Fog brings mystery and intrigue to a setting, which is why it’s so popular for movies, stage performances and Halloween events. Now, a local themed entertainment firm's new technology — utilizing steam — makes such fog more efficient and may find a place in Orlando's next theme park.
Winter Garden-based Birket Engineering, via its majority-owned ITMation in Hong Kong, has a process for making steam that's already in use in Hong Kong, and Birket President Steve Birket said that tech will come to Central Florida.
“Traditional steam effects rely on high-pressure boilers to create the billowing blast you might imagine coming from alongside the wheels of a steam locomotive,” he said. “Facility-use steam boilers require dedicated rooms, safety-rated systems and specialized boiler technicians to certify their use.”
Birket said a variety of technology advancements — including the use of compressed air — can create steam effects without boilers. “This greatly reduces facility footprints and operational costs. This first-of-its-kind effect technology ... will be installed for guests to see in the Orlando area," said Birket, who was not at liberty to name his client or clients.
However, that tech may be seen at one of Orlando's upcoming theme parks — Universal's Epic Universe, according to industry experts.
CEO Dennis Speigel of International Theme Park Services said Universal Creative staff are considering options for making Epic Universe’s Dark Universe realm foggy.
“They're working on a process to pump fog throughout the area as much as they can during the night, to give it an eerie kind of feeling when people come in.” Speigel said that fogging up the park may be a way to entice guests to save Dark Universe visits for nighttime.
Renderings of Dark Universe show the environment may use fog or smoke to recreate the frightening atmosphere of the monster films. Fog effects can be used to enhance an area or an attraction.
Dark Universe attractions revealed
Representatives with Universal could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, Orlando’s attractions have made significant advancements enabled by tech, such as immersive rides and interactive wrist bands.
Orlando Business Journal has tracked some of the patents for tech likely to show up this year and next at the area’s theme parks.
- Filed by Universal Destinations & Experiences, a patent titled “Attraction System for Amusement Park” published June 6 reveals the company is developing a more advanced version of rides that create the sensation of movement even when the rider is stationary or mostly still.
- Another Universal patent application filed earlier this year and titled “Interactive Way-Finder” facilitates a wide range of capabilities and features different modes for different purposes.
- Nashville-based themed entertainment development firm Medici Xd LLC has filed a patent application for “Amusement Arrangements with Moving Substructures,” which Disney aficionados quickly have connected to the popular Epcot theme park ride Soarin’ since the original attraction is mentioned in the filing by name.
- Disney Enterprises Inc., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) along with a Swiss public research university called ETH Zurich filed a patent application titled “Simulation of Robotics Devices Using a Neural Network Systems and Methods.” Here’s how it could work.
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