Universal seeks patent for flight simulator and drift-racer rides
Universal Parks and Resorts was tight-lipped when it recently said it planned to add attractions based on Nintendo video games at parks in Los Angeles, Orlando, Fla., and Japan.
But some details of those attractions may have slipped out by way of patent applications filed by a Universal subsidiary.
Universal City Studios has filed three patent applications, including an attraction that resembles a race car from a Nintendo video game.
The race car, dubbed a “Drift Racer,” would hold two passengers and allow them to control the speed and rear tires with a steering wheel, according to the patent application. The unique feature of the attraction is that the back end of the car would be able to drift or fishtail, based on how the riders steer or accelerate the vehicle.
Another application describes a flight-simulator ride that puts riders in what resembles an Iron Man suit. The riders are suspended from an overhead frame that lets them pitch and sway to simulate the sensation of flying, according to the patent application.
Although the Walt Disney Co. purchased Marvel Entertainment in 2009, the characters created by Marvel, including Spider-Man and the Hulk, already appear in attractions at Universal Studios parks in Orlando and Japan under intellectual property rights agreements.
A third application describes an attraction that lets riders slide on their bellies on a “mat racer” down a slippery slope. The mat racer looks like a sled, with two handles near the front of the mat that riders can grasp as they slide downward.
A spokesman for NBCUniversal, the parent company for Universal Studios Parks and Resorts, declined to comment on the patents.
Universal Studios Parks and Resorts announced last year that it had reached an agreement with Nintendo to create attractions based on the company’s popular video games such as “Super Mario Bros.,” “Donkey Kong,” “Pokemon” and “Legend of Zelda.”
Last month, Universal elaborated slightly, saying that “expansive, immersive and interactive” Nintendo-themed areas would open at the three parks in the next few years.
Park representatives haven’t given details about the Nintendo deal or the attractions or say where the rides would be added in the parks. Still, Universal Studios Parks and Resorts has been spending heavily in the past few years, adding new attractions almost annually to better compete with rivals such as Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
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