Project Exodus at Thorpe Park; Current Layout (Mack) or Alternative Layout (Likely B&M)?

[owenstreet7]

The thing with a B&M Hyper is the space that is needed.

It was evident that Merlin wanted to keep largely to the Canada Creek area and as a result, any B&M Hyper may have been limited in what it can do.

If Merlin were able to use other sites, it could've gone all the way to the old Treasure Island site behind Rumba Rapids. That would've been fantastic as it would've been one of the longest coasters in Europe and possibly the world.

If it was on the site of Thorpe Shark Cabins and possibly The Swarm, it had the potential to go onto the car park similar to Silver Star at Europa Park.

With Hyperia (Project Exodus), we've got a unique hypercoaster that puts Thorpe Park on the map and appears to be attracting enthusiasts around the world in a way that Nemesis did in 1994.

I don't think this means that the UK will never get a B&M Hyper, it means either it'll be higher than Hyperia, it'll be at a park making a risk or it'll be a lower height and less conventional one (I always thought the Cross Valley coaster could be revived as a B&M Hyper).

 

[Matt N]

Almost spluttered my coffee out when I read this, that surely had to be the most un-Matt thing Matt has ever said on here!

But joking aside, Hyperia is absolutely fantastic until the ride suddenly fizzes out and ends just as you are expecting what should have been the final third of the ride to happen. It’s frustrating because the greatness is there with its design but it’s such a pity that there just isn’t a bit more of it. It’s good but it’s no Shambhala (not that it was trying to be that of course). Personally I’d rather have had the B&M I think but I do appreciate the elements here that Mack gave us.

How so, out of interest? It was an honest thought of mine; I’m not sure a B&M Hyper would have lived up to some of the more romanticised thoughts of one given the Hyperia that we’ve ultimately seen materialise.

It’s funny that people mention the length. I’ve said this before, but it didn’t occur to me whatsoever to think that Hyperia was too short. Sure, I would never have complained about a couple more elements, but I certainly didn’t think it seemed overly truncated or short myself.

 

[Martin]

This is actually my first time seeing what we could have had, and for all of Hyperia's flaws the alternative doesn't seem any more compelling really. B&M hypers are always solid and this one would have been too, but the only thing it had going for it over what we got is it would have been a bit longer, while still being too short. If we had to have half a coaster we may as well have had half a coaster that's unique and interesting I suppose.

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

How so, out of interest? It was an honest thought of mine; I’m not sure a B&M Hyper would have lived up to some of the more romanticised thoughts of one given the Hyperia that we’ve ultimately seen materialise.

It was the turn of phrase in the comparing a theoretical British Shambhala to a nocturnal emission that made me chuckle. You’re right though, Shambhala is indeed a pretty sexy coaster…

I’m not certain that a B&M Hyper would have lived up to the wet dreams of a British Shambhala that myself and others espoused in the ride’s early rumour phase.

 

[Matt N]

It was the turn of phrase in the comparing a theoretical British Shambhala to a nocturnal emission that made me chuckle. You’re right though, Shambhala is indeed a pretty sexy coaster…

Oh, I’ll admit I didn’t even think of those connotations…

On the subject of the thread, it’s interesting to hear that quite a few people have been won around to the layout we got. When I did this thread back in 2022, the B&M seemed to be quite a clear winner on here.

 

[owenstreet7]

Now that's made me think, now we've got Hyperia and it seems to be somewhat successful although reliability is patchy at times.

Could we see Mack refine and perfect this design at other parks across the world?

Especially considering how unique and innovative this type of hypercoaster is despite it's short length.

 

[Poisson]

It's a mediocre coaster at best. Not much air time or ride time. I'd have preferred them to go back to the drawing board and maybe contact Vekoma and Intamin as well.

 

[Martin]

This reminds me of when Energylandia did a poll for Hyperion, offering Vekoma and Intamin proposals. Broad consensus amongst enthusiasts seemed to be the Vekoma was better (and more likely given the park loves Vekoma) but they ended up going with Intamin. And the final design ended up being completely different after the first like third of the layout

 

[Ted]

While Hyperia is never what I wanted from a hyper coaster at Thorpe, I do think they made a sensible choice on its own merit to get something that is unique as others have said and I still loved it. Still, I love B&M hypers and if it were up to me I'd have picked that 10 times out of 10. There's only 2 in Europe and having a 3rd not far from me would have been wonderful!

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

Oh, I’ll admit I didn’t even think of those connotations…

I'm now intrigued as to what your original intention was, with the phrase "wet dream", if you didn't think it would have the connotations of a nocturnal emission? I'm also imagining all of the other past scenarios, in which you could have used the phrase, and wondering just how awkward you feel about them.

 

[Matt.GC]

Please tell me you didn't put that you are "every employers wet dream!" on your new polished CV @Matt N !

Mind you, I'd employ someone will the balls to put it on there.

 

[Sazzle]

someone will the balls to put it on there

Well, I'm immediately disqualified then.

..ahem.

I have had one ride on Hyperia this season (I managed to get on between the week of scheduled downtime and the second stall, and it broke down when my train came back into the station because we failed to park properly.. OI - NO JOKES ABOUT WOMEN PARKING. c'est la vie for this ride) and have to admit I wasn't blown away. I do feel I need more time to get to know it, but I can't see it challenging my top coasters. I mostly felt disorientated rather than thrilled, but that could just be down to my personal preference. For reference, my number one coaster is Steel Vengeance followed by Voltron at two.

Controversial opinion... I am quite sad we didn't get the B&M.

 

[Matt N]

I'm now intrigued as to what your original intention was, with the phrase "wet dream", if you didn't think it would have the connotations of a nocturnal emission? I'm also imagining all of the other past scenarios, in which you could have used the phrase, and wondering just how awkward you feel about them.

My original intention with that phrase was more to denote an idealistic fantasy or dream more generally. It was a phrase I’d heard used in these terms before, and I’ll admit that the discussed connotations didn’t occur to me… I was perhaps naive in hindsight!

It’s not my first time misinterpreting something like that, and almost certainly won’t be the last either… if you look back through my posting history, there are at least a couple of examples within my previous posts on here!

Please tell me you didn't put that you are "every employers wet dream!" on your new polished CV @Matt N !

Mind you, I'd employ someone will the balls to put it on there.

No, I didn’t put that on there, thankfully!

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

My original intention with that phrase was more to denote an idealistic fantasy or dream more generally. It was a phrase I’d heard used in these terms before, and I’ll admit that the discussed connotations didn’t occur to me… I was perhaps naive in hindsight!

It’s not my first time misinterpreting something like that, and almost certainly won’t be the last either… if you look back through my posting history, there are at least a couple of examples within my previous posts on here!

No, I didn’t put that on there, thankfully!

Oh Matt, I do genuinely find your occasional naivety to be sweet and endearing. Thank you very much for the explanation! I'm glad to hear that you haven't caused yourself any professional embarrassment with the phrase.