You (and some other posters) are assuming there is a lot of fraud. I don’t think it’s near the level that some people think. There are still many people using the Fastpass Return lines besides DAS, including Rider Swap, guest recovery passes for a ride shutdown or some other problem, VIP Tour groups (sometimes the VIP tour guide gets their guests into the line, but the the guests go on the attraction and meet the tour guide afterwards.
My husband, youngest DD and I were at WDW in June. A couple of times, we noticed large numbers of people entering the Fastpass line; we found out later they were doing some kind of Fastpass testing.
Seeing someone running or walking fast from a handicapped parking spot doesn’t mean no one in the group is disabled or that they were borrowing someone‘s handicapped parking permit. It could be someone excited who has energy in the morning. Or maybe, the disabled person is a child with autism who is perfectly capable of walking and running.
Seeing one person using a wheelchair/
ECV and later another person using it doesn’t mean they are ‘cheating’. People who don’t need one all the time frequently either share it or walk for a while while someone else uses it. When my kids were little, we sometimes carried the younger one and her sister rode her wheelchair. Same thing happened with a friend’s 2 kids; both could walk and even run. The wheelchair was for her oldest son who had an inoperable heart condition and died in his sleep when he was 18.
Looking up a doctor or clinic address on line just shows it exists, not that the doctor actually wrote a letter or even cares for the patient. And, leaving a message for a doctor isn’t as easy as doing a text. When we need to contact one of my daughter’s providers, it’s either leaving a message on the MyChart message system or calling the clinic, being on hold and leaving a message. Either one will get us a call or message back in about 2 working days.
This board began in 1999 and I’ve been a Moderator since the start. In 1999, many websites were saying guests needed to bring a doctor letter to request the program in effect at that time - GAC (Guest Assistance Card).
Some people posted then that their doctor required a visit to write a letter; others‘ doctors charged a fee for writing a letter, which is only fair because it did take the doctor’s time. The patient had to pay; insurance would not because neither the visit or letter were medically necessary.
On the other hand, some people got legitimate letters from their doctor without medical need. A couple situations I remember people reporting about:
- a healthy pregnant woman got a letter saying she was disabled (her doctor told her pregnant women deserve to not wait)
- a family with 3 non disabled children got a letter saying one was disabled (her doctor said anyone taking 3 small children deserved to not wait)
And, then there were blogs where people wrote how to get GAC. Some gave instructions and text for how to write a fake doctor letter, including how to make official looking letterhead
i personally think don’t think it’s fair or right to make peopke with real disabilities jump thru a bunch of hoops to address a perceived appearance of some possible cheats.