Part of what makes D&D is the journey & travel and everything that happens along the way. While I like it for testing in this kind of thing, i usually like having to walk from city to city and go through interesting areas and then once you reach another city you can fast travel between - with chances of encounters and what not) as it shows days 1,2,3...progressing. Keeps time elements and other things in nice motion. Golden paths to quests, hand holding, teleporting, are all newer inventions.
That being said, people are used to games getting rid of anything requiring patience and there is a good chance of alienating a lot of people who never had to learn it in their youth
