One thing that Disney has always been good at is pushing the boundaries of technology to make rides that are more immersive and more fun for riders. The company has even been given awards for its ride technology, including awards for Rise of the Resistance, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

But Disney will never rest on its laurels. The company is always coming up with new ways of making rides better and spends a lot of time filing patents for those ideas. Well, a new patent has been filed that could change how future rides like Soarin’ could operate.

The patent is for a flying theater ride, where riders would walk onto a flat platform inside a theater, and then sit down. Then the whole platform would rotate up to face a screen, where it could move up or down, or tilt in sync with whatever the film is showing. So it’s similar to Soarin’ except that the whole floor would basically be what’s moving, instead of the individual banks of ride vehicles.

The system also works differently from Soarin’ in that the seating platform starts flat, as in a floor. The whole platform rotates and moves up to face the screen. Then arms and actuators underneath the platform move it up, down, forward, and backward in sync with the film.

Here’s a look at what the system would look like completely rotated, with the ride seats stacked up like they’re on a wall. Pretty cool, right?

What’s most interesting about this patent is how it loads. By having the seats on a level surface at the beginning and end of the ride, it will be easier for folks to get on and off it, which would help increase ride capacity. The patent also says, “Furthermore, the platform may enable users with disabilities (e.g., userswho use an assistive device such as a  wheelchair, cane, crutch, etc.) to access the entertainment system.”  The patent also shows what a scaled-up version of the technology might look like in a larger theater.

Looking over all the rides Disney has in the works right now, we can’t really see how this might be used for something that’s already been planned, but who knows what kind of rides Disney has planned for the future that we don’t already know about. Of course, a patent is just that…a patent. Filing a patent doesn’t automatically mean that Disney is working on a ride with that technology. But the patent and technology are there if a ride idea comes up that could use it.

We’ll keep an eye out for more Disney news, so stay tuned to DFB for more.

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What do you think of this patent? Let us know in the comments!