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Thorpe Park | Hyperia | Mack Hyper Coaster | 2024

JoshC.

Strata Poster
The video basically discusses what has been discussed on here and on social media. In short:

-Exodus word appearing
-RMC-22 in Trailers maze
-Old town tree clearance

So there's nothing new or different really. It's standard YouTube speculation from a YouTuber well known for speculating.
 

Swat

Mega Poster
The video basically discusses what has been discussed on here and on social media. In short:

-Exodus word appearing
-RMC-22 in Trailers maze
-Old town tree clearance

So there's nothing new or different really. It's standard YouTube speculation from a YouTuber well known for speculating.
The video is very much speculative but Jack worked very closely with Thorpe and they even provided the video effects for the Trailers maze. its very obvious that the points 'hints' he is raising have some bearing on what is coming eventually. The most notable bit for me is the post in Platform stating 'Area Under Construction'.

There is huge tree clearing,Loggers is sat SBNO and there are little teases Thorpe want us to pick up on. Its almost a guarantee that area is pinned for developlment in the next year or so. We could see ground works mid 2022 or at least planning submissions. However that said and probably better suited for the WTF Merlin thread, Thorpe is an absolute dive in its current state.
 

Joelpagett

Mega Poster
Okay... is it time to start getting a little bit excited yet?


It appears that Loggers Leap has started to be removed, and it certainly looks like more than just a bit of felling if you ask me...
 

Intamin Forever

Mega Poster
Okay... is it time to start getting a little bit excited yet?


It appears that Loggers Leap has started to be removed, and it certainly looks like more than just a bit of felling if you ask me...
OMG!! Finally the time has come for it to go. But, those pictures show really that we are getting something in the future which is really exciting
 

Matt N

CF Legend
I don't know about you guys, but the fact that actual ride removal is happening indicates to me that stuff is happening... I think the imminent future could be very exciting for Thorpe!
 

MakoMania

Mega Poster
Exciting stuff!

Kind of dissapointed that I made a thread about early clues of these developments in Old Town a long time ago and it got locked and deleted due to not being substantial enough. Turns out I was right!
 

Ethan

Strata Poster
Hopefully it means something! The thing that struck me most about those photos is how beautiful and seemingly calm some of the woodland tucked away there really is.
 

Intamin Forever

Mega Poster
I think just the fact that the area of land is so big and is being expanded, shows that we could be getting something bigger than expected.
 

Swat

Mega Poster
This whole area could be perfect for a wooden structure, full woody or RMC. Utilise the rock work and the loggers lake and you could have a great viewpoint from the creek freak building looking to a woody across the lake in the woodland.
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
I think just the fact that the area of land is so big and is being expanded, shows that we could be getting something bigger than expected.

But is it big enough for a B&M hyper, that's what we all wanna know? From the pictures I'm thinking probably not, unless they go for one of those twisty hyper layouts like... heaven forbid... Raging Bull! 😮
My money's still on wood, but with an outside possibility of RMC, I guess? Either the 'Uk's longest, tallest woodie' or the 'UK's first hybrid'.
Either would be ok with me. 😁
 

FistedColossus

Hyper Poster
Hopefully it means something! The thing that struck me most about those photos is how beautiful and seemingly calm some of the woodland tucked away there really is.
That's what made Loggers Leap so good. Miss that bastard.

But is it big enough for a B&M hyper, that's what we all wanna know? From the pictures I'm thinking probably not, unless they go for one of those twisty hyper layouts like... heaven forbid... Raging Bull! 😮
My money's still on wood, but with an outside possibility of RMC, I guess? Either the 'Uk's longest, tallest woodie' or the 'UK's first hybrid'.
Either would be ok with me. 😁
An out and back layout could perhaps work using the train track running alongside Monks Walk, with the turnaround near I'm A Celebrity (or whatever crap is in there now).
 

CrashCoaster

CF Legend
I'll be honest my money is on a mid-sized GCI, Thorpe really do need a family-thrill coaster other than X:\ No Way Out. Hoping for something a bit more inspiring that Wicker Man layout-wise, but I just can't see Merlin building a big RMC or hyper. Would love to be proven wrong though.
 

Intamin Forever

Mega Poster
I'll be honest my money is on a mid-sized GCI, Thorpe really do need a family-thrill coaster other than X:\ No Way Out. Hoping for something a bit more inspiring that Wicker Man layout-wise, but I just can't see Merlin building a big RMC or hyper. Would love to be proven wrong though.
I suppose they would need all that land for a GCI as the structure is quite large, but that is the same for RMC, but in my opinion Thorpe would most likely go for a single rail Raptor.
 

Furiustobaco

Mega Poster
We may be getting a decent investment? Huh? Its been ten years.
I honestly think anything would impress me, it could be a pinfari zyklon and i'd be grateful for anything new here.

I'd say a GCI, i personally think the RMC mention in trailers is a bit of joke on Thorpe's part. I think a hyper is out of the question due to the nature of the plot of land, it also would seem a bit of a U turn investing in a Hyper in a park that has been getting the square root of nothing for the past ten years (besides one of the most problematic dark rides in the world!). A GCI a little larger than Wickerman would make sense to me, something right in between Wicker Man and Wodan. GCI's tend to have those low height restrictions so it would be a great choice IMO.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
But is it big enough for a B&M hyper, that's what we all wanna know? From the pictures I'm thinking probably not, unless they go for one of those twisty hyper layouts like... heaven forbid... Raging Bull! 😮
My money's still on wood, but with an outside possibility of RMC, I guess? Either the 'Uk's longest, tallest woodie' or the 'UK's first hybrid'.
Either would be ok with me. 😁
As @FistedColossus said, you could have the station, brake run, lift hill etc on the Logger’s Leap area and have it go elsewhere; an out and back layout going either over the water at the front of the park or around the back of the park would work phenomenally, in my view!
it also would seem a bit of a U turn investing in a Hyper in a park that has been getting the square root of nothing for the past ten years (besides one of the most problematic dark rides in the world!).
I’m not entirely sure I agree with this statement; as much as the last 2 years or so haven’t been too eventful at Thorpe, the last 10 years have seen 2 significant investments at Thorpe in terms of cost. Swarm in 2012 cost either £18m or £20m (the number varies between sources), and as much as I know many probably try and wipe it from their memory, DBGT in 2016 was an incredibly significant investment, costing at least £20m (it was officially cited in press releases as “Merlin’s most expensive investment ever”), possibly closer to £30-40m based on rumours. That’s not an insignificant sum of money, and if you look at it in terms of number of significant investments within the last 10 years, they’ve had the same number as Alton (Smiler and Wicker Man), and people don’t seem to portray Alton in anywhere near the same neglected light as they do Thorpe, in spite of them having had a fairly similar level of investment (in terms of major investments, at least).

In terms of non-majors; I’m led to believe that DBGT’s 2017 rework cost more money than you might expect (at least 7 figures), and I think Walking Dead was also a fairly significant outlay for a retheme, from what I’ve heard; apparently, the whole project was some way into 7 figures.

In terms of why the last couple of years have been less eventful; I remember reading online (may even have been from someone on here) that the park did have a major investment planned for 2020 originally (they even teased it at an enthusiast event in 2017), but the park had a pretty significant change in upper management in the late 2010s that did ultimately see this scrapped, and ultimately set the park’s next major investment back a few years.

I guess we’ll just have to see what happens… but I wouldn’t rule anything out, personally.
 

rob666

Hyper Poster
I wouldn't rule out nothing happening, apart from essential tree management and the reinstatement of land following a ride closure.
Their last two multi million capital investments did not lead to attendance increases, and were considered "a bit floppy".
 

Joelpagett

Mega Poster
I think whatever it is, it's going to be a 'safer' bet. They've been burnt with the likes of DBGT and other 'out there' investments and not seen the return. I think the most plausible outcome will be a slightly more thrilling GCI than Wickerman, but still with a 1.2 or 1.3 restriction, giving them a wider ranging audience. However, would love to see an RMC!
 

Rob Coasters

Hyper Poster
I think that whatever layout they get should be an out and back type thing, or something that takes up a thin plot of land. Swarm's problem is that its twister layout ends up with there being zero room for anything else in the area (no restaurant, no flat). That's why I'm so keen on a hyper or a mega - because you can do exactly that. Towers can do a twister layout all they want because they have all the space in the world to build something; Thorpe not so much.

In terms of what coaster they should get, in my eyes I would like the coaster to -
A: be a unique layout,
B: not be easily comparable to another coaster in the park (so no Bermuda Blitz or STC thank god) and have the model be sufficiently different from the other experiences in the park as a result,
C: have no inversions as the park desparately needs another major coaster that doesn't invert, and
D: focus primarily on airtime.

I have no clue if they should get a GCI or a GG or a hyper or a mega or a hybrid or something else. But what I outlined above is what I'd like to see the coaster do.
 

Furiustobaco

Mega Poster
I’m not entirely sure I agree with this statement; as much as the last 2 years or so haven’t been too eventful at Thorpe, the last 10 years have seen 2 significant investments at Thorpe in terms of cost. Swarm in 2012 cost either £18m or £20m (the number varies between sources), and as much as I know many probably try and wipe it from their memory, DBGT in 2016 was an incredibly significant investment, costing at least £20m (it was officially cited in press releases as “Merlin’s most expensive investment ever”), possibly closer to £30-40m based on rumours. That’s not an insignificant sum of money, and if you look at it in terms of number of significant investments within the last 10 years, they’ve had the same number as Alton (Smiler and Wicker Man), and people don’t seem to portray Alton in anywhere near the same neglected light as they do Thorpe, in spite of them having had a fairly similar level of investment (in terms of major investments, at least).
I think this is due to Alton just overall recieving better investments in between big investments. Alton managed to get a hold on the kids market first, this was something that they needed. Cbeebies Land was a great success, it gave Alton a real draw for kids, and it had buzz around it. Cbeebies Land now gave a BIG reason for families to come with kids. Those investments also led to the Enchanted Forest, and the Stargazing Pods, further expanding on the resort. The park added the Dungeons, despite me disliking it, i guess it is another to do and a further expansion to the resort. This year we got a fairly fun looking dark ride, and a well needed boost to a completely dying area.

Thorpe just kind of meandered with their investments IMO. They converted XNWO into X for 2013, to hastily change it back in 2018 so they could claim a new ride. They added Angry Birds, which is about the only investment i'm somewhat behind? I'm not going to talk about the Ghost Train, but to me it really is just one massive fail that they tried to band aid in 2017. The Smiler and Wickerman also are two very solid investments IMO, say what you want about Smiler, but it is a very good ride and the public seem to love it heavily, Wickerman was a home run.

Alton IMO has at least taken a direction, Thorpe to me has just kind of stagnated, i don't really feel the park is better than it was in 2012. With Alton i can say i enjoy the park more now.
 
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