Matt N

Big One by some distance. Though Hyperia should have something to say about that!!

Either The Swarm or Dragons Fury for me

Swarm for me I think. Dive drops are just lovely

Oblivions first drop is my favorite in the UK, and Kondaa outside of UK
 
Definitely think Hyperias has the potential to clinch the title for me 😃

Got back on Nemesis today. 
 
Overall, they've done a great job with the area and I do like the new colour scheme. I do prefer the original music, and the original queue line too. Yes the new queue offers new views of the ride I hadn't seen before, but I quite liked queuing down in the pit and getting close to the ride.
 
It didn't open till around 1ish today so was a bit busier than I expected. They also decided to take a train off 20 mins before park close, causing a queue. Weird decision unless there was an issue with the train. Apart from that though, they were running it flawlessly as usual with little to no stacking.
 
Strange decision to remove the front row queue. Was also annoying having a batcher in the station so you can no longer choose a row. Hoping this doesn't last long, they never bothered with that before and it never seemed to be an issue.
 
Hoping for a better day tomorrow and to get on the back row.

That's pretty much all the eye does. It's given life by the claws around the eye moving up and down like its in anger. There was already some dead pixels so hopefully its an easyish fix.
 
I was very excited for the return of Nemesis and I'm very happy that it's already running incredibly well, pretty much picking up where the old OG left off. I was concerned it might run slow but it isn't. I think it's a success and the energy around Nemesis was electrifying. Managed 6 rides including a front row and a back row and I'm happy. 

Have some in-depth thoughts about Nemesis Reborn and the new Forbidden Valley, entirely about the new theming, as you all know the ride itself is excellent - It’s Nemesis!

Been looking forward to this a lot, but had some reservations regarding Forbidden Valley and its theming, I do think it’s a real shame that Forbidden Valley has lost its Post Apocalyptic, Mad Max-y vibe, but what’s been done with the new theme is - regardless of personal taste - very impressive.

Almost every major set piece moves, every set piece has sound, the station and shop have their own small show sequences, the theming is dynamic in a way that Merlin hasn’t really attempted before. The area makes you feel like you’re in a bombastic monster movie, if old Forbidden Valley was about exploring where an event had happened, New is about seeing it, hearing it, and feeling it happen. This whole project feels like Merlin’s first step into the modern era of theme parks, if this is the new quality bar for Merlin there’s a lot to be excited about.

Towers' continual commitment to street theatre helps the area shine as well. I’m not under the illusion there will be this many characters out all the time, but knowing you’ll see at least one of them is a lot of fun and helps the area feel alive. I’m particularly fond of the Mushroom Cloud Tour Guide, hope you find your bus king!

This isn’t to say everything’s perfect of course, the “school perimeter” fencing is ugly and the gun in the queue line screams “We tried to move the old one but it fell apart, so we threw this together” But what’s wrong is pretty minor and fixable, after seeing the tweaks Alton Manor got last year I wouldn’t be surprised if we *actually* saw this stuff worked on.

But yeah, really impressed with it all, Forbidden Valley truly feels like it belongs to Nemesis again. I’m looking forward to spending more time in the area throughout the year and seeing how it evolves over the coming years, they cooked!

As much as it'll be nice to have Nemesis back, Hyperia for me. 
 
It took me a while to get exited for Hyperia and although I still have my doubts I do believe we could have something quite special here! 

Hyperia.
 
Nemesis is great. And will be great.
 
But Hyperia.

I'm looking forward to Hyperia but just as excited to see Nemesis up and running again! 

She's back on Saturday.
 
 

Great progress today on the transfer track and outerbank turn! Credit to DG95
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2aN8Tzt5-f/?igsh=eTFzOWplMGk2NGZz

Trims on the exit to the non-inverting Immelmann (the element prior to the outerbank dive):
 


 
hopefully one of those 'just in case' trims, like the one at the bottom of Swarm's drop, but we shall see

Theme Park Guide's latest Hyperia Construction Update article (07/01/2024) has just been published (link below). A brief summary to follow;
 
- More track and supports have been installed on the lower sections of the ride, with work continuing on the support structures for the Immelmann / Stall Dive.
- Theming has started inside the station, with doors installed on the station and maintenance shed.
- There are currently two large items being protected from the elements outside the maintenance shed. Unsure as to what these are at the moment.
 
https://themeparkguide.co.uk/news-page/7th-January-2024-Hyperia-Construction-Work-Resumes

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