on me as well? If I make a dark joke to my friends is the system going to flag that?



And remember, they are holding this at least some of this data for 6 months at minimum. I can't assume all aspects of this will be implemented but nonetheless this feels like overkill for a theme park. Every drink you take and every word you speak. Every move you make, every step you take it'll be watching you.

A lot of times describing how it works for a patent and how it will ultimately be used in the real world are two different things.


All that said I do think some parts of this are cool and does simplify things for both guests and the TMs. I also think certain parts of this extend beyond the basic needs of a guest at a theme park and there's valid reason to be concerned about who has access to our biometric data and how it's going to be used in the future.

Ok, umm..., that was a lot of words.

 

[belloq87]

All that said I do think some parts of this are cool and does simplify things for both guests and the TMs. I also think certain parts of this extend beyond the basic needs of a guest at a theme park and there's valid reason to be concerned about who has access to our biometric data and how it's going to be used in the future.

This is basically where I'm at, too.

 

[frank_1991_]

This is somewhat on point. I was waiting to give one of ET's friends my name today when I realized how much more efficient it would be if they implemented facial cameras to scan you as you board.