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[2024] Thorpe Park: Hyperia - Mack Hypercoaster

Alastair said:
They would be distributed through a label or online platform though (i.e. Ditto) making it near impossible to "forget" to add the composers. No, it's quite sadly deliberate I suspect.
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Unless you're in a rush, don't understand what it is you're doing and the significance of it, or generally just don't care. I don't think it's a deliberate omission, I think it's a general "do I have to do this stuff, why isn't it automated for me?". The Alton Towers music is in a similar state, but at least credits IMAscore in places.
 
This video has a brief explanation from someone at IMAscore about the ownership model. Ultimately if the park wants to own the whole rights they can just pay a flat fee and then do what they want with it. Probably a higher initial cost but more flexibility and less hassle to use the music in any way that they like once they own it. No need to credit anyone. It's not being lazy or vindictive, it's just business.


From: https://youtu.be/73mz5HuTqls?feature=shared&t=263


For the Alton Towers soundtrack they apparently let IMAscore have the rights to do the CD distribution (which makes sense as it is probably something that Alton Towers didn't want to get involved with for the limited number of CDs that would be produced/distributed).
 
Donkey said:
This video has a brief explanation from someone at IMAscore about the ownership model. Ultimately if the park wants to own the whole rights they can just pay a flat fee and then do what they want with it. Probably a higher initial cost but more flexibility and less hassle to use the music in any way that they like once they own it. No need to credit anyone. It's not being lazy or vindictive, it's just business.


From: https://youtu.be/73mz5HuTqls?feature=shared&t=263


For the Alton Towers soundtrack they apparently let IMAscore have the rights to do the CD distribution (which makes sense as it is probably something that Alton Towers didn't want to get involved with for the limited number of CDs that would be produced/distributed).
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But...there are plenty of scenarios in media music where the writer's share is bought out. This is typically purely for financial reasons, and means no royalties are due and that the composer will no longer financially benefit from the work beyond the upfront. It doesn't mean the writers would no longer be superficially credited for the work though. Even if this is within the terms of the agreement, it's still frankly morally wrong.
 
Alastair said:
But...there are plenty of scenarios in media music where the writer's share is bought out. This is typically purely for financial reasons, and means no royalties are due and that the composer will no longer financially benefit from the work beyond the upfront. It doesn't mean the writers would no longer be superficially credited for the work though. Even if this is within the terms of the agreement, it's still frankly morally wrong.
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There are so many hit songs based entirely on the back of royalty free loops, the original author of which never gets credited.

The first one which springs to mind is "Umbrella" by Rihanna ft. Jay Z. It makes use of the "Vintage Funk Kit 03" loop sample from GarageBand. I have no idea who created the original sample, but according to the meta data it's "Apple Inc.", even though they would have likely paid a 3rd party to make it for them in the first instance. The use of the royalty free sample isn't acknowledged in the credits, no one is credited, you wouldn't really know unless you have a keen ear or stumbled across the original loop.

You can listen to Vintage Funk Kit 03 here on SoundCloud:

From: https://m.soundcloud.com/the-garageband-guide/vintage-funk-kit-03-umbrella


When a stock image is used in a newspaper, there's usually a credit to the commissioning agency or distribution platform. If a stock image is used in promotional marketing material, credit usually doesn't happen. Think of all of the images in the Alton Towers website, social feeds, marketing material, around the park. None of it credits the photographer commissioned to take the photos.

Who made the park's logo? The logos for each individual coaster? None of this is credited in an obvious way, it's just standard practice. You comission someone to make something, you pay extra for the exclusive rights and reuse, you pay even more to remove attribution. It's morally acceptable in this instance, because the author has decided to relinquish those rights in exchange for cash.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
There are so many hit songs based entirely on the back of royalty free loops, the original author of which never gets credited.

The first one which springs to mind is "Umbrella" by Rihanna ft. Jay Z. It makes use of the "Vintage Funk Kit 03" loop sample from GarageBand. I have no idea who created the original sample, but according to the meta data it's "Apple Inc.", even though they would have likely paid a 3rd party to make it for them in the first instance. The use of the royalty free sample isn't acknowledged in the credits, no one is credited, you wouldn't really know unless you have a keen ear or stumbled across the original loop.

You can listen to Vintage Funk Kit 03 here on SoundCloud:

From: https://m.soundcloud.com/the-garageband-guide/vintage-funk-kit-03-umbrella


When a stock image is used in a newspaper, there's usually a credit to the commissioning agency or distribution platform. If a stock image is used in promotional marketing material, credit usually doesn't happen. Think of all of the images in the Alton Towers website, social feeds, marketing material, around the park. None of it credits the photographer commissioned to take the photos.

Who made the park's logo? The logos for each individual coaster? None of this is credited in an obvious way, it's just standard practice. You comission someone to make something, you pay extra for the exclusive rights and reuse, you pay even more to remove attribution. It's morally acceptable in this instance, because the author has decided to relinquish those rights in exchange for cash.
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Not to derail this thread any further, but two of those examples are unrelated to music - and the point on samples is completely different to this situation. Having composed a score in it's entirety vs being paid for the right to a sample you created to appear in another track are two completely different things.

It would be more akin to going to the cinema to see a Spielberg film, getting to the credits and seeing "Music by Steven Spielberg" - just because he'd paid John Williams a stack to buy him out. There's be frank uproar.
 
Alastair said:
Not to derail this thread any further, but two of those examples are unrelated to music
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Art is art, the medium may be different but the principle is still the same. The images are arranged and composed, without credit.

Royalty free samples and loops also have to be composed and arranged, they're full bits of music in their own right (technically) just a little shorter and smaller.

We can go with sound though, and look at something like the Wilhelm scream. It's used in television and film a heck of a lot, but the original recording artist and the person who actually screamed aren't credited. When credit does have to be given, as it's still within copyright, it's given to the studio / rights holder, not the original artists.
Alastair said:
It would be more akin to going to the cinema to see a Spielberg film
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Spielberg may have written the film, directed and produced it, but he didn't act in it, didn't film it himself, didn't edit it, didn't record the sound, etc... you've still just called and credited it as a Spielberg film though.
Alastair said:
getting to the credits and seeing "Music by Steven Spielberg" - just because he'd paid John Williams a stack to buy him out. There's be frank uproar.
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I think the expectation of uproar at seeing such a statement plays with hyperbole. There are many in universe pieces of music, within TV shows and film. When you get to the credits the pieces of music are credited entirely to the fictional artist within the medium (depending on what it is). The studio, in such an instance, has paid to have that privilege.

I think we've uncovered that it's an industry wide practice and really entirely depends on the financial and contract requirements between various parties, in addition to the context.

It's pretty unusual for proprietary atmospheric music, used at attractions, to be distributed in such a way in the first instance. There aren't many hard and fast rules, or best practices yet.
 
I’ll do a longer review later, but… WOW! Hyperia is quite something! I’ve had 2 rides so far, and am currently waiting for a 3rd in the single rider queue…

I haven’t decided on exact ranking spots yet, but my gut take is currently; easily my top ride in Thorpe Park and definitely my favourite UK coaster!

What a phenomenal addition to this park and the UK theme park industry!
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
Spielberg may have written the film, directed and produced it, but he didn't act in it, didn't film it himself, didn't edit it, didn't record the sound, etc... you've still just called and credited it as a Spielberg film though.

I think the expectation of uproar at seeing such a statement plays with hyperbole. There are many in universe pieces of music, within TV shows and film. When you get to the credits the pieces of music are credited entirely to the fictional artist within the medium (depending on what it is). The studio, in such an instance, has paid to have that privilege.
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To your Spielberg point, rather facetious I think - obviously one can't refer to a body of work by all of it's individual contributors. In this instance I'd expect IMAscore (as in, the company) to receive the credit as opposed to each composer.

To the second - to bring this back to Merlin, why would John Burton and Wardley et al continually receive plaudits for their work? They don't leave these names out, they make sure we know who they are. Obviously theme park music is, for better or worse considered "inferior" to film/TV/game music - but why should that mean that there is less parity in terms of credit?
 
Alastair said:
To the second - to bring this back to Merlin, why would John Burton and Wardley et al continually receive plaudits for their work? They don't leave these names out, they make sure we know who they are. Obviously theme park music is, for better or worse considered "inferior" to film/TV/game music but why should that mean that there is less parity in terms of credit?
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Burton and Wardley now receive their plaudits for being project leads in a wider way than they ever have done, it's still quite niche but they do. Who designed and composed the Nemesis monster? Wardley and Burton, in this instance, are both credited as creating/recreating Nemesis, but the visual artists who created the beast are not. Nor the artist responsible for the initial concept work, nor the artist responsible for the 3D renders, nor the artists responsible for building the monster, nor the artists responsible for designing and painting the veins on the track, not the sound designers responsible for creating the sounds we hear around the site. Wardley and Burton in both instances have given the final sign off to the project and taken/been given the ultimate credit.

There isn't less parity. I've given examples of when music outside of theme parks doesn't receive the same credit treatment. I've given you examples of other artistic mediums which have similar behaviours.

Ultimately, credit in this instance wasn't considered a deal breaker, or a moral insistence, for the original composer. If it had been they'd have insisted on a credit, or a different deal.

Your point about Wardley and Burton underscores that it's the artist / project lead at the top who receive the plaudits, not necessarily the full artistic team.
 
Got my first rides today!

1st time - 40 min queue (main) row 7

2nd time - 30 min (single rider) but got on next to my boyfriend back row!!

Oh my god this was so worth the wait for me, an easy #1 coaster, leagues above even anything at thorpe and the U.K. as a whole.

The junior Immelmann really surprised me, and it probably had the strongest airtime bar the first drop
 
Matt N said:
I’ll do a longer review later, but… WOW! Hyperia is quite something! I’ve had 2 rides so far, and am currently waiting for a 3rd in the single rider queue…

I haven’t decided on exact ranking spots yet, but my gut take is currently; easily my top ride in Thorpe Park and definitely my favourite UK coaster!

What a phenomenal addition to this park and the UK theme park industry!
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My first time today too!! Was unreal
 
Earlier in the day, I promised to write a longer review of Hyperia when I got home. Well, here it is!

While it's not exactly the aspect of the project I was most interested in, I'll start by giving a few cursory thoughts on the theming and the area...
The Area
One aspect of Hyperia that has been heavily criticised is the theming and the area. I have to say that I did not personally get the hate for this; the front-of-house areas look fine to me. It's nothing breathtaking, but I think it's functional and looks perfectly fine. I quite like the black and gold aesthetic, I quite like the station, I quite like the plaza, the queue landscaping is nice enough, and the queue is by no means terrible (although not anything overly inspiring either). In terms of some aspects I would critique, however:
  • The queue could maybe have had a more interesting and less contained layout. I would have loved it if the queue had wound around the ride Wicker Man-style and offered various different vantage points.
  • The ride area itself is quite unsightly at present, particularly the area around the splashdown. The lake with all of the weeds in it looks quite ugly, in my view, and I don't think the actual splashdown area is particularly pretty either. The rust-coloured splashdown track in particular does not look good at all. However, you don't notice this too much on the ride, and the ride area will probably grow to look better with time.
  • Speaking of the splash effect, the whole splashdown is an idea that had such promise, but has turned out to be a complete damp squib. It seems to have completely died only a couple of months into operation, but I did see it working on my visit 2 months ago, if I'm remembering correctly, and I think it's a completely redundant effect even when it works. That sort of effect is designed primarily for visual appeal for non-riders, so when it's hidden behind a 7ft fence and no one can see it properly, it completely loses its purpose.
  • If I'm being pedantic, I'm not a huge fan of how the maintenance shed looks and I would have preferred for it to parallel the style of the station. That is an extremely pedantic point, however; it's not really a big deal.
Overall, though, I wasn't too displeased with the area and theming. It's not some spectacular theming extravaganza by any stretch, but I think it overall looks nice, clean, stylish and perfectly functional. I think the style works well for the sort of ride Hyperia is, and I was never expecting heavy theming from a hyper coaster.

Let's now move onto the far more interesting aspect of the project; the ride itself...
The Ride
Now Hyperia has been a ride that I've been excited for for absolutely ages. I watched its build process with great anticipation, and I had high expectations for the ride. But the question is; did it live up to those expectations? Well, dear reader, my answer is; yes, it definitely did! I had 3 rides today, one in row 8 and two in the back row, and Hyperia is an absolutely sublime coaster experience, in my view!

The negative g-forces are absolutely absurd; the ride advertises 14.8 seconds of negative g-force, and let me tell you, I can fully believe that figure! They've designed this ride for weightlessness and I think it delivers; you seem to spend most of the ride duration pinned out of your seat in some capacity!

The speed is also absurd; it's easy to forget just how fast Hyperia is, but let me tell you that you're quickly reminded of just how fast 81mph is when you're actually on the ride! The sense of speed in parts of Hyperia's layout is ridiculous!

For me, an element-by-element walkthrough of Hyperia goes something like this:
  • The first outerbanked turn out of the station before the lift hill is utterly pointless; I don't know why this couldn't have just been a regular turn. The outerbanked version seemingly serves no purpose other than to be mildly awkward and uncomfortable.
  • The lift hill is very fast. I liked the views from the top!
  • The first drop is absolutely unhinged, and probably my favourite part of the ride! I'm a fan of a big first drop, and Hyperia's is truly wild; the ejector airtime is absolutely sublime and surprisingly sustained, and the 180 degree twist adds a really interesting additional sensation! It's definitely right up there as one of my favourite first drops I've ever done, alongside those of Mako and Iron Gwazi!
  • The Immelmann is also absolutely sublime! I love the sheer sense of speed you get going up into it, and the sustained ejector airtime you get coming out of it is absolutely top-dollar! You're pinned out of your seat for a good couple of seconds, and the airtime is absolutely sensational! The Immelmann is another element that's right up there as one of my favourite elements on the ride!
  • The outerbank into an inversion was a very hyped up element of Hyperia, and I have to say that it did not disappoint; it's absolutely insane! The sustained sideways ejector here is absolutely wild; you are pinned sideways out of your seat for what feels like seconds and seconds, and the negative g-forces are fairly strong in terms of force here as well! I'm not entirely convinced that I prefer sideways airtime to good old straight airtime, personally, but this element is absolutely brilliant nonetheless!
  • The zero-g stall is an excellent element, but definitely weaker than the other three big ones for me. With that being said, you still get some very fun hangtime, and it is probably the most convincing example of a zero-g stall I've yet done (the other two stalls I've done are VelociCoaster and Iron Gwazi). I dare say I still find the zero-g stall a slightly overhyped element type based on my experiences of them, but this one did convince me of the merits of the zero-g stall a little more than VelociCoaster's or Iron Gwazi's did; it is a very good element with some excellently fun hangtime! The stall is fun, but not quite up there as a standout moment of Hyperia for me. With that being said, it has very tough competition in this regard; if this element were not on a ride as stacked with brilliant elements as Hyperia, it would probably stand out more!
  • The splashdown trim is quite noticeable. I didn't find it uncomfortable enough to significantly detract from the ride, but the braking force is strong enough that it does seem to contort your face a tad...
  • The outerbanked turn after the splashdown was a surprisingly excellent element for me! It seemed to start with you getting some really decent sideways floater that then transitioned into a surprisingly strong pop of ejector, and I found that really interesting and fun in terms of how it rode!
  • The airtime hill into the brakes is an excellent way to finish with a bang; that hill provides a lovely pop of good, clean, surprisingly strong ejector airtime!
On this coaster, every single element hits and hits hard; there is a strong selection of standout "wow" moments on Hyperia. The first drop, the Immelmann and the outerbank into an inversion are all absolutely world-class elements, and that whole first sequence is just perfection! The other elements also hit well and provide good thrills and weightlessness, and I don't think there's one bit of Hyperia that doesn't deliver. Well, other than maybe the trim, and that weird turn before the lift hill...

As per usual with Mack Rides, the trains with overhead lap bars are immensely comfortable. I think Hyperia's are perhaps the most comfortable example of this train style I've experienced. In terms of smoothness; there is a rattle. It's noticeable. But it wasn't strong enough that it massively bothered me. It was more that I could feel a bit of a shaking sensation rather than that the rattle was actively hurting me or massively detracting from the experience. It's no worse than the mild rattle of, say, Stealth. The ride was overall very comfortable and enjoyable for me, and there were no severe jolts or anything (roughness-wise, I tend to find myself more sensitive to sudden jolts than rattling).

In terms of some comparisons; Hyperia is comfortably my favourite coaster at Thorpe Park (it was previously Stealth), comfortably my favourite UK coaster (it was previously Wicker Man) and also comfortably my favourite Mack ride (it was previously Icon). In terms of my overall rankings; out of 123 ridden coasters, I've conservatively settled on the #5 spot, behind Mako, VelociCoaster, Silver Star and Iron Gwazi (in that order).

If I were to offer up some pedantic hair-splitting critiques that explain why it's not my #1, and why it's not higher than #5:
  • The rattle. Hyperia's rattle didn't overly bother me at all, but the coasters above Hyperia have a more perfect blissfully smooth feel to the point where it's almost an active positive attribute in itself.
  • The trim. I didn't find it overly uncomfortable, but it is quite noticeable, more so than on Mako and Silver Star, and as I said, it does sort of contort your face a bit from the braking force, which isn't the case on Mako or Silver Star.
  • The fact that the ride lacks straight airtime hills. As sublime as Hyperia's sideways and inverted airtime elements are and as plentiful as the sustained weightlessness is, nothing quite beats a good old straight airtime hill for me, and Hyperia does have somewhat of a shortage of traditional straight airtime moments.
I know those are very pedantic points, and pretty much entirely based on personal preference, but when you're talking about the top 5 and determining exact placements, I think I can afford to get pedantic! When the coasters in question are this good, it gets competitive at the top, and I have little choice other than to split hairs!

One legitimate critique I will offer of the ride itself is with regard to the capacity. It's not the highest for a brand new major ride, at 700-800pph, but I think a key reason for that has nothing to do with the park's operations and may have something to do with the brake run. They were operating brilliantly, and stacking was very rare, but the train seems to take a very, very long time to return to the station and moves along the brake run track very, very slowly. This results in more idle time in the station, and if they were able to speed up the train's movement through the brake run, it might improve the capacity. Hopefully this is something the park can look into in the future.

But overall, I absolutely loved Hyperia! It's my favourite coaster at Thorpe Park, my favourite coaster in the UK and sits in my top 5! The weightlessness is sublime, the sense of speed is absurd, the elements are absolutely top-drawer, and all in all, it's just an absolutely sublime coaster! What a brilliant investment for Thorpe Park and the UK theme park industry!

On a side note, here are a few photos I took of the ride:
IMG-1088.jpg

IMG-1091.jpg

IMG-1098.jpg

IMG-1097.jpg

IMG-1108.jpg

IMG-1109.jpg
 
Matt N said:
Earlier in the day, I promised to write a longer review of Hyperia when I got home. Well, here it is!

While it's not exactly the aspect of the project I was most interested in, I'll start by giving a few cursory thoughts on the theming and the area...
The Area
One aspect of Hyperia that has been heavily criticised is the theming and the area. I have to say that I did not personally get the hate for this; the front-of-house areas look fine to me. It's nothing breathtaking, but I think it's functional and looks perfectly fine. I quite like the black and gold aesthetic, I quite like the station, I quite like the plaza, the queue landscaping is nice enough, and the queue is by no means terrible (although not anything overly inspiring either). In terms of some aspects I would critique, however:
  • The queue could maybe have had a more interesting and less contained layout. I would have loved it if the queue had wound around the ride Wicker Man-style and offered various different vantage points.
  • The ride area itself is quite unsightly at present, particularly the area around the splashdown. The lake with all of the weeds in it looks quite ugly, in my view, and I don't think the actual splashdown area is particularly pretty either. The rust-coloured splashdown track in particular does not look good at all. However, you don't notice this too much on the ride, and the ride area will probably grow to look better with time.
  • Speaking of the splash effect, the whole splashdown is an idea that had such promise, but has turned out to be a complete damp squib. It seems to have completely died only a couple of months into operation, but I did see it working on my visit 2 months ago, if I'm remembering correctly, and I think it's a completely redundant effect even when it works. That sort of effect is designed primarily for visual appeal for non-riders, so when it's hidden behind a 7ft fence and no one can see it properly, it completely loses its purpose.
  • If I'm being pedantic, I'm not a huge fan of how the maintenance shed looks and I would have preferred for it to parallel the style of the station. That is an extremely pedantic point, however; it's not really a big deal.
Overall, though, I wasn't too displeased with the area and theming. It's not some spectacular theming extravaganza by any stretch, but I think it overall looks nice, clean, stylish and perfectly functional. I think the style works well for the sort of ride Hyperia is, and I was never expecting heavy theming from a hyper coaster.

Let's now move onto the far more interesting aspect of the project; the ride itself...
The Ride
Now Hyperia has been a ride that I've been excited for for absolutely ages. I watched its build process with great anticipation, and I had high expectations for the ride. But the question is; did it live up to those expectations? Well, dear reader, my answer is; yes, it definitely did! I had 3 rides today, one in row 8 and two in the back row, and Hyperia is an absolutely sublime coaster experience, in my view!

The negative g-forces are absolutely absurd; the ride advertises 14.8 seconds of negative g-force, and let me tell you, I can fully believe that figure! They've designed this ride for weightlessness and I think it delivers; you seem to spend most of the ride duration pinned out of your seat in some capacity!

The speed is also absurd; it's easy to forget just how fast Hyperia is, but let me tell you that you're quickly reminded of just how fast 81mph is when you're actually on the ride! The sense of speed in parts of Hyperia's layout is ridiculous!

For me, an element-by-element walkthrough of Hyperia goes something like this:
  • The first outerbanked turn out of the station before the lift hill is utterly pointless; I don't know why this couldn't have just been a regular turn. The outerbanked version seemingly serves no purpose other than to be mildly awkward and uncomfortable.
  • The lift hill is very fast. I liked the views from the top!
  • The first drop is absolutely unhinged, and probably my favourite part of the ride! I'm a fan of a big first drop, and Hyperia's is truly wild; the ejector airtime is absolutely sublime and surprisingly sustained, and the 180 degree twist adds a really interesting additional sensation! It's definitely right up there as one of my favourite first drops I've ever done, alongside those of Mako and Iron Gwazi!
  • The Immelmann is also absolutely sublime! I love the sheer sense of speed you get going up into it, and the sustained ejector airtime you get coming out of it is absolutely top-dollar! You're pinned out of your seat for a good couple of seconds, and the airtime is absolutely sensational! The Immelmann is another element that's right up there as one of my favourite elements on the ride!
  • The outerbank into an inversion was a very hyped up element of Hyperia, and I have to say that it did not disappoint; it's absolutely insane! The sustained sideways ejector here is absolutely wild; you are pinned sideways out of your seat for what feels like seconds and seconds, and the negative g-forces are fairly strong in terms of force here as well! I'm not entirely convinced that I prefer sideways airtime to good old straight airtime, personally, but this element is absolutely brilliant nonetheless!
  • The zero-g stall is an excellent element, but definitely weaker than the other three big ones for me. With that being said, you still get some very fun hangtime, and it is probably the most convincing example of a zero-g stall I've yet done (the other two stalls I've done are VelociCoaster and Iron Gwazi). I dare say I still find the zero-g stall a slightly overhyped element type based on my experiences of them, but this one did convince me of the merits of the zero-g stall a little more than VelociCoaster's or Iron Gwazi's did; it is a very good element with some excellently fun hangtime! The stall is fun, but not quite up there as a standout moment of Hyperia for me. With that being said, it has very tough competition in this regard; if this element were not on a ride as stacked with brilliant elements as Hyperia, it would probably stand out more!
  • The splashdown trim is quite noticeable. I didn't find it uncomfortable enough to significantly detract from the ride, but the braking force is strong enough that it does seem to contort your face a tad...
  • The outerbanked turn after the splashdown was a surprisingly excellent element for me! It seemed to start with you getting some really decent sideways floater that then transitioned into a surprisingly strong pop of ejector, and I found that really interesting and fun in terms of how it rode!
  • The airtime hill into the brakes is an excellent way to finish with a bang; that hill provides a lovely pop of good, clean, surprisingly strong ejector airtime!
On this coaster, every single element hits and hits hard; there is a strong selection of standout "wow" moments on Hyperia. The first drop, the Immelmann and the outerbank into an inversion are all absolutely world-class elements, and that whole first sequence is just perfection! The other elements also hit well and provide good thrills and weightlessness, and I don't think there's one bit of Hyperia that doesn't deliver. Well, other than maybe the trim, and that weird turn before the lift hill...

As per usual with Mack Rides, the trains with overhead lap bars are immensely comfortable. I think Hyperia's are perhaps the most comfortable example of this train style I've experienced. In terms of smoothness; there is a rattle. It's noticeable. But it wasn't strong enough that it massively bothered me. It was more that I could feel a bit of a shaking sensation rather than that the rattle was actively hurting me or massively detracting from the experience. It's no worse than the mild rattle of, say, Stealth. The ride was overall very comfortable and enjoyable for me, and there were no severe jolts or anything (roughness-wise, I tend to find myself more sensitive to sudden jolts than rattling).

In terms of some comparisons; Hyperia is comfortably my favourite coaster at Thorpe Park (it was previously Stealth), comfortably my favourite UK coaster (it was previously Wicker Man) and also comfortably my favourite Mack ride (it was previously Icon). In terms of my overall rankings; out of 123 ridden coasters, I've conservatively settled on the #5 spot, behind Mako, VelociCoaster, Silver Star and Iron Gwazi (in that order).

If I were to offer up some pedantic hair-splitting critiques that explain why it's not my #1, and why it's not higher than #5:
  • The rattle. Hyperia's rattle didn't overly bother me at all, but the coasters above Hyperia have a more perfect blissfully smooth feel to the point where it's almost an active positive attribute in itself.
  • The trim. I didn't find it overly uncomfortable, but it is quite noticeable, more so than on Mako and Silver Star, and as I said, it does sort of contort your face a bit from the braking force, which isn't the case on Mako or Silver Star.
  • The fact that the ride lacks straight airtime hills. As sublime as Hyperia's sideways and inverted airtime elements are and as plentiful as the sustained weightlessness is, nothing quite beats a good old straight airtime hill for me, and Hyperia does have somewhat of a shortage of traditional straight airtime moments.
I know those are very pedantic points, and pretty much entirely based on personal preference, but when you're talking about the top 5 and determining exact placements, I think I can afford to get pedantic! When the coasters in question are this good, it gets competitive at the top, and I have little choice other than to split hairs!

One legitimate critique I will offer of the ride itself is with regard to the capacity. It's not the highest for a brand new major ride, at 700-800pph, but I think a key reason for that has nothing to do with the park's operations and may have something to do with the brake run. They were operating brilliantly, and stacking was very rare, but the train seems to take a very, very long time to return to the station and moves along the brake run track very, very slowly. This results in more idle time in the station, and if they were able to speed up the train's movement through the brake run, it might improve the capacity. Hopefully this is something the park can look into in the future.

But overall, I absolutely loved Hyperia! It's my favourite coaster at Thorpe Park, my favourite coaster in the UK and sits in my top 5! The weightlessness is sublime, the sense of speed is absurd, the elements are absolutely top-drawer, and all in all, it's just an absolutely sublime coaster! What a brilliant investment for Thorpe Park and the UK theme park industry!

On a side note, here are a few photos I took of the ride:
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A great review.

I play rugby and do powerlifting so my quads are 32" would someone with a medium waist (36") but massive legs fit in this type of restraint?
 
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