Thorpe Park – Review
By Dominic Picksley, December 2024
Even before we strode across the bridge leading us into Thorpe Park, we caught a tantalising glimpse of the adrenaline-busting behemoth towering away in the distance.
Hyperia, now the UK’s tallest rollercoaster at 236ft high, looked mightily imperious as the soft glare of the autumnal sunshine reflected off its beaming white track, presenting an image sure to trigger the excitement of those eager to ride the £18million thrill-a-second metallic leviathan.
We were in Chertsey – after a frustrating two-hour delay on the M1 – for our first-ever visit to one of the country’s best theme parks, a reputation that certainly went up a notch or two following the construction of Hyperia, the brainchild of John Burton, who has taken up residence in John Wardley’s giant boots as the UK’s foremost rollercoaster designer.
“The daddy of all rides”
Only opened in May earlier this year, Hyperia overcame some early teething troubles to take its place as the daddy of all rides on these shores. The huge smiles were notably visible as my son Ben and daughter Amelia got strapped in for their first ride.
“Incredible” and “scary” were their responses after we watched them climb up the steep lift hill to then take the huge drop back towards terra firma, zooming through two inversions and a stalled dive loop, to eventually crawl back into the station following the most exhilarating 90 seconds of their lives.
But Thorpe Park is not just about Hyperia, and we took advantage of the late-night opening to experience all the venue had to offer, starting with The Swarm, a fabulous wing coaster – the first of its kind to be opened in the UK back in 2012.
“Worthy of a film set”
While Hyperia lacks any sort of theming, the area around The Swarm looks worthy of a film set that has been used in an apocalyptic war movie. A crashed aeroplane, a half-destroyed church, a submerged fire engine, plus an upturned ambulance in the station that doubles up as the operator’s control room, all add the wow factor before you’ve even ventured onto the majestic beast that takes you on a smooth flight around Swarm Island, including through the middle of a huge billboard with the words, ‘take a flight into paradise’ plastered across it.
You had to trek up the side of a ‘volcano’ to reach the station where Nemesis Inferno departed, a ride very similar to its bigger cousin Nemesis Reborn at Alton Towers, and equally as enjoyable. My head was banging after clambering off Saw – The Ride (where the station was situated in what looked like an old abandoned sawmill), a three-inversion coaster that was the steepest freefall coaster in the world when it opened 15 years ago.
“A magical, mystical feeling”
Finally, there’s nothing better than theme parks after sunset and riding coasters in the dark. It’s a magical, mystical feeling, zooming around in the dim light, with illuminations here, there, and everywhere. And what a sight Hyperia was at the culmination of our day, as Ben and Amelia managed to catch the last train to conclude our visit in style.
Plan your visit to Thorpe Park and experience the thrills for yourself. For tickets and more information, visit thorpepark.com.
