2009 - Sightseers' Delight

Looking back at 2009’s travel highlights

December 31, 2009 The Travel Trolley

Ten years ago, I was running crowd control at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Today, on the eve of 2010, I wanted to recap some of my 2009 travel highlights.

2010 looks to be better for travel

December 30, 2009 The Travel Trolley

A number of new surveys indicate leisure travel is expected to increase in 2010, but tough times remain — especially for the world’s airlines.

Failed terror attack means new security measures

December 29, 2009 The Travel Trolley

Travelers are likely to see new airport security measures in the wake of a foiled Christmas Day terror plot.

DOT sets three-hour limit on tarmac delays

December 21, 2009 The Travel Trolley

Airlines can only keep passengers waiting on the tarmac for three hours before it would be required to let them disembark, under a new rule announced today by the Department of Transportation.

Motorcoach bus safety bill wins U.S. Senate Committee approval

December 18, 2009 Special to The Travel Trolley

Safety advocates and families of victims of motorcoach bus crashes today heralded a U.S. Senate committee’s approval of long-sought legislation to dramatically improve motorcoach safety for the millions of Americans who rely on this popular transportation mode.

Roy Disney, 79, dies following cancer battle

December 17, 2009 West Center Street

Roy Edward Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney who was lauded as playing “a key role in the revitalization of The Walt Disney Co.” died today after a year-long battle with stomach cancer. He was 79.

Thousands of stranded motorists expected

December 16, 2009 The Travel Trolley

Dead batteries, flat tires and other car problems. They don’t spell Christmas cheer, but they’re a reality of holiday travel.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Completes First Flight

December 16, 2009 Special to The Travel Trolley

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner took to the sky for the first time yesterday, ushering a new era in air travel as it departed before an estimated crowd of more than 12,000 employees and guests from Paine Field in Everett, Wash.

ATA: Christmas, New Year’s travel to decline in 2009

December 15, 2009 The Travel Trolley

Fewer people are expected to fly this Christmas and New Year’s, according to new estimates from the Air Transport Association of America (ATA).

German town continues passion play tradition

December 15, 2009 NewsUSA

We all engage in little traditions, but we usually do so on a family-basis — rarely does the whole town get involved. And yet, that’s exactly what happens in the village of Oberammergau in Bavaria, Germany, where townspeople come together every 10 years to put on a huge Passion Play, involving over a thousand actors.