Disney is taking measures to stop the sale of expired FastPasses on internet auction sites. The tickets are used at Disney’s parks as a method for guests to bypass lengthy attraction standby lines.

EBay is the main selling venue for FastPasses and has declined Disney’s request to put an end to the FastPass listings.

Catherine England, spokesperson for eBay, stated “Since there are no laws prohibiting the sale of expired tickets, listings for expired tickets are allowed. EBay does not enforce third-party contracts, so it’s up to whoever issues the tickets, in this case Disney, to enforce the terms and conditions they’ve defined for their tickets”.

In addition to the expired FastPasses, sellers list VIP versions of the tickets which Disney provides to celebrities and politicians.

Disney has taken measures to stem the use of the tickets sold on the secondary market. In addition to the time and date on a FastPass, there is now a caution that they are “Not For Sale”, valid only on the day issued and are nontransferable.

There is also a problem with counterfeit FastPasses being used in the parks. Disney employees are told to check that the edges are perforated, unlike those the fakes which are manually cut.

Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez has stated that Disney Cast Members are instructed to check that the FastPass is valid and to turn away those that are expired/fraudulent. Suarez commented “What we typically do, we have the cast member politely explain the FastPass is only valid for the date and time issued, then we invite the guest to get a valid FastPass or go to the stand-by queue.”

Disney has recently begun looking into alternative methods of issuing FastPasses including the use of barcodes on the tickets and barcode readers at the attractions.

An internal memo to Disney’s Imagineering staff has surfaced and indicates that the company will be using outside vendors to build future animatronic figures.

The June 12 memo was authored by Bruce Vaughn (Chief Creative Executive), Craig Russell (Chief Development and Delivery Executive), and Kevin Eld (Vice President of Disney Creative Production.

Marilyn Waters, Imagineering spokesperson, confirmed that outsourcing is being sought as a means to alleviate the demands placed on the in-house staff. What has not been addressed are concerns that this will lead to cutbacks in the Imagineering staff.

Walt Disney first introducted animatronics 45 years ago when the Enchanted Tiki Room opened. Since that time the figures have evolved with some that can freely roam and others that can interact with guests. Examples of this next generation of figures are Lucky the Dinosaur and Toy Story Mania’s Mr. Potato Head.

Following the popularity of Disney animatronics, a billion dollar industry developed. When ‘it’s a small world’ was constructed in Hong Kong, Disney Imagineers provided the oversight for a Chinese company which built most of the figures.

Waters stated ‘Our industry has generated quite a few heavily-skilled and proficient vendors who can supplement our teams with simple figures with significant oversight by our production team. This will allow us to focus on creating more sophisticated and advanced figures.’

Annual Passholders were told of the new character via the Backstage newsletter which announced “Be sure to keep your Visual Input Devices (also known as ‘eyes’) peeled as you play in the park this summer. You might just catch a glimpse of the newest Pixar pal mingling with our human guests. Of course, Wall-E’s in-park appearances are subject to change without notice.”

The three foot tall animatronic robot has been seen at the Philadelphia Science Center and on the streets of Los Angeles. It has the ability to speak, move its arms, hands, head and eyes and moves via treads on its feet.

No date has been set for the upcoming park appearance. Wall-E is currently scheduled for TV spots and a world tour.

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The phrase became popular following the 1987 Super Bowl and has been used since by NFL, NBA and MBL champs.

The use of “I’m going to Disney World” by an AI winner is part of the planned American Idol attraction opening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in January of 2009. Park visitors will be given the opportunity to perform and be chosen to audition for the Fox competition.

This ride was the site of an accident on November 24 involving a Disney employee which resulted in a fatality. In referring to the victim Karen Price, the OSHA report stated “An employee, who was working on an elevated platform, dispatched a roller coaster then went back to the roller coaster to assist some guests and while the deceased was assisting the guests the roller coaster dispatched. The roller coaster struck the deceased then pushed her 10 feet. The deceased fell 32 inches from the roller coaster to the ground level.”

Of the various violations, three were termed “serious”, one was a repeat violation and one was paperwork related. The absence of “machine guarding” was directly attributed to the accident. This lack of protection for the ride operator resulted in a $7000 fine.

Following the accident, Disney stated that Ms. Price was in an area which was designated as prohibited when the ride was in motion. They have since installed sensors which shut down the attraction if someone enters this area.

Other citations include a $7500 fine for not adding a stairwell railing as required following a July inspection as well as a $3000 fine for non-compliance with mandated record keeping.

You will tour seven seas lagoon prior to the beginning of Illuminations and be entertained, by your boat’s pilot, with Disney trivia and views of the Boardwalk and other resorts, then you anchor beneath a bridge for an unobstructed view of the fireworks. One of the things we enjoyed the most about our Illuminations cruise was being able to just get off the boat and go to our car without fighting the huge crowd that was leaving Epcot afterwards.

Illuminations cruises are technically called “Specialty Cruises”. There are 3 levels and prices for these cruises and you can read about them HERE.

There are only 5 boats available for this activity and they depart either from Boardwalk or Yacht/Beach Club Marina:

Pontoon Boats: Only 4 pontoon boats are available for this cruise. The cost is $150 plus 6% tax for the boat (this includes the pilot). Each pontoon boat will accommodate up to 10 adults or 12 passengers if some of them are children. The cost is not determined by the number of passengers, so sharing a cruise is good idea if you want to reduce cost.

The Breathless: This is a reproduction of a 1930′s ChrisCraft Runabout. It will accommodate a maximum of 7 passengers. The cost is $175 plus 6% tax. This boat departs only from the Yacht &Beach Club Marina. This vessel has more speed than the pontoons.

In addition to the basic cost of the cruise, you should allow a gratuity for the Captain. We had 4 passengers on our cruise and tipped our Captain $25. He did a great job and paid special attention to my 6 year old nephew, my dh says now, that he wishes he had tipped him more, because he just made the whole experience wonderful.

How to book an Illuminations Cruise:

You need to call 407-939-7529 exactly 90 days before the date you want to reserve. You can determine when to call by using the DIS’s priority seating calculator if you CLICK HERE

Since these cruises are so much in demand, start calling about 6:55 am est. If you get a recording that they are not open yet, disconnect and immediately hit redial. If you get the recording thanking you for calling hit #3 right away, as soon as the second recording begins press #2, when the third recording begins press either your reservation number or phone number and finish with the pound sign. Then press #1, then #2. This will take you to a reservationist, if you have to hold do not disconnect or you go to the bottom of the queue.

When the reservationist answers do not make small talk, immediately tell him/her that you want to reserve the 8PM specialty cruise for such and such date.Do not ask to reserve an Illuminations cruise or you will waste time hearing that there is no such thing. After you get your reservation you can talk all you want, but these cruises are very difficult to reserve and seconds count when thousands of people are competing for only 5 boats.

When the reservationist indicates that you have obtained the reservation, tell him/her that you want to see Illuminations. He/she will then make arrangements for your cruise to depart the marina about 1/2 hour before Illuminations begins.

You will be told that they cannot guarantee that you will see Illuminations. They tell you this because, if Illuminations is delayed for any reason, your boat will still return to the marina at the end of your hour. So far, there have been no known instances where Illuminations was not seen.

If you have flexibility in your WDW itinerary, it is best to try to reserve a cruise for the first night you have available. That way, if you don’t get the reservation, you can try the next day and the next, if necessary.

If you are unable to secure a reservation for an Illuminations cruise, do not give up. Cancellations happen every day. Keep calling and trying for that reservation, even when you are in WDW. I was told by a captain of one of these cruises that his boat has often sat idle because someone cancelled. You can snag a cancellation. I know, because I was lucky enough to get a cancelled cruise only 6 weeks before our trip last year.

You can also sometimes find someone who has a reservation already and is willing to share the space and cost of his cruise with you. The Illuminations Cruise Central posts on the Theme Parks board are there to help people match up for these cruises. There is an Illuminations Cruise Central for each month, beginning 3 months ahead of time.

If you want to try to find a cruise to share, or if you have a reservation for a cruise already and are willing to share with others please post to the appropriate Illuminations Cruise Central.

As much as I’d love to have one, the Segway never took off as regular mode of transportation, at least in the sort of numbers that were being considered when they were first unveiled. But there is one community where the use of Segways is growing quickly – the disabled.

There are some disabled who had adopted the Segway as a primary mode of transportation because it fits their needs better than other devices. The question is what happens when these disabled want to attend a a theme park? Should they be allowed in? Are they a legitimate accommodation? or a lawsuit waiting to happen?

This debate is not new and has been around since the arrival of the Segway. What’s bringing it to the forefront again is a new group that is providing free Segways to disabled US veterans. This is helping bring the numbers of disable Segway users up.

In Orlando, right now Disney and SeaWorld still don’t allow Segways in citing safety concerns. Universal Orlando says it takes it on a case by case basis. The Orlando Sentinel has more on the issue. What are your thoughts?