Commercial barrier netting at theme-scale: lessons from Epic Universe

Theme park construction moves fast, draws public attention, and stacks trades on top of each other. Netting on those sites is rarely a catalog product — it may serve as a safety barrier, protective netting during build-out, or a permanent enclosure system. The specialty subcontractor has to keep pace with a general contractor’s schedule and the owner’s specifications.

Gorilla Netting recently completed a custom barrier netting installation at Epic Universe, Universal Orlando in Orlando, Florida, working through general contractor McDowell Construction. The job is a useful reference for what specialty commercial netting looks like on a major entertainment construction program.

The Epic Universe project, in public terms

Gorilla Netting was engaged through McDowell Construction to supply and install custom barrier netting at Epic Universe, Universal’s new theme park development in Orlando. The specific scope and dimensions are proprietary; the work was executed under a signed service agreement with Gorilla Netting’s standard 5-year warranty on netting, materials, and labor. The project was awarded and successfully completed in late 2024.

See the full Epic Universe commercial netting project in our portfolio.

Why large entertainment builds are not standard netting bids

Large-scale theme park construction requires custom netting solutions — whether for safety barriers, protective netting during construction, or permanent enclosure systems. McDowell Construction needed a reliable specialty netting contractor to deliver a custom system aligned with Universal’s build-out specifications. That combination of custom geometry, active construction phasing, and an owner with exacting standards is a different procurement problem than panel replacement on an existing sports or golf facility.

What GCs and owners should lock before netting goes to bid

• Whether the system is temporary protection, a permanent enclosure, or both across phases
• Coordination path with the GC and how field changes will be routed
• Alignment with the owner’s build-out specifications
• Warranty expectations on netting, materials, and labor
• Schedule and access assumptions on an active multi-trade site

Specialty subcontracting on a high-visibility program

Gorilla Netting designed and installed the custom netting system at the Epic Universal site, coordinating directly with McDowell Construction. Gorilla Netting’s involvement in a project of this profile demonstrates its ability to execute custom netting work within major general contractor environments at high-profile, high-visibility construction programs.

Gorilla Netting delivers turnkey commercial netting installs — site evaluation, engineered systems, procurement, installation, and a 5-year warranty on covered work — and mobilizes nationwide.

Planning barrier netting for an entertainment or commercial construction program? Request a project-specific evaluation.