GAC to Become DAS

[BaconPancakes]

Gee, thanks for putting this thread back on it's favorite Straw Man debate. Meanwhile Standby Times in WDW are not changed a jot by this new program. I guess that's what you get for having at most 1% of total guests maybe possibly using a GAC. (Funny how everyone on a WDW forum completely missed that part of the Micechat article. You know the one that clearly proved the GAC abuse problem was at Disneyland and NOT Disney World.)

Meanwhile Disney is rolling out FP+ to even more resort guests this month. 1/3 of all TSM FP's go to FP+ resort guests. I can't wait for this to rollout completely and they do away with traditional FP. Then those evil rotten resort guests will get the 10 day advantage while the regular day schmucks get bypassed in Standby again. Will they ever figure out the reason for those long Standby waits is WDW execs are too cheap to spend money on extra attractions to disperse demand? Where's my Cars Land to offset TSM in DHS? Why won't the Imagineers relinquish their office space next to TSM so it can expand with a second loading bay/track?

The majority of queues at WDW are wheelchair accessible. There is really no valid reason why you would need to bypass all the people who are waiting in line.

 

[peachykeen]

There's also a woman who calls herself "Aunesty" who is going around telling people they should demand "ReAp" passes which allows people to bypass lines and ride multiple times in a row.

Yes and I really, REALLY wish she would stop doing that. Cast Members were told to issue these in the first couple of weeks to Guests with concerns about the new system, but eventually they will stop doing this.

It was the same way when the FP return time policy changed: "If someone complains, give them a FastPass." Not saying that's the right or wrong policy, but that's what it is. Now, it's "Sorry, this policy has been in place for a while now, you should have known, have a great day" but obviously in a more cheerful way

The TemporaryTourist person is, unfortunately, under the impression that this re-ad situation will be the case for the indefinite future. I can tell you, it won't be. And the more of her followers that are told this, the more people that are going to be upset if they visit anytime after a month or so and are expecting to get "Re-Ads" (which, by the way, stands for "Re-Admission" ticket). If you notice in her YouTube video, she had to fill out a form before she was given those passes. The information on that form is tracked by Disney each time someone receives compensation. After a certain point, compensation is cut off.

So while she may feel like she is helping her readers by telling them to ask for re-ads, in reality she is setting them up for false expectations.

And let me tell you, the LEAST likely people that get re-ads are the ones who know to ask for them by name.

 

[BroganMc]

I used to work at an E-ticket attraction at WDW that tracked GAC usage, and I took a peek today at their file to see how the numbers compared. Most days over the summer, GAC usage averaged 10-12% with many days seeing nearly double that (maybe it's true only 1% of guests have GACs, but they accounted for at least 1/10th of the ridership). Now, the past month has seen an average of 4-5% of GAC users due to it being the slowest time of year (many hours went by without reaching their overall target capacity, so even standby and FP percentages were down as well). But on the first day of DAS, do you know what the usage percentage was? Barely 1%. Which, if 1% of people have DAS cards, I feel that that is the appropriate percentage of people who should be utilizing them, wouldn't you agree? Obviously, this was only one day of data, and I expect this percentage to raise slightly as the crowds increase. But this was the first day since they began tracking nearly a year ago to EVER have only 1%. I think this new system is at least on the right track.

If GAC use was such a problem at WDW as you are arguing with your statistics, then why have wait times remained the same after DAS was implemented?

Today on a Columbus Day weekend in Saturday Wait Times for Space Mountain were up to 100 minutes by 5pm. TSM was at it's normal 95 minutes. Test Track was at 50 minutes. Soarin' was at 70 minutes. Same as it was last Saturday.

Nope not buying it. GAC/DAS just does not affect wait times in WDW. What it does is make good PR for Disney with guests who have no idea what is really causing their waits... a supreme lack of attractions to disperse demand. If TDO put as much time and effort into building more attractions with universal appeal they could make the experience good for everyone.

 

[duchess1]

If GAC use was such a problem at WDW as you are arguing with your statistics, then why have wait times remained the same after DAS was implemented?

Today on a Columbus Day weekend in Saturday Wait Times for Space Mountain were up to 100 minutes by 5pm. TSM was at it's normal 95 minutes. Test Track was at 50 minutes. Soarin' was at 70 minutes. Same as it was last Saturday.

Nope not buying it. GAC/DAS just does not affect wait times in WDW. What it does is make good PR for Disney with guests who have no idea what is really causing their waits... a supreme lack of attractions to disperse demand. If TDO put as much time and effort into building more attractions with universal appeal they could make the experience good for everyone.

I don't think we will see much lowering of the standby times during the non-busy times of year. The real test will be at the holidays where it is more likely that families will be travelling and previous abusers would have the most incentive to gain an advantage.

 

[peachykeen]

If GAC use was such a problem at WDW as you are arguing with your statistics, then why have wait times remained the same after DAS was implemented?

Today on a Columbus Day weekend in Saturday Wait Times for Space Mountain were up to 100 minutes by 5pm. TSM was at it's normal 95 minutes. Test Track was at 50 minutes. Soarin' was at 70 minutes. Same as it was last Saturday.

Nope not buying it. GAC/DAS just does not affect wait times in WDW. What it does is make good PR for Disney with guests who have no idea what is really causing their waits... a supreme lack of attractions to disperse demand. If TDO put as much time and effort into building more attractions with universal appeal they could make the experience good for everyone.

I mean no disrespect, but that is comparing apples and oranges.

This weekend, as you point out, is a holiday weekend. Last weekend was not. I know, for a fact, that there are roughly 20% more people in the park today than there were last Saturday (this is based off of actual numbers, not my opinion.) So, one would expect the wait times to have increased by a similar amount today. Yet they have stayed the same as one week ago, which had lower attendance.

 

[BaconPancakes]

If GAC use was such a problem at WDW as you are arguing with your statistics, then why have wait times remained the same after DAS was implemented?

Are you "aunestly" trying to infer that the GAC abuse wasn't a problem? Also you still haven't explained why you feel you need to have immediate and unlimited access to all the attractions when the queues are wheelchair accessible.

 

[Tom Morrow]

the 30 minutes or less thing might work for Universal and their crowds and crowd management, but not at Disney. Especially not with the old GAC's and the sheer number of people that had them. Bypassing a 10-15 minute line isn't a big deal. Bypassing a 30 minute line is an actual benefit that people will lie about to get, and eventually the abuse level would be right back where it was.

Nope not buying it. GAC/DAS just does not affect wait times in WDW. What it does is make good PR for Disney with guests who have no idea what is really causing their waits... a supreme lack of attractions to disperse demand. If TDO put as much time and effort into building more attractions with universal appeal they could make the experience good for everyone.

Are you seriously still trying to argue that GAC was not a huge issue after MEG FREAKING CROFTON HERSELF stated it in an official release?

 

[flynnibus]

Are you seriously still trying to argue that GAC was not a huge issue after MEG FREAKING CROFTON HERSELF stated it in an official release?

1) Don't ever take a element put out in press with an execs name to mean they actually wrote it. A PR or marketing person wrote it and the execs names are put on them typically with a review.

2) just let the person believe what they want to believe and ignore them. This person has defied logic for 2+ weeks - they aren't going to stop just because you put facts in from of them (again) today.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I used to work at an E-ticket attraction at WDW that tracked GAC usage, and I took a peek today at their file to see how the numbers compared. Most days over the summer, GAC usage averaged 10-12% with many days seeing nearly double that (maybe it's true only 1% of guests have GACs, but they accounted for at least 1/10th of the ridership). Now, the past month has seen an average of 4-5% of GAC users due to it being the slowest time of year (many hours went by without reaching their overall target capacity, so even standby and FP percentages were down as well). But on the first day of DAS, do you know what the usage percentage was? Barely 1%. Which, if 1% of people have DAS cards, I feel that that is the appropriate percentage of people who should be utilizing them, wouldn't you agree? Obviously, this was only one day of data, and I expect this percentage to raise slightly as the crowds increase. But this was the first day since they began tracking nearly a year ago to EVER have only 1%. I think this new system is at least on the right track.

The most shocking information is almost buried in your post.

Namely, that in crowded periods 10%-12% of WDW guests (to be precise: ridership) need a GAC. While in uncrowded periods only 4-5% percent need GAC.

One would be tempted to conclude that apparantly no lines means that up to two thirds of the GAC users is instantly magically cured.

 

[jaklgreen]

Yes and I really, REALLY wish she would stop doing that. Cast Members were told to issue these in the first couple of weeks to Guests with concerns about the new system, but eventually they will stop doing this.

It was the same way when the FP return time policy changed: "If someone complains, give them a FastPass." Not saying that's the right or wrong policy, but that's what it is. Now, it's "Sorry, this policy has been in place for a while now, you should have known, have a great day" but obviously in a more cheerful way

The TemporaryTourist person is, unfortunately, under the impression that this re-ad situation will be the case for the indefinite future. I can tell you, it won't be. And the more of her followers that are told this, the more people that are going to be upset if they visit anytime after a month or so and are expecting to get "Re-Ads" (which, by the way, stands for "Re-Admission" ticket). If you notice in her YouTube video, she had to fill out a form before she was given those passes. The information on that form is tracked by Disney each time someone receives compensation. After a certain point, compensation is cut off.

So while she may feel like she is helping her readers by telling them to ask for re-ads, in reality she is setting them up for false expectations.

And let me tell you, the LEAST likely people that get re-ads are the ones who know to ask for them by name.

I think they Disney should not give anything to those who complain about the new system, not because I don't think some deserve this but you loose authority once you cave. You can't enforce a policy if you give in to people when they start to complain loudly. It is a downhill slope once you do. They should just say "this is the new policy". The reason why people complain so much now(everywhere not just Disney) is because it produces results. So things that are small are turned into "big deals" because people know they will get something for nothing just for having a big mouth.

 

[peachykeen]

I think they Disney should not give anything to those who complain about the new system, not because I don't think some deserve this but you loose authority once you cave. You can't enforce a policy if you give in to people when they start to complain loudly. It is a downhill slope once you do. They should just say "this is the new policy". The reason why people complain so much now(everywhere not just Disney) is because it produces results. So things that are small are turned into "big deals" because people know they will get something for nothing just for having a big mouth.

I can't say I disagree with you. When I saw in the Temporary Tourist video the "signals" that the Guest Relations CM was about to give the family re-ads (having them fill out that form, etc), I literally said out loud "No!" because I KNEW people would see the video online and expect that. It's even worse since she has written now multiple places to ask for them. That video is going to cause a lot of issues at GR, I am sure.

That's the problem lately with how easily and quickly information flows. It's almost to the point that you can't do anything "nice" or out-of-the-ordinary for anyone because then it instantly gets blogged/YouTubed/tweeted/Facebooked, and then people come to Guest Relations and say "Well I saw you do this online, why won't you do it for me?"

 

[RandomPrincess]

I went and checked out the article on Temporary Tourist in the comments someone else got the "Re-Ads" they said the paper work they filled out clearly said it was a "one time accommodation".

 

[englanddg]

I went and checked out the article on Temporary Tourist in the comments someone else got the "Re-Ads" they said the paper work they filled out clearly said it was a "one time accommodation".

You hate <insert>!

 

[BaconPancakes]

So essentially the ReAds will become the new GAC?

 

[peachykeen]

I went and checked out the article on Temporary Tourist in the comments someone else got the "Re-Ads" they said the paper work they filled out clearly said it was a "one time accommodation".

Yeah the "one-time exception" line is drilled into GR Cast's heads when they are issuing any compensation. That was probably the only thing I saw the CM in the Temporary Tourist video do "wrong" (that's the best term I can think of) in that she didn't specifically say it was a "one-time" exception. She did say "exception" twice between 7:15 and 7:30 minutes though.

Any time a person gets re-ads (or any compensation) from GR, it is tracked. Therefore, the next time Temporary Tourist goes to GR to get re-ads, this situation will come up on the computer and eventually she will be told "It looks like this issue has been dealt with in the past, but at this time we aren't able to continue offering compensation" or something similar.

 

[englanddg]

Considering all that land was stolen by the Spanish, and later the English/Americans...I wanna know where my Indian Assistance Card is...

You have no idea what it's like to be Indian. People wanting to buy cigars off you all day and asking if there are secrets to slot machines. It's terrible.

Lets see, what else can I be outraged about?

Oh, I have ADHD...if you make a presentation that doesn't interest me, that's your fault, and you illegally fired me for falling asleep in your meeting because I stayed up too late on facebook and youtube.

I'm not making light of disabilities...don't get me wrong, but please, can we not have a civil discussion (I suspect I already know the answer) about them? No one wants to see disabled people "not have access", but come on...it started that "it's not a front of the line pass", and then it became "I'm so upset this is gone" for some.

Kudos to those who think otherwise, and want to honestly make a community, and want reasonable accommodation. To the rest, who want free stuff and spout acronyms like HIPAA and threaten lawsuits without knowing what the law actually is, just because they feel slighted?

Well...good day to you.

Otherwise, my prediction a few (quite a few) pages back has held solid.

 

[Tom Morrow]

1) Don't ever take a element put out in press with an execs name to mean they actually wrote it. A PR or marketing person wrote it and the execs names are put on them typically with a review.

I know, but the fact that her name is attached to it alone means something.

 

[misterID]

the 30 minutes or less thing might work for Universal and their crowds and crowd management, but not at Disney. Especially not with the old GAC's and the sheer number of people that had them. Bypassing a 10-15 minute line isn't a big deal. Bypassing a 30 minute line is an actual benefit that people will lie about to get, and eventually the abuse level would be right back where it was.

You're worrying more about people abusing the system than the people who need it. They've changed the system to make more hoops to jump through to make it not worth a healthy person's time to try and use it. Now, let's try to make it better for the people who need it and stop obsessing so much about the people who will try to abuse it. That's already been addressed by changing the system.

 

[rct247]

DAS is working. I can also say that my friends who are cast members who would say that would see over 100 GACs in just an hour at a popular attraction now see about 1/4 of that. At some smaller attractions, a cast member would often see about 10 or more per hour when at greeter, now my friends say they are lucky to see 10 in a day when they are working greeter at those smaller attractions.

 

[Tom Morrow]

You're worrying more about people abusing the system than the people who need it. They've changed the system to make more hoops to jump through to make it not worth a healthy person's time to try and use it. Now, let's try to make it better for the people who need it and stop obsessing so much about the people who will try to abuse it. That's already been addressed by changing the system.

How can you make it better for those who actually need it than it is right now while still being fair and equal?

There isn't much else. This is what every other park does. I don't see why this is still an argument. Its only an issue because Disney took way too long to respond to this so everyone grew accustomed to instant, unlimited entry and they now feel they are entitled to that.