I think the UK rollercoaster game has just been taken to a level that’s going to be the toughest beat yet. The UK’s tallest & fastest rollercoaster is quite honestly on top and I’m speechless even still.
Plaza / Off Ride:
In photos and videos, you look and think “Yeah that’s pretty big” but you step into that plaza and look up and it’s a whole different stance. It’s so domineering of the skyline of Thorpe Park and makes everything nearby look like baby rides. Yet it doesn’t exactly look like the most fierce ride with the colour scheme. But watching the carriage yet down that first drop is the point you question whether you are brave enough for sure. Admittedly, I’m not overly keen on the colour scheme I don’t particularly like the gold as such. But that’s quite irrelevant given the experience you are given on the ride. I’ll also confess the maintenance shed does look better on the outside than the actual station itself. But I do really appreciate Thorpe heading for a lighter theme than everything else in the park it’s something we’ve all said was needed and they pulled through.
Queue Line / Throughputs:
We entered the queue with an advertised 130 minutes & it was a one train service. Truthfully the first half of the queue up to the lift hill stretched and moved really well didn’t feel too much of a big ordeal. Come to this point and it kind of went a bit dormant. Having the one train operation made it quite tough for the staff members to make the batching of all the queues quite fair and equal which is understandable. The other queues such as RAP & fast track often took priority over the main queue but if this was a 2 train service I doubt that would have been much of an issue. All in all, we probably waited an extra 30 minutes for what was advertised but even so for a brand-new rollercoaster & reduced capacity that’s not remotely bad at all in my opinion. A massive hats off to the staff especially in the station they couldn’t have tried any harder to keep those throughputs slick. They genuinely smashed it.
The Station:
This is one of those rollercoaster that simply don’t need much to complement it as the experience itself holds its own. Therefore, the underwhelming station is forgivable and again not an issue given the coaster doesn’t need it. I do really love the sequence for when the train dispatches that just makes it all feel so epic and grand.
The Carriages:
From videos and photos, I was always a bit torn about whether they looked all that great. However, in person, they absolutely do look fab. The seats themselves are an absolute dream they are so comfortable and the restraints are very gracious. It’s also a lap bar and let’s be honest that alone makes this ride something else!
The Ride Experience:
Off-ride that lift hill looks rather rapid on ride I’m sure it’s 10x slower! I’m not a lover of heights and honestly, this is horrendous the never-ending climb and just wondering when you’re about to face that intimidating drop! We were row 2 and that first drop was breathtaking. I have never in my life been so grateful for a restraint as I was riding Hyperia. My entire body was pressed against the damn thing and I was hugging the handle from the fear of being chucked out. The screams of pure fear from us both were something that had not happened since the dawn of time! Again off-ride it doesn’t actually look THAT quick and I know it’s not far off the same speed as Stealth but let me tell you whilst riding that thing flies. It’s hard to grab a second to even figure out where you are on the track and what’s going to happen next?! Into the outer bank U-turn and again that element is utterly repulsing with how terrifying it is. It’s like you’re getting flung out before levelling out into the stall inversion which merely never ends. You are upside down for so long to the point it almost feels as if you are barely moving! The trim brakes into the last element were so intense. Usually trimbrakes dull the experience pretty sharp ish but these just added to the experience & intensity!
There isn’t a moment of this ride that just feels out of sorts or like it could have been done better. That’s including the duration off-ride and in the lead-up to its opening I was really wary the length would be quite pleasing enough but truthfully I think it’s just right. It’s so consolidated yet so extremely thrilling with such unusual elements that actually it delivers all you want within the perfect time. Of course, it could undoubtedly give more than it has given but I definitely didn’t feel it was too short by any means it felt the perfect length. Coming off this ride been left speechless, shaking with pure fear of how feral it was and baffled about how the UK has something on that level. Well, Hyperia is truly THE best ride in the UK by an absolute mile. Nothing even quite reaches this and it’ll take a lot to even beat it.
Overall:
Hats off to the team at Thorpe Park & Mack Rides for knocking this absolute world-class rollercoaster out. It truly is a little jewel and a special. I need more and I’m absolutely intending to head back before the season closes to grab some more rides because it’s addictive. I’ll always make time to visit Thorpe Park going on JUST for Hyperia. Very jealous of those down south with this beauty so close to home! This is THAT coaster that’s made me frantic to get out to some European parks for more of this kind of thrill.
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Have you experienced Hyperia yet? What’s your thoughts?
