Hanging (nearly) Upside Down Inside Monsters Unchained, Courtesy of a Very Large Robot

Monsters Unchained stopped mid-ride, and I got to experience it firsthand on our very first ride through Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment at Epic Universe.

It's worth explaining what's actually carrying you through the ride, because it's the same basic technology that powers Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey over at Islands of Adventure. Both attractions use giant robot arms as the ride vehicle, the kind of machines you see welding car frames, except these have a bench of four seats bolted to the end.

I don't know the exact specs, but these things are gigantic. My best guess puts them somewhere in the 20 to 25 foot range, and I'd be surprised if there much in the way of larger robot arms available on the market. Each arm rides along a track that moves through the darkroom, so rather than just swinging you around in one spot, it ferries you from a projection screen to a physical set to an animatronic and back again, twisting you into whatever angle makes sense for the scene.

And on Monsters Unchained, "whatever angle" occasionally includes fully upside down, several times over. It's a wild sensation, and it's a big part of why the ride hits so well, since your body never quite knows which way is up long enough to get comfortable.

From what I understand, Universal is still working out some of the kinks at Epic Universe, and we caught one of them in action. Partway through the ride, the arm froze with all four of us tilted at an odd angle, and there we stayed, hanging in our harnesses while lights switched on and revealed a very un-spooky backstage room.

Shortly after, a group of Epic Universe employees and engineers walked out onto the floor beneath us and started chatting like this was perfectly ordinary. Perhaps it is? They told us we were safe, asked us not to panic, and generally did a great job of keeping things calm, which I appreciated greatly given all the blood in my body had relocated to my head.

Not long after, the arm whirred back to life, rolled us right-side up, and ferried us straight to the exit. No finale, no monsters, just a quick trip to the unload platform and a story we've been telling ever since.

The team members at Epic Universe handed out one day only express passes, which I certainly appreciated, and we did take advtantage of them.

Would I ride it again? Absolutely, and I have. But knowing that these machines are stupendously strong, like - Hulk level strength - some quite unsavory images flashed through my head.