First ever CoasterForce post... here goes nothing!
Twelve years. That's the length of time that's elapsed between the opening of the Swarm and Thorpe Park finally, finally opening a new coaster. And no, The Walking Dead: The Ride was just a (very successful) rejigging of the park's worst ride, so that doesn't count. OK, to be fair to Thorpe Park, were it not for a certain pandemic, this gap between new coasters probably would've been smaller, but still, that is a long time for what is quite possibly the UK's premier park for thrill coasters to go without getting a new addition.
Once the sad news came that the much-loved Loggers Leap (one of my absolute favourite rides at the park) was closing down for good, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the land the log flume used to occupy would be used for a new rollercoaster. Speaking for myself, I was thinking: "If they're replacing Loggers Leap, they better replace it with something great." I wasn't disappointed - I think it's safe to say the tallest and fastest rollercoaster Ol' Blighty has ever had meets the criteria of 'Something great' and then some. So, after the best part of two years of construction work, I was all set to finally get on Hyperia... and then, of course, it broke down for over two weeks. I went to Thorpe Park for my birthday trip anyway and had a lovely time focusing on the other rides, and once Hyperia reopened I made a special solo trip (my first ever time at a theme park on my own, I enjoyed it more than expected actually) in which I focused mainly on this one ride, getting three goes on it in total. The first was in row 8, the second was in row 3 and the third, thanks to the guests just in front of me not wanting to sit in the front seat, was in row 1. That was very lucky; Thorpe Park are currently assigning seats and you don't get to choose where you sit for the time being.
While I was always pumped for the ride, two things made me a little worried. Firstly, the ride did look pretty short and secondly, I was disappointed that this wouldn't be more of an airtime-focused layout, something that the UK sorely needs. In regards to the first thing? It was absolutely fine, I didn't find it too short at all. In regards to the second thing? Yes, this isn't an airtime machine. Although it has a couple of awesome airtime moments, most notably the first drop, that isn't the ride's main feature. Still, one could describe this as an all-rounder, jack-of-all-trades sort of a ride. It gives you a bit of everything. Airtime, hang-time, laterals, mind-blowing drops, beautiful inversions, intensity, smoothness, blazing speeds - hell, even the brake-run is awesome. You fly out of your seat as the train hits the brakes. Even if this isn't the airtime machine some might've hoped for, it compensates for this many times over.
In case it wasn't already obvious, Hyperia absolutely slays. This ride was more than worth the wait and is unquestionably one of the top five best rollercoasters in the United Kingdom. It's an unforgettably fast and furious ride that will leave you dazed in your seat yet also eager to run right back around and get on again. That's something you won't be able to do immediately, as the queues are going to be long for a while. I would, however, whole-heartedly recommend getting at least two rides in if possible, this is such an intense ride that the first time is a bit of a blur, and a re-ride really allows you to appreciate all the finer details. Just one warning though: the single rider line isn't the magic bullet you might assume it to be. On my second ride I eagerly joined it only to find that it was actually really long, as many others had the same idea as me. It was about an hour before I got on, almost as long as the advertised main queue time, and I just used the normal queue for the third ride. At least that queue keeps moving; it's certainly beneficial for morale!
From the moment you leave the station (complete with a lovely lights and smoke sequence) to the aforementioned airtime-filled brake-run, this ride is a euphoric rush. For me, the two best parts were firstly, the initial drop. It's every bit as mad as it looks. Secondly, the overbanked turn / barrel roll, a one-of-a-kind inversion that provided the strongest hang-time I've ever experienced. The one moment that is a tiny bit of a buzz-kill is the trim brake on the splash-down, as you do definitely feel the train slow down a fair bit. Having said that though, the ride immediately makes up for it with a very nice sideways airtime hill.
If there's one negative to be said about this ride, it's presentation. The ride's storyline about a goddess named Hyperia doesn't necessarily feature all that much in the queue-line and the station is a fairly bog-standard one. This was a little disappointing to be entirely honest. When it comes to theming Thorpe Park is no Disney, but it's better than it gets credit for in this department. Stealth, with its well-designed station and delightful vintage soundtrack, excellently evokes a race-course, Saw: The Ride, The Swarm and The Walking Dead: The Ride are three of the UK's best-themed coasters and both Colossus and (to a lesser extent, perhaps) Nemesis Inferno have very atmospheric ride areas. Honestly, aside from Flying Fish Hyperia is the least-themed ride at the park. Still, when a ride is this brilliant, it's difficult to care too much. Besides, the soundtrack is very solid and while the ground below the ride itself looked pretty ugly in all the POVs I've seen, it's already looking a lot better now. Furthermore, the ride has just opened and there's plenty of time for Thorpe Park to add a little more theming to the queue and station.
The UK has always had a fantastic coaster collection, one of the best in Europe. At the same time though, while we have loads of great rollercoasters, the only one that could really be called 'Elite' is Alton Towers' Nemesis. Well, now we have two. Bravo, Thorpe Park.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Twelve years. That's the length of time that's elapsed between the opening of the Swarm and Thorpe Park finally, finally opening a new coaster. And no, The Walking Dead: The Ride was just a (very successful) rejigging of the park's worst ride, so that doesn't count. OK, to be fair to Thorpe Park, were it not for a certain pandemic, this gap between new coasters probably would've been smaller, but still, that is a long time for what is quite possibly the UK's premier park for thrill coasters to go without getting a new addition.
Once the sad news came that the much-loved Loggers Leap (one of my absolute favourite rides at the park) was closing down for good, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the land the log flume used to occupy would be used for a new rollercoaster. Speaking for myself, I was thinking: "If they're replacing Loggers Leap, they better replace it with something great." I wasn't disappointed - I think it's safe to say the tallest and fastest rollercoaster Ol' Blighty has ever had meets the criteria of 'Something great' and then some. So, after the best part of two years of construction work, I was all set to finally get on Hyperia... and then, of course, it broke down for over two weeks. I went to Thorpe Park for my birthday trip anyway and had a lovely time focusing on the other rides, and once Hyperia reopened I made a special solo trip (my first ever time at a theme park on my own, I enjoyed it more than expected actually) in which I focused mainly on this one ride, getting three goes on it in total. The first was in row 8, the second was in row 3 and the third, thanks to the guests just in front of me not wanting to sit in the front seat, was in row 1. That was very lucky; Thorpe Park are currently assigning seats and you don't get to choose where you sit for the time being.
While I was always pumped for the ride, two things made me a little worried. Firstly, the ride did look pretty short and secondly, I was disappointed that this wouldn't be more of an airtime-focused layout, something that the UK sorely needs. In regards to the first thing? It was absolutely fine, I didn't find it too short at all. In regards to the second thing? Yes, this isn't an airtime machine. Although it has a couple of awesome airtime moments, most notably the first drop, that isn't the ride's main feature. Still, one could describe this as an all-rounder, jack-of-all-trades sort of a ride. It gives you a bit of everything. Airtime, hang-time, laterals, mind-blowing drops, beautiful inversions, intensity, smoothness, blazing speeds - hell, even the brake-run is awesome. You fly out of your seat as the train hits the brakes. Even if this isn't the airtime machine some might've hoped for, it compensates for this many times over.
In case it wasn't already obvious, Hyperia absolutely slays. This ride was more than worth the wait and is unquestionably one of the top five best rollercoasters in the United Kingdom. It's an unforgettably fast and furious ride that will leave you dazed in your seat yet also eager to run right back around and get on again. That's something you won't be able to do immediately, as the queues are going to be long for a while. I would, however, whole-heartedly recommend getting at least two rides in if possible, this is such an intense ride that the first time is a bit of a blur, and a re-ride really allows you to appreciate all the finer details. Just one warning though: the single rider line isn't the magic bullet you might assume it to be. On my second ride I eagerly joined it only to find that it was actually really long, as many others had the same idea as me. It was about an hour before I got on, almost as long as the advertised main queue time, and I just used the normal queue for the third ride. At least that queue keeps moving; it's certainly beneficial for morale!
From the moment you leave the station (complete with a lovely lights and smoke sequence) to the aforementioned airtime-filled brake-run, this ride is a euphoric rush. For me, the two best parts were firstly, the initial drop. It's every bit as mad as it looks. Secondly, the overbanked turn / barrel roll, a one-of-a-kind inversion that provided the strongest hang-time I've ever experienced. The one moment that is a tiny bit of a buzz-kill is the trim brake on the splash-down, as you do definitely feel the train slow down a fair bit. Having said that though, the ride immediately makes up for it with a very nice sideways airtime hill.
If there's one negative to be said about this ride, it's presentation. The ride's storyline about a goddess named Hyperia doesn't necessarily feature all that much in the queue-line and the station is a fairly bog-standard one. This was a little disappointing to be entirely honest. When it comes to theming Thorpe Park is no Disney, but it's better than it gets credit for in this department. Stealth, with its well-designed station and delightful vintage soundtrack, excellently evokes a race-course, Saw: The Ride, The Swarm and The Walking Dead: The Ride are three of the UK's best-themed coasters and both Colossus and (to a lesser extent, perhaps) Nemesis Inferno have very atmospheric ride areas. Honestly, aside from Flying Fish Hyperia is the least-themed ride at the park. Still, when a ride is this brilliant, it's difficult to care too much. Besides, the soundtrack is very solid and while the ground below the ride itself looked pretty ugly in all the POVs I've seen, it's already looking a lot better now. Furthermore, the ride has just opened and there's plenty of time for Thorpe Park to add a little more theming to the queue and station.
The UK has always had a fantastic coaster collection, one of the best in Europe. At the same time though, while we have loads of great rollercoasters, the only one that could really be called 'Elite' is Alton Towers' Nemesis. Well, now we have two. Bravo, Thorpe Park.
Final Score: 9.5/10
