Disney Eyes Drone Technology For Theme Park Parades, Firework Shows

ANAHEIM (CBSLA.com) — Larger-than-life-sized Disney characters could one day take to the skies over the Happiest Place On Earth using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

KNX 1070's Mike Landa reports the Walt Disney Company has applied for three patents that could replace the more traditional air- and gas-filled blimps and balloons at Disneyland.

Disney engineers have signaled plans to develop "multi-drone aerial display" systems using floating pixels, floating projection screens, and marionettes, according to the Orange County Register.

The "floating pixel" patent could be used to replace potentially dangerous firework shows with an aerial display that would use the night sky as a scree to display images or colors.

Another patent would let Disney use drones to control the movements of large puppets that would give the appearance of walking or flying in air, The Register reported.

David Koenig, author of the book Mouse Tales, said he thinks the patents could help usher Disneyland's famed parades into the 21st century.

"I think crowds would marvel at the sight of a creation that could really look like Tinkerbell or Dumbo or much more realistic, fly through the crowd or over the crowd," Koenig said.

A Disneyland Resort spokeswoman declined comment on the use of drone technology at the Magic Kingdom.

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• Drone