Matt N

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.

Some onsite photos:
 
 

Better late than never. Here are more photos of the site.
 

Pretty cool how clearly you can see the inversion from Staines Lane. Just walking to the site now to take some pics. 😁
 

 
 
EDIT: Extra track piece going in 
 

 
This part's gonna be so weird but thrilling 🤩

 
Other piece going in now 
 

 
Slowly but surely
 

 
Final photo before I post the rest. They positioned originally but then took it back down after. Looks like they're securing it into place now. 
 

The twist is going up...
 
https://twitter.com/ThorpeParkMania/status/1717167617008374160?t=YwUfuPXkXvJ28Rx_a1gyiA&s=19

Another one for the Port Aventura club. 
 
It has been six years since my first (and only) visit. With other trip priorities and the park’s countless operational faults, I’m still not overly convinced to return yet. Even with Uncharted. 
 
Oakwood is another one, 8 years so far. More likely to return there. 
 
It’s been almost 5 years since I did Mingo & LWV. The latter I doubt I’ll ever visit again. 

PortAventura.
 
It's been ten years and it would take a lot to get me to go back. 
 
After that it's Magic Mountain, Knotts Berry Farm and Discovery Kingdom which I last went to in 2014. 

Went today.
 
Mandrill is... fine. Rode it twice and its already bouncing along the track which is concerning.
 
The operations are meh. Wasn't especially busy today but I dread to think what the throughput was. Though ops across the park weren't that good so not the only one, but as the brand new addition comes under more strain.
 
The online thing borked up second go as the booking disappeared from the webpage. Fortunately the staff member could check and let us on.
 
As mentioned, the ride itself is fine. Floaty and the launches are fairly punchy. There's no fanfare to the ride kicking off which surprised me. The hangtime in the helix of forever was a bit uncomfortable as expected. 
 
If this hadn't been the first new coaster at Chessie in nearly 2 decades it would probably have a good role within the park. Its currently a very peculiar ride that doesn't really alleviate many of the current problems. 
 
The area doesn't look great. Might improve with the greenery but it just looks incredibly sparse. Though of course the focus feature of the jaguar head is a good element to centre around, but it just doesn't help set the scene much. The bazaar section is probably the best bit but is located in about 5 square foot of the entire area.
 
Didn't do the accompanying flats. 
 
Will pass more thoughts on the park later.

Seems as that I'm not going anywhere else new this year, its my favourite time of year.. the top ten 2023. And my oh my there's a lot of newness out there. 
 
With Nemesis closed it has reached golden status as my 0. 
 
0. Nemesis - I think this will remain my favourite ride of all time. But as it doesn't exist anymore it wouldn't be fair to rank it against other rides.
1. Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point - Naturally moves up to the top spot. A sheer tour de force of an attraction and I'm looking forward to getting back on it next year. It was the second RMC I'd ever done but with 8 more added to the list, I wonder if it's really as good as I remember.
 
2. Ride to Happiness. Plopsaland - A revelation of a rollercoaster and one of the most reridable attractions Mack have ever made. I cannot put into words the sheer joy and excitement each ride gave me. It's ease of getting to from London makes it an easy must do for anyone wanting to ride one of the best rides in the world. 
 
3. Toutatis, Parc Asterix. People absolutely fall head over heels for Intamin and I never really have. Juvelen came close but that was a decade ago. No, it was Toutatis the ride that made me fall for this company. That launch section alone with some of the most aggressive air time out there really impressed me and I wanted more. This year I got to ride its close brother Pantheon and whilst good, the theming and story of Toutatis really pushes it all the way to third.
 
4. Wildcats Revenge, Hershey Park. This was completely out of the blew for me, really unexpected. I did not expect this to be the RMC that I would be placing so high in my top ten. But it was something else. Fantastically designed, well operated, efficient and brilliantly paced. There is not a bad seat on this fantastic ride. 
 
5.  Untamed, Walibi Holland. I don't want to be an RMC obsessed toad, but the reality is that RMC do not make bad rides. And Untamed is another excellent example of a well designed, well paced, breath-taking ride. I need to get back over to ride it as I've done several of similar size now and I'd be interested to see if its as good as I remember.
 
6. Blue Fire, Europa Park. This is a bit of an oddity as there are clearly rides that are better. But for me, an excellent ride is more than the ride experience. Ease of riding, efficiency and operations are equally if not more important. Blue Fire is this ride and to watch it on four trains, running flawlessly is something to behold. Blue Fire is the resurgence of rollercoasters as I think, without its revolutionary train, we would not see the outstanding Intamins, Vekomas and (hopefully) Zamperlas we are seeing today.
 
7. El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure. I wouldn't say I completely enjoyed El Toro. Some of the roughness in there is borderline unridable. But, and this is a big but, I swear to god El Toro is one of the finest rollercoasters in the world with a pacing that no other wooden coaster can match. It evokes fear in me quite unlike any other in the top ten. It's not a passive experience and fully takes your breathe away. A ride that pushes you to your limits. Its outstanding even if it needs more work done to one of the downward turns.
 
8. Alpengeist, Busch Gardens Williamsburg. A B&M invert that is so massive, so dominant, there was no way I couldn't love it. I loved that sheer speed and scale of Alpengeist and how well paced that first half of the ride is. The second half is trimmed to severely to be as enjoyable but it is an absolutely fantastic old-school B&M Inverter. 
 
9. Batman: Gotham City Escape, Parque Warner Madrid. It's odd to describe this ride and I think it needs to be ridden because it is so unique. I was surprised by how much I like it, but its one of those rides that is full of surprises and variety.
 
10. Helix, Liseberg. A masterclass in building to the terrain with such aggressive air time that it begins to hurt your legs. With the advent of Taron and Intamins far faster launches, its always fun to return to Liseberg and remember just how good the Mack trains are and how great Helix is.
 
The following rides were so close but just not good enough to be in the top ten.
Iron Grawzi, Velocicoaster. Nitro, Twisted Timbers, Dominator, Superman de Acero, Abyssus, Zadra, Hyperion, Katun, Oz'Iris, Wildfire, Wodan

I think I've been sleeping on Hyperia, the more I think about it the more I'm coming round to it potentially being the best ride in the country. Nemesis I'm excited about but I'm concerned they might nerf it with a pre show and I don't think it will be running at the originals standard for a few years.
 
Don't know enough about Drayton's at the point to have any excitement.

Sorry to double post, but I’ve managed to find video confirmation courtesy of an Instagram reel from Dominic Gardner:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyLUqY_NUJG/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
Interestingly, it looks as though they’re starting with the huge outerbank into an inversion.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/968596764375367/permalink/1032895311278845/?app=fbl
 
Passholders group has more photos, seems they’ve got going fairly quickly.