Let me guess. You work at Soarin? That is the only attraction I have ever been routinely hassled about my GAC. I've been turned away 3 times because the CM who wrote up the card at MK City Hall made a mistake of some sort (e.g. wrote beginning date + # days, scratched out dates and rewrote over it, forgot to add the number of people in the party, etc.). These hassles ALWAYS come after I'm admitted through the initial greeter and make it down the long hallway to the FP collection site. Then I must proceed back up the hallway, wait for the elevator by Living with the Land and go out to Guest Relations at the entrance to have a new GAC issued. It got so bad that now I've become about checking the GAC to make sure all fields are filled out correctly.
I had a very physical mobility disability and use my own power wheelchair. It's kinda hard to assume I'm faking any sort of disability. Unfortunately CMs at Soarin' seem prone to be about GACs. IDK, maybe they see a lot of abuse. Still didn't seem like they used common sense a lot.
I was at TSM in DHS yesterday. Asked the CMs there if they'd gone through any sort of training yet on the new system. I was told they couldn't discuss details until the 9th but they hadn't had training. They were aware of the "return time" ideas. My specific question was exactly how is TSM going to handle guests like me who need a wheelchair accessible vehicle so must wait for that. They had no information to give me beyond "Come back on the 9th and find out". I'll be in town until the 11th so I do plan to give it some trials just to see how it goes.
FYI, when I first got a GAC it was because a CM at Buzz Lightyear instructed me to do so. Reason given was that I would have to wait for the one wheelchair vehicle at the exit and this would make my wait more reasonable. Now I'll use the GAC for those few attractions where boarding is either very difficult (i.e. Test Track which involves a hard slide transfer), there are limited wheelchair accessible vehicles I can use (Pooh, TSM, Safari) or the process to obtain a FB and board involves complicated process (Soarin' you must wait for an elevator to even see the Standby lines, there's a transfer and limited parking for wheelchair/scooter vehicles). That list today includes: TSM, Soarin', Test Track, Buzz and Pooh.
Now I guess you can hate me because I've been able to go on TSM twice in a day. Sometimes, like yesterday, I luck out and only have one family in front of me at the wheelchair line. Most times it's at least 3. My biggest concern for the new DAS program is that guests who cannot transfer will end up waiting longer than the Standby Line because they are competing for a limited number of appropriate vehicles.
Take TSM for example. The break for the wheelchair line occurs just before the boarding staircases. Then you directed around a hallway and up a ramp to a side loading area. There you wait behind a fence until one of two HA vehicles cycle thru the ride. Each HA vehicle carries a max of 6 people with one car having a removable seat for wheelchairs. All parties, transfers or not, use these same two vehicles. CMs put in or take out the seat depending on if they have a wheelchair. They're pretty good about getting the supplies ready for wheelcahirs (stop block, gun handle, tie-down, etc.) and pretty fast at pulling out the chair, but it does take an extra couple minutes to ready a vehicle and load a chair. Then they'll try to clear the line as quickly as possible by filling up a car with transfers. You may find yourself being asked to clear a path for a transfer family if they can fill a car and you're waiting for the next slot. (Only gets annoying when the car wasn't taking you because a transfer family boarded first, then a second family comes up behind you to take the remaining spots. That time you'll wonder why you were left behind but the latecomer transfers weren't.)
Sometimes you'll have an easy time of it and wait less than Standby. Other times you'll be waiting 1.5 times as long or more. It really depends on what that wheelchair line is like.
The conversation I had with CMs is this idea of recommending people with any mobility issues use wheelchairs/ECVs for Standby and pushing them into that line. Seems to me more people will be opting to use those devices because they'll be dealing with longer waits. That will result in more transfers in the wheelchair line and make everyone wait longer.
I did learn they have the ability to call up 8 person vehicles for transfers so maybe that'll help. It's not something I've ever seen them do before (not even on a busy NYE), but they did pull up one for thr transfer family before me who had 7 people. Maybe that's new? Since the ride opened I was always told and observed the same two vehicles used for both types of parties.
FWIW when I went on TSM yesterday wait time was posted as 30 mins. (It was a night time EMH.) I started my stopwatch just to see how long it would take me. Time came out to 17:24 before I could board. (There was a small line in FP to get to the wheelchair line.) That includes the time it took for an accessible vehicle to cycle around and CMs to prepare it for me. The new DAS system would theoretically add another 3.5 mins to my wait time. For every party in front of me, add another 8 mins.
TSM is one attraction I think will be quick and easy only to get burned inside the wheelchair queue. I had one memorable occasion where I spent 90 mins trying to make my way through, just me and 5 kids. The CMs were so flustered from the business they forgot to lower my gun arm and let me play the game. If I was going with the new DAS card I'd add another 90 mins before the wheelchair queue. Good thing there's a bar nearby.
