I'm curious how you would propose they figure the next wait time?
If they set it based on what the current wait time was for the ride just ridden, they will still need staff to write down the time you got in line and assign next wait times.
Instead of kiosks, it would have to be at the attraction, so I don't see any labor savings. In fact, it may cost more than kiosks at DL because there might need to be 2 CMs - one to sign cards for arrival time and one to assign return times (some attraction exit in a different spot).
For example, I rode Small World and waited 10 minutes for my first ride (because it took that long to walk from the entrance to board).
When I get off, the wait at Small World is now 20 minutes, so after I have gotten off, I have to go to a CM at Small World to get a new time assigned. But, is it 20 minutes in the future that is the current wait or the 10 that I waited?
And, that CM is also signing people in, so I'm sure they will get people saying, I got off 10 minutes ago, but I was waiting in line.
And, will the person with the
DAS who may not understand the process think they are going right back on the ride again because that was what happened the last time they checked in with a CM?
So, anyway, now I have a 20 minute wait time on my card. I decide to go to Splash Mountain, which currently has a 60 minute wait.
It took me more than 20 minutes to walk there. When I arrive, I check in with the CM to get an arrival time and since my 'wait time' is over, I get right into the Fastpass line.
20 minutes later, I get off Splash Mountain and check in with the CM assigning return times. Since my wait in the Fastpass line was 10, the actual ride is 7 minutes send it took me 5 minutes to walk back to the time assigner CM, he puts a wait time of 22 minutes on my card.
So, in 22 minutes, I can go to any other attraction, no matter what the wait and get on right away.
I can see a lot more potential for abuse and people would very quickly figure out to go first to an attraction means they can use the Fastpass line all day without ever waiting. It would satisfy the people who want the old GAC back because it would work the same way for them, either a little extra documentation on a card.
I'm curious what parks do it the way you are suggesting and how you know it reduces abuse?
The parks I have heard of are essentially doing the same procedure as WDW.
They may have a bit different details, like Universal/IOA in Florida allow the guest to go right into their equivalent of Fastpass line if the wait is 20 minutes or less, but the basic process is very similar.
Do I think they will tweak WDW's DAS?
Yes - once they have had it in use long enough to know what the effects of it are.
Do I think they will make major changes to it?
No - this is not something they just pulled out of a hat 4 months ago. From what I have heard, they have been working on this for about 2 years. They have looked at east other parks are doing and have changed to a system that is very similar to what other similar parks are doing.
My impression of the DAS is that is sounds workable and fair. It will mean some people who didn't plan set all will have to do some planning and there will be people that it doesn't work as well for as the GAC did.
But, GAC is gone and not coming back.
I go to WDW, not DL, but the programs at each coast should be similar.
My DD has cerebral palsy and despite being in a wheelchair (she can't walk at all), she still gets very fatigued and has low stamina. Her muscle tone goes from Barbie doll stiff to rag doll.
She has sensory issues that make waiting in some lines very difficult for her - they are too noisy, too busy and too much going on. Then , she has to contend either other guests in line who scoot by her wheelchair, pass things over her head to their friends in line and sometimes let their toddlers sit on her feet because her footrest is perfect chair height for a 2 year old.
She is obsessive compulsive about certain things, like people possibly touching her backpack. She can have meltdowns when she is at her limit (with pinching (mostly me) - we understand that she has 'hit the wall' and needs to be removed. She takes a time out until she is calmed down. A kid in meltdown is not in a frame of mind yo enjoy anyway from my point of view.
She understands, but can't talk, so if something is wrong, we often have to play 20 questions to figure out what it is. That can get frustrating to all of us, but when she is frustrated, she can't listen anymore or communicate and all we get is 'no, no, all finished' signed to us.
Our bathroom stops may take an hour (with waiting for the restroom we need) and lunch can take an hour extra because we have to feed her. And, if she has seizure or gets to a point where her day is over because she can't keep her trunk up in her wheelchair any more, her day might be over.
But, this all our life and we cope with it. Because she is a young adult, we have had lots of experience coping with it, but we do cope and make adjustments all the time.
Sometimes, it means one of us going to First Aid to put her for a rest out of her wheelchair. Sometimes it means one or all of us going back to the room.
Some days it means me or DH coming to the park at opening so we can ride the things she can't.
We did use the GAC, but we used it pretty much the way they are suggesting using DAS. We planned ahead of time which park to go to based on which was least likely to be busy. We choose attractions that had the shortest wait times and used Fastpass as much as possible. We saved the GAC for those attractions that she could not do without it. And, did not feel bad using it for things where we had an extra wait because we need the wheelchair accessible car.
So, for us, DAS will be pretty much the same as what we were doing. Of course, it will take some getting used to - it is different, but different doesn't necessarily mean bad, just different.