ORLANDO - A Tennessee man is suing Walt Disney World for allegedly stealing his idea for FastPass, the ride reservation system used at theme parks around the world.
Robert Keyes of Kingsport, Tenn., filed his lawsuit in federal court in Orlando this month, saying Disney officials told him his idea wouldn't work after he presented it to them.
"They told me it was an inconvenience to the guests," Keyes said. "Then they turn around and patent it, so that others couldn't use the system, and they didn't even put my name as the inventor."
Keyes said he came up with the idea in 1990 after watching an elderly man collapse from heat exhaustion while waiting in a line at Disney MGM Studios. After sending a letter to Disney the next year describing his idea, the company soon responded with a rejection letter.
In 1999, Disney introduced FastPass, an automated system that gives visitors a ticket so they can skip the long lines at its parks' most popular rides.
A Disney spokeswoman said the company had not seen the lawsuit and would not comment.
