Matt N

I know I am an old "f" but it seems the "f word" is the default setting in most peoples' vocabulary. It's used to complain, show shock, exclaim joy, amazement, awe, and to educate children. Let's hope they never discuss fornication, they'll be lost for words.
 
I heard a youngster on Stealth exclaim, after the ride, "oh my gosh!" I thought that was nice.

I heard a few interesting candidates for this thread on my recent solo trip to Legoland Windsor and Thorpe Park...
 
When I heard this quote, I was exiting Thorpe Park over the bridge. Hyperia was in view, and as I was walking, a test train was cycling. A man was walking next to me.
Man: "Oh just f**k off, Hyperia... you f**king flaky bast**d!" The man then stuck his middle finger up at Hyperia multiple times.  
When I heard this exchange, I was walking towards Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park. A group of teenage boys were walking next to me.
Boy 1: "Look, there's Saw!" Boy 2: "I don't think that's Saw, mate..." Boy 1: "Nah, bruv; that's definitely Saw!" Boy 3: "He's right, fam; it's red 'cos of all the blood, see! That's gotta be Saw, init?"  
When I heard this exchange, I was in the queueline for Ninjago at Legoland. A father was trying to usher his small children out of the Lego play area, with other adults from his group watching on.
Father: "Come on, kids; let's get on the ride!" The kids expressed reluctance to leave the Lego play area. Father: *gesturing to the other adults* "Oh for f**k's sake... we come all this f**king way, and the kids just want to play with f**king Lego all day! I could have just stayed in me living room... wouldn't have cost a hundred f**king pounds and I wouldn't have had to wait in f**king queues all f**king day!"

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

The announcement we’ve all been waiting for has finally come… Hyperia is reopening on Wednesday 12th June 2024!:
It’s great that the ride is finally reopening, and while I’m gutted that I missed it by 2 days, I can get back to Thorpe easily enough! In fact, I’m half tempted to book an impulsive day trip back to Thorpe very soon…

This video is certainly the closest I've seen it to stalling. Shows how much it warms up throughout the day
 
 

The ride has been testing comprehensively today, with very quick dispatch intervals:
 

Yes! Two test runs already completed!

Fingers crossed for you! Monday isn't impossible provided we see a train up that lift hill soon.
All this said, Tuesday is just speculation, albeit with some evidence. Monday soft unplanned re-opening, Tuesday proper re-opening?

In a promising development, the lift chain has started being slowly tested and the area music has been turned back on: 
 

True, but announcing it's opening the night before it's due to reopen is still an announcement, right? 😃

Do agree with this. Although it’s been great they’ve kept everyone updated, and they never specifically said it’ll open, it’s definitely set that expectation with the dates which will disappoint a lot of people. 

Oh dear… I’m not optimistic about Monday, I must admit. They haven’t said anything beyond it simply not opening on Saturday, so they could just be being cautious about the days immediately following Saturday, but the suggestion that they’re going to announce a reopening date suggests that it might not be any time soon.
 
It’s probably best now if I go with the expectation that it won’t be open and be pleasantly surprised if it is…
 
I must admit, I think they’ve shot themselves in the foot by continually announcing these arbitrary dates that they can’t meet. It just sets people up for disappointment.

Saw being added to the unavailable list for tomorrow soon I would imagine, unless it's quicker to get the parts in than it is get them out!
 
EDIT: I might have spoken too soon - both the lifting clamps/struts have now come back down from the lift hill so maybe we are in luck.... fingers & wings crossed.

The fact that Saw was only added to the ride availability page late yesterday to be closed today may suggest they could be a bit behind schedule, I guess it'll all depend on how they get on today. Fingers crossed! 
 
 

Indeed. I would anticipate that if Saturday is off the table, they would update tonight ideally, tomorrow at the latest.
 
Not that I'm searching Hyperia on X on the daily (spoiler: I am), here's the latest:
 
 
Someone else on Twi...X has spotted that the train has water dummies loaded on it already....  

Its incredibly unlucky for them, I mean look at Swarm, it didn't have a full day closed in years. I know its not something that merlin ever do, but soft openings could be a good idea in the future. Something like this could've happened and been ironed out before official opening.
 
Anyway, here are my thoughts from opening day. 
 
Got to the park for about 1:30ish and first ride I got really lucky and only waited 1.5 hours. I waited in the main queue until the Hyperia toilets. The host asked me if I was a single and put me in the single rider queue which was overflowing. I waited in this queue for around 20 minutes, and realized how long it was and it wasn't moving, and I also just read on the AP group how people were waiting 7 hours in the single queue. So, I asked the host if I could switch to the main queue instead as I knew that would be around 90 mins - 120 from this point. I believe there was some miss-communication and the manager didn't want to put me in the main queue for some reason, so they put me in Fasttrack instead and got straight on, row 9. 
 
Second ride I got in the queue at 7:45 got off around 10:15 so 2.5 hours, row 2. 
 
- I came of my first ride thinking that is easily the best air time I've experienced in the UK. I came off my second ride saying quite comfortably that is my favorite ride in the UK.
- The outer-bank turn was easily my favorite element. Chucked out of your seat, especially on my second ride on row 2.
- Actually quite liked the queueline. I was initially worried when we saw the prison style fences, but the queue is nice and none of the cattlepens are particularly long. You get some nice views of the ride.
- The station does look pretty bare during the day, but looks so much better at night. I love the dispatch lighting/audio, and as well when the train returns to the station.
- The trims were much more noticeable on my second ride towards the front of the train, but still took the last 2 elements with good speed.
- Ride team were doing a great job at sending the trains out all day. The train does return to the station very slowly though, and I do wonder if they could get a higher throughput if this was sped up? 
 
I was initially quite disappointed when the layout got revealed, and even seeing the ride testing. Yes the ride is on the short side, but I really didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I'm so glad they went for something different here, and we finally have an airtime machine in the UK. This is exactly what Thorpe needed. I can't wait to go on an offpeak day and ride it all day.
 
This was my first time going on a coasters opening day and was easily one of the best days I've had at Thorpe, great atmosphere all day right up until leaving the park at 10:30. They did a great job organisation wise, being asked in the queue if everyones okay and need water filling up etc.. Didn't queue more than 10 minutes for anything else on park, Stealth in particular was running great as always, both times I went on they were running down the platform checking restraints, beating the countdown timer on the platform every dispatch.
 

Park just confirmed its broken until 29th May.
 
Really borked. 
 

Top tip. If you aren't in that queue for Hyperia super early, just go do everything else. We managed Stealth twice, Inferno, Rumba, Swarm, Flying fish (on a 5 lap special) and Quantum in an hour because the rest of the park is beyond dead. It helps that the rides were run to perfection. They were running Inferno and Stealth like there was a 90 minute queue out there. 
 
Hyperia. I don't think there's really any doubt that it is one of the best rides in Europe. I can't help wishing that it was just a little bit longer because the ending feels so abrupt and I personally wanted more of what Hyperia was giving. I also couldn't help wonder what its hourly capacity is and now much RAP was creating the queues today. We ended up waiting four hours but I know people waited over six hours for it. 
 
A few thoughts:-
 
- This felt like one of the most intense Mack rides built. That first drop and the pull out.. I don't grey out very often on rides so this came as surprise. It's far more intense then I thought it was going to be
- I'm very happy that we have a fully air time focused ride. There's four major ejector air time moments and all four deliver. The outer-bank turn was delicious and so unique. 
- Love the campy show. The picture online of the show going on whilst they evacuate Saw in the background - perfection. 
- Shame that the viewing area got cut. This ride demands to be looked at but there's not many areas to actually view the elements. There's pretty much the ride exit and some of the ride queue. The splashdown is purely for the audience that doesn't exist as they can't see it.
- Ride team were doing well with a brand new ride. Regularly sending trains just as the other one hit the break run. This will need to continue unabated because the demand for Hyperia is going to continue to be huge. 
- Not sure why they routed the queue line to go around the lift hill motor as its pretty loud and unpleasant. 
- Relatively reliable. It had three breakdowns whilst we waited in our four queue; but so did Colossus and that has no excuse at this point. 
- Park was very well organised with the queue. Fair play to them, it was well structured and messaging was very clear.
 
 
Of the three Merlin parks in 2024, Thorpe has had the biggest improvements with excellent operations across the board, fantastic refurbishments and upgrades (Samurai, Detonator, Stealth) and I think the rebrand has been a success to be honest. There's a consistency that had been missing and I think Hyperia is the perfect ride for this Thorpe Park. 
 
Looking forward to getting back in three weeks for a more normal trip. I hope everyone visiting over the next few weeks enjoys their ride on Hyperia as the future of rollercoasters really has properly arrived in the UK. It took long enough.
 
(Thoughts and prayers for Icon)

It really was an amazing atmosphere all day and great to see everyone so happy, staff buzzing, and the whole day operationally just outstanding. 
 
Watching everyone clap on practically all trains dispatched and returned was nice to see... 
 
 

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):

Judge here I guess

This might be controversial, but I have to say that I really don’t see the point of heavily promoting the “story” for Hyperia. If there was ever a ride where an in-depth backstory was pretty much redundant, I think this is it. The ride has next to no theming, and unlike many Merlin rides, it pretty much doesn’t appear to focus on theming or storytelling at all.
 
If I were Thorpe, I’d be ditching any major focus on the theme or story in marketing and just going all in on the coaster itself. Just hammer home that silhouette of the layout and its giant elements and hammer home the records, with only the very vague “find your fearless” imagery present as an indication of the theme/style. To be fair, I think they’ve done that pretty well up to this point, but the marketing seems to have taken a bit of a weird turn in the last couple of days.
 
Granted, I’m no marketing expert by any means, but the approach of the last couple of days is certainly not how I’d approach marketing Hyperia. The coaster itself is the key strength of this project, so why not play to your strengths? I fear that this sudden focus on the theme and “story” of Hyperia will only invite criticism regarding the very minimalistic nature of the actual ride theming.
 
I’ve never objected to Hyperia being minimally themed. I think it’s par for the course for a coaster of this size; rides of this size speak for themselves, they’re very hard to theme heavily, and even parks known for heavy theming (e.g. Europa Park, PortAventura) have themed their hyper coasters very minimally. However, I think that if Thorpe want Hyperia to be a minimally themed ride that focuses solely on the coaster itself, I think they need to stick to that in the marketing. I think this “backstory” marketing sets people up for a heavily themed ride that doesn’t exist, and I fear that it will draw attention to the ride’s minimal theming and away from the massive coaster itself, the main strength of the project.