Wait…An Animatronic Could JUMP On The Ride Vehicle? This Universal Patent Says It Might.

Technology in theme parks is a beautiful thing, and like Disney, Universal keeps pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. From the incredible animatronics created for Monsters Unchained in Epic Universe’s Dark Universe to being able to literally pet Toothless IN PERSON in How To Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk, great technological ideas have made these things happen.

Mine-Cart Madness

Well, Universal continues to come up with new ideas on how to use technology in theme parks. And we can get an idea of what kind of technology Universal might be working on just by looking at patents the company has filed. Well, a new patent hints at a type of ride that could include an animal crawling around on it.

Universal has filed a new patent for “System and Method for an On-Board Animated Figure in a Ride Environment,” and it looks like Universal has figured out a way to have an animatronic move around a ride vehicle. In the example given in the patent, a frog is shown to move from underneath the ride vehicle to the front of it.

©United States Patent and Trademark Office

The patent reads: “An amusement attraction includes a ride vehicle or show action equipment and an animated figure configured to move along a surface of the ride vehicle or the show action equipment.” The patent says that the animated figure has at least three points of contact that would engage with the vehicle, and those would be used to move it across the vehicle.

©United States Patent and Trademark Office

So, let’s say you were riding an attraction with this technology. That could mean that while you’re riding along, a giant frog or other animal appears from under the vehicle and then crawls onto the car until it’s right in front of you. It doesn’t seem like a super complicated effect, but you’d be amazed at all the technical jargon the patent mentions including the use of magnets or vacuum pumps to make it all happen.

Imagine a frog climbing onto Yoshi!

Of course, as is the case with many patents, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Universal is working on such a ride, but it is a good indication of the kinds of ideas Universal’s engineering team is coming up with to make the theme parks even better.

We’ll keep an eye out for more theme park news, so stay tuned to DFB for more.

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