There are already rides in Disney World which require that CMs check that lap bars are in place: Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road, Rock 'N Roller Coaster, and others. They don't seem to hold up the ride time very much, if any.
Oh yes they do. Doesn't mean it's not worth it, but if CMs didn't have to check the restraints on those rides every dispatch, all those incremental seconds added from the time saved would be massive for the OHRC.
Dispatch time is treated in terms of seconds, so every second added is a significant issue. Let's take something like Small World with a preferred dispatch time of 30 seconds (I use IASW because I know it). So you're launching 240 boats an hour, meaning up to 5,760 people an hour (which is not actually their OHRC, but this is just an example, so go with it). If you have to check lap bars, that's about 2 seconds a row for 12 rows. That 24 more seconds added to each dispatch.
You have almost halved the amount of people who can be dispatched!
From discussing Splash's procedures with my DGF (who worked there) and just knowing how it works, it's pretty similar to Small World's dispatch (any Splash CMs can add to this). If the ride needs restraints, it needs restraints, but CMs checking restraints absolutely adds time to dispatch. Exponentially.
That said, I'm guessing for Splash there would be one CM for each boat checking, so that's just eight rows checked. That's just ~15 extra seconds. And they may just do it like Space Mountain with the "pull up on your lap bar please" quick check, that would only add a handful of seconds. Still, if you're sending 180 boats an hour (made up number), by adding five seconds for each dispatch, you've slowed it down to under 170 boats an hour. ~250 fewer people riding an hour is not a trivial sum.
tl;dr: Restraint checks absolutely slow things down. Not much on individual dispatches, but it adds up quickly.
And I'll add, as others have, that the time added by adding restraints could well be made up by the time saved with fewer out-of-boat downtimes. Disney does their homework. I'm just pointing out that restraints absolutely slow down dispatches in a significant way.
The biggest difference between the lap bars on other rides and Splash Mountain is that Splash's are not designed (or needed) to protect guests from falling out of the log when it is in motion.
It is a slight distinction, but it might be an important one when it comes to dispatch times. Because Splash Mountain is inherently safe it may mean Cast Members will not have to conduct as thorough a check as is typical on the other lap bar-equipped rides. Just as long as the bar is down, it should do the job it is intended; make it less likely a guest will be able to exit the log during the ride.
That's a good point. Completely different ride system, but at the Mansion they don't physically check every lap bar. In fact, I believe the most recent Operating Guide says specifically NOT to (because it can make guests uncomfortable, but don't quote me).
Again, different ride system, but it's there for the same reason: to keep people from jumping out. It's still going to add time, but it might be less significant if all that matters is that the lap bars are down before they send it.
This is why I think the lapbars will be a failure if they are indeed conducted like this. (I really don't think they will) Lapbars that loose or pointless in design do not keep the types that leap out of rides in. If that person wants to do it they are already dumb enough to do it, slipping out of a restraint that loose does not take that much more effort to them. (think about the many Haunted Mansion stories)
Intrusions in the Haunted Mansion are extremely rare. There are Cast Members that work there regularly for months without having to run or assist with a single intrusion (and the current Mansion is just about impossible to get out of without being noticed).
The lap bars don't make it impossible, obviously, but they do the job.
WALL OF TEXT!
