These NEW Disney and Universal Patents Could Be Theme Park Ride Game-Changers

Theme parks are always thinking about the next big thing they want to wow visitors with, and they keep coming up with some pretty amazing ideas.

Now, when Imagineers or Universal engineers come up with ideas, many of those are filed as patents, which we can then see to get an idea of what theme parks are thinking of. Now, three new permits have been recently filed, and we’re fascinated by what that might mean for the theme parks.

In 2024, Universal filed a new patent outlining plans for a walking animatronic. Now, we can’t help but think about the Olaf walking animatronic we’ve recently seen in Disney’s international parks, but this seems to be for something that could be even bigger. The patent outlines how an ambulatory figure could have a body “with a first limb and second limb extending therefrom,” aka two legs that can walk like a human.

A series of actuators would allow this to slide an end of the first leg out from the side of the figure in a specific direction, while the other leg would follow suit, creating a walking motion. Here’s a figure that breaks it all down.

Although the first figure shows a humanoid leg, another figure shows another type of animatronic that could use this technology. So it seems like Universal has plans on potentially bringing one of its characters to life in the parks via a new animatronic.

The next new permit is one from Disney called the “New Ride System Featuring a Free-Range Vehicle Platform.”  The patent states that the ride vehicles “may be adapted to traverse the uneven terrain, such as along a respective chosen path of multiple paths based on respective user control. The user control may be configured to select the chosen path and adjust the speed and the direction of the ride vehicle along the chosen path.”

Our professional opinion is that this sounds like it could be connected to the racing ride over in Piston Peak. We can’t know for sure, but this feels like it matches the descriptions we’ve gotten from Disney about the upcoming attraction. It also indicates that there could be more guest choice during the ride experience, which we love the idea of!

Finally, Disney also filed a patent for a ride system that will move along the track while also being attached to a MOVEABLE ARM! So what does that mean? Basically, the ride vehicle will have the ability to move up, down, sideways, backwards, and more. It also indicated that the arm can be extended to move the vehicle away from the track.

We haven’t received details on what this technology could be applied to, but we have a few guesses. The patent implies that this could make the ride vehicle “jump” during the ride, and it shows several ride vehicle types, boats, cars, and flying vehicles.

Disney is currently developing several new lands, including Piston Peak, The Villains Land, and Monsters Inc. Land. We wouldn’t be surprised if we see this technology pop up in Piston Peak or the Villains Land specifically. We still don’t have a ton of details regarding Villains Land or the family ride at Piston Peak, so that’s why we think it could be connected to those two lands.

Note that theme park companies file patents often when ideas come to them, but some of these patents never really come to fruition into something that sees the light of day. However, it’s always interesting to see what Universal has in mind for the future of its parks, particularly with Epic Universe, which we expect to see continue to expand and grow.

We’ll keep an eye out for more Universal and Disney news, so check back with AllEars again soon for more.

QUIZ: Which Unhinged Disney Animatronic Are You?

What do you think? Would you like to see animatronic figures walking around Universal? Let us know in the comments!

Post a Comment