The selfie stick was hailed as a revolutionary product by a tremendous amount of people who are absolutely absorbed in taking pictures of themselves, and this is a huge group. But now, it has become so ubiquitous that it’s endangering other people, prompting Disney to ban the selfie stick .
That’s right. The House of Mouse has laid down a new house rule. Kim Prunty, a spokeswoman from Disney, explained.
“We strive to provide a great experience for the entire family, and unfortunately selfie-sticks have become a growing safety concern for both our guests and cast.”
What a lot of people don’t seem to understand is that using the selfie stick can be dangerous in most situations, both to the person holding the stick and to the people around him or her. Or maybe, those people just don’t care or consider good taste and good manners in their quest to take that perfect selfie.
Disney bans selfie-sticks at all of its theme parks…citing safety concerns http://t.co/jlBBZDDzI1 pic.twitter.com/p19F0tTmo7
— RT (@RT_com) June 28, 2015
Case in point: Disney already has a policy against the use of selfie sticks on rides because of safety concerns. Disney attractions, and other amusement park rides, for that matter, are chock full of moving parts. It’s dangerous to whip out and use a selfie stick on any ride.
To put it in perspective, children are warned from sticking their arms or head outside of a moving vehicle because they can be hit by another vehicle or an obstacle and be seriously injured.
It’s the same with selfie sticks, only in this case, you’re not only endangering yourself, you are also putting other people in harm’s way, just like what that person at Disney California Adventure did. This person pulled out a selfie stick on a roller coaster and caused the ride to screech to a halt for over thirty minutes. The ride had to be stopped while it was at the very top, and passengers had to be evacuated.
Disney’s ban on selfie sticks will be put in place at all their U.S. theme parks on June 30 and will go into full effect at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland on July 1.
Visitors to the happiest place on Earth are required to check in their selfie sticks at the main gate, or they can just leave it in their cars.
Disney isn’t the only place that has banned selfie sticks. The annoying sticks are already banned from such places and events like the Coachella music festival, English Premier League soccer stadiums, the Kentucky Derby, London’s National Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Palace of Versailles.
[Image via Wochit Entertainment]
