Hyperia Speculation and Construction Thread

[Mark9]

On 1/15/2022 at 8:46 PM, ML27 said:

Surely can’t just rely on events the next few years until Exodus… can they??

 

If it's good enough for Disneyland Paris, then it's good enough for Thorpe Park.

[ML27]

Tbf, I wouldn’t be suprised if they installed fun fair rides this year with their new Carnival Event as suggested in the survey. 

[Parm Pap]

There needs to be some sunshine.

 

There is a little rain.

 

There could be lots of meetings.

 

It takes a lot to gain.

 

But we can take the challenge.

 

I only want this ride to make for Thought.

[Hethetheth]

Roses are Red

 

Violets are Blue

 

I have limited patience...

 

...for lame cryptic Clues

[Matt N]

According to Jack Silkstone's latest closed season update from Thorpe Park, stuff is now happening in Old Town:

The things that have happened include:

• Lumber Jump has disappeared, and Timber Tug Boat may possibly have gone as well.
• Fences have gone up and minor work is beginning around where Creek Freak Massacre was located.
• Deconstruction work on Platform 15 has commenced.

Slammer is currently still intact, and Rocky Express' theming also remains intact at present, but the status of the hardware itself is unknown.

[ML27]

Not too keen on them preserving creak freak massacre for just this season. Scare mazes shouldn’t prevent them from cracking on, should just close old town and keep it closed.

 

Feels like they will want to keep it for a few seasons, so should try to move to a new location this year.  
 

 

[JoshC.]

23 minutes ago, ML27 said:

Not too keen on them preserving creak freak massacre for just this season. Scare mazes shouldn’t prevent them from cracking on, should just close old town and keep it closed.

 

Feels like they will want to keep it for a few seasons, so should try to move to a new location this year.  
 

 

 

I think moving it isn't really practical; it's based in fixed building and wasn't designed to be moved. The cost of moving it would be effectively the same of building a new maze, at which point, it makes sense just to do something different. 

 

Given the new ride is planned to be a 2024 ride, and construction isn't starting until late this year, I don't have a problem with them using the maze again this year. It's not getting in the way of investment. And it helps spread out Fright Nights investments: have a new maze this year to act as a Platform 15 replacement, and then a new one next year for a Creek Freak replacement. Then they can put more money into new mazes, rather than spreading the budget thinly.

 

From a creative standpoint too, there's extra opportunity to use the Old Town for Fright Nights if minimal construction is taking place then, which I see as a potential bonus!

[Glitch]

I see a big theme and a derren browns ghost train reskin in the coming years to tease / hype the attraction.

[ML27]

9 hours ago, JoshC. said:

 

I think moving it isn't really practical; it's based in fixed building and wasn't designed to be moved. The cost of moving it would be effectively the same of building a new maze, at which point, it makes sense just to do something different.

I just feel like Thorpe will want to try and hold onto the maze or if not the maze. The I.P at least, it’s original and it “worked”  for them. 
 

You make good points which I hadn’t thought about, I just assumed they would want to hold onto it for as long as possible. 

[JoshC.]

On a slightly different note, here's an excellent visual from Jack SIlkstone showing just how Project Exodus looks in context within the Thorpe skyline:

 

 

It really dwarfs Saw in particular here!

 

[Inferno]

Wow.  It looks incredible.
 

The consultation period is over now isn’t it?

I assume it won’t be too long now until we see the actual plans.

[Mattgwise]

Yep, consultation period over and now they review until end of Feb. I'd expect to hear something application wise between late March and start of May. 

 

 

[Parm Pap]

We've hit a snag.

 

But.

 

It's just a snag.

 

There are some more opportunities.

But.

Will it be in time.

 

24

 

Ding dong, ding dong.

 

?

[Martin Doyle]

 

18 minutes ago, Parm Pap said:

We've hit a snag.

 

But.

 

It's just a snag.

 

There are some more opportunities.

But.

Will it be in time.

 

24

 

Ding dong, ding dong.

 

?

 

Edward Nygma called

 

He wants his gimmick back

[Parm Pap]

Will two tracks, in 24 ?

A ride is all will that be an score

 

Score them all, score them all

 

Can you slow down please?

WHAAAAAT?

[Hethetheth]

In thickened treacle we find the best bees.

 

A wardrobe is not a cupboard.

 

The walrus only escapes at midnight.

 

Thing that are tall and bigger than small things.

 

Wheeeeeee

 

WHEEEEEEEE

[javs]

21 hours ago, Parm Pap said:

Will two tracks, in 24 ?

A ride is all will that be an score

 

Score them all, score them all

 

Can you slow down please?

WHAAAAAT?

 

I've finally worked it out!  This isn't a riddle! This person is using google translate to post on the forum from Cantonese into English. 🤣

[JoshC.]

Are changes a-coming?

 

A new document has appeared on a planning application related to Project Exodus, which shows a change in boundary...

 

Before:

After:

 

And to show this more clearly, here's the size of area that's been added, the green line is roughly the old cut off point:

 

The area now includes the Platform 15 route up to the bridge, as well as more parts over water, including the Loggers track over there.

 

 

Now I don't think this necessarily means that the layout could change. However, it's certainly possible.

 

If we look at the original plan, the coaster doesn't hit all the way to the boundary, but does come close. And I believe the boundary plan is just where they will do any sort of work. So it could be just for access during construction, or to create an engineering route.

 

For what it's worth, the document suggests this is due to a development in the design:

 

We won't know exactly what this means until the full plans go in, but for now, there's a slither of evidence to suggest that changes to the layout are possible.

[JoshC.]

Forgive me for continually posting random pictures, but here's an overlay of the two plans, which is probably the clearest look at how the development area has been extended:



Now, time for some speculation:

If this for a layout change, I have an idea for what it could be. And I don't expect it to be anything drastic.

Many people noted that the ride takes a lot of speed into the suspected splash zone area, and that that area could be quite trimmed. And even if not, it does have a lot of speed and doesn't do a lot.
I expect that the short layout is, in part, a creative choice. The ride very much looks designed to be big, fast-paced and hard hitting. Rather than creating a long, drawn out experience, it seems to be a "throw everything at you as quickly as possible" experience, designed so that when you hit the brakes, you're left stunned, and begging for more in a good way. You won't feel short changed, but you'll want to go round again.

So a potential adaptation to the layout would be as follows:



Now forgive the crude drawing, but let me explain what this would achieve:

-A straight section post-splashdown, to include one or two powerful airtime hills.
-A new turnaround, which could be dragged out for some sustained forces, or be quirky / different (like the other turnaround)
-Give more space pre-brake run for another airtime hill, rather than the airtime moment post-turnaround as currently suggested.

My particular thought on the final point is that they could create a 'double down' airtime moment which is similar to Loggers Leap's drop. This would be in the exact same position as Loggers drop, and serve as a reminder/Easter egg/reference/whatever you want to call it to the ride (something that Thorpe and John Burton, the likely Creative Lead of the project, love doing).

This would address the concern which a lot of people had about the ride's ending, whilst keeping in line with the (what I expect to be) feel of the ride. May not be everyone's cup of tea or what people want, but it's what I feel would be most likely. Equally, I think this is a sufficient change to improve the ride.

Obviously, this is all speculation. But I don't see anything more significant than this.

[Glitch]

I personally think its to allow trains extra room to stack on the break run

[Matt N]

It could well be for a layout change; I do think it would be nice if they were able to add in a few straight airtime hills, as much as I think the layout is very impressive already given the site and Merlin’s tight budget! And Merlin may well have listened to some of the enthusiasts complaining about the length and lengthened it slightly!

 

However, there’s one thing that puts me off the prospect of a layout change, and that’s the wording and level of detail they’ve chosen to justify this change. If this was for a layout change, surely it would say something like “an alteration to the scope of the ride” that would have been spelled out to the planners in more depth (for instance, I imagine they’d have to outline any new footers being poured or whatever, as well as any new high points in that area), as opposed to “cut and edge landscaping”. That to me suggests some sort of more minor work away from the ride itself; I did notice that the new area encompasses the entirety of Loggers’ former plot whereas the old area didn’t, so perhaps the “design development” is that they’ve decided to demolish the remaining bits of Logger’s that weren’t covered in the initial scope? Also, the original layout doesn’t quite fill the originally outlined area, so surely a layout extension could in theory be done within the current boundary if they wanted one?

 

Don’t get me wrong, it could well be for a layout change (I don’t know much about how planning works for that type of thing), but something tells me that the planners wouldn’t be happy if Thorpe tried to pass off a layout extension as “landscaping”… I’d expect them to have to go into greater detail for something like that, or at very least specify “an extension to the scope of the ride”.

 

It’s worth remembering that the wooded section of The Flume was technically considered part of Wicker Man’s site during the planning process, but this was only due to the removal of the wooded section of The Flume; Wicker Man did not ultimately end up using the wooded area at all.

 

To be honest, I don’t think Exodus really needs a layout change, personally. Yes, it’s not the longest coaster, and it doesn’t look to be a straight airtime machine in the way that many were hoping for, but given the site, the budget and the brief, I think it’s already pretty impressive myself!

[pluk]

7 hours ago, Matt N said:

given the site and Merlin’s tight budget!

 

Merlin can build new parks from scratch without a wince, they don't have a tight budget in the slightest.

They could put a full size coaster in here if they fancied it, they are choosing not too.

 

This change looks insignificant, likely for groundworks, utilities, access.

[JoshC.]

16 hours ago, Matt N said:

so perhaps the “design development” is that they’ve decided to demolish the remaining bits of Logger’s that weren’t covered in the initial scope?

 

This is something I've seen suggested a few times, and it's certainly possible. There are two things that make me think it won't (just) be demolishing the entirety of Loggers:

 

1. Merlin don't demolish stuff unless they need to. They keep things for as long as physically possible. If something can be left SBNO they will. Look at Thorpe and Loggers and Slammer as examples. Towers only removed the likes of Submission and Ripsaw because they would be too obvious if left standing. 

They won't decide to just remove bits of Loggers they don't need to. They will remove what needs to be removed and nothing else.

 

2. Usually, you don't need permission to remove a ride. You just...remove it. There's exceptions and caveats of course, but generally speaking, parks are free to simply take something down if they want to. It's another reason why UK parks like to keep rides SBNO until they're replaced: when it comes to planning applications, they can say "look, we have something here, we're just replacing it with something else".

 

If this is just for the removal of Loggers and nothing else, it's possible they're including this addition because it covers themselves in case someone moans about work happening outside of the permitted zone. Would be a grey area I guess.

 

 

As said, the likely course here is that they're extending the zone for practicality purposes: either for ease of construction for the ride, or for extra engineering / maintenance once the ride is open. That would definitely fall under "design developments". But equally, a change in layout isn't something to completely rule out, and would also fall under design developments.

[Inferno]

18 hours ago, JoshC. said:

My particular thought on the final point is that they could create a 'double down' airtime moment which is similar to Loggers Leap's drop. This would be in the exact same position as Loggers drop, and serve as a reminder/Easter egg/reference/whatever you want to call it to the ride

Yes, yes please, yes, yep, absolutely and yes again. Please. Thank you.

[MattyMoo]

19 hours ago, JoshC. said:

serve as a reminder/Easter egg/reference/whatever you want to call it to the ride (something that Thorpe and John Burton, the likely Creative Lead of the project, love doing).

 

Other than "easter egg", the much over-used phrase that THORPE PARK RESORT and associated #spon Vloggers seem to love to use is "a nod to". 

 

e.g.
Slammer being left to rot in position is a nod to the fact it used to operate there

The new gas effect for 2021 on Tidal Wave that doesn't work is a nod to the far better one that used to work

 

"a nod to" is most often used in FRIGHT NIGHTS coverage of mazes also, and in this context has a different meaning, as here it means "some old stuff we found in the warehouse we'd shove in a new maze"

 

But back to the subject matter, I concur with @JoshC.'s theory of a double dippy super mega fun time loggers tHRoWbAck.