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Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Patent filing reveals upcoming Disney theme park holograms
Boing Boing: Theme park expert Len Testa revealed on his podcast The Disney Dish that Disney is developing a new holographic system for its ride systems that will appear to put characters closer to your vehicle than ever before.
I think that it is interesting how both traditional animatronics and holograms can have useful elements, and that even in a place with a lot of money like Disney, there is not one that is concretely better than the other. Physical animatronics have the big advantage that they exist in real 3 dimensional space, and will interact with the real world as if they are actually there. Holograms have the advantage that they do not exist where they appear to, which means you don’t have the same mechanical concerns that you would with an animatronic. Something that is interesting in theme park environments that we don’t really have to deal with in theater is the patron's desire to actually affect the experience, whether it is just touching something they are not supposed to, trying to take a souvenir home with them, or trying to “expose” the magic. In a traditional theater we have a proscenium arch and team of ushers to hide our magic, but an amusement park ride doesn’t get those privileges.
I think this could be so cool and a great improvement from the current anamontronics. The animatronics that are currently on display at Disneyland can be kinda of creepy. I think that the animatronics that are displayed at Disney World, Orlando, Florida, are less creepy and have less of a robot feel to them. As Disneyland and Disney World are children's theme parks, I think that it will be a cool thing to observe and see if children feel more comfortable and less scared of rides if the characters are holograms rather than robot animatronics with limited mobility. I'm also super stoked that we are getting an Encanto-themed ride. It's a beautiful story and art style that I am super psyched to see portrayed as a Disney ride. I also think it's interesting that the article noted that a disadvantage to the current animatronics is that guests can touch them if they're too close, which I never thought about. It's interesting to see that that's what sparked the idea of a hologram
Disney has always been a part of technological innovation through a creative lens and seems to be continuing their exploration. Holograms are the definition of what humans believed the technology of the future would be. The ability to produce an image that is not physically placed where our eyes perceive it feels like magic. Disney is defined as the place where dreams come true so their technology needs to act as if magic was real and feasible. This new technology is supposedly supposed to be a part of a new Encanto themed ride to open in 2027. One detail that I found particularly interesting was that the technology wasn't originally built to create a more magical experience but a safer one. The new hologram technology allows for the image to be projected closer to the rider while not interfering with the cart or ride. The riders are then able to feel more enveloped in the experience without compromising their safety.
I thought this article was really interesting because it makes total sense why Disney would want to move toward holograms. Animatronics can look impressive, but they’re also a little creepy sometimes, especially the older ones that move in stiff, robotic ways. I never really thought about how close guests get to them or how people might try to touch them, but now that I think about it, that totally sounds like something guests would do. Using holograms feels like a smart way to make characters appear closer and more magical without worrying about safety or ride damage. The Encanto ride also makes the whole thing even more exciting. Encanto’s visuals are so colorful and whimsical that a hologram feels more fitting than a physical robot. I’m really curious to see how far Disney pushes this tech and whether it ends up changing the way they design their rides in general.
4 comments:
I think that it is interesting how both traditional animatronics and holograms can have useful elements, and that even in a place with a lot of money like Disney, there is not one that is concretely better than the other. Physical animatronics have the big advantage that they exist in real 3 dimensional space, and will interact with the real world as if they are actually there. Holograms have the advantage that they do not exist where they appear to, which means you don’t have the same mechanical concerns that you would with an animatronic.
Something that is interesting in theme park environments that we don’t really have to deal with in theater is the patron's desire to actually affect the experience, whether it is just touching something they are not supposed to, trying to take a souvenir home with them, or trying to “expose” the magic. In a traditional theater we have a proscenium arch and team of ushers to hide our magic, but an amusement park ride doesn’t get those privileges.
I think this could be so cool and a great improvement from the current anamontronics. The animatronics that are currently on display at Disneyland can be kinda of creepy. I think that the animatronics that are displayed at Disney World, Orlando, Florida, are less creepy and have less of a robot feel to them. As Disneyland and Disney World are children's theme parks, I think that it will be a cool thing to observe and see if children feel more comfortable and less scared of rides if the characters are holograms rather than robot animatronics with limited mobility. I'm also super stoked that we are getting an Encanto-themed ride. It's a beautiful story and art style that I am super psyched to see portrayed as a Disney ride. I also think it's interesting that the article noted that a disadvantage to the current animatronics is that guests can touch them if they're too close, which I never thought about. It's interesting to see that that's what sparked the idea of a hologram
Disney has always been a part of technological innovation through a creative lens and seems to be continuing their exploration. Holograms are the definition of what humans believed the technology of the future would be. The ability to produce an image that is not physically placed where our eyes perceive it feels like magic. Disney is defined as the place where dreams come true so their technology needs to act as if magic was real and feasible. This new technology is supposedly supposed to be a part of a new Encanto themed ride to open in 2027. One detail that I found particularly interesting was that the technology wasn't originally built to create a more magical experience but a safer one. The new hologram technology allows for the image to be projected closer to the rider while not interfering with the cart or ride. The riders are then able to feel more enveloped in the experience without compromising their safety.
I thought this article was really interesting because it makes total sense why Disney would want to move toward holograms. Animatronics can look impressive, but they’re also a little creepy sometimes, especially the older ones that move in stiff, robotic ways. I never really thought about how close guests get to them or how people might try to touch them, but now that I think about it, that totally sounds like something guests would do. Using holograms feels like a smart way to make characters appear closer and more magical without worrying about safety or ride damage. The Encanto ride also makes the whole thing even more exciting. Encanto’s visuals are so colorful and whimsical that a hologram feels more fitting than a physical robot. I’m really curious to see how far Disney pushes this tech and whether it ends up changing the way they design their rides in general.
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