A new Bloomberg report has pulled back the curtain on Walt Disney Imagineering’s next-generation technology pipeline, revealing a sweeping wave of robotic innovation that will fundamentally change how Disney parks feel. The report, based on access to Imagineering’s R&D facilities in Glendale, California, details several ambitious projects already in development: a six-foot robotic manta ray inspired by Gramma Tala from Moana, a fleet of autonomous dolphin-like robots inspired by Avatar, a hovering Star Wars food cart droid, and a broader push to turn open lagoons into interactive entertainment stages.
The Gramma Tala Manta Ray
Inside the Imagineering R&D lab, supported by heavy scaffolding, sits a wooden manta ray prototype roughly the size of a car. The final version is planned to transform into the Gramma Tala character from Moana, appearing at a lagoon in a Disney park sometime soon. The robot uses existing hydrofoil technology to propel itself through the water with lifelike movement, capable of performing alongside human actors and interacting with audiences in real time. The six-foot figure could also potentially be repurposed for other franchises, including Star Wars, depending on where it is ultimately deployed.
A Fleet Of Autonomous Dolphin Robots
Alongside the manta ray, Bloomberg reporters were shown footage of mechanical dolphins swimming together in a lagoon. These sub-surface robots are inspired by the fictional Ilu creatures from Avatar: The Way of Water and use jet pump propulsion, biomimetic articulation, and GPS navigation to operate almost autonomously. They are designed to interact with each other to tell a story, representing a fundamentally different approach to water show entertainment. Historically, Disney’s nighttime water spectacles have relied on static fountains and heavy piping networks bolted to lagoon floors, infrastructure that is expensive to maintain and vulnerable to corrosion. The autonomous aquatic robots would replace that fixed infrastructure entirely.
Kyle Laughlin, Senior Vice President for Technology and R&D at Walt Disney Imagineering, described the scope of the ambition: “We’re working backwards through our other experiences to test and learn so that we can deliver on that promise and that all of our parks will benefit from the innovations between now and then.”
A Hovering Star Wars Food Droid
Perhaps the most immediately exciting detail in the Bloomberg report is the hovering food cart droid concept inspired by a food truck from The Mandalorian and Grogu. This is a completely separate platform from the BDX droids already walking around near the Millennium Falcon in Galaxy’s Edge. The new droid hovers rather than walks, and is designed to deliver drinks directly to guests while putting on a show during the handoff. According to the report, Disney plans to showcase the droid at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in August 2026, with a possible Disneyland debut by the end of the year if testing continues to go well. Imagineering is also exploring the use of marionettes and puppets in new ways as part of the same broader push to bring more life to park environments, according to SVP Imagineer Kyle Laughlin.
Part Of A $60 Billion Investment
All of these projects are part of Disney’s previously announced 10-year plan to invest $60 billion in its parks and resorts, the most ambitious expansion in the company’s history. The animatronic and robotics work also ties directly to the next-generation Audio-Animatronic technology that debuted on Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland on June 26, which uses Unreal Engine 5 and Epic Games’ real-time front-projection mapping to make a pirate figure transform into a skeleton before guests’ eyes. That technology, as Scott Gustin noted, is the same front-facing projection system Disney showcased in R&D last year. The pirate is its first real-world park deployment.
Taken together, the Bloomberg report paints a picture of an Imagineering division operating at a level of ambition the parks have not seen in decades. The shift from fixed infrastructure to autonomous, free-roaming characters across both land and water is not incremental. It is a fundamental reimagining of what a Disney park environment can be. For more on what is coming to Disney Parks, check out our coverage of the Pirates of the Caribbean next-gen animatronic.
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