Its early teething troubles are well documented, including by much of the national press.
But Hyperia, Thorpe Park’s brand new 236-foot UK-tallest rollercoaster, has now settled into something like reliability.
It can open a little later after the park’s official 10:00 start, but it is now often available fairly soon after opening.
As you approach this giant addition by Mack Rides, it dwarfs Thorpe Park’s portfolio.
That’s assuming of course you haven’t already seen it on the approach from the M25, or looking left as you walk across the park’s entrance bridge.
Hyperia is located in what is described as Fearless Valley, a small new area styled to the ride.
In reality there is only the rollercoaster in terms of rides, but the Cloud Nine Treats outlet offers satisfying hot soft cookies among other things.
The existing toilet block has been re-styled and has a great new scent to boot, but there is no ride viewing plaza as originally planned.
Performers that take to a small stage every hour or two support the loose conceptual theme of Hyperia being the daughter of a river god.
While there is clearly no serious attempt at theming Hyperia, it is certainly conceptualised.
Evidence of a tight budget and/or last-minute cuts come in the form of the queue line – hugely compacted even by today’s standards.
The caged and netted queue lines are predictably repressive and unpleasant in the summer sun.
The ride’s outer station and maintenance buildings are also fairly basic, but adorned in black and gold.
As you enter the station, there is currently no opportunity to wait for the front row, although this may be implemented later.
But for a cool £20, a fast-track ticket can cut your wait to a few minutes if you are lucky, or to about 25 if you’re not.
Throughput improvements
Loading is now rapid almost two-months after the initial opening, with trains capable of leaving every 90 seconds.
But the efficiency is in part due to the abrupt announcements stating that the train “must leave” and will potentially leave without you as you put loose items aside.
We observed the ride achieving about 750 to 800 riders per hour, some way below its theoretical maximum of about 1,000.
It seems clear that there isn’t much further scope for further improvement without the prolonged wait on the final brakes being reduced.
Queues often exceed two hours during the busy school holiday period, and that might be expected during the holidays also.
As the train departs, smoke and light effects appear but they are only visible to those waiting.
The train enters an immediate outer-bank turn, but it is so slow it is both strange and uncomfortable.
It makes for an interesting off-ride spectacle, but adds little to the riders’ experience.
The lift hill is steep and fast. You might experience a sudden jolt as the train connects, but this doesn’t always happen.
The 236-foot summit is reached quickly, and the sharp angle heightens the suspense of what is to come.
In the middle-to-back rows, the train enters the 90-degree drop with a real kick.
Nothing can prepare you for what feels like freefalling off the end of the earth.
While it visually appears similar to the drops of Stealth or other Intamin launchers, Hyperia’s is a truly unique experience.
Despite the ride’s call to “find your fearless”, the first drop remains scary until at least your third ride.
The transition from positive to negative g-forces between the bottom of the drop and the top of the first element are extreme.
You may experience a moment of dizziness as you are flipped upright at the top of the Immelmann element.
Pushed from your seat
The next drop makes the building site-like surroundings of Hyperia too clear, but you barely have time to notice this, or the mobile platform that remains following a recent stall.
That “valleying” occurred when the train failed to clear the second element, a world-pioneering outer-banked, barrel roll loop.
But on this mid-July day, it does not feel slow through this crazily-designed turn.
You are pushed outward from you seat when you are already almost upside down. Mack’s innovators can feel proud here.
As the train exits the outer-bank, the inversion is completed and you steadily enter the giant stalled-dive loop.
This is a stunning element to observe off-ride, and on board it provides some excellent hang-time.
But it doesn’t feel quite as stalled as it looks off-ride, where you think it may literally stall every time it is attempted.
Exiting this loop sees the entry into the disappointing speed trims, where the splash down effect is currently not working.
But there is just enough momentum left to keep an outer-banked hill great fun, and there is a final pop of air-time in the old-school hill just before the final brake run is reached.
As the train crawls slowly forward into the station, you are left to reflect on a rapid but sensational experience.
Hyperia may be short, and its budget obviously ran out in a few areas, but it has achieved the aim of taking the UK rollercoaster portfolio to breath-taking new limits.