Park ride with drop swing propulsion

A park ride for propelling a passenger vehicle via a swing during a drop in elevation, comprising:

• at a first elevation, a load-in track section supporting and guiding the passenger vehicle;
• and
• a drop swing propulsion assembly including:
• a base support structure;
• a linkage track section;
• and
• a pair of spaced apart and parallel elongated arms, wherein each of the elongated arms is pivotably coupled, via coupling members, at a first end to the base support structure and at a second end to the linkage track section,
• wherein the base support structure, the linkage track section, and the elongated arms are arranged to each provide a link of a four-bar linkage,
• wherein the drop swing propulsion assembly first operates to position the linkage track section in a first position adjacent the load-in track section to receive the passenger vehicle and second operates to drop and swing the linkage track section with the passenger vehicle to a second position via concurrent rotation of the elongated arms through a predefined rotation angle,
• wherein the linkage track section has a horizontal plane orientation throughout the drop and swing while the elongated arms are rotated through the rotation angle, and
• wherein the linkage track section in the second position is at a second elevation less than the first elevation.

A park ride for propelling a passenger vehicle via a swing during a drop in elevation, comprising:

• a drop swing propulsion assembly configured as a four-bar linkage with a first link provided by a linkage track section, a second link provided by a base support structure, and third and fourth links provided by linkage arms each pivotally pivotably coupled at opposite ends to the linkage track section and the base support structure;
• a sensor assembly;
• and
• a system controller performing the steps of:
• processing first sensor data output by the sensor assembly to verify alignment of the linkage track section with a load-in track section;
• processing second sensor data output by the sensor assembly to determine when the passenger vehicle is positioned at and captured at an end of the linkage track section;
• and
• generating a control signal to operate the drop swing propulsion assembly to rotate the third and fourth links through a rotation angle to drop and swing the linkage track section from a first elevation to a lower second elevation while retaining the linkage track section in a horizontal orientation.