Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Hi guys. Project Exodus, the upcoming hyper coaster at Thorpe Park, was revealed last December, and since then, it has well and truly divided opinion. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a starkly polarising new ride announcement; whereas people mostly seem to be fairly united on ride announcements, this one is well and truly splitting the community in two. I’ve heard comments along the whole continuum of opinions about it; comments I can remember include:
Another interesting element was added into the mix when the full planning application went in in March, and the park revealed an alternative layout proposal that looked an awful lot like a B&M Hyper Coaster. This layout looked very different to the final proposal from Mack, but it had the same base aim; to become the UK’s tallest roller coaster.
The interesting thing I noticed was that many of the key detractors of the current Project Exodus seemed a lot more interested in the alternative layout, whereas many of the current proposal’s key defenders seemed very apathetic towards it, and glad that Thorpe Park opted for the Mack Hyper like they did instead of going for the B&M Hyper.
So with the current layout and the alternative layout seeming to divide opinion in terms of which one people would have preferred, I’d be keen to know; are you on Team Mack (the current layout) or Team B&M (the alternative layout)? Which one would have been your choice had you been in charge of picking the layout?
To help you decide, here are some brilliant NL2 recreations of both layouts by Jamie Rogers. This should help those who are unsure of what I’m talking about.
Current Layout (Mack Hyper):
Alternative Layout (B&M Hyper):
Personally, I’m on Team B&M, and would vote for the Alternative Layout.
Perhaps controversially; having ridden Silver Star in April and had my love for the B&M Hyper ride type confirmed, I think I prefer the look of the B&M proposal to the ride we’re getting based on those recreations.
To me, it looks to have far more of an overt airtime focus than the Exodus we’re getting (while I’m sure Exodus will have airtime, don’t get me wrong, and quite strong airtime at that, I’d be hesitant to call it an overtly airtime-centred layout based on what we know), which would have fitted the UK beautifully, in my view (particularly seeing as the country lacks sustained airtime like B&M Hypers offer far more than it lacks brief airtime, in my view).
I also feel that the B&M proposal would have filled more of a gap within Thorpe Park’s lineup; a non-inverting, rerideable thrill coaster in the vein of a B&M Hyper Coaster is something that Thorpe and arguably the UK industry as a whole lacks at present, and Thorpe has no non-inverting thrill coaster aside from Stealth, whereas Exodus, as brilliant as it looks, will ultimately be another variation on a sit-down looping coaster. Granted, I’d imagine it’ll be quite a different variation on this trope to Thorpe’s other rides, but it will be a sit-down looping coaster with its elements almost predominantly consisting of inversions, like many of Thorpe’s other rides, all the same. The sit down looper trope is not exactly uncommon within Thorpe and the UK, which is something that Exodus can’t escape regardless of how unique its take on this trope may be.
I apologise if this makes me come across as “bitter that my prediction was wrong” or whatever, and I don’t want to imply that I’m not grateful for the ride we’re getting or don’t think it looks great (I think Exodus has an awesome-looking layout, and it’s certainly very unique!), but having now seen this alternative proposal, I do personally think it looks more my cup of tea than the Exodus being built. When I came off Silver Star in April, I’ll admit I did think “wouldn’t it have been great if Thorpe was getting something like this?” (although as I said above, that’s not to say that the Exodus we’re getting doesn’t look great; I’m very excited for it!), and I actually think the proposed B&M Hyper layout looks pretty neat, myself!
But which layout do you prefer the look of? And what are your thoughts on Exodus in general? I’d be very keen to know!
- “It will definitely be one of the best coasters in the world”
- “It looks like Icon, where it just twists about without really knowing what it’s doing and ends up achieving nothing particularly well”
- “Definitely the best coaster in the UK; it looks truly elite”
- “It looks like a souped up Sky Rocket II”
- “This will be the UK’s Steel Vengeance moment; it looks truly world class”
- “It does none of the things that make hyper coasters good. It has no long layout and no airtime hills”
- “This looks nuts, and will get enthusiasts around the world looking at the UK in jealousy”
- “I can’t believe its most distinguishing feature will be its insanely long brake run; where’s the second half of the ride?”
- “It looks like Lech Coaster on crack; this will be truly insane”
- “Over time, we’ve determined what makes rides good. This ride doesn’t appear to do many of them within its short layout.”
- “The elements on this look insane”
- “It’s too short and has too many bits that don’t seem to offer anything”
Another interesting element was added into the mix when the full planning application went in in March, and the park revealed an alternative layout proposal that looked an awful lot like a B&M Hyper Coaster. This layout looked very different to the final proposal from Mack, but it had the same base aim; to become the UK’s tallest roller coaster.
The interesting thing I noticed was that many of the key detractors of the current Project Exodus seemed a lot more interested in the alternative layout, whereas many of the current proposal’s key defenders seemed very apathetic towards it, and glad that Thorpe Park opted for the Mack Hyper like they did instead of going for the B&M Hyper.
So with the current layout and the alternative layout seeming to divide opinion in terms of which one people would have preferred, I’d be keen to know; are you on Team Mack (the current layout) or Team B&M (the alternative layout)? Which one would have been your choice had you been in charge of picking the layout?
To help you decide, here are some brilliant NL2 recreations of both layouts by Jamie Rogers. This should help those who are unsure of what I’m talking about.
Current Layout (Mack Hyper):
Alternative Layout (B&M Hyper):
Personally, I’m on Team B&M, and would vote for the Alternative Layout.
Perhaps controversially; having ridden Silver Star in April and had my love for the B&M Hyper ride type confirmed, I think I prefer the look of the B&M proposal to the ride we’re getting based on those recreations.
To me, it looks to have far more of an overt airtime focus than the Exodus we’re getting (while I’m sure Exodus will have airtime, don’t get me wrong, and quite strong airtime at that, I’d be hesitant to call it an overtly airtime-centred layout based on what we know), which would have fitted the UK beautifully, in my view (particularly seeing as the country lacks sustained airtime like B&M Hypers offer far more than it lacks brief airtime, in my view).
I also feel that the B&M proposal would have filled more of a gap within Thorpe Park’s lineup; a non-inverting, rerideable thrill coaster in the vein of a B&M Hyper Coaster is something that Thorpe and arguably the UK industry as a whole lacks at present, and Thorpe has no non-inverting thrill coaster aside from Stealth, whereas Exodus, as brilliant as it looks, will ultimately be another variation on a sit-down looping coaster. Granted, I’d imagine it’ll be quite a different variation on this trope to Thorpe’s other rides, but it will be a sit-down looping coaster with its elements almost predominantly consisting of inversions, like many of Thorpe’s other rides, all the same. The sit down looper trope is not exactly uncommon within Thorpe and the UK, which is something that Exodus can’t escape regardless of how unique its take on this trope may be.
I apologise if this makes me come across as “bitter that my prediction was wrong” or whatever, and I don’t want to imply that I’m not grateful for the ride we’re getting or don’t think it looks great (I think Exodus has an awesome-looking layout, and it’s certainly very unique!), but having now seen this alternative proposal, I do personally think it looks more my cup of tea than the Exodus being built. When I came off Silver Star in April, I’ll admit I did think “wouldn’t it have been great if Thorpe was getting something like this?” (although as I said above, that’s not to say that the Exodus we’re getting doesn’t look great; I’m very excited for it!), and I actually think the proposed B&M Hyper layout looks pretty neat, myself!
But which layout do you prefer the look of? And what are your thoughts on Exodus in general? I’d be very keen to know!
