Disney gets sick of selfie sticks, bans them from its parks
The ban goes into effect at Walt Disney World and Disneyland on June 30. Visitors to Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland will be subject to the ban starting the following day--July 1st.
For Disney, the ban is all about visitor safety. Disney World's Kim Prunty tells the Sentinel that "selfie-sticks have become a growing safety concern for both our guests and cast." According to the paper, Disney employees will check bags for selfie sticks at park entrances: If they find one in your bag, they'll hold onto it for safe keeping until you leave the park. Alternately, you can leave it in your car or hotel room.
Why this matters: Selfie sticks--those selfie-enabling poles that attack to your smartphone--have become something of a cultural phenomenon--just take a look around when you're at any tourist attraction and you're bound to see some. The Verge notes that some tourist spots have already banned selfie sticks, so it'll be interesting to see whether more follow suit after Disney's move. With all that in mind, when you go on vacation this summer, maybe you should leave the selfie stick behind and instead use the selfie sticks that we're all born with--your arms.