PDAs And Smartphones Banned In UK Theme Park

[Ed Hansberry]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080527-theme-park-pda-ban-says-time-and-a-place-for-everything.html' target='_blank'>http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/pos...everything.html</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;Alton Towers Resort, an amusement park in the UK, is trying out a ban on PDAs this week. The experiment could become a permanent policy if things go well, becoming part of a social movement designed to draw lines of proper gadget usage in public sands.&quot;<br /><br /></em>The park is trying to ensure parents leave their work behind and enjoy time with the family. I understand their goal, but it is a bit absurd the way they are going about it. My family uses our PDAs and smartphones to keep in contact with one another on vacation. I know I wouldn't turn my phone over to an amusement park holding pen, would you? Do you think they are on the right track at Alton Towers Resort or way off base?

[randalllewis]

And the ban will help with in park sales of disposable cameras as guests are forced to turn in their pda/phone/camera/mp3.

What a looney idea. Gadget users can be rude and thoughtless at times, but bans aren't the answer. If the idea is to promote fun at teh park, I'd guess many pda deprived guests would have trouble enjoying themselves without their device because they would be worried about what they had missed.

[Jason Dunn]

The idea is a reasonable one, but bans don't work - education and subtle social pressures are the way to accomplish the goal here, not outright bans.

[Jeff_R]

I agree. Attempts to dictate behaviour in this fashion rarely work... and, as been said, phones are useful to coordinate, and in some cases even find lost kids. (Of course, if you lost track of your kids because you were reading email, that's a whole other issue...)

People will learn, though peer education and self-awareness, how to integrate gadgets into their lives. And if not, there's always that Grand Theft Auto IV radio commercial about being everywhere and nowhere. :)

[UCCOFFEE]

absolute insance !
1: my smartphone is my camera, unless they provide a photographer and digital copy of all photos for free.
2: how can I communicate with my gf while I m having a date with another girl in the theme park without the phone?

[after_forever]

WTF! education, family time, behavior? What business is it of theirs to tell you how to run your life? Another case of big brother controlling your life.

[hoffman]

Hi I am a English guy so I am not the least surprised to hear of that ban. I have noticed in England the last few years there has been a tendency to restrict or ban rather than advise people not to do something. The problem in England is that nearly everyone who has the power to make decisions feels they must act to the extreme. Moderation has become a dirty word. The tendency started with Tony Blair and unfortunately it did not stop with his greatly appreciated departure. Regards Brian

[frankenbike]

Like others, I keep in touch with my wife by text messaging. I don't use my PDA for work at all.

It's obvious that this idea came from some sort of social worker consultant who doesn't have a PDA ;)

I used to work for a very large theme park engineering group. We were talking about renting PDAs (when they hadn't become popular yet back in the 90s) for information and guided tours. Connected guest PDAs can be useful if the park takes advantage of their features by letting guests tune into a PDA friendly web site for information on the park/resort.

This is just stoopid.

--
FB

[pmgibson]

Hi I am a English guy so I am not the least surprised to hear of that ban. I have noticed in England the last few years there has been a tendency to restrict or ban rather than advise people not to do something. The problem in England is that nearly everyone who has the power to make decisions feels they must act to the extreme. Moderation has become a dirty word. The tendency started with Tony Blair and unfortunately it did not stop with his greatly appreciated departure. Regards Brian

It's simple really. If they don't want my PDA visible, then they'll have to do without my ticket purchase. As an American, I'm not into "organizations" dictating how I run my life.

I have no problem with movie theaters expelling someone who is talking loudly, whether on their phone or not. In a broader sense, anyone who is making a disturbance that bothers other people is subject to being asked to leave.

But, using a PDA while sitting on a bench or standing around in a theme park doesn't constitute a disturbance to other people. While I don't use my PDA for work (kinda hard to write Perl script on such a small screen with a stylus or thumb keyboard), it does contain a lot of info I need with me. How am I supposed to buy those souvenir t-shirts for my nieces & nephews if I can't look up their sizes?

An no, Ed, I'm not inclined either to allow someone else to have my PDA in their possession. It stays with me. Period.

[daS]

I agree with the others here that, while some people can use their PDAs/phones inappropriately in some social settings, it certainly should not be up to an amusement park to dictate such a ban. (Of course, they can make whatever rules they want for their property, but I would avoid them or force them to kick me out when I ignore such a stupid rule. :rolleyes: )

I for one have had the opportunity to spend "quality time" (and LOTS of money :eek: ) at a certain mouse themed amusement park because I was able to take my Pocket PC with me and read and respond to emails while waiting in the various lines. Most of the time, there were no new messages and I could focus on my wife and 6-year-old. But if I couldn't stay in touch with the office, then I wouldn't have been able to take the family on a weekday.

[Stinger]

I wouldn't take my smartphone to Alton Towers anyway. The risk of getting it wet is too high!

[paulvallen]

I have already sent them an e-mail expressing my displeasure at their petty-mindedness and told them that I would not take my family there because of this.

Naturally, if you enter the park, you agree to be bound by their rules, so I won't go - petty Hitlers, don't deserve my money.

[Ed Hansberry]

petty Hitlers, don't deserve my money.
I wouldn't go so far as to compare this action to anything Hitler did. It really devalues the attrocities of that era.

[Sheena]

The park is trying to ensure parents leave their work behind and enjoy time with the family.

Eh? This speaks not only of extreme ignorance over what PDAs do & what people use them for, but also of insulting condescension towards adults.

Others have already expressed well how counterproductive this is, *especially* for those of us that don't even use our PDA's to connect to work, but what astonishes me is that this is an amusement park! It's not a theater or airplane asking you to turn off (not surrender) a phone for noise reduction or frequency interference. It's not a secure area confiscating phones & cameras to prevent pictures taken. It's not a school enforcing discipline for students (although I have issues with that one). It's an amusement park!!

Whoever thought this one up is not only PDA illiterate, but has some serious delusions about their own importance, not to mention their right to tell others how to live their lives.

Rosie

[Jon Westfall]

2: how can I communicate with my gf while I m having a date with another girl in the theme park without the phone?

A man capable of juggling two women at once will be resourceful enough to get past a ban like this, I am sure.