Thorpe Park | Hyperia | Mack Hyper Coaster | 2024

[Hixee]

Will wait for the first picture of relevant site mud before moving this thread.

 

[Swat]

The way the area is looking, Thorpe can just build the coaster and its already themed to fit in with the rest of the park!

 

[chrisgeorgiou46]

View attachment 21572
For more pictures see Source

While the train and loggers have been gone for a while knowing this land is no more is sad, in its prime it was my favourite place in the park as a kid. I will miss Rocky to, but hay, i am really really excited for what is on the horizon

Wait a sec - have they already built the splashdown area?

Reading this has also made me sad. I miss Logger's Leap so bad. Even as an adult, those family thrills were so important to me.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Wait a sec - have they already built the splashdown area?

Reading this has also made me sad. I miss Logger's Leap so bad. Even as an adult, those family thrills were so important to me.

I miss log flumes in general

Other parts of the world are still adding them or their descendants all the time. Why can’t we get a decent new one in the UK :/

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Why can’t we get a decent new one in the UK :/

Why can't Pleasure Beach just reopen Valhalla already?

 

[Pistonjuice]

I have mentioned this before but I keep thinking what that outer bank after dispatch is really, I know some RMC's do this but if for example if we had spinning trains would that be enough to get the car rotating enough before you scaled the lift hill?....I just have a sneaky suspicion this could be a (very) extreme spinner....Also with the relatively long break run If you are still rotating..that would be cool..Are there technical reasons that this couldn't be the case with this layout? It would also turn what people think is a short layout to a "thank god that has finished" layout.

 

[catsounds]

I have mentioned this before but I keep thinking what that outer bank after dispatch is really, I know some RMC's do this but if for example if we had spinning trains would that be enough to get the car rotating enough before you scaled the lift hill?....I just have a sneaky suspicion this could be a (very) extreme spinner....Also with the relatively long break run If you are still rotating..that would be cool..Are there technical reasons that this couldn't be the case with this layout? It would also turn what people think is a short layout to a "thank god that has finished" layout.

I don't think they'd want it spinning on the lift and also it's a bit too steep to have forward/backwards seating in case of evacuation I would assume

 

[Indy]

I just have a sneaky suspicion this could be a (very) extreme spinner....Also with the relatively long break run If you are still rotating..that would be cool..Are there technical reasons that this couldn't be the case with this layout? It would also turn what people think is a short layout to a "thank god that has finished" layout.

As sick as it would be for this to be a spinner, the plans submitted to the borough council clearly show a standard train in the station drawings and maintenance drawings. If it were to have spinning cars, then the clearance envelopes and dimensions would need to be different and the queue gate setup would need to be different.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

As sick as it would be for this to be a spinner, the plans submitted to the borough council clearly show a standard train in the station drawings and maintenance drawings. If it were to have spinning cars, then the clearance envelopes and dimensions would need to be different and the queue gate setup would need to be different.

And the noise testing would maybe have been done in Belgium not Turkey, as the ride types need to be as similar as possible.

 

[Dar]

I miss log flumes in general

Other parts of the world are still adding them or their descendants all the time. Why can’t we get a decent new one in the UK :/

I thought it was because nobody wanted to fork out for the water treatment stuff needed by the EU on new water rides? If so, maybe we'll get a new one after next December if they go through with scrapping EU regulations

 

[Tonkso]

Ah, our god given right to unsanitary logflume water. Brexit benefits.

 

[Matt N]

I don’t think the cost of water treatment is necessarily the issue… correct me if I’m wrong here, but I think Tidal Wave at Thorpe may have been built after the water treatment legislation on water rides came into force. As was Drenched at Oakwood. And while they aren’t quite the same, splash battles like Battle Galleons would also have been built after this.

I think that it’s simply down to cost vs benefit. Water rides probably cost more money these days what with the substantially more advanced safety systems required (water rides seem to have been a couple of decades behind things like coasters in that regard), and we don’t really have a climate that suits water rides. If a park builds one as a major investment, it probably wouldn’t get an awful lot of popularity outside of a select few hot days each year. As an example, look at something like Battle Galleons at Alton Towers. I’ve been to Towers countless times over the years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it with a queue. Heck, even from observing RideTimes when I’m not there, I’ve only ever seen it with a queue on the very hot days. Ditto with something like Tidal Wave; I’ve only ever seen that attract significant popularity on hot days.

 

[CineramaMax]

A very accurate Planet Coaster re-creation has been uploaded to YouTube by Theme Park Wirral, providing a good indication of what the sightlines of the ride will be like. As you can see in the video, it utterly dwarfs SAW The Ride! It's honestly going to look spectacular park's skyline, though maybe also a tad out of place amidst so many smaller coasters on that side of the park.

 

[Swat]

There is no argument that this is going to look absolutely bonkers at Thorpe. Layout length, theming and everything else aside the sheer size and structure alone are going to be something to behold at a british park.

 

[Niles]

I allways liked these images from the plans showing how dominant it will be.

Even though these next pics have Stealth closer its still there looming in the distance. Colossus & Saw do look so cute in comparison.



Another thing is other than Stealth i think the three big ellements are higher than any other coaster in the park, so it will appear massive.

 

[JoshC.]

I have been very busy the last couple of weeks and had kept meaning to respond to stuff in this thread but never got round to it. Anyways, enjoy me rambling on about discussion points from the month that have long since stopped...

Think we are still looking at a 2024 opening?

Now this is the interesting question.

The original plans, and even the consultation, never stated an opening date, or even a year. But it was clear from context, and some labels, that it would open in 2024. When it 2024 is not clear, especially since many major investments in recent years at Merlin have been scheduled to open in May, rather than March.

But what we do know is that the park had hoped that planning would be approved in Summer of this year, and construction start in November. And that the park had closed Old Town this year so they could do preliminary work in the area before November.
Now it's unclear whether the park did all the preliminary work they planned to do in the Old Town area as a result of the confusion over whether planning would be accepted. But it's, if nothing else, curious, that the park reopened at area for Fright Nights when that wasn't the original plan. So maybe they didn't do all the preliminary work that was planned, which could delay the construction start date.

There's also the bigger issue about how much the planning acceptance delay and confusion has caused problems with the contracting process. Is there a delay to getting in construction equipment now? Signing off things with Mack? Who knows.

Now here's the thing. Say Exodus was planned to open in May 2024, with construction due to start in November 2022. If construction now starts in January 2023, logically that pushes opening back to July 2024. Now say construction gets hit by any sort of unexpected delay, and you then hit August 2024 at the earliest. At what point do the park draw a line and say "We shouldn't open a new ride this late into our season", and then go for a 2025 opening? Or do they just go for the "Let's open it asap, even if it harm the early part of season" logic? There's lots to think about either side of that argument.

Obviously if the intention was to open in March 2024, this is less of an issue. But still a potential issue.

So tl;dr - it's not clear whether this will be 2024 or 2025 opening right now. An optimist would certainly still say 2024. A realist would say we don't know just yet.

So, there’s nothing here that isn’t already probably on the designers’ radars. None are likely to cause any major issues, but it’s hard to say without knowing what they’ll find in the ground or what they might run up against as part of the design process. In general, I don't think any of these things will be insurmountable, but don't hold me to that. [/B][/U]

Think this post hit the nail on the head. All of those conditions are very standard and have appeared in similarly sized applications of Thorpe's to my understanding. A good planning team will have taken these into account in terms of scheduling and any potential delays too I'd say.

And the noise testing would maybe have been done in Belgium not Turkey, as the ride types need to be as similar as possible.

Not exactly the case. The sound tests were primarily for the lift hill mechanism. So it makes more sense to compare to a ride with a lift hill than a launch, even if the trains are different (as the resulting sounds from trains aren't *that* different).
Equally though, I think it's highly unlikely that this will feature spinning cars.

I thought it was because nobody wanted to fork out for the water treatment stuff needed by the EU on new water rides? If so, maybe we'll get a new one after next December if they go through with scrapping EU regulations

I don’t think the cost of water treatment is necessarily the issue… correct me if I’m wrong here, but I think Tidal Wave at Thorpe may have been built after the water treatment legislation on water rides came into force. As was Drenched at Oakwood. And while they aren’t quite the same, splash battles like Battle Galleons would also have been built after this.

I think that it’s simply down to cost vs benefit. Water rides probably cost more money these days what with the substantially more advanced safety systems required (water rides seem to have been a couple of decades behind things like coasters in that regard), and we don’t really have a climate that suits water rides. If a park builds one as a major investment, it probably wouldn’t get an awful lot of popularity outside of a select few hot days each year. As an example, look at something like Battle Galleons at Alton Towers. I’ve been to Towers countless times over the years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it with a queue. Heck, even from observing RideTimes when I’m not there, I’ve only ever seen it with a queue on the very hot days. Ditto with something like Tidal Wave; I’ve only ever seen that attract significant popularity on hot days.

The following is only what I've pieced together and could be very much wrong. It doesn't really address either of the above posts, more just adding to the discussion. But away we go...

Yes, new water rides built need to have some sort of water treatment system in place (said very hand wavily, as I don't know what sort of stuff is needed). I don't know when that was put in place. But, importantly, when it was introduced, rides which were currently open were exempt from needing to have a water treatment system in place. So no issues there.

But here's a question: what is a "new water ride"? Is it a newly built water ride from scratch? Or is it something which (re)opens after this EU rule was put in place? If it's the latter, one can already see how it was problematic for Loggers (which I believe closed after the rule was in place). Be interesting to know what the situation was with the rapids at Drayton, and if that had a water treatment system prior to closure, and if it does now? Might give some indication...

Anyways, the issues with Loggers and a water treatment system is that a water treatment system needs to be closed. So it can't interfere with the lake. Which, for Loggers, would be a mighty big ask logistically.

As for Tidal Wave and other rides listed by Matt, they will have treated water because of the sheer amount of water dumped on you, very much a health and safety type thing there.
I think if a UK park did introduce a new log flume and it wasn't too wet (or had wetness which could be varied depending on the weather), it would certainly be popular, and given the family appeal, would be a more than worthwhile investment in terms of photos and merch too.

 

[Georgie-M]

I think if a UK park did introduce a new log flume and it wasn't too wet (or had wetness which could be varied depending on the weather), it would certainly be popular, and given the family appeal, would be a more than worthwhile investment in terms of photos and merch too.

I always considered water rides to be great crowd-pleasers. You can pack in a surprising amount of thrills into a log flume drop, but you're still gonna attract people who wouldn't touch a rollercoaster of the same size or even smaller. I was always too scared to go on any rollercoaster as a kid but rides like dragon falls or StormForce were always my favourite. Not to mention the wee individual boats give those rides such a uniquely intimate feel that you don't get on most coasters, making them even better for families or friends. Even a park that promotes itself as providing all-out thrills needs some sort of family attractions, not just for the sake of variety, but also to encourage larger groups to visit by making it more worthwhile for those less adventurous to tag along. Once Exodus opens, I hope Thorpe considers updating their water ride selection, as it could really bolster their lineup (especially with how frequent the hot summer days are getting here).

 

[Coloratura]

Do people think we are going to see a steady build up of marketing surrounding Exodus from the start of the season next year?

Can't lie, I am very excited to see this pop up on the map again ))

 

[Niles]

I have a leak of what it will look like

 

[Coasterfreck]

Went down Monks Walk today, dressed as my Sleeper Conductor, as I was hoping to get one picture of myself as a sleeper with the CCR/Sleeper Express train before Project Exodus construction had begun, and to my sadness all three trains, and carriages have already been removed.