Matt N

Lots going on today!
 

On my way to take some pics. See two cranes up,must be doing something big 👀
 

 
I'll be updating this post with more photos, so keep your eyes peeled.
 

 
Another tower going up

Man alive, it's weird to be looking at this in person
 


 

If anyone's interested, I decided to have a bit of fun this evening and cobble together a rough Planet Coaster recreation of Hyperia to gauge a rough idea of the sort of forces and speeds we might be hitting through some of those elements.
 
I'm aware that the profiling and such aren't perfect, and as such, I'd take some of the exact g-forces with a pinch of salt (for instance, I don't think we'll be pulling 5.6G at the bottom of the dive loop...), but I built the large elements to roughly the same sort of height as they will be in real life (lift hill 236ft, Immelmann 157ft, large outerbank 164ft, dive loop 137ft, small outerbank 65ft, final airtime hill 48ft), so I think it should give a rough ballpark idea of speed in particular. I hope you like it!
 
Here's a POV and some cinematic shots of my creation:
 
And if you don't want to watch the video, here is the heatmap of vertical g-forces throughout the ride:

As well as the heatmap of speed throughout the ride:

And the stats of the ride:

And just for fun, here are some shots of the layout in the day and at night:


In terms of speed and forces; I think it paints a very promising picture! If my recreation is at all accurate, it suggests that we could be absolutely flying through the Immelmann, with the ride maintaining a speed of nearly 50mph even at the Immelmann's highest point! The other two large elements maintain speeds of 35-40mph at their highest points. In terms of trimming in the splashdown; I erred towards the more fierce end of the trimming spectrum and went for a deceleration rate of 4m/s2, which reduced the speed by 10-15mph. And even then, the outerbank and final airtime hill still appear very potent, with negative g-forces of nearly -1G still being registered in both elements! So overall, then, I reckon Hyperia could pack some brilliant g-forces throughout and hold its speed really well!
 
I hope you like my recreation! I have to say, this has also reminded me just how much fun getting stuck into a good Planet Coaster build is... I really need to get back into Planet Coaster, as I haven't really had too much time for it as of late and it shows. I haven't updated any of my ongoing park projects for the forum in nearly 2 years!
 
If you'd like to play with my recreation yourself, here's the Steam Workshop link where you can download it from: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=3113374891

This potential new theme park has been confirmed by officials at Universal to the local press. https://www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/breaking-news-universal-studios-confirm-they-are-planning-a-theme-park-in-bedford-borough/?fbclid=IwAR2JMdC9eWlveZy8ooDXDpdm2Z_4ezS8HC2zLlaozOqm5_JHD7ATcBBznsk#

Here’s some Google maps screenshots of the land Universal has acquired, including a large brownfield site, lakes and a train station on its doorstep.
 

 

 

 

It looks like there is potential for a UK Universal attraction. 
 
Taken from Attraction Source:
Universal have registered the domain names “universalstudiosgreatbritain.com” & “universalgreatbritain.com” using the same registrar as their other park website domains around the world In September.
 
Comcast, the owner of Universal, recently acquired a construction and development company on 31st August called Cloud Wing UK Limited. Cloud Wing UK was itself already the parent company of two UK subsidiaries, Kempston Hardwick Developments Ltd and SC Collection Ltd, meaning Comcast indirectly acquired these companies and their assets.
 
From Theme Park Stop's article (linked below):
"With the acquisition of Cloud Wing, Comcast also received its land  assets, which include a 240 acre (95 hectare) section of a parcel of  land in Bedford, England.
Known as the “Kempston Hardwick New Settlement,” this former brickworks land is currently described as for agricultural uses, but has had multiple stalled proposals for future commercial use over the years."
 
So where is the land that Universal have acquired?
South west of Bedford, England, in a place called Kempston Hardwick - this is centrally located with a high catchment area, close links to the M1 motorway, and its own train station across the road from the land. Below is a Google Maps aerial view of the area, and absolute confirmation that the land has indeed been purchased by Universal's subsidiary.
Explore the area on Google Maps -
https://www.google.com/maps/@52.0947821,-0.4994712,4133m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu
 
Still early days but exciting times - I have more faith in this actually happening than the London Resort. It would definitely bring competition to Merlin if it’s themed to the same standards of their other parks.

If anyone's interested, I decided to have a bit of fun this evening and cobble together a rough Planet Coaster recreation of Hyperia to gauge a rough idea of the sort of forces and speeds we might be hitting through some of those elements.
 
I'm aware that the profiling and such aren't perfect, and as such, I'd take some of the exact g-forces with a pinch of salt (for instance, I don't think we'll be pulling 5.6G at the bottom of the dive loop...), but I built the large elements to roughly the same sort of height as they will be in real life (lift hill 236ft, Immelmann 157ft, large outerbank 164ft, dive loop 137ft, small outerbank 65ft, final airtime hill 48ft), so I think it should give a rough ballpark idea of speed in particular. I hope you like it!
 
Here's a POV and some cinematic shots of my creation:
 
And if you don't want to watch the video, here is the heatmap of vertical g-forces throughout the ride:

As well as the heatmap of speed throughout the ride:

And the stats of the ride:

And just for fun, here are some shots of the layout in the day and at night:


In terms of speed and forces; I think it paints a very promising picture! If my recreation is at all accurate, it suggests that we could be absolutely flying through the Immelmann, with the ride maintaining a speed of nearly 50mph even at the Immelmann's highest point! The other two large elements maintain speeds of 35-40mph at their highest points. In terms of trimming in the splashdown; I erred towards the more fierce end of the trimming spectrum and went for a deceleration rate of 4m/s2, which reduced the speed by 10-15mph. And even then, the outerbank and final airtime hill still appear very potent, with negative g-forces of nearly -1G still being registered in both elements! So overall, then, I reckon Hyperia could pack some brilliant g-forces throughout and hold its speed really well!
 
I hope you like my recreation! I have to say, this has also reminded me just how much fun getting stuck into a good Planet Coaster build is... I really need to get back into Planet Coaster, as I haven't really had too much time for it as of late and it shows. I haven't updated any of my ongoing park projects for the forum in nearly 2 years!
 
If you'd like to play with my recreation yourself, here's the Steam Workshop link where you can download it from: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=3113374891

Thorpe did some cool drone shots:
 
 

If anyone's interested, I decided to have a bit of fun this evening and cobble together a rough Planet Coaster recreation of Hyperia to gauge a rough idea of the sort of forces and speeds we might be hitting through some of those elements.
 
I'm aware that the profiling and such aren't perfect, and as such, I'd take some of the exact g-forces with a pinch of salt (for instance, I don't think we'll be pulling 5.6G at the bottom of the dive loop...), but I built the large elements to roughly the same sort of height as they will be in real life (lift hill 236ft, Immelmann 157ft, large outerbank 164ft, dive loop 137ft, small outerbank 65ft, final airtime hill 48ft), so I think it should give a rough ballpark idea of speed in particular. I hope you like it!
 
Here's a POV and some cinematic shots of my creation:
 
And if you don't want to watch the video, here is the heatmap of vertical g-forces throughout the ride:

As well as the heatmap of speed throughout the ride:

And the stats of the ride:

And just for fun, here are some shots of the layout in the day and at night:


In terms of speed and forces; I think it paints a very promising picture! If my recreation is at all accurate, it suggests that we could be absolutely flying through the Immelmann, with the ride maintaining a speed of nearly 50mph even at the Immelmann's highest point! The other two large elements maintain speeds of 35-40mph at their highest points. In terms of trimming in the splashdown; I erred towards the more fierce end of the trimming spectrum and went for a deceleration rate of 4m/s2, which reduced the speed by 10-15mph. And even then, the outerbank and final airtime hill still appear very potent, with negative g-forces of nearly -1G still being registered in both elements! So overall, then, I reckon Hyperia could pack some brilliant g-forces throughout and hold its speed really well!
 
I hope you like my recreation! I have to say, this has also reminded me just how much fun getting stuck into a good Planet Coaster build is... I really need to get back into Planet Coaster, as I haven't really had too much time for it as of late and it shows. I haven't updated any of my ongoing park projects for the forum in nearly 2 years!
 
If you'd like to play with my recreation yourself, here's the Steam Workshop link where you can download it from: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=3113374891

If anyone's interested, I decided to have a bit of fun this evening and cobble together a rough Planet Coaster recreation of Hyperia to gauge a rough idea of the sort of forces and speeds we might be hitting through some of those elements.
 
I'm aware that the profiling and such aren't perfect, and as such, I'd take some of the exact g-forces with a pinch of salt (for instance, I don't think we'll be pulling 5.6G at the bottom of the dive loop...), but I built the large elements to roughly the same sort of height as they will be in real life (lift hill 236ft, Immelmann 157ft, large outerbank 164ft, dive loop 137ft, small outerbank 65ft, final airtime hill 48ft), so I think it should give a rough ballpark idea of speed in particular. I hope you like it!
 
Here's a POV and some cinematic shots of my creation:
 
And if you don't want to watch the video, here is the heatmap of vertical g-forces throughout the ride:

As well as the heatmap of speed throughout the ride:

And the stats of the ride:

And just for fun, here are some shots of the layout in the day and at night:


In terms of speed and forces; I think it paints a very promising picture! If my recreation is at all accurate, it suggests that we could be absolutely flying through the Immelmann, with the ride maintaining a speed of nearly 50mph even at the Immelmann's highest point! The other two large elements maintain speeds of 35-40mph at their highest points. In terms of trimming in the splashdown; I erred towards the more fierce end of the trimming spectrum and went for a deceleration rate of 4m/s2, which reduced the speed by 10-15mph. And even then, the outerbank and final airtime hill still appear very potent, with negative g-forces of nearly -1G still being registered in both elements! So overall, then, I reckon Hyperia could pack some brilliant g-forces throughout and hold its speed really well!
 
I hope you like my recreation! I have to say, this has also reminded me just how much fun getting stuck into a good Planet Coaster build is... I really need to get back into Planet Coaster, as I haven't really had too much time for it as of late and it shows. I haven't updated any of my ongoing park projects for the forum in nearly 2 years!
 
If you'd like to play with my recreation yourself, here's the Steam Workshop link where you can download it from: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=3113374891

If anyone's interested, I decided to have a bit of fun this evening and cobble together a rough Planet Coaster recreation of Hyperia to gauge a rough idea of the sort of forces and speeds we might be hitting through some of those elements.
 
I'm aware that the profiling and such aren't perfect, and as such, I'd take some of the exact g-forces with a pinch of salt (for instance, I don't think we'll be pulling 5.6G at the bottom of the dive loop...), but I built the large elements to roughly the same sort of height as they will be in real life (lift hill 236ft, Immelmann 157ft, large outerbank 164ft, dive loop 137ft, small outerbank 65ft, final airtime hill 48ft), so I think it should give a rough ballpark idea of speed in particular. I hope you like it!
 
Here's a POV and some cinematic shots of my creation:
 
And if you don't want to watch the video, here is the heatmap of vertical g-forces throughout the ride:

As well as the heatmap of speed throughout the ride:

And the stats of the ride:

And just for fun, here are some shots of the layout in the day and at night:


In terms of speed and forces; I think it paints a very promising picture! If my recreation is at all accurate, it suggests that we could be absolutely flying through the Immelmann, with the ride maintaining a speed of nearly 50mph even at the Immelmann's highest point! The other two large elements maintain speeds of 35-40mph at their highest points. In terms of trimming in the splashdown; I erred towards the more fierce end of the trimming spectrum and went for a deceleration rate of 4m/s2, which reduced the speed by 10-15mph. And even then, the outerbank and final airtime hill still appear very potent, with negative g-forces of nearly -1G still being registered in both elements! So overall, then, I reckon Hyperia could pack some brilliant g-forces throughout and hold its speed really well!
 
I hope you like my recreation! I have to say, this has also reminded me just how much fun getting stuck into a good Planet Coaster build is... I really need to get back into Planet Coaster, as I haven't really had too much time for it as of late and it shows. I haven't updated any of my ongoing park projects for the forum in nearly 2 years!
 
If you'd like to play with my recreation yourself, here's the Steam Workshop link where you can download it from: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=3113374891

Yesterday's update from the park

The more I see of this, the more I love it... 
 
https://twitter.com/AttractionSc/status/1728394310658162839/photo/1
 

The park now have a Hyperia construction blog:
 
https://www.thorpepark.com/blog/hyperia-construction-updates/

The jump into the brakes, and the brake run, have gone in:
 
https://twitter.com/DG95Official/status/1725858289638875338/photo/1

looks very nice
 
 

They also confirmed it’s getting a major PLC upgrade so that fits in with the rumours about being able to unlock individual restraints. I’d be surprised if it’s able to unlock one bar at a time without also major works on the train but maybe one “car” at a time?
 
That said they can already unlock 2 rows at a time on Inferno but they still recheck all bars after unlocking 2 rows - but that’s more a recent policy thing than anything.

In an update, the park have confirmed they're repainting parts of the ride over this and next winter, as well as replacing sections of tracks. So presumably they're committing to replacing sections of track which need it, and then repainting the rest so it all looks largely the same.
 
https://twitter.com/ThorpeParkMania/status/1724477605854781893?t=BZRA2KTVbdy3t_nA8qtucw&s=19

We got the rusty logo in 2009 for Saw, which they brought back several times. Quite fitting to go with the rusting infrastructure!
 
And a sPoOkY white logo for DBGT
 
(pic from https://x.com/dg95official/status/1094600599860072448?s=46 )

Thorpe Park - now in my 30's I am free to travel further and even though its the closest to me, I have had very little appetite to visit for the last 10 years.
 
Hyperia may change that - maybe it will even entice me to not wait another 10 years!

I’m wondering whether the new logo might have some sort of coaster track or something in it.
 
I know it’s a well-worn approach for a theme park logo, but I would argue that coasters are one of Thorpe’s biggest selling points, particularly with the logo change coinciding with the opening of Hyperia.

Thanks to the wonderful Marc for this stunning update...
 
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02dPUmQbbJ1EiocwwYpsLCQHZ6NHCnr9WnKgeCcTEhB9uXzKJcL1UiyFJuvsb5nMVl&id=100063475932653

The park have said there will be a story, to some degree. I imagine that will mostly be communicated by videos / marketed. In terms of at-the-ride theming, I doubt it will be much beyond landscaping, stylising buildings, logos/images and not much else. The plans don't indicate any theming.
 
I don't think the ride needs much theming anyway. As said above, the height will do the talking. The location around the lake will add to the vibe. A good, long soundtrack will help create an atmosphere. Onboard audio hasn't been confirmed or denied yet, but could still happen, and would add a lot. I expect there could be actors during the first few days/weeks around the plaza, just to add a bit more to the area. 
 
In other news, here's a look at what's been built so far in terms of supports/track:
 
If absolutely everything goes to plan, then - according to the original scheme of implementation in the plans - the ride could be ready by mid-March. Obviously there's a lot of variables there, but I think there's a good chance the ride could open at the start of season.
 

The twisted outerbank dive is complete!
 
 
 

Slightly amended plans: 
 
 
In short, the existing building which was set to be retained, refurbished and extended will instead be demolished and rebuilt. This is on advice from the construction team, who believe it will be more efficient.
 
The exterior is also set to be slightly different too.