Han30

Since you are going midweek it should hopefully be quiet although it is school trip season.
 
I visited Sunday just gone and it was quite manic but if you get there early enough you can easily get in 2-3 rides before the queues build up.
 
I would suggest taking a packed lunch as I find food at Legoland pretty vile - although I did buy quite a nice iced latte at the end of the day which wasn’t bad.
 
If you want to visit the shop don’t go at the end of the day as it gets big queues - though hopefully not as bad as weekends.
 
Hill train at the end of the day is a god send.  I’ve only used it a couple of times but Sunday my back was killing me and you also get a lovely view of Viking River Splash (RIP) from the train.  And speaking of - the rapids pathways are all blocked off so you can’t go past it in either direction.
 
We did Dragon and the log flume very early and both were almost walk on which was good - I think the Duplo area gets queues quick as it’s one of the first areas you get to so going further back could work in your favour

Just remembered another one I had a good few years ago where Thorpe switched rides around - I distinctly remember people going down Depth Charge in a singular swarm seat (with restraint).  Pretty sure Rumba boats were going down Storm Surge and boats from Storm Surge were on Rapids.  

Earlier in the day, I promised to write a longer review of Hyperia when I got home. Well, here it is!
 
While it's not exactly the aspect of the project I was most interested in, I'll start by giving a few cursory thoughts on the theming and the area...
The Area
One aspect of Hyperia that has been heavily criticised is the theming and the area. I have to say that I did not personally get the hate for this; the front-of-house areas look fine to me. It's nothing breathtaking, but I think it's functional and looks perfectly fine. I quite like the black and gold aesthetic, I quite like the station, I quite like the plaza, the queue landscaping is nice enough, and the queue is by no means terrible (although not anything overly inspiring either). In terms of some aspects I would critique, however:
The queue could maybe have had a more interesting and less contained layout. I would have loved it if the queue had wound around the ride Wicker Man-style and offered various different vantage points. The ride area itself is quite unsightly at present, particularly the area around the splashdown. The lake with all of the weeds in it looks quite ugly, in my view, and I don't think the actual splashdown area is particularly pretty either. The rust-coloured splashdown track in particular does not look good at all. However, you don't notice this too much on the ride, and the ride area will probably grow to look better with time. Speaking of the splash effect, the whole splashdown is an idea that had such promise, but has turned out to be a complete damp squib. It seems to have completely died only a couple of months into operation, but I did see it working on my visit 2 months ago, if I'm remembering correctly, and I think it's a completely redundant effect even when it works. That sort of effect is designed primarily for visual appeal for non-riders, so when it's hidden behind a 7ft fence and no one can see it properly, it completely loses its purpose. If I'm being pedantic, I'm not a huge fan of how the maintenance shed looks and I would have preferred for it to parallel the style of the station. That is an extremely pedantic point, however; it's not really a big deal. Overall, though, I wasn't too displeased with the area and theming. It's not some spectacular theming extravaganza by any stretch, but I think it overall looks nice, clean, stylish and perfectly functional. I think the style works well for the sort of ride Hyperia is, and I was never expecting heavy theming from a hyper coaster.
 
Let's now move onto the far more interesting aspect of the project; the ride itself...
The Ride
Now Hyperia has been a ride that I've been excited for for absolutely ages. I watched its build process with great anticipation, and I had high expectations for the ride. But the question is; did it live up to those expectations? Well, dear reader, my answer is; yes, it definitely did! I had 3 rides today, one in row 8 and two in the back row, and Hyperia is an absolutely sublime coaster experience, in my view!
 
The negative g-forces are absolutely absurd; the ride advertises 14.8 seconds of negative g-force, and let me tell you, I can fully believe that figure! They've designed this ride for weightlessness and I think it delivers; you seem to spend most of the ride duration pinned out of your seat in some capacity!
 
The speed is also absurd; it's easy to forget just how fast Hyperia is, but let me tell you that you're quickly reminded of just how fast 81mph is when you're actually on the ride! The sense of speed in parts of Hyperia's layout is ridiculous!
 
 For me, an element-by-element walkthrough of Hyperia goes something like this:
The first outerbanked turn out of the station before the lift hill is utterly pointless; I don't know why this couldn't have just been a regular turn. The outerbanked version seemingly serves no purpose other than to be mildly awkward and uncomfortable. The lift hill is very fast. I liked the views from the top! The first drop is absolutely unhinged, and probably my favourite part of the ride! I'm a fan of a big first drop, and Hyperia's is truly wild; the ejector airtime is absolutely sublime and surprisingly sustained, and the 180 degree twist adds a really interesting additional sensation! It's definitely right up there as one of my favourite first drops I've ever done, alongside those of Mako and Iron Gwazi! The Immelmann is also absolutely sublime! I love the sheer sense of speed you get going up into it, and the sustained ejector airtime you get coming out of it is absolutely top-dollar! You're pinned out of your seat for a good couple of seconds, and the airtime is absolutely sensational! The Immelmann is another element that's right up there as one of my favourite elements on the ride! The outerbank into an inversion was a very hyped up element of Hyperia, and I have to say that it did not disappoint; it's absolutely insane! The sustained sideways ejector here is absolutely wild; you are pinned sideways out of your seat for what feels like seconds and seconds, and the negative g-forces are fairly strong in terms of force here as well! I'm not entirely convinced that I prefer sideways airtime to good old straight airtime, personally, but this element is absolutely brilliant nonetheless! The zero-g stall is an excellent element, but definitely weaker than the other three big ones for me. With that being said, you still get some very fun hangtime, and it is probably the most convincing example of a zero-g stall I've yet done (the other two stalls I've done are VelociCoaster and Iron Gwazi). I dare say I still find the zero-g stall a slightly overhyped element type based on my experiences of them, but this one did convince me of the merits of the zero-g stall a little more than VelociCoaster's or Iron Gwazi's did; it is a very good element with some excellently fun hangtime! The stall is fun, but not quite up there as a standout moment of Hyperia for me. With that being said, it has very tough competition in this regard; if this element were not on a ride as stacked with brilliant elements as Hyperia, it would probably stand out more! The splashdown trim is quite noticeable. I didn't find it uncomfortable enough to significantly detract from the ride, but the braking force is strong enough that it does seem to contort your face a tad... The outerbanked turn after the splashdown was a surprisingly excellent element for me! It seemed to start with you getting some really decent sideways floater that then transitioned into a surprisingly strong pop of ejector, and I found that really interesting and fun in terms of how it rode! The airtime hill into the brakes is an excellent way to finish with a bang; that hill provides a lovely pop of good, clean, surprisingly strong ejector airtime! On this coaster, every single element hits and hits hard; there is a strong selection of standout "wow" moments on Hyperia. The first drop, the Immelmann and the outerbank into an inversion are all absolutely world-class elements, and that whole first sequence is just perfection! The other elements also hit well and provide good thrills and weightlessness, and I don't think there's one bit of Hyperia that doesn't deliver. Well, other than maybe the trim, and that weird turn before the lift hill...
 
As per usual with Mack Rides, the trains with overhead lap bars are immensely comfortable. I think Hyperia's are perhaps the most comfortable example of this train style I've experienced. In terms of smoothness; there is a rattle. It's noticeable. But it wasn't strong enough that it massively bothered me. It was more that I could feel a bit of a shaking sensation rather than that the rattle was actively hurting me or massively detracting from the experience. It's no worse than the mild rattle of, say, Stealth. The ride was overall very comfortable and enjoyable for me, and there were no severe jolts or anything (roughness-wise, I tend to find myself more sensitive to sudden jolts than rattling).
 
In terms of some comparisons; Hyperia is comfortably my favourite coaster at Thorpe Park (it was previously Stealth), comfortably my favourite UK coaster (it was previously Wicker Man) and also comfortably my favourite Mack ride (it was previously Icon). In terms of my overall rankings; out of 123 ridden coasters, I've conservatively settled on the #5 spot, behind Mako, VelociCoaster, Silver Star and Iron Gwazi (in that order).
 
If I were to offer up some pedantic hair-splitting critiques that explain why it's not my #1, and why it's not higher than #5:
The rattle. Hyperia's rattle didn't overly bother me at all, but the coasters above Hyperia have a more perfect blissfully smooth feel to the point where it's almost an active positive attribute in itself. The trim. I didn't find it overly uncomfortable, but it is quite noticeable, more so than on Mako and Silver Star, and as I said, it does sort of contort your face a bit from the braking force, which isn't the case on Mako or Silver Star. The fact that the ride lacks straight airtime hills. As sublime as Hyperia's sideways and inverted airtime elements are and as plentiful as the sustained weightlessness is, nothing quite beats a good old straight airtime hill for me, and Hyperia does have somewhat of a shortage of traditional straight airtime moments. I know those are very pedantic points, and pretty much entirely based on personal preference, but when you're talking about the top 5 and determining exact placements, I think I can afford to get pedantic! When the coasters in question are this good, it gets competitive at the top, and I have little choice other than to split hairs!
 
One legitimate critique I will offer of the ride itself is with regard to the capacity. It's not the highest for a brand new major ride, at 700-800pph, but I think a key reason for that has nothing to do with the park's operations and may have something to do with the brake run. They were operating brilliantly, and stacking was very rare, but the train seems to take a very, very long time to return to the station and moves along the brake run track very, very slowly. This results in more idle time in the station, and if they were able to speed up the train's movement through the brake run, it might improve the capacity. Hopefully this is something the park can look into in the future.
 
But overall, I absolutely loved Hyperia! It's my favourite coaster at Thorpe Park, my favourite coaster in the UK and sits in my top 5! The weightlessness is sublime, the sense of speed is absurd, the elements are absolutely top-drawer, and all in all, it's just an absolutely sublime coaster! What a brilliant investment for Thorpe Park and the UK theme park industry!
 
On a side note, here are a few photos I took of the ride:

Thorpe, Chessie and Legoland are all under 30 miles from where I live but I’m closer by a few miles to Legoland which is the hardest to get to out of the 3 by public transport (I don’t drive).  I barely visit Legoland - once a year, maybe 2 at a push. I went on opening day of Minifigure Speedway and don’t have an urge to go back there anytime soon (too damned busy/hilly!)

So, summer holidays are approaching and Chessington are closing their water ride all summer. I imagine this is the highest throughput ride on park too. 
 
If it re-opens for September, it'll then go back to being closed midweek till the end of season too.
 
Chessington just never gets better does it.
 

u ok hun?

I can see why a lot of people rate it so highly - it is in my top 3 UK coasters.  However I have only ridden it once on opening day so it’s hard to gauge - I feel like I need a decent amount of rides on it and front and back etc to come to that conclusion. 
I was very much wowed by it and look forward to (hopefully) another ride in a couple of weeks (if it’s working!)

This made me laugh so much 🤣🤣 that’s some anger directed at a coaster - ”flaky bast**d had me howling 😭🤣

On Stealth today, a chap who I sat beside had his two very young children on the row in front of us. As is my way, and establishing that this was their first time on the ride, I asked if he'd given them any advice? He then called out to the kids shouting "it'll be alright!". It was, but I personally thought he could have done better.

Yeah this morning didn't go well.
 
The lack of communication on park is a failure of basic customer service. The socials announcement happened at the same time the plaza holding pens were let loose, and when we got to Tacotaria another guest (from the numbers leaving the queue) told us the news.
 
That is a lot of space where no staff where located either to redirect or inform, and that is unacceptable given the general consensus on yesterday.
 
Very disappointed. Especially with the usual "well you have a MAP" response. We are not local or easily able to organise a visit given personal circumstances (especially when they were handing out Fastrack to people lucky enough to be kicked out the "proper" queue).
 
Thorpe will always be Thorpe.

Went today for opening day and had one of the best days at Thorpe in a long time.  There was just a great energy there, guests seemed happy, staff were brilliant.
 
It’s the first opening day I have attended for a coaster at Thorpe and I’m glad I went.  Of late I have become quite critical of Thorpe and wasn’t even hugely excited for Hyperia despite following the construction but seeing it for the first time in person flying around the track was awesome.  Then - riding it - wow!!  It’s only my second hyper coaster and my 70th cred (which is crazy low for an old gal like me 🤣).  Honestly I was blown away by the entire ride experience.  Was great to see people on the trains coming out of the station genuinely excited then returning clapping and cheering - to be a small part of that was fab and I’ve sort of gone from not wanting to continue with my pass once I’m out of my 12 months to really wanting to keep it.
 
I think Hyperia will make a massive impact on the park for a long time to come and it feels that this is exactly what Thorpe Park have needed for a good few years 

Went today for opening day and had one of the best days at Thorpe in a long time.  There was just a great energy there, guests seemed happy, staff were brilliant.
 
It’s the first opening day I have attended for a coaster at Thorpe and I’m glad I went.  Of late I have become quite critical of Thorpe and wasn’t even hugely excited for Hyperia despite following the construction but seeing it for the first time in person flying around the track was awesome.  Then - riding it - wow!!  It’s only my second hyper coaster and my 70th cred (which is crazy low for an old gal like me 🤣).  Honestly I was blown away by the entire ride experience.  Was great to see people on the trains coming out of the station genuinely excited then returning clapping and cheering - to be a small part of that was fab and I’ve sort of gone from not wanting to continue with my pass once I’m out of my 12 months to really wanting to keep it.
 
I think Hyperia will make a massive impact on the park for a long time to come and it feels that this is exactly what Thorpe Park have needed for a good few years 

Went today for opening day and had one of the best days at Thorpe in a long time.  There was just a great energy there, guests seemed happy, staff were brilliant.
 
It’s the first opening day I have attended for a coaster at Thorpe and I’m glad I went.  Of late I have become quite critical of Thorpe and wasn’t even hugely excited for Hyperia despite following the construction but seeing it for the first time in person flying around the track was awesome.  Then - riding it - wow!!  It’s only my second hyper coaster and my 70th cred (which is crazy low for an old gal like me 🤣).  Honestly I was blown away by the entire ride experience.  Was great to see people on the trains coming out of the station genuinely excited then returning clapping and cheering - to be a small part of that was fab and I’ve sort of gone from not wanting to continue with my pass once I’m out of my 12 months to really wanting to keep it.
 
I think Hyperia will make a massive impact on the park for a long time to come and it feels that this is exactly what Thorpe Park have needed for a good few years 

Had a great day today. Joined the queue at the very back of the entrance bridge at 8:30 and got on at 14:45 - so a *very* long wait (which did include a few shutdowns)
 
I can’t state enough how well the entire thing was organised, there was no issues which were seen at other coaster openings, I genuinely don’t think it could have been planned better.
 
The ride is fantastic, each element on it is perfectly executed, obviously nothing like we’ve seen in the UK before. Personal highlight being the over banked turn, your literally out of your seat the entire time. Also for me it didn’t feel short atall, initially I was abit worried it was a bit short but it’s paced very well.
 
Really hope it’s a hit for them!

So if I don't write my review tonight, I probably won't at all.
 
Equally, I am very tired and have an early start tomorrow, so forgive me if this is patchy or brief.
 
I'll preface this with my usual press night statement: I know some people will say "oh, you're opinions are biased, you have a vested interest to be positive" or "you're a Thorpe goon, of course you'll only say positive things. My review will be as honest and truthful as positive, based on my experiences. I've been at pretty much every Thorpe press event since Swarm's back in 2012. In the past, I've told managers to their faces when I think something is rubbish. I've congratulated people for successes. I've said when something has disappointed me, surprised me or just 'not been my cup of tea'. 
 
I was able to get 3 rides during the course of this evening. All of them were back row, and one of them was a night ride. I wanted to mix it up a bit - especially to get a front row experience - but it's just the way it worked. 
 
I will say I found the evening a bit frustrating, with the initial opening being a bit chaotic, although I appreciated the effort for an opening ceremony. I'm sure tomorrow will be smoother, as the set up and organisation is a bit different, but tonight was a bit clunky.
 
So anyways, the ride.
The lift hill is quick, especially in comparison to Big One. But it still feels like an eternity going up. And seeing the park beside you and how you tower over it, is really something. And when you're stood very close to it, you realise: this is tall. The drop. My god the drop. It feels like you're being thrown out to the ground at the top. You stay out of your seat during the twist, which adds to the feeling you're just going to die frankly. The non-inverting Immelmann is fab, giving a nice pop of airtime. The outerbank dive is fab. You are genuinely out of your seat the whole time, as you slowly twist upside down. Such a weird sensation, but so very cool. Quickly going into the stall, you're again left hanging (literally).  The water splash effect does have trims which does notably slow you down, but it doesn't slow you down so that you feel like you're going significantly slower. Think of it as a "gentle press on a car's brake" type of trim, rather than a "harsh car brake" trim. Towards the back, if you stick your hands out, you get a bit wet. The outer banked airtime afterwards offers some surprising ejector. After my first ride, this was actually a highlight, for how surprising it was. After multiple rides, it's not the highlight, but still definitely a highlight.  The airtime into the brakes is fine. Maybe not the strongest ended, but still a nice pop The brakes roll the train into the station very slowly For me, this is my favourite UK coaster I think. I still need time to digest, and I'd like to ride it in other rows too. I also hear the front row is a completely different beast (a lot "floatier" rather than "intense / aggressive"). But yeah, this is a fantastic ride. It doesn't feel too short, as it packs a lot in, and hitting the brakes is that sort of "omg" moment, as you process it all. Could it have had another element after the water splash, perhaps to negate the need for a trim altogether? Possibly, but it doesn't harm the ride.
 
I didn't notice a "Mack rattle" during my rides. However, I do think it has the potential to do so, and could end up riding rough in the future. That will come down to how this type of Mack ages, and what Thorpe do to look after it.
 
There is a neat little dispatch sequence as the train leaves the station:
https://twitter.com/ThorpeParkMania/status/1793709598886822387
 
Other bits:
Mack employees are naturally very happy with the result, and generally and genuinely all love it The ride warms up a lot during the day. During testing phases, it could be take 42 seconds to complete the circuit in the morning, and then drop down to 31 seconds by the afternoon / evening Operations are good on two trains. They removed one to help alleviate pressure on engineering for tomorrow. There were a few shutdowns this evening, partially due to some issues with gates, and also due to someone flying a drone around the ride. Operation on one train is slow. The plaza looks quite nice. It needs some polishing off, but it's good. The ride area, however, is definitely unfinished. It needs tidying up, planting to go in, etc. But in any case, it was always going to be a couple of years before this really looked nice. There will be an opening ceremony / shows for the first few days as a minimum. It's a nice little thing There's some boards around the ride area telling the story of Hyperia, sort of. They're nice, but the backs of them are plain and easy to see around the area, and stick out like a sore thumb https://twitter.com/ThorpeParkMania/status/1793701505725530465
 
Overall, Hyperia is a fantastic addition for Thorpe Park, and for the UK. It's exactly what the park needed. I really enjoyed it, and it's a "Top 10%" coaster for me. 
 
I'll leave you with my first ORP (me on the left):

I have a monthly one for £20.99 which started Aug last year.  I took a year off from parks the year prior and before that I had a Merlin pass since 2013 - started with Merlin Membership standard pass then they phased out the pay monthly ones so I moved to Platinum.  The year before I took a break I had a Gold annual pass which never scanned and was a pain at Thorpes turnstiles.  I now have platinum pay monthly and when I’m out of my contract I will either move to a Gold monthly pass or take some more time off.
Back in 2002/2003 I had a Tussauds off peak 2 park pass for Chessie and Thorpe on off peak days - cost £35 and got a lot of use out of it.
I live in Surrey so am only about 25 miles from Thorpe, Lego and Chessie but don’t actually visit a huge amount currently 

I've heard rumors of a permanent closure but no one knows for sure I guess as they've still not communicated any update. Its still showing on their ride availability page as 'closed until further notice'
 
Although it was testing a little last season I don't think theres been any movement since and the area is closed off so its not looking like it'll be open any time soon!

The park need to decide whether they prioritise the main season or the winter season. If they want to do both, the engineering team need to be expanded. 
 
They also said a week or so ago that some rides like Rattlesnake and Griffons Galleon will not be open on off-peak days. Poor decision as Rattlesnake seemed to be one of the few  rides that was running well over the weekend. 
 
Merlin theme parks really test my patience at times. The general expectation at a theme park is to go and rides will be running. At Merlin it's currently a gamble if anything is open on time or for at least half the day. 

Seeing some people defending half term will always be busy.
At what point will Thorpe take action and improve guest experience whilst perhaps upping the prices or adding more attractions 

I visited DLP in 2000 and always wanted to go back - 23 years later and I’ve not yet returned.
 
Other than that I went 11 years not visiting Thorpe Park - I had a pass in 2001/2002 and visited a fair amount then life happened.  Back then I wasn’t a huge thrill seeker (Tidal Wave was my limit) but I was an enthusiast and followed the construction of Colossus then was too scared to ride it when it opened 🤣.  Fast forward 11 years to 2013 and I revisited and finally put my big girl pants on (with the help of some awesome members on here) and beat my fear of heights and/or puking on some poor unsuspecting person sat next to me (god bless motion sickness meds)

I’m quite partial to a bit of Rage (adventure island)

I’m quite partial to a bit of Rage (adventure island)

I'll take the entire right paddle for £50

It's getting worse still, just turn the god damn thing off already and stick a vinyl over the top.

So... no whispers from anyone who knows someone who is the manager of a Spoons where someone who works for them served Russ Gaines a pint the other week who told him an update? 😁
 
I would assume there's no activity on site at all with Colossus, otherwise Park Pixie would be all over it.