Shanghai Disneyland puts on a spectacular fireworks and light show above the Enchanted Storybook Castle to celebrate the approaching of spring. Photo: IC

Shanghai Disneyland began a trial operation allowing tourists to enter the park after face recognition from Wednesday, reportedly the second Disney park in the world to experience with face recognition, according to media reports. 

Shanghai Disneyland will be the second Disney park in the world to experiment with facial recognition after Disneyland in Orlando, Florida, the US, Jiemian News reported on Monday. 

This move aims to optimize visitors' experiences, according to an official announcement posted by Shanghai Disneyland's Wechat public account on Monday, stating that only Diamond Annual Pass holders are eligible for entering the park through face recognition during the trial. 

The eligible guests can activate the face recognition service via Shanghai Disneyland's official app, and there will be an exclusive path set for face recognition at the park, said the announcement. Guests can enter the park after the facial recognition software successfully matches their faces with photos that are uploaded on the app when users activate the service. 

The trial will start on Wednesday but there is no set plan for when it is going to end, a source close to the matter told the Global Times on Tuesday, noting that the park communicated with some annual pass holders since the trial operation only targeted a small number of guests. 

The Diamond Annual Pass holders still need to activate the face recognition function on the official app, and they can cancel it at any time if they don't want to use it after a period of time, said the source.  

Global Times