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-xaphor t1_iwpr5su wrote

The source is The Mouse Trap, quite literally the Onion for satirical Disney news.

https://www.mousetrapnews.com/post/disney-files-patent-for-roller-coaster-that-jumps-track

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katievspredator t1_iwpvv0p wrote

Probably a joke related to Universal Studios building their new Nintendo land theme park which will have a Donkey Kong minecart ride, which if you've played the games you'll know that's directly related to how the minecart levels are played (you "jump" your minecart across missing bits of track)

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NineSwords t1_iwplvdv wrote

Why not? I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

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SniffMyRapeHole t1_iwpozq4 wrote

If they weigh it just right it should be fine. The problem will be telling people they’re too morbidly obese for this round and they’ll have to wait for the next one.

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MOS95B t1_iwqn886 wrote

Even if the site were not a joke/satirical site, patenting something doesn't necessarily mean the patent holder ever intends to make such a product. It just means no one else can without paying them royalty/licensing fees.

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ShoddyJuggernaut975 t1_iwpoef4 wrote

Yeah, no. I don't doubt it is possible, but good luck getting approval to build it or an insurance company to insure it.

It need not be as accurate and precise as the engineer thinks. All you have to do is design it such that it can land safely with a wide range for accuracy and precision. For instance, jump it into a sort of funnel that will guide it back onto the tracks.

I think it much more likely and feasible to have a coaster which rides on rails to "jump" with an overhead rail structure that guides and can support the cars if needed until they return to the regular rails. Build the cars to look like, well, cars, with a roof that the overhead wheels are hidden in. Have the "jump" located in a tunnel so that the overhead rails are hidden from outside observers. Have a means of hiding the overhead rails from the riders (poor lighting, distraction, fog?). Viola, a roller coaster which gives the sensation and visual impression of jumping while not actually doing so and being no more unsafe than any other roller coaster.

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pokeybill t1_iwqwogm wrote

Some other coasters achieve a similar effect by having sections of track do the jumping, e.g. Hagrids wild ride at Universal Orlando.

There is a section where you "fall" 20 feet or so, after rolling backwards into a spider cave. It's just a section of track the same size as the train on a big hinged platform with hydraulics, but you can't see any of that with the scenery and etc.

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ElectromagneticBrain t1_iwps5ge wrote

You shouldn't be allowed to patent that, children have been making things like that for years in Rollercoaster Tycoon.

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Druss369 t1_iwplr2t wrote

Nope.

Just........nope

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TheTBass t1_iwpo21d wrote

Less track they have to maintain

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jjnefx t1_iwpufd8 wrote

Roller Coaster Tycoon IRL

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QuestionableAI t1_iwqzmo2 wrote

Sure, I'd put my life into the hands of Mickey Mouse ... sure. : /

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heckdditor t1_iwr4afb wrote

Well, less tracks means less maintenance.

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Darzok t1_iwv7efl wrote

I know its a joke but i kind of would love to try it just once if it was real.

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kielu t1_iwpv02x wrote

It's not a bug, it's a feature. Patented.

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DespoticLlama t1_iwpmwsw wrote

So we can now patent things that are theoretically possible... okay...

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pokeybill t1_iwqw24u wrote

You have always been able to do that. the vast majority of patents are never built, and many of them are for things which could never work.

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