For PODM, a few months ago Disney started doing wrist bands at DLR. The stopped selling the PODM at World of disney, Emporium and Toon town.... So they hand our WB's for DTD pin post, DCA fly N buy, DLR Little Green Men. It was done to stop people from running form location to locaton and buying 20 pins.((among other issues)) At 1pm you can pick up the PODM pins without a WB, but until then you have to go to DTD and get a WB before trying to buy a PODM.
At Disney Soda Fountain, Around the same time, they started handing out WB's for the bigger releases as well... I think they were doing it for a while before, but it was done as people lined up the night before.... Now DSF does these times incremental WB releases day before pin release. I am fairly certain the idea behind the timed incremental release of WB's was to stop the over night camp outs. but appears to have totally backfired because now folks are camping out to be the first group recieving the WB's.
Disney has on occation done WB hand out for other releases and pin events, this is not a new thing. Its just a new thing for these situations.