A newly published Disney patent application describes technology that could use cameras, AI, and automated notifications to monitor animal behavior. The notifications could alert guests to animal activity and Cast Members to potentially concerning behavior.
The filing has drawn attention because its examples include vehicles, boats, animal viewing areas and other features that resemble attractions at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Patent Application
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published the application on September 24, 2026. Disney Enterprises, Inc. filed the application on March 19, 2025, under application number 19/084,604. The published application is titled “Techniques for Automatically Monitoring Animal Behaviors and Generating Notifications.”
The application lists Ching-Chien Chen, Isabelle Victoria Wang and Jeremy Eaton as inventors. Eaton’s listed location is Winter Garden, Florida, potentially connecting the patent to Animal Kingdom in Orlando.
Baby Ivy and Mother Willow at Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Disney Parks Blog
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The filing remains a patent application rather than a granted patent. Publication does not mean the technology has been approved for use or that Disney has decided to deploy it.
The Proposed System
The application describes cameras positioned in or near an animal enclosure. Other implementations could place cameras on vehicles and drones.
The cameras would provide images to an animal monitoring platform. A machine-learning model could then analyze those images to determine which animals appear and what they are doing. The filing describes several methods for processing the images. These include generative models, object-detection models and keypoint-detection models.
The filing also describes a system that could allow a guest or employee to submit a question about an animal through a wireless device.
Automated Notifications
The proposed technology would not necessarily send an alert every time a camera detects an animal.
The patent claims describe calculating a score for an identified animal or behavior. The system could send a notification when that score reaches a specified threshold. Other claims allow the score to take factors such as a user’s location or preferences into account.
Baby Tiger Bakso in Disney’s Animal Kingdom – YouTube, MouseSteps / JWL Media
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The application also describes notifications based on particular animals or behaviors that interest a guest.
That could allow the system to provide different alerts to different people. A guest interested in a particular animal could receive information about that animal, while an employee could receive a notification about a situation requiring attention. The proposed AI system could also monitor for signs an animal is becoming aggressive or is in need of care.
Device Alerts
The application describes several possible notification methods. These include text messages, push notifications, app messages, fixed displays, and vehicle-mounted displays. The filing also describes email and messages stored in a database.
The patent application also discusses an RFID device. It could take the form of a wristband, badge or another wearable electronic device associated with the animal facility. The device could display or play audio notifications intended for a particular guest or employee.
If pushed into the parks, this could allow guests to receive notifications on their Disney app.
Vehicles and Boats
One of the more detailed parts of the application involves transportation through an animal enclosure.
The filing describes cameras mounted on vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles. Its illustrations also show a vehicle path, a boat on a waterway, a drone and fixed cameras positioned around an animal enclosure.
Lions at Kilimanjaro Safaris – YouTube, 4K WDW
The proposed system could use those cameras to identify animals that are visible from one location but not another.
The application describes a scenario in which a vehicle or boat could move toward a viewing area after receiving an animal-related notification. It also describes modifying a planned course in response to a notification.
That could allow animal activity detected by the system to influence where a vehicle or boat travels, making Kilimanjaro Safaris a great use for the proposed technology.
Animal-care Alerts
The proposed technology could serve purposes beyond helping guests find animals.
The application describes situations involving animal behavior that may require attention. This could include an animal in distress, aggressive behavior between animals, or an animal blocking a roadway.
The filing explains that employees cannot necessarily observe every animal continuously, particularly when animals occupy large enclosures.
An automated monitoring system could analyze camera imagery and flag events that meet predetermined criteria. Employees could then receive notifications about those events and respond as necessary more quickly.
Potential Uses
If Disney eventually implements technology based on the application at Animal Kingdom, it could change how information about animal activity reaches guests and employees.
Guests could potentially receive alerts about animals or behaviors that match their interests. Employees could receive notifications about selected animal activity or situations that require attention.
A transportation system, such as Kilimanjaro Safaris, could also potentially use information about animal locations when determining where a vehicle or boat should travel.
Filing the patent, however, is separate from whether the patent will be approved or implemented. Whether that technology ever reaches Disney’s Animal Kingdom remains unconfirmed.
What do you think of the new patent for Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Sound off and let us know your thoughts.
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