What makes Walt Disney Parks the “happiest place on earth“? Is it meeting Disney characters, like Belle and Mickey Mouse, that we grew up watching over and over again, or new stars, like Princess Anna, that Disney continues to create that tug at our heart strings? The Walt Disney Company has been around for almost a century with parks all across the globe and attracts children and adults alike. Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is the most visited vacation resort in the world and attracts over 52 million people a year. How do they keep people wanting to visit year after year or even several times a year?
To remain a leading attraction, they must continually be updating and creating new rides and technology to give customers that “magical” experience! And, they are doing this quite frequently. Patents are rights given to inventions that are unique and new, and take many years to obtain. Impressively, Disney has 2256 patents with over 100 patents granted a year! WOW!!
The latest Disney patent, the “Sensing and Managing Vehicle Behavior Based on Occupant Awareness” system, can read each rider’s facial expression and alter the course of the ride to suit the rider. This could mean a decrease or increase in speed, an addition of spins or sharp corners, and/or a change of the ride’s scenery to include or not include thrilling visuals to enhance the rider’s experience. It can customize the ride “to meet the occupant’s goals, such as to take the path that can be completed at this time of day in the shortest period of time, to take a path that has the best scenery, to take a path that moves past a particular set of display elements, and the like,” stated the patent.
Another invention that would allow everyone to continue to enjoy Disney!
#OwnYourMark #MakeYourMark
Written by: Teresa Nguyen