Thorpe Park | Hyperia | Mack Hyper Coaster | 2024

[Wangleberry]

Wildly disappointed to have taken a day off work to get here and find it closed, again. It must be very frustrating for all involved but I do agree that the testing seemed rushed. And Colossus is down to one train. Ah well. (Long time lurker, first time poster.)

 

[Boodangy]

I promised I tried scouring the thread for answers, but was it actually revealed why it was closed immediately after opening and what they actually did to it in that time?

 

[Nicky Borrill]

I promised I tried scouring the thread for answers, but was it actually revealed why it was closed immediately after opening and what they actually did to it in that time?

Nope, no confirmation whatsoever. But I personally think the most plausible theory was Ryan's, in that it's likely to have been something to do with the head sprocket.

 

[Wangleberry]

Still there as of 1500, obviously- no sign so far of any work on the ground (it's a bit hard to see in this photo but you can just catch a glimpse of a seat back through a bush)I doubt it will be open tomorrow unless they put in a substantial overnight shift.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

They’ve told @Paul Farmer at Guest Services not to risk making the journey tomorrow. Said they don’t know either way yet, but they’d advise him not to travel with the 2 hour drive involved. :/

Still, we’ll have to wait and see…

 

[Furiustobaco]

So a train valleyed... Big deal, not exactly unusual, happened on Voltron too remember... Only thing that was unusual was the first period of closure / maintenance, that's what makes this one stand out. If it weren't for that earlier closure this would be a none story, something you almost expect with a new coaster from time to time, as the on park maintenance teams get used to which configurations to use during the various different early morning testing conditions.

Hope it's back up and running tomorrow, although it will probably be on one train. They surely have a theoretical plan in place for a valley there already, as any idiot could see it was going to happen from time to time. I'm hopeful for those with trips planned that this will only be a short stoppage in play.

I think it’s the constant downtime that makes me curious. The other day it was the lift hill, today it valleyed. It closed instantly after one day of operations. The gates apparently cause downtime.

It just seems a little out of the ordinary for a Mack Coaster like Hyperia.
Voltron has not been perfect either though the ride is a complete puzzle compared to Hyperia. The pre launch, the various launches, block zones. Turntable, swing launch, and the threat of cascading with the moving station like Hagrids. Voltron is up there as one of the most complicated roller coasters. So I kinda get that one.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

I think it’s the constant downtime that makes me curious. The other day it was the lift hill, today it valleyed. It closed instantly after one day of operations. The gates apparently cause downtime.

It just seems a little out of the ordinary for a Mack Coaster like Hyperia.
Voltron has not been perfect either though the ride is a complete puzzle compared to Hyperia. The pre launch, the various launches, block zones. Turntable, swing launch, and the threat of cascading with the moving station like Hagrids. Voltron is up there as one of the most complicated roller coasters. So I kinda get that one.

But if you take the extraordinary issue with the head sprocket, or whatever it was, out of the equation, then there’s nothing extraordinary about early life valleying…

That first issue seems to have been a manufacturing or installation error, which do happen.

This isn’t some serious design flaw, or anything untoward, as some are implying. It’s just a big bit of bad luck first time around, and now a very normal bedding in issue, that happens on a lot of new coasters.

 

[chrisgeorgiou46]

I think Mack should apologise to Merlin for all these embarrassing mishaps by adding in another three elements to the coaster and extending the layout free of charge

 

[Will]

^
This is obviously a joke post, but if anything, it's Merlin should be apologising to Mack - this will not be the greatest publicity for them.

Wanna give them lessons on organising a piss-up in a brewery, Nick?

 

[Nicky Borrill]

There’s every possibility that the first part that failed was nothing to do with Merlin or Mack. If it was an installation issue, then it’s often outside companies that manage construction and erection of the coaster. And if it was a part of the lift mechanism that had a manufacturing defect, and then failed, many parts are sometimes outside sourced, like chains and sprockets, so may be nothing to do with Mack.

Obviously I’ve no idea on the details, neither what actually failed, and definitely not who exactly manufactured and installed it, but people shouldn’t be so quick to jump to conclusions and start pointing fingers.

 

[JoshC.]

I don't want to be the "I know something but can't say" guy, but from what I'm aware, the closure after the first day was not to do with the sprocket on the lift hill. I can't say any more than that (because frankly I know very little beyond that), but I think it's important to put that out there so we don't make incorrect assumptions.


As for the latest closure. Firstly, one can't help but laugh. Because if you don't, you'll cry.

Secondly, it's a difficult position Thorpe find themselves in now. Following the original testing and ride opening, the outerbank dive wasn't a particular cause for concern for stalling. But since reopening, it was certainly a concern and seemingly a case of "when, not if". So putting 2 and 2 together (albeit at the risk of getting 5), it's possible that whatever tweaks the park had to make during that first closure, has affected the speed it takes that element during initial tests / empty circuits. Which could mean they have to make further tweaks to stop the initial issue becoming an issue again and make sure the risk of stalling decreases.

So what do Thorpe do? Do they keep going and have to paper over the proverbial cracks until closed season (not saying they will have to, everything might be fine after reopening again)? Or do they do a prolonged closure now and work with Mack to sort out all the issues? Or something else?


Also, whilst this is highly inconvenient (and definitely outside the remit of "teething issues"), it should be remembered that coasters can and do stall. And many have bad opening years too. But after that, they become fine and reliable.
Just to examples from Thorpe alone:
-Inferno spent about a month of its opening season shut with a train atop its lift hill
-Colossus has stalled on its final turn
-Saw has valleyed at the bottom of its initial drop, and also stalled on the overbank turn following the Immelmann
-Stealth has stalled atop the Top Hat

That's not to say its normal or right or anything, of course. But these things can happen. But just because they do happen, it doesn't mean there's an overarching problem. It could just be needing a different set of wheels. Or warming wheels up. Or just a new machine not wanting to play ball.


----


Also, here's a longer video of the rollback:
https://www.tiktok.com/video/7382208998986059041

 

[Nicky Borrill]

I don't want to be the "I know something but can't say" guy, but from what I'm aware, the closure after the first day was not to do with the sprocket on the lift hill. I can't say any more than that (because frankly I know very little beyond that), but I think it's important to put that out there so we don't make incorrect assumptions.


As for the latest closure. Firstly, one can't help but laugh. Because if you don't, you'll cry.

Secondly, it's a difficult position Thorpe find themselves in now. Following the original testing and ride opening, the outerbank dive wasn't a particular cause for concern for stalling. But since reopening, it was certainly a concern and seemingly a case of "when, not if". So putting 2 and 2 together (albeit at the risk of getting 5), it's possible that whatever tweaks the park had to make during that first closure, has affected the speed it takes that element during initial tests / empty circuits. Which could mean they have to make further tweaks to stop the initial issue becoming an issue again and make sure the risk of stalling decreases.

So what do Thorpe do? Do they keep going and have to paper over the proverbial cracks until closed season (not saying they will have to, everything might be fine after reopening again)? Or do they do a prolonged closure now and work with Mack to sort out all the issues? Or something else?


Also, whilst this is highly inconvenient (and definitely outside the remit of "teething issues"), it should be remembered that coasters can and do stall. And many have bad opening years too. But after that, they become fine and reliable.
Just to examples from Thorpe alone:
-Inferno spent about a month of its opening season shut with a train atop its lift hill
-Colossus has stalled on its final turn
-Saw has valleyed at the bottom of its initial drop, and also stalled on the overbank turn following the Immelmann
-Stealth has stalled atop the Top Hat

That's not to say its normal or right or anything, of course. But these things can happen. But just because they do happen, it doesn't mean there's an overarching problem. It could just be needing a different set of wheels. Or warming wheels up. Or just a new machine not wanting to play ball.


----


Also, here's a longer video of the rollback:
https://www.tiktok.com/video/7382208998986059041

The sprocket thing is on RTRM’s ‘theory.’ My post, which I assume yours was in response to, doesn’t assume that’s the reason, but it does assume it’s either something to do with lift mechanism part having a manufacturing defect in some way, or some issue with installation.

I obviously don’t expect you to give any more detail, but if it wasn’t anything along either of those lines, then please do say so.

 

[cocoa]

maybe they need to remove the trims on the drop and replace them with LSMs

 

[Peter Immelmann]

Secondly, it's a difficult position Thorpe find themselves in now. Following the original testing and ride opening, the outerbank dive wasn't a particular cause for concern for stalling. But since reopening, it was certainly a concern and seemingly a case of "when, not if".

I was actually missing this detail. So, you are saying after the fix Hyperia ran slower, do I understand correctly?

 

[JoshC.]

The sprocket thing is on RTRM’s ‘theory.’ My post, which I assume yours was in response to, doesn’t assume that’s the reason, but it does assume it’s either something to do with lift mechanism part having a manufacturing defect in some way, or some issue with installation.

I obviously don’t expect you to give any more detail, but if it wasn’t anything along either of those lines, then please do say so.

It wasn't directly in response to your post, in the sense that I know you're not claiming that it was the case. I'm just putting it out there that to my knowledge, it's not to do with the sprocket (in that I have been told that by someone whom I trust), but I don't know anything beyond that really. I realise it's very much a "I know a guy who said xyz" story, with no evidence, so I fully appreciate people may not believe me, but just throwing it out there.

maybe they need to remove the trims on the drop and replace them with LSMs

I know this is a partial joke, but it's worth reiterating for those unaware: whilst a bracket for the trims was installed on the drop out of the Immelmann, not trims were actually installed.

I was actually missing this detail. So, you are saying after the fix Hyperia ran slower, do I understand correctly?

I want to be very careful with what om saying, as I don't want to say something that is false.

However, if you watch testing videos from before the ride opened, regardless of the time of day, the loads of the train, etc, it made it through the overbank quite comfortably. However, in the last week, it has been noticeably slower going through that element, especially during early morning testing when the train is empty. I'm sure there's videos out there showing that too.

When the ride has been running and when it has guests on, it doesn't seem to be any slower. It certainly doesn't look it, nor does it feel it in my experience.

So I don't want to say the ride is running slower. But recently it was struggling through the outerbank when empty, whereas it wasn't before.

 

[Peter Immelmann]

Thanks, JoshC., for elaborating on this. So, in conclusion, whatever they changed, it seems to affect unloaded trains more than loaded trains. Really makes me curious...

 

[Coloratura]

Closed again today... no surprise really.

 

[Furiustobaco]

One thing that I noticed today was the image of the ride being “unfinished” and “dangerous” is spreading heavily across the GP. Obviously I disagree, Hyperia is safe, just riddled with teething issues, but the GP are not smart.

I asked my friend about changing the date of our tickets, and she replied about how she thinks it potentially might be unsafe to ride. I think Merlin potentially should do a video explaining the problems? It’d be a little risky and non Merlin, but Thorpe have kind of promised on their website manifesto that they are going to be “authentic”.

I also saw a post this morning advertising Hyperia, which is utterly stupid to post. The comment section is going to be riddled with “but it’s not open and it’s unsafe!”. I think potentially Merlin could of omitted today’s post. In terms of the blame game, I would guess all parties have a hand. Maybe Mack had a lot of their focus on Voltron, maybe Merlin pressed for an early opening, maybe other third parties didn’t deliver.

I still think despite it being a lot of stuff that is out of their control, Hyperia so far is a failure for Merlin. The Smiler was also terrible with downtime, but if Hyperia continues this way, it will be marked as worse. I think the social media team (like Alice) seem really charming, but I do disagree with some of their work like today’s post celebrating a roller coaster that’s fu**ing broken. I think Merlin need to play damage control when it comes to the whole “it’s unsafe!” Myths that are spreading like wildfire with the GP.

 

[otwidalepda]

I asked my friend about changing the date of our tickets, and she replied about how she thinks it potentially might be unsafe to ride. I think Merlin potentially should do a video explaining the problems? It’d be a little risky and non Merlin, but Thorpe have kind of promised on their website manifesto that they are going to be “authentic”.

I have said this. They are not having a good year and this is compounding the impression of the public.

 

[Rob Coasters]

A good friend of mine who loves roller coasters and Thorpe Park has been completely put off riding it at all, after multiple explanations of the issues from me he's decided that he doesn't want to ride it for at least the rest of the year as he thinks it's unsafe. I explained how the ride's issues were not affecting its safety - The three week closure was to protect the longevity of the ride, the lift hill stoppages are because it's too safe (it thinks the brakes are still occupied), but isn't aware of the valleying yet which I'm sure will make things a lot harder.

I asked him how I could help him in proving the safety of the ride and he simply said that he wants the park themselves to officially say something that's more than usual buzzwords like "unforeseen circumstances", which could potentially help him in getting on the ride. But while I understand that parks don't want to do that, I think if the issues continue to persist it may be something that has to happen.

I really want to ride this coaster with my friends but the constant problems are starting to really put them off, which gives me a lot of disappointment towards whoever is responsible for all its random downtimes. I hope something can be sorted sooner rather than later as it'd be a hilariously good time to see their reactions to it.