Overview
- A continuation patent application published on September 10, 2026 widens Disney’s claims from a specially clad drone design to the core onboard show system that runs and adapts performances.
- The system described stores multiple alternate show scripts in a drone’s memory and lets an onboard controller switch to a backup “B show” in real time when a drone falls behind or drifts off course.
- Patent text also lays out safety and coordination functions that track nearby drones and can block or scale back onboard effects such as pyrotechnics when units or personnel get too close.
- The new filing shifts the themed shell—drones dressed as ships or characters—into a narrower claim and focuses the lead claim on hardware and logic like effect devices, memory, and position-based script selection.
- The application traces to a July 2019 family that produced a granted patent in February 2025 and builds on Disney’s prior work with large themed drones, but Disney has not announced any product rollout tied to this filing.