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Concrete Is Going Into the Ground for Epic Universe's Unannounced Dark Universe Ride, and the Pilings May Trace the Show Building's Outline
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Concrete Is Going Into the Ground for Epic Universe's Unannounced Dark Universe Ride, and the Pilings May Trace the Show Building's Outline

Michael Travels
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Published

The unannounced ride being built behind Monsters Unchained has reached a new stage: concrete. New aerial photos show concrete trucks gathered at the Dark Universe expansion site, pouring foundation pilings for a building Universal still has not named.

WDW News Today published the photos on Saturday, October 24, from aerial photographer bioreconstruct, and opened with this: "Crews are delivering concrete for foundation pilings at the site of a future Dark Universe attraction."

Quick facts: The site lies behind the Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment show building at Epic Universe, stretching out to a backstage service road. Regularly spaced piling locations are now visible around parts of the site's edge. Concrete is being cast, but no aboveground frame is up. Universal has not announced the theme or an opening date.

Aerial view of a large dirt construction site with a tall crane-mounted rig, concrete mixer trucks and white pickups, bordered by a multi-lane road on the left and a large gray show building and a Gothic manor on the right, with a roller coaster track in trees at the bottom

The expansion pad with its tall piling rig and concrete trucks. The Monsters Unchained show building and Frankenstein Manor are at right. Aerial photo: bioreconstruct, via WDW News Today

The photographer sees an outline

The most interesting line came from the photographer. In the post embedded in WDWNT's article, bioreconstruct wrote: "Outline of the show building can now be seen from regular spacing of pilings along and near the service road. Pilings for foundations of the steel frame. Concrete seen actively being cast for a piling."

WDWNT was a little more careful, saying the pilings "will potentially form part of the foundations supporting the future show building's frame, although their specific purpose has not been confirmed."

Close aerial view of yellow and white concrete mixer trucks parked beside a tall red and yellow piling rig, with workers in high-visibility clothing, orange safety fencing, a front loader and pickup trucks around them

Concrete mixers gathered at the base of the piling rig. Aerial photo: bioreconstruct, via WDW News Today

What is on the ground right now

According to WDWNT's walkthrough of the photos, much of the interior is still open dirt covered in tire tracks, with orange safety fencing around the excavations. A line of holes and disturbed ground runs along the service road. Small wooden covers and A-frame markers sit on piling spots that have already been worked, and excavators, a front loader, pickups and open containers are parked around the site. As the outlet put it, "No aboveground building frame is visible yet."

Aerial view of a dirt construction site next to the stone-textured wall of a large show building, with a tall yellow lattice crane, concrete mixer trucks, excavators and orange safety fencing around a trench

The piling rig and concrete trucks working beside the existing show building. Aerial photo: bioreconstruct, via WDW News Today

How we got here

When we checked in on August 27, the plot was being dug out and flattened. By our late September update, a ride pit was being dug and a crane-mounted pile driver was working in the middle of the pad. WDWNT's early October aerials showed crews installing foundation piles. The October 24 photos add concrete.

What still has not happened is an announcement. Universal has not said what the ride is or when it opens, and WDWNT noted earlier this month that speculation about Creature from the Black Lagoon and Bride of Frankenstein concepts remains unconfirmed.

Which Universal monster do you want to get the next Dark Universe ride?

Sources

Image credits: bioreconstruct, via WDW News Today.

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Epic Universe Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment

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