Disney Patents Sensational Tech Idea to Further Delight Guests

TheStreet

The Magic Kingdom seeks to enhance its guests’ visits using technology that personalizes the experience.

Both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies offer promising implications for the future of entertainment, commerce, education and other pursuits.

Virtual reality involves the creation of an entire fantasy experience, an alternate here-and-now that is freed and unhinged from the real world.

With AR, a user’s experience is based on the actual physical world, but one that is enhanced with features that, for example, can be projected through a phone’s camera or video viewer.

More advanced equipment is required for VR, including a headset connected to a computer. Users will also need sufficient room to play indoors (typically 4-8 feet). AR, however, is easily available via smartphone and much more accessible because of it.

Some AR Products Have Experienced Great Success

The first wildly popular example of an AR game experience, it could be argued, was the “Pokémon GO” craze that began in 2016.

Here’s how it worked: When a user played the game, they viewed the world around them through their phones. AR technology was used to create Pokemon in this space, making it appear as if the creatures were in the real world. Different locations also yielded different Pokemon, which drove players to explore real-world areas.

That first year was the game’s most successful by way of active players, but it still remains relatively popular. Pokémon is partially owned by Nintendo (NTDOY) – Get Free Report, which handles its distribution efforts.

AR can be used for much more than just games, however. Another successful AR implementation was Home Depot’s (HD) – Get Free Report Project Color App from 2015, which displayed how a paint color would look in a user’s home.

More recently, in May 2022, Netflix (NFLX) – Get Free Report used an AR experience to market its series “Stranger Things.” Games using the technology simulated the experience of being in the show’s locations and circumstances.

Disney Patents an AR Idea

Now, Disney (DIS) – Get Free Report is pursuing a strategy to take advantage of similar AR technology to enhance its theme park experience for guests, detailed in a patent filed December 2022.

“The patent describes a gameplay system within a theme park that allows guests to augment their ride experience via themed merchandise,” Blog Mickey explains. “Disney describes the problem as a ride or experience that doesn’t necessarily provide an individual experience.”

Disney’s goal in developing this technology and acquiring the patent appears to be as a way to personalize a park visitor’s experience with interactive elements.

“The patent describes the themed merchandise as an ‘augmenting object’ and describes a gameplay system that recognizes and reacts to the augmenting object,” the blog says.

A park guest, once having purchased the necessary merchandise, would then program it to select particular skill sets that would provide a more personalized experience.

“The patent aims to allow for a broader definition of an augmenting object such as one that can be worn or held,” describes Blog Mickey. “A general object identification system would identify the augmenting object and then modify the experience for the participant wearing or holding the object.”