Universal Receives Patent for New Boat Ride Propulsion System

Universal City Studios was granted a patent earlier today for “Propulsion for Amusement Park Ride,” a system that could make boat rides, and possibly other attractions, even more immersive. Thanks to Aahs n Oohs for sharing the news with us.

Here’s the abstract:

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods, apparatuses, and systems for implementing a vehicle system for amusement parks. A vehicle system can have one or more vehicles for carrying passengers. Each vehicle can be propelled via a propulsion assembly that is propelled by a flow of fluid. In some aspects, the propulsion assembly can provide one or more adjustable surfaces that extend into the flow of fluid in a trough.

Don’t worry if that doesn’t excite you. Patent abstracts aren’t written for most theme park fans, after all.

In simpler terms, the ride vehicle floats in one body of water while its propulsion system resides in a separate fluid-filled channel underneath. Adjustable fins or paddles catch the current flowing through that lower channel. Changing their angle (or how much surface area faces the current) changes the vehicle’s speed. Interestingly, the patent states that those fins can be controlled remotely or by passengers inside the boat.

That’s some cool tech, but its potential becomes even clearer when you compare it to traditional boat rides. Attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean rely on the same body of water for both scenery and movement. A Pirates boat floats through a narrow channel, with the flume walls keeping it on course as the current carries it forward. Friction wheels take over where more control is needed, but for most of the ride, the boat’s movement is dictated by the flume.

Universal’s system separates the story from the mechanics. The water around the vehicle could move forward, backward, or sit perfectly still while the lower current does the actual work. The patent also describes hidden gates used to stop the vehicle altogether. Riders would understand why they stopped, but not how.

That gives designers a much bigger toolbox for creating an immersive world. The storytelling wouldn’t need to follow the physics guests can see because the real physics could remain hidden beneath the boat. Imagine moving upstream against the current or gliding across a perfectly still surface.

There are still questions to be answered, including how much energy it would take to move these boats against the current. But for now, this is giving me Rise of the Resistance vibes. Only with water.

Not just for boats

The patent covers more than water attractions. It also describes wheeled vehicles traveling on a surface above a trough filled with flowing water or air. It even mentions an “airship” floating in the air.

So Universal could use the basic system to propel dry ride vehicles, too. We wonder if it could also be used to transition between wet and dry sections. The patent doesn’t cover amphibious vehicles, so that’s just speculation on my part.

Of course, a patent is not an attraction announcement. Universal may never build this system. But if they did…

How could this be used?

Last month, Bioscotto speculated about a new attraction coming to Epic Universe’s Dark Universe. He wondered whether Universal could build a Creature from the Black Lagoon boat ride or something amphibious, similar to NightFlight Expedition at Dollywood.

This patent sounds tailor-made for a cutting-edge Monsters-themed boat ride. Using it for an amphibious attraction is a bigger leap. Again, the patent doesn’t describe anything with those transitions.

NightFlight Expedition uses a custom amphibious vehicle to combine coaster and whitewater sections in a single attraction. That ride, being a hybrid coaster, will offer more thrills than an attraction using Universal’s patent. But that doesn’t mean both aren’t incredibly cool.

NightFlight Expedition opens at Dollywood on August 19.

Bioscotto has already told me he wants to write a follow-up to his Dark Universe article based on this new information, so that’s all I’ll say about that land for now.

Personally, I’d love to see Universal bring a dark boat ride to Universal Kids Resort, with or without this technology. The park has no indoor rides, something its detractors love to point out.

A future expansion – perhaps themed to How to Train Your Dragon – would be the obvious place to change that. We doubt Frisco would be the debut location for this system, but introducing cutting-edge ride technology in a kids’ park would definitely move the needle.

As always, a patent doesn’t mean Universal has an attraction ready to go or that this will ever make it beyond the drawing board. But we’re hoping it does. Any ride system that separates what guests see from what’s moving the vehicle only adds to the immersion.