Disney World's Star Wars: Rise Of The Resistance Ride Becomes A Victim Of Lawsuit
Walt Disney’s newest and most popular Star Wars themed ride and most popular ride is pulling the House of Mouse into yet another lawsuit. According to Florida Politics, a former Universal executive is suing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for unspecified damages because of the technology used in Disney’s new ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. The executive, Louis Alfieri, is mostly known for being the former Universal creative director for Orlando’s Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster. Now he is the chief creative officer for the New York-based Raven Sun Creative.
Raven Sun Creative claims in the lawsuit that they own the patent for the technology used in the vertical-moving rider trolley with videos on a screen. This technology makes the ride feel more real by giving the riders the sensation that they are moving with the environment that they see. They do this when the seats move in sync to the video displayed on screen.
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Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction first opened at Disney World in December of 2019, and at Disneyland a month later in January 2020. Raven Sun Creative claims it reached out to Disney Imagineers in 2014 with a detailed proposal for the technology, but Disney turned it down. Fast forward to March of 2020 right before Disneyland and Disney World shut down temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Raven Sun Creative claimed they reached out to Disney saying Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance infringed on Raven Sun Creative’s patent. In the lawsuit, it claims Disney uses the same technology when the riders are ejected out of an escape pod in the ride’s finale.
Despite being the “Happiest Place on Earth,” this is hardly Disney’s first lawsuit. Just to name a few, many fans are probably already aware of Scarlett Johansson suing Disney over Black Widow. Another lawsuit claims Disney stole Evel Knievel’s likeness for the hit film Toy Story 4. The list goes on and on, from claims that Disney does not pay their workers a living wage to potentially stealing someone’s likeness to allegedly infringing on a technological patent. It comes to no one’s surprise, that Disney being the wealthy powerhouse that it is, will not be deterred by any kind of technological defamation, no matter the intention of Raven Sun’s attempt at shutting down its most popular attraction.
The attraction has brought in massive crowds to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, and Disneyland in California. The ride even brought in a 2% rise in attendance for Disney’s domestic parks upon its opening fiscal quarter. Anyone interested in experiencing Rise of the Resistance will be met with extremely long lines. Despite the long wait time, the ride has been blessed with a high volume of positive reviews. In fact, most negative reviews for the ride are aimed towards Disney’s frustrating virtual queues, and visitors wondering if they would get a chance to experience the ride. Nevertheless, Disney and Star Wars fans alike flock to the theme park for a chance to experience the ride.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is a huge attraction that promises to be unlike anything you have ever experienced. The unique experience takes you on a journey starting in a hidden forest just outside Black Spire Outpost as the Resistance gathers recruits for a secret mission. This mission promises to have unexpected twists and turns as the First Order captures the riders aboard a First Order Star Destroyer. On this ride, riders can expect to see iconic Stormtroopers along with some fan favorites like Kylo Ren, Rey, and even BB-8. For anyone concerned that they might miss their chance to ride the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, don’t worry. It does not look like it will be going anywhere any time soon.
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Source(s): Screen Rant, Florida Politics, AllEars