Could Disney’s New Tech Get More People on Water Rides Than Ever Before?

Disney World does a pretty good job when it comes to water and boat rides.

Splash Mountain

There’s Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Frozen Ever After, and MORE. These rides are SUPER popular and all involve some sort of speedy slide down a flume of some kind. Now, Disney might be working on a way to make the lines for attractions like this SHORTER than ever!

We spot Disney innovations pretty regularly and some recent tech has turned its attention to water ride systems. You might remember last year when we noticed that Disney is working on a new capture and launch system for water rides. Well, that’s not the ONLY slick new tech!

©Disney

Today, we spotted that Disney has filed a patent for a “Park Ride with Weight Proportional Water Breaking.” That’s another way of making sure water ride vehicles stop right when Disney wants!

©Disney

Up to this point, when a boat goes down a large flume (like the characteristic Splash Mountain one!), there has to be a long length of track afterwards to slow the boat down to normal speeds. This track has to be long enough to accommodate ALL boats, whether they’re empty or seating 8 people.

©Disney

Believe it or not, that actually affects how efficient the ride is. If every boat has to go through the same length of runoff before it hits safe speeds, then they’re all taking the same amount of time. In reality, a lighter boat does not need as much time or space to stop.

©Disney

Disney’s newest invention involves a section of track after a drop that responds dynamically to a boat’s weight. That way, each boat is taking the minimum amount of time needed to move on. When you think about how that time adds up, this invention could seriously increase the capacity of boat rides.

©Disney

Higher capacity means lower wait times so we are CERTAINLY rooting for this tech to make it to new or existing attractions one day. As always, stay tuned to DFB for the latest updates on Disney tech and more!

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