GAC to Become DAS

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Animaniac93-98

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Original Poster
Info on new Disabled Assistance System from Micechat


To summarize:

October 9, 2013 is the start of the new guest assistance program, which will replace GAC

Guests will go to Guest Services to get a card (with photo ID) and then go to kiosks elsewhere in the park to make ride reservations

Like a Fastpass return time, less 10 or 15 min, the reservations allow you to not wait in line, but you will not be able to get more than one at once. You can get other types of Fastpasses during this time though.

People may not qualify for the program if they are in wheelchairs at DCA (and maybe AK and DHS, since all have accessible queues?)
 

muteki

Well-Known Member
This seems like big change (for the better IMO). Looks like they removed most of the incentive to abuse the system. Should make for an interesting few weeks as people get acclimated.
 

Gomer

Well-Known Member
Have to say, as someone who uses the GAC (for my son) and uses it properly I am in full favor of these changes. It does require some planning, but we will all be used to that soon with FP+ anyway. This system will make it more trouble than its worth for most abusers. And, I will feel more comfortable using the DAS for my son as it should cut down on the judgmental glances of castmembers who generally roll their eyes and assume the worst of all GAC users currently.

I wonder if they will someohow integrate the FP+ and MDE with the DAS to allow for length of stay cards for those staying on property. I'll do the new ID everyday gladly if we have to, but it sounds like it will be a waste of CM time and a huge waste of plastic if you are making weeklong visitors get a new card every day when they are already tracking your length of stay through another tool.
 

muteki

Well-Known Member
Forgot to mention that Make-a-Wish kids will have a seperate program more like the original GAC. They will not have to go through this process.
I like the bit about how none of the cards/tokens/lanyards they are using for them are going to be kept at the park. Keeps them from being talked into giving them out to people that don't need them.

I imagine though that the crowd at these kiosks will be quite a bit. Hopefully they have them staffed appropriately.
 
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Bolt

Well-Known Member
You have no idea how great this will be on certain attractions. An attraction like Toy Story that has such a small capacity per hour was sometimes getting 50% of the rider of GAC use.

I was so frustrated last Friday when I saw 3 people who were in their 20's, looked like Cast, using 3 of them to get 18 onto Coaster. The pictures will scare those people away in a heartbeat.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
At first glance... this seems like full of win.

I'm amazed they went as far as the photo on the card. That adds alot of overhead to the system so I'm glad they sucked it up and put a requirement that the disabled person must actually be part of the riding party. That's huge.

The kiosk thing sounds contrived... certainly looks like an area that could be streamlined using the Magicbands and Mobile app in the future. I expect its to keep individual attraction CMs from having to be burdened with granting/denying people and the customer service angles that go along with it. But this is a lot of overhead as well to staff all the time. Curious to see how that plays out in the future.

The one 'assignment' at a time is inline with other systems.

They didn't talk about trying to manage who qualifies or not... there is still some incentive for abuse here as this basically becomes a uber-Fastpass. They never run out, the return time is likely better than the FP return time, and it doesn't hinder your use of FP.

They also didn't talk about strictness on return times.

Think about in WDW where FP+ is rolled out.. you have limited # of FP+ uses... the DAS card basically bypasses all your FP+ restrictions. So if legacy FP goes away as rumored... it will be very attractive for abuse in WDW.
 

IWantMyMagicBand

Well-Known Member
I like this version.
Will this see an increase in ECVs though? I really don't want to be run over waiting for Pooh, definitely not the sort of interactive queue I want to be standing in!
Or do ECV riders have to switch to a manual wheelchair for queuing?
 
What I am curios about is.. when this rolls out in Florida and I'm sure it plays a roll for some in Cali.. I travel with my friend and her daughters.. one of her daughters needs the GAC and a stroller as a wheelchair pass.. when they limit to one ride at a time and say you can go ride something else with a low wait time for those children that literally cannot handle a 10-20 minute "low wait time" what are the families suppose to do?
 
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