Disney’s creepy AI move has fans cringing: ‘I hate it’

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Welcome to the future.

Disney has quietly filed two patents to develop AI-powered characters that could make interacting with their park’s animatronics feel realer than ever.

Disney Enterprises was recently granted a patent for an AI-powered machine built for “interaction communication” that uses input from a user to form bonds between the robot and the guest.

The animatronic will prompt guests to share a memory of theirs, which the animatronic will match with their own memories stored in a memory bank, then generate a response to the guest.

If no memory is matched, the character will create a new memory that will be added to its memory bank.

The second patent allows for the character to write and perform a song, poem, or dance based on the memories the guest shares.

The move comes as Disney has been investing in more advanced animatronics, including a free-roaming robot of Frozen’s Olaf, and other animatronics in rides including Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

As news of the patents hit the internet, fans were split.

“This is inevitable, & I hate it!” said one commenter.

“AI sucks and I’m tired of it in everything,” said another.

Some fans were concerned that this could replace the park’s many character actors.

“So…basically trying to eliminate having cast members playing the characters. And given how some guests tend to act around the cast members,” said one social media user.

“Why do I see somewhere down the road Disney ends up firing majority of the cast members who work at the parks in support of having AI garbage to work the rides, work the food stands and of course the play the characters that roam around the park.”

Some were open to the idea.

“As long as AI isn’t taking anyone’s jobs I don’t see it as harmful. If they start removing live actors for AI animatronics then we riot,” said another.

Disney has been leaning into automated technology lately. Earlier this month, they were granted a patent for automatically detecting and removing background crowds from photos.

Disneyland Paris’ free-roaming Olaf animatronic went viral in March when it shockingly malfunctioned in front of guests, suddenly powering down mid-sentence and falling backwards to the ground. Introduced in late 2025, Disney dubbed the robot its “latest brand-new innovation.”

Even when they work, the entertainment giant’s animatronics don’t always go over well with fans. Fans were creeped out last year when Disney unveiled its first ever audio-animatronic of Disney founder Walt Disney, with some saying it didn’t resemble the founder.

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