Drones may be used in Disney Parks in the future.

[dizneycrazy09]

Makes the most sense for that show than any other. When dealing with the very limited launch/flight restrictions, 100 feet from guests, etc..etc.. would be very tough for them to be utilized at the MK. Epcot has some possibilities, but if it can't be over the lagoon, just thinking due to the fireworks taking place and possible fallout impacting drone flight, unless used during the Order segment of Illuminations while the globe makes its way out in conjunction with the fountain display and lack of pyrotechnics. It would be awkward if they flew over the waterway shown in the imagery next to the Odyssey. ROL makes perfect sense.

Or possibly as part of a replacement for RoE!

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

All I can thing is surprise on the sky 2.0 or Tapestry of Nations 2.0

 

[TTA94]

All I can thing is surprise on the sky 2.0 or Tapestry of Nations 2.0

I thought of the same thing with Tapestry of Nations sadly the drones would be to close to the guests though. Maybe it could work in the lagoon though! Actually it's funny when they first announced the millennium celebration and tapestry of nations, before knew it was a parade, I envisioned the puppets dancing around in the lagoon.

 

[Andrew C]

Am I the only one who doesn't want to see the lantern scene from Tangled? Talk about a cliche, and expected, use of the technology.

I think it's just the easiest thing for us to picture.

Really, who knows how they are going to use it.

 

[GatorGuy]

Joe Rohde mentioned that the River of Lights nighttime show will see the spirit of animals brought to "light" by magical fireflies.
Now I know there will be a series of projection and lighting on the ToL to create this, but I can't imagine them not using this technology to help create this effect.
Can't wait!!

 

[halltd]

Am I the only one who doesn't want to see the lantern scene from Tangled? Talk about a cliche, and expected, use of the technology.

Uh....it might be cliche and expected, but I'd totally get chills if they did it right. I absolutely LOVE that scene! Fireworks over Cinderella Castle are expected and cliche too, but they make people cry all the time!

 

[halltd]

I guess I have a heart of stone because neither of those move me emotionally.

Indeed! That's the only logical answer. Heart of stone!

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

I thought of the same thing with Tapestry of Nations sadly the drones would be to close to the guests though. Maybe it could work in the lagoon though! Actually it's funny when they first announced the millennium celebration and tapestry of nations, before knew it was a parade, I envisioned the puppets dancing around in the lagoon.

According to the diagram the flight path is over the pond by the odyssey which tells me Future World is getting a show of its own. The flight paths are short which would make sense because drops arrant evolved enough to go any further yet

 

[FigmentForver96]

I guess I have a heart of stone because neither of those move me emotionally.

Well when a show like Wishes is over a decade old, it looses the feels. Now Illuminations, there is a show to give you chills

 

[ArtificialArtist]

I guess this is what the drone rumour is all about. LED-lit nighttime synchronous patterns in the sky.
That'll be interesting. (imagine, in a few years time, hundreds of tiny swarm drones to draw shapes into the night sky.)

 

[wdwmagic]

Another Disney Drone patent - this time for projections

 

[Andrew C]

Another Disney Drone patent - this time for projections

Wow. That is cool.

 

[marni1971]

Interesting they'd take this route. Projections need to be virtually stable from source to screen, as seen on windy nights at Fantasmic. A drone shifting even a few inches in the wind would at best make a fuzzy image, at worse no image.

WDI toyed with aerial projections onto smoke when planning Remember and then Forever, and each time decided the weather was too unpredictable. The new BTM finale is more controlled but is still hit and miss. Anything less than a rigid source and target will always produce random results.

 

[Jahona]

Interesting they'd take this route. Projections need to be virtually stable from source to screen, as seen on windy nights at Fantasmic. A drone shifting even a few inches in the wind would at best make a fuzzy image, at worse no image.

WDI toyed with aerial projections onto smoke when planning Remember and then Forever, and each time decided the weather was too unpredictable. The new BTM finale is more controlled but is still hit and miss. Anything less than a rigid source and target will always produce random results.

The projection source is built into the unit. It's rear projected onto the screen that wraps around the drone. If the screen is taught enough and the mountings inside rigid enough, it would fix a lot of the issues WDI tried in the past. I've seen this done for moving vehicles before.

 

[ArtificialArtist]

Interesting they'd take this route. Projections need to be virtually stable from source to screen, as seen on windy nights at Fantasmic. A drone shifting even a few inches in the wind would at best make a fuzzy image, at worse no image.

WDI toyed with aerial projections onto smoke when planning Remember and then Forever, and each time decided the weather was too unpredictable. The new BTM finale is more controlled but is still hit and miss. Anything less than a rigid source and target will always produce random results.

A solution to that problem could be a reactive gimbal system which corrects the angle and fixes it more precisely on it's target screen/object. Technically possible, though expensive to do, with a laser tagging system, precise & reliable servos and some cpu power on-board. (Plus the gimbal rig)

 

[OliveMcFly]

The moment I saw the usage in Lotte World recently, I figured Disney couldn't be far behind. It's the natural progression of Pyro, Parades, Water Screens and Projection mapping for their "next great nighttime offering".

These are cool applications I hadn't even considered, I figured the most obvious would be a Tangled segment.

Wow! That looks pretty cool.

 

[Rteetz]

A poster on the disboards spotted drones above Epcot. Are they testing these already?

 

[flyerjab]

A poster on the disboards spotted drones above Epcot. Are they testing these already?

We just were at Epcot watching Illuminations. We were at the American Pavilion and were heard a bunch of what sounded like helicopters. I looked up and saw what I assumed were at least 3 or 4 helicopters hovering in back of the American and Italy pavilions. They were considerably loud and could be heard during the quieter parts of the show. You could see people turning around to see what the noise was. None of us thought that they were drones.

 

[Rteetz]

We just were at Epcot watching Illuminations. We were at the American Pavilion and were heard a bunch of what sounded like helicopters. I looked up and saw what I assumed were at least 3 or 4 helicopters hovering in back of the American and Italy pavilions. They were considerably loud and could be heard during the quieter parts of the show. You could see people turning around to see what the noise was. None of us thought that they were drones.

Interesting. The poster thought they were drones.

 

[tissandtully]

The same thing occurred during the Friday night show as well, except it was just one helicopter. I noticed it approach World Showcase from the China/Outpost end, hover between the Outpost/Germany, then move towards AA/Japan/Morocco, before finally returning to the east side and hovering near Mexico.

A month ago there was a helicopter hovering over illuminations as well. Maybe it's filming something?