Dark Universe (Epic Universe)

[belloq87]

As visually unappealing it is, as long as the ride is good and enjoyable I'll get over it. Thankfully from the videos I've seen it looks like a lot of fun. So I'm sure it'll be be fine. Also they'll probably end up fixing it anyway. I don't see it lasting that long they'll probably come up with another fix

But even better...instead of a straight horizontal bar (which gives this a high school baseball diamond feel), they should have been jagged, "savaged" bars evoking the slashing, shredding violence we'd expect of a werewolf. Again, easy to replace.

Anything that looks like actual, planned theming -- and not the result of a team hastily being dispatched to Home Depot to gather metal poles and wire and netting -- would have been very welcome.

Theme-work doesn't have to always look 100% convincing or immersive, but if you can tell at least an effort was made to be in-theme, that goes a long way.

 

[HandsomePete]

Since this seems like something straight out of Legal I lean toward blaming them - not for the nets themselves per se... but if they're now so concerned to point that it requires nearly surrounding the track with netting, it begs the question where t.f. were they during the approval process.

 

[Alicia]

The tall supports with net walls are in the fly through render from last year, so those were planned in advance. And appear to have electricity projections on them in the video.

The curved nets around the track are not in the video.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

Since this seems like something straight out of Legal I lean toward blaming them - not for the nets themselves per se... but if they're now so concerned to point that it requires nearly surrounding the track with netting, it begs the question where t.f. were they during the approval process.

I doubt it — they almost certainly were a part of that process and the nets we’re seeing seem far beyond what regulations would require. I mean, it’s not the first spinning coaster built close to a walking path.

I think (1) there’s an insurance issue which is KINDA legal, I guess, or (2) something happened during testing that they weren’t comfortable with.

 

[devinp267]

I don't mind it either, though for a different reason. I think the way they've made the netting that it gives the ride track a creepy 'monstrous' look/atmosphere.

Agreed, it does look containment-y

 

[Clive]

I think it would look fine if the barriers had woodsy theming -- either constructed of actual wood or faux wood. I gotta agree with @belloq87, the thrown-together Home Depot metal pole look is not it.

Sadly, given that this is coming down to the wire, I suspect we'll have to wait until a refurbishment a couple years from now to really address it.

 

[DrStarlander]

The steel posts for the net wall give off a sports field or golf driving range vibe because of the material -- steel post -- but also how efficient they are...they seem like exactly like what the lawyers/insurance people said was required.

I think it would be improved not only if they looked like wood, but also had cross-timbers, as if it was some medieval-ish fortification, it would "tell a story" more and look like it was a thematic element more than just a modern safety feature. Here's a quick image.

I didn't add this to the image but some stone ruins wall or other eye-catching thematic feature like a specimen tree or wagon or warning banners about werewolves in the foreground would help pull the eye away from the netting.

 

[Suchomimus]

The steel posts for the net wall give off a sports field or golf driving range vibe because of the material -- steel post -- but also how efficient they are...they seem like exactly like what the lawyers/insurance people said was required.

I think it would be improved not only if they looked like wood, but also had cross-timbers, as if it was some medieval-ish fortification, it would "tell a story" more and look like it was a thematic element more than just a modern safety feature. Here's a quick image.

I didn't add this to the image but some stone ruins wall or other eye-catching thematic feature like a specimen tree or wagon or warning banners about werewolves in the foreground would help pull the eye away from the netting.

I personally would have gone for a moat surrounding the wood with wooded fencing around the perimeter to ensure that guests don't fall in.

 

[Rhian]

Since this seems like something straight out of Legal I lean toward blaming them - not for the nets themselves per se... but if they're now so concerned to point that it requires nearly surrounding the track with netting, it begs the question where t.f. were they during the approval process.

This coaster was designed and approved later than other things in the park, wasn't it? It replaced the show IIRC. Could be we're seeing a result of decisions that came later in the process than they would otherwise and by then it was too late to make drastic changes necessary to smooth these things out thematically or in the physical space.

I think there's two problems they're addressing here: 1) prevent objects hitting guests on the paths around the coaster and 2) prevent objects hitting other trains/rider throughout the ride track since it overlaps itself several times.


It was mentioned earlier that this ride doesn't require lockers, but is that worth if this is the solution? Would requiring lockers have meant minimal fences/netting?

 

[Lucky Planet]

This coaster was designed and approved later than other things in the park, wasn't it? It replaced the show IIRC. Could be we're seeing a result of decisions that came later in the process than they would otherwise and by then it was too late to make drastic changes necessary to smooth these things out thematically or in the physical space.

I think there's two problems they're addressing here: 1) prevent objects hitting guests on the paths around the coaster and 2) prevent objects hitting other trains/rider throughout the ride track since it overlaps itself several times.


It was mentioned earlier that this ride doesn't require lockers, but is that worth if this is the solution? Would requiring lockers have meant minimal fences/netting?

it depends because rock it had lockers and still some netting areas. there's always the one guest that tries to go in without using the lockers. or hides their glasses or things in their pockets

 

[Magic-Man]

it depends because rock it had lockers and still some netting areas. there's always the one guest that tries to go in without using the lockers. or hides their glasses or things in their pockets

As someone who used to work on Rockit, yep. The sheer amount of people that try to sneak stuff onto the ride was insane.

 

[Lucky Planet]

As someone who used to work on Rockit, yep. The sheer amount of people that try to sneak stuff onto the ride was insane.

how did you find out? the metal detectors? or some other way?

 

[Magic-Man]

how did you find out? the metal detectors? or some other way?

Metal detectors, wands, and people bringing them back out in line after the detectors and not realizing we have people watching for it.

 

[Legacy]

I think it would look fine if the barriers had woodsy theming -- either constructed of actual wood or faux wood. I gotta agree with @belloq87, the thrown-together Home Depot metal pole look is not it.

Sadly, given that this is coming down to the wire, I suspect we'll have to wait until a refurbishment a couple years from now to really address it.

I think, with the “woodsy” vibe of the ride, it would actually be fairly easy (and relatively cheap) to add vines and ivy to the netting in a way that, at the very least, makes the netting feel more deliberate than how it looks now.

 

[Tobias]

A little while back there was photos of a little intriguing addition to the crypt, nothing like a little impalement that would make Vlad the Impaler happy.