GAC to Become DAS

[duchess1]

I am 100% sure this is the case. She said it at some point and never made a clear retraction. She herself pointed out that she abandoned the call before she could confirm the request. Disney has to follow her last clear request. It is a service industry standard on escallated calls. She mentions cancelling, Disney errs on the side of caution. This is what all businesses do.

I agree. Which is why you shouldn't threaten or issue an ultimatum unless you are willing to accept the consequences if things don't go your way. She was probably hoping to get to someone in the customer retention department (in the cable company world, this is the department with a lot more power to give customer credits and rate reductions than normal customer service people) and they would give her what she wanted.

However, what she wants (the old GAC system) isn't going to happen. So I bet that she went to her supervisor and the decision was made that this customer cannot be satisfied according to her own statements, so go ahead and issue a refund.

 

[duchess1]

Two parks that offer more attractions than 4.

And has more locals that come so while a WDW passholder might go 2 or 3 times a year, a Disneyland AP holder might go 2 or 3 times a month.

 

[NowInc]

I still find it amusing that they think saying "I'll just go to universal!" is going to make a difference to disney. They are WELL aware of the systems used all over..and Id like to think that when such a threat is made, that they laugh to themselves a little on the inside, knowing that the same system (for the most part) is used up the road.

Threats to go someplace else, or to cancel your ticket really aren't going to change anything. Its sad that the behavior exhibited by some individuals puts a bad light on an entire set of people. I know more people who are working around, or giving CONSTRUCTIVE feedback than I do those who whine and moan and threaten.

 

[NowInc]

..and to add to my above post..

Online petitions...yeah. I can't think of any that worked.
Protesting....judging by how few come out to support this...shows how many people disagree with doing such a thing
Making a website about how Disney has turned their back on the disabled?...that shows the type of person they are dealing with. One who obviously is in this for personal gain, and that won't make a bit of difference either.

 

[Californian Elitist]

And I just looked at the Annual Passholder prices at Disneyland and wow are they over priced for 2 parks

As Jimbo said, the DLR has more rides than the four parks in WDW put together. Also the DLR AP perks are different than WDW ones.

 

[arko]

I still find it amusing that they think saying "I'll just go to universal!" is going to make a difference to disney. They are WELL aware of the systems used all over..and Id like to think that when such a threat is made, that they laugh to themselves a little on the inside, knowing that the same system (for the most part) is used up the road.

Threats to go someplace else, or to cancel your ticket really aren't going to change anything. Its sad that the behavior exhibited by some individuals puts a bad light on an entire set of people. I know more people who are working around, or giving CONSTRUCTIVE feedback than I do those who whine and moan and threaten.

I still find it amusing that they think saying "I'll just go to universal!" is going to make a difference to disney. They are WELL aware of the systems used all over..and Id like to think that when such a threat is made, that they laugh to themselves a little on the inside, knowing that the same system (for the most part) is used up the road.

Threats to go someplace else, or to cancel your ticket really aren't going to change anything. Its sad that the behavior exhibited by some individuals puts a bad light on an entire set of people. I know more people who are working around, or giving CONSTRUCTIVE feedback than I do those who whine and moan and threaten.

Well I will say this, one of the reasons we never even considered Universal was the GAC and the way it made our trips less stressful, now that they are pretty much even on service level, Disney no longer has a lock on my money.

 

[Californian Elitist]

..and to add to my above post..

Online petitions...yeah. I can't think of any that worked.
Protesting....judging by how few come out to support this...shows how many people disagree with doing such a thing
Making a website about how Disney has turned their back on the disabled?...that shows the type of person they are dealing with. One who obviously is in this for personal gain, and that won't make a bit of difference either.

Most recently, the online petition that asked Mara's voice in Indy to be changed worked. They changed the voice a few weeks later. Also some of the comments/complaints about Mermaid caused some changes made in the ride, specifically Ariel's hair and the screens in the ride. DL folks sometimes have an influence. I don't know what's going to happen in this situation, though.

 

[Goofybynature]

I would like to report that things are going very well from a park perspective. Underneath I have laid out the types of guest offerings that attractions offer and the effects after the first weekend of the GAC to DAS conversion.

-DAS card holders - All the DAS card holders whom I've come in contact with have been very willing to participate in the program and been thrilled and surprised with the results. All there needs and worries are taken care of by the cast, all of which are staying within the guidelines set out with the DAS program. These guests needs have been varied from Autism all the way to physical disabilities. No complaints whatsoever, which is amazing coming from the 'busiest' of them all. Simple put, all of guests needs due to disabilities have been taken care of.

-W/C - The new return card system has been varied in success depending on which attraction you talk to. Guests seem very compliant and the cast are working hard to ensure the guests wait once they return is kept to a minimum, just like DAS. But not all attractions have that immediate access option available but whatever the case, the cast do there best to get them on within there allotted return time.

- FP - FP lines are set to 3 stages of merging based of wait time (stage 1 - shortest, stage 3 - heavy demand). When GAC was present there would be at least 3 hours per major attraction of sustained stage 3 demand. With DAS there is maybe 1 - 1 1/2 of that same demand. Don't need to be a genius to know that less FP demand means more standby can ride and shorter waits.

- Standby - See above. Normal demand, speaking from experience in this park, on columbus weekend, at lets say Jungle Cruise, would be 80-90 minutes. But this weekend it never topped 70 (which was for a brief 10 minute spell) and it stayed consistent at around 60 - 65. This IS A HUGE improvement. May seem small but it makes the world of difference to DAS/FP/WC users too.

This conversion from GAC has already changed the way guests experience the parks, people in compliant with DAS are seeing all there needs and more met, wait times ARE dropping and the RPC (Rides rode per day for guests) has increased. All in all this has proven very successful thus far.

Despite the complaints from a small majority of people and alleged claims of 'unfairness' and 'being punished' forced against Disney, Disney ARE keeping there promises, great and committed service for ALL. For EVERY guest whom enters the parks, disabled or otherwise. It just a shame the few that demand more, refuse to accept and see the benefits, and that DISNEY are meeting there needs.

When it comes down to it folks, Disney are being fair and asking for a certain level of responsibility and understanding from its guests that it is a theme park resort that caters for millions of people per year. Everyone needs to be responsible and consider these things before booking or planning a vacation and the impact it will have to themselves and there own family of going to the world's busiest resort. If everyone had this same consideration, it would help put a little bit of magic back into Disney parks again.

 

[BroganMc]

I would like to report that things are going very well from a park perspective. Underneath I have laid out the types of guest offerings that attractions offer and the effects after the first weekend of the GAC to DAS conversion.

-DAS card holders - All the DAS card holders whom I've come in contact with have been very willing to participate in the program and been thrilled and surprised with the results. All there needs and worries are taken care of by the cast, all of which are staying within the guidelines set out with the DAS program. These guests needs have been varied from Autism all the way to physical disabilities. No complaints whatsoever, which is amazing coming from the 'busiest' of them all. Simple put, all of guests needs due to disabilities have been taken care of.

Interesting because that doesn't gel with the reports I'm reading on other boards. Could be Magic Kingdom is handling the transition better but EPCOT and DHS are not. EPCOT seems to be the source of most user complaints. I read a report today of them not even taking off the 10 minute travel time from Standby Waits.

 

[Goofybynature]

Interesting because that doesn't gel with the reports I'm reading on other boards. Could be Magic Kingdom is handling the transition better but EPCOT and DHS are not. EPCOT seems to be the source of most user complaints. I read a report today of them not even taking off the 10 minute travel time from Standby Waits.

Could well be the case that some parks aren't quite up to scratch with MK yet. But the positives from MK and the lessons learnt from Epcot and DHS will help the other parks get on that same level eventually. This a huge enrollment on a project that's been close to 10 years in the making. I fully expect Epcot and DHS to right there with MK sooner rather then later

 

[jrlbc06]

Interesting because that doesn't gel with the reports I'm reading on other boards. Could be Magic Kingdom is handling the transition better but EPCOT and DHS are not. EPCOT seems to be the source of most user complaints. I read a report today of them not even taking off the 10 minute travel time from Standby Waits.

The reports you're reading on other boards have a much higher likelihood of being biased...... No conflict of interest there.

 

[flynnibus]

Doesn't really matter whether she asked or not

As per Disneyland AP agreement

Stick to the claim at hand - not different claims with the same outcome.

 

[flynnibus]

Most recently, the online petition that asked Mara's voice in Indy to be changed worked. They changed the voice a few weeks later. Also some of the comments/complaints about Mermaid caused some changes made in the ride, specifically Ariel's hair and the screens in the ride. DL folks sometimes have an influence. I don't know what's going to happen in this situation, though.

Correlation doesn't infer causation

Customer unrest.. yes. Method? No one knows for sure what made Disney commit to those changes. For all we know they could have been purely internal decisions

 

[arko]

I would like to report that things are going very well from a park perspective. Underneath I have laid out the types of guest offerings that attractions offer and the effects after the first weekend of the GAC to DAS conversion.

-DAS card holders - All the DAS card holders whom I've come in contact with have been very willing to participate in the program and been thrilled and surprised with the results. All there needs and worries are taken care of by the cast, all of which are staying within the guidelines set out with the DAS program. These guests needs have been varied from Autism all the way to physical disabilities. No complaints whatsoever, which is amazing coming from the 'busiest' of them all. Simple put, all of guests needs due to disabilities have been taken care of.

-W/C - The new return card system has been varied in success depending on which attraction you talk to. Guests seem very compliant and the cast are working hard to ensure the guests wait once they return is kept to a minimum, just like DAS. But not all attractions have that immediate access option available but whatever the case, the cast do there best to get them on within there allotted return time.

- FP - FP lines are set to 3 stages of merging based of wait time (stage 1 - shortest, stage 3 - heavy demand). When GAC was present there would be at least 3 hours per major attraction of sustained stage 3 demand. With DAS there is maybe 1 - 1 1/2 of that same demand. Don't need to be a genius to know that less FP demand means more standby can ride and shorter waits.

- Standby - See above. Normal demand, speaking from experience in this park, on columbus weekend, at lets say Jungle Cruise, would be 80-90 minutes. But this weekend it never topped 70 (which was for a brief 10 minute spell) and it stayed consistent at around 60 - 65. This IS A HUGE improvement. May seem small but it makes the world of difference to DAS/FP/WC users too.

This conversion from GAC has already changed the way guests experience the parks, people in compliant with DAS are seeing all there needs and more met, wait times ARE dropping and the RPC (Rides rode per day for guests) has increased. All in all this has proven very successful thus far.

Despite the complaints from a small majority of people and alleged claims of 'unfairness' and 'being punished' forced against Disney, Disney ARE keeping there promises, great and committed service for ALL. For EVERY guest whom enters the parks, disabled or otherwise. It just a shame the few that demand more, refuse to accept and see the benefits, and that DISNEY are meeting there needs.

When it comes down to it folks, Disney are being fair and asking for a certain level of responsibility and understanding from its guests that it is a theme park resort that caters for millions of people per year. Everyone needs to be responsible and consider these things before booking or planning a vacation and the impact it will have to themselves and there own family of going to the world's busiest resort. If everyone had this same consideration, it would help put a little bit of magic back into Disney parks again.

It is very presumptious to believe that these changes are meeting everyone's needs, understand it isn't like you gave us a choice, the policy was changed we had to deal with it or stop coming

Most are not thrilled about the changes but they are dealing with them in an adult manner, just because we aren't screaming at you like some people doesn't mean we are overjoyed with the changes.

And wait times were just as bad as they have always been on many E tickets.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Correlation doesn't infer causation

Customer unrest.. yes. Method? No one knows for sure what made Disney commit to those changes. For all we know they could have been purely internal decisions

I guess you could say that. But the DL audience does have an influence, sometimes.

 

[arko]

Stick to the claim at hand - not different claims with the same outcome.

Correlation doesn't infer causation

Customer unrest.. yes. Method? No one knows for sure what made Disney commit to those changes. For all we know they could have been purely internal decisions

I can tell you this based on how well the registration process went this wasn't something slapped together.
They had specially encased Ipad Mini's with WDWPROD-GAC-11 on the case, which means special cases were ordered and the whole process was controlled by an Ipad app with a dedicated printer.
Either they went all out on programming and QA or they have been developing the software and system for a bit of time.
I am not sure how Disney gets these apps done, (ie in house devs or 3rd party contractors), but it seemed fairly glitch free. We have some former Disney IT people in my office, I suppose I can ask them tomorrow how quickly they can move on something like this, but my guess is the development process has been ongoing for at least 2 months, given the usual time it takes to get requirements gathering complete, coding and QA done.
Also remember while it went live on Oct 9th they had to have apps ready for training before hand.

 

[arko]

Interesting because that doesn't gel with the reports I'm reading on other boards. Could be Magic Kingdom is handling the transition better but EPCOT and DHS are not. EPCOT seems to be the source of most user complaints. I read a report today of them not even taking off the 10 minute travel time from Standby Waits.

Epcot is being much more selective on who they deem worthy of receiving a DAS. Show up in a wheelchair and it is pretty much an automatic no, and yes I saw it as the guy tried to explain that the reason they needed one was not because of the wheelchair but because of medical issues that meant they may need to exit a line quickly.

And as for the time of return, MK was using 15 minutes, Epcot 10 minutes, but on the 2 rides we used it on they gave the 10 minutes (Soarin, SSE). In fact on Soarin as I walked up it switched from 80 to 90 minutes and he gave me the 80 minute time minus 10.

 

[Goofybynature]

the policy was changed we had to deal with it or stop coming

Fair points made, but it was presumptuous to expect the old policy would of been available and issued and basing a vacation or trip from that presumption is a gamble that Disney are not and should not be at fault for. No promises were/are being made regarding that policy or the new one. The only promise that was and is still issued was that Disney will do its best and up most to accommodate guests needs. And that's what exactly is being done, it's upsetting to know that it isn't enough for some guests.

As for wait times on 'some' E ticket attractions, this could easily be associated to an increase in park attendance, park capacity, other ride's lowering wait times (less people in that line can displace them else where based on times of day), unexpected downtime's, ride maintenance (peter pans numbers have to go somewhere). Wait times on average have decreased, and even if it looks like a small amount, the big picture tells a different story.

 

[peachykeen]

Epcot has always, for whatever reason, seemed to be the "hardest" park to get a GAC (and now DAS, apparently) in. They would do almost everything in their power to avoid giving the old Alternate Entrance stamp, as opposed to the Wheelchair stamp. Some Guests, while getting their Alternate Entrance GAC at MK, would comment "Epcot never gives me the arrow stamp so I just learned to come here [MK] first." Seems like that attitude has carried over to the DAS as well. I wish all the parks were more consistent.

 

[Goofybynature]

Epcot has always, for whatever reason, seemed to be the "hardest" park to get a GAC (and now DAS, apparently) in. They would do almost everything in their power to avoid giving the old Alternate Entrance stamp, as opposed to the Wheelchair stamp. Some Guests, while getting their Alternate Entrance GAC at MK, would comment "Epcot never gives me the arrow stamp so I just learned to come here [MK] first." Seems like that attitude has carried over to the DAS as well. I wish all the parks were more consistent.

Agreed, that I wish that Epcot and DHS were more on par with MK and with the changes that have been made, I fully believe that Disney will be demanding and expecting more consistency from its cast at those 2 parks in question.