Richard Bilbao at the Orlando Business Journal first found the Disney's patent application, which was filed yesterday. Titled, "Track-based swing ride with long arm pendulum," you can find the complete patent application on the US Patent and Trademark Organization's website.
Here's the abstract:
A track-based swing ride system providing passengers a unique swinging ride experience. The ride system includes a ride track that supports a moving bogie coupled to the ride track that includes a drive assembly driving the bogie along a ride path defined by the ride track. The ride apparatus includes a pendulum arm pivotally coupled at a first end to the bogie, whereby the pendulum arm is suspended below the ride track and moves along the ride path with the bogie. The ride apparatus includes a passenger vehicle coupled to a second end of the pendulum arm opposite the first end of the pendulum arm. To provide the swinging sensation, the ride apparatus includes a roll driver rotating, concurrently with the drive assembly of the bogie, the pendulum arm about a roll axis extending through the first end of the pendulum arm.
The application later states, "The new ride system provides coordinated motion between forward speed of the ride vehicle and the roll angle (as measured between the longitudinal axis of the pendulum arm and vertical). This allows the ride program used or run by a ride controller to be written and/or configured so as to achieve completely new and unique sensation of swinging on a web or vine as the ride system moves passengers through a show provided in the ride space along the track (with the show including physical sets, projection, or a combination of both)."
Here's what the ride's swing path and track path would look like, in a hypothetical installation:
The description of "swinging on a web or vine" brings to mind Spider-Man or Tarzan, but could that be a misdirection? Because the motion of this proposed ride system sounds very much like what was described to me to be the motion of the ride vehicles on the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster at Epcot.
That coaster is supposed to have a swinging sensation that was described to me as the "way-grown-up version" of the swaying cars on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This proposed ride system would deliver that, and then some, providing a wild ride, careening through physical space.
Just like the often-out-of-control Guardians of the Galaxy, no?
What do you think? Would you like to go on this ride system? And how would like to see Disney apply it?
Previously:
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I'd also note that based on the layout schematic, it looks like these might be single-car trains, which could indicate a significantly low capacity, unless riders are situated back to back (still only 8 per car). Forbidden Journey can get away with 4 passengers per dispatch, because the individual benches aren't in free-motion between blocks (always being driven along the track by motors in the base of the robotic arms), which would appear to be necessary here to get the cars to swing.
You could still do video Anton, especially if each dispatch is a single car. They could also replace practical sets with animated backgrounds projected on screens to reduce the size of each "room" while still creating depth (especially if presented in 3-D). I do agree though that this looks way more like a Spider-man attraction than Guardians. However, it's altogether possible that this patent will cover attractions on both coasts with different themes (like Radiator Springs Racers and Test Track or Dinosaur and Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye).
None of the upcoming rumors for WDW seem to fit this dark ride idea - not Tron, not Ratatouille, not the Mickey ride. So it's probably for Anaheim. There are actually several possibilities there, one of which is another Star Wars ride, but I don't buy it when it's a little similar to what they're doing in that round portion of the Battle Escape ride. Then there's the rumor about turning the Wonder Bra area into Arendelle with a major ride inside it. This ride could easily become a toboggan-or-saucer down the mountain with the sides being where the toboggan or saucer careens as it can't stay on the path. But that's at most a D-Ticket, and it would be difficult to catch any animatronics or songs on a ride like this. The ride system itself would be beyond perfect for the long-rumored Monsters Inc door coaster. It's not a coaster, but the swinging of the doors would make up for that. But the ride layout obviously doesn't match, as the door vault is a huge open room where you would see doors above, below and all around you. This ride is basically a canyon with limited visibility.
Which brings us back to Spider-Man. Normally I wouldn't buy that Disney would be so dumb as to telegraph what their future plans are, but I read most of the patent application and it felt to me that Disney doesn't seem 100% on being granted a patent for this. They constantly mention other ride systems with pendulums and point out many times how this pendulum works differently from all those other pendulum rides. Mentioning webs and vines tells me that they are really trying to sell the experience to the patent office instead of the actual mechanics of the thing, which means this very well MAY be a ride involving webs and/or vines. Furthermore, the only thing Disney let fly about the new Marvel land in DCA is that it will include Spider-Man and the Avengers. The rumor has long been that the Avengers will be getting a coaster, with no rumor about what Spidey will be getting. I'd say this. With two older-skewing Marvel attractions, DCA will need something for all ages.
Disney's inability to clone Marvel rides to Florida is killing them, so we can assume that they will use the ride system for a different ride in WDW. We all know how much Disney likes reusing ideas. It's not for any of the announced rides, so we have to look to the more-blue-sky projects and the only thing that really fits is the closing of the Imagination pavilion. The ride building there is the same basic shape, and if you flip the schematic the loading bay would be right where the the original loading bay was for Journey Into Your Imagination. Yeah, dropping Tarzan into Future World doesn't really work, at least not in this way.
BUT they have the option of making The Land pavilion actually about the land and not soarin' above it by expanding the entrance area and including this new attraction. Tarzan's Forest! Or they can move the Lion King movie over into the Imagination theater and call this pavilion The Land and call that one The Air (or Soarin'), though what would happen to the Living with the Land ride that nobody cares about is beyond me. Personally I'm all for splitting this land into two, calling the actual futuristic side Future World and the non-futuristic side Land, Sea & Air. Even better, they could put an Up attraction into the space gained by evicting the other two undervisited attractions. BECAUSE DUG NEEDS TO BE IN AN ATTRACTION!!!!
The end.
My guess it would be continuous loading like Forbidden Journey.
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Again, doesn't mean built right away as Disney was doing plans and such for Omnimover type rides long before Haunted Mansion was built.