Disney has a plan to bring more shade to its theme parks

March 5, 2026, 2:17 PM · Finding a shady place to sit or stand might soon get easier in Disney's theme parks.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today published an application from Disney for a Deployable Canopy System. Long-time Disney fans might remember the old shade canopies that Walt Disney World installed above Future World at EPCOT and that stood there for years. And Disney - like many other parks - deploys big umbrellas in places where it needs shade during the day, such as above cast members' work locations.

One option provides large areas of shade on a permanent basis. The other provides the option of temporary coverage, but only for small areas.

But what if you could deploy a large canopy on a temporary basis? To do that, you would need a system that did not require putting a crane or cherry pickers in the park to put up and take down the canopy every day. That is what Disney's patent application proposes.

"The canopy system includes a canopy, cables respectively connected to the canopy, and a plurality of columns spaced from one another and including a canopy column and at least two cable columns," the patent application said. The application describes systems by which drive assemblies within the columns can deploy or retract the canopy that is stored within the canopy column or a storage drum.

The idea of a temporary system is to provide shade when it is needed during a hot sunny day but not to have a permanent structure that interferes with the decoration of a themed area at other times, including the evenings. That means that guests could enjoy relief from the sun during the day and unobstructed views of things like nighttime spectaculars after sunset.

For a complete look at Disney plans, please see the patent application on the USPTO website.

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