Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Discussion Thread

[Wes.]

^ Disney seems to be really upping the variety and quality lately. It would be nice if other parks followed suit.

[MeteornotesKeeper Of The Carnivorous Bees!]

^Agreed. Park food doesn't have to be horrible.

dt

[Jay20016I'm a know-it-all about donkeys!]

^Agreed. Park food doesn't have to be horrible.

dt

Or cost an arm and a leg.

[Wes.]

^ I don't mind paying a little more if it's quality. We used to go to Storytellers at the Grand Californian for lunch because the food was so much better than in the parks for a little bit of a premium. But now they seem to be pushing the quality into the parks as well.
I think people enjoy unique offerings. Hamburgers and pizza are everywhere.

[MeteornotesKeeper Of The Carnivorous Bees!]

^Agreed. I don't mind paying more if the food is better quality. Sadly, most people in this country think Chili's has amazing food, so most places put zero effort into their food offerings. Nice to see Disney increasing the variety and quality.

dt

[ChroniqTPR's nicest person EVAR!!!]

Just posting this for any engineers in the TPR world that might be able to provide speculation or insight into what these patents mean and could be used for.

Here's two new Disney Parks related patents recently that I haven't found posted anywhere else yet...

The first is for an Amusement Park Ride System (motion driven on a track) that can be positioned in 360 degrees. Both veritcally and horizontally..
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20120137920.pdf
The second is a projection system that appears to be able to project images in corellation with physical objects (the smiles on the faces of the Cars in the new ride?)
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20120154695.pdf

[ahechtFluffy, Fluffy, Donkeys Filled With Medicine and Goo!]

The second patent sounds like the scene mapping projections they put into Snow White at Disneyland. Not to mention the Magic, Memories, and You projection shows.

I wouldn't read too much into what Disney (or any company, for that matter) patents. Most patents never get used, and many are for concepts that have never been tested and may not even work. There are patents for time machines and perpetual motion.

[ChroniqTPR's nicest person EVAR!!!]

I'm well aware .. I've been following Apple patents for years. If all of the patents had come to fruition, I'd have a phone that could project a holographic image of me in real time while I typed on my virtual 3D projected multi touch keyboard . That being said,Disney isn't a company that seems to invest in lots of R&D just for the sake of patents and IP content. Usually they patent things they actually plan on using (if not now, in the future).


Good call on the second patent, though I that the Samsung and NuFormer (possibly lg) created all of that cool 3D mapping projection stuff and Disney was just using their tech. Maybe this patent is about Disney advancing the tech?

[jedimaster1227Open Up Happiness]

^It should be noted that Disney has a Research and Development wing that (I believe) operates in what is almost a stand alone division. They seek patents for technologies many of which don't end up in the parks (and other applications) for many years to come. I know they were working on some kind of tactile feedback system not too long ago that was rumored to come to the parks eventually.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028137.900-illusions-to-send-shivers-down-a-gamers-spine.html

[MooseWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

That first one looks intersting, sort of like a 4D coaster in the horizontal direction. I wonder if they are thinking of something in particular.