What does Bart say? – A theme park blog!

In June 2024, I embarked on a fantastic theme park road trip across England, visiting several major parks including Thorpe Park, which is very comparable to Walibi Holland or Walibi Belgium in terms of its layout, overall vibe, and target audience. At that time, all eyes in the coaster community were naturally glued to this park because of the highly anticipated arrival of their newest record-breaking roller coaster: Hyperia. While planning my UK trip back in 2024, I hadn’t even dared to dream that this brand-new Mack Rides masterpiece would already be open during my visit. To my absolute surprise, however, it was suddenly announced out of nowhere that the coaster would officially make its very first public run on May 24th, 2024.

Unfortunately, things quickly went downhill for Hyperia shortly after that grand opening. We all know the drama and the technical downtime that occurred during that period, so let’s not dwell on that painful memory for too long. Don’t get me wrong, I truly had an amazing day at Thorpe Park back then, but being unable to ride one of the newest and tallest roller coasters in the UK—while standing right next to it all day, staring at a closed entrance—was a pretty bitter pill to swallow. After all, traveling to England isn’t something you do every single week, and when such a massive, golden eyecatcher stands completely still all day long, it just breaks your heart as a true enthusiast.

Ever since that trip, it kept gnawing at me. That impressive golden structure was practically living rent-free in my head, and I just desperately wanted to know what the actual ride experience would be like and whether the coaster would live up to the massive hype. Now, in June 2026—exactly two years after my previous visit to Thorpe Park—I decided it was high time to finally head back to the UK. It was time to settle the score, to finally conquer that gigantic steel structure, to soar to breathtaking heights, and to truly find my ‘Fearless’ during this visit!

It is highly recommended to arrive at the Thorpe Park entrance well ahead of time. Before you are even allowed inside the park, you first have to pass through a mandatory security screening, where a massive, fast-growing queue can form early in the morning. If you join this line just a little too late, you’ll immediately lose precious time before your day has even properly begun. Fortunately, the main turnstiles usually open about half an hour before the park’s official opening time.

Once you are through, you have plenty of options: you can grab a hot drink in the Dome to properly wake up, or you can choose the more tactical approach and position yourself at one of the internal gates. The latter is honestly your best bet. By doing this, you’ll be right at the front of the crowd, meaning that the moment the rope drops, you can head straight for your favorite attraction—whether you walk fast or run—and completely skip the first massive queue of the day.

A critical look at the newest attraction for 2026, the Launch Pad:
Compared to my previous visit to Thorpe Park, one major change caught my eye immediately upon entering. Where two years ago a beach lined both sides of the path, it has now been replaced by—as Thorpe Park calls it—their newest attraction of 2026: the Launch Pad. This is an area filled with benches, plants, and a food outlet where you can take a breather away from all the high-thrill chaos. It definitely looks a lot tidier than the old beach that used to be here. Since I arrived well ahead of time, this was also the exact spot where I waited for the famous rope drop. As the tension slowly built and everyone stood around impatiently, scouting which direction to sprint in, it gave me the perfect opportunity to study this new addition and see what they had actually done with the place.

I can absolutely see the potential of this area, but they could have done so much more with it—especially since visitors are standing right here waiting for the park to fully open. For a park like Thorpe Park, which heavily focuses on thrill seekers, this is the ultimate chance to create a mini-festival ground to get everyone into the right zone straight away. Just imagine a few cool, unique food trucks serving snacks, extra shaded areas or shelters for that unpredictable British weather, and a live DJ on the stage to really pump up that early morning energy (after all, that stage is there for a reason, right?). And honestly, you don’t even necessarily need a DJ; a solid background soundtrack would already do wonders. It would also give the park’s revenue a nice boost, because a cozy, energetic atmosphere motivates people a lot more to grab a coffee or another drink at the Launch Pad’s catering point, which is already open at that time.

Instead, you’re left waiting in the morning feeling a bit uninspired and in silence. Even when I walked past again later in the afternoon, there was unfortunately zero activity to be found. Even that simple background music was still missing, causing the area to lack any real atmosphere throughout the entire day, meaning the square completely misses its mark. Granted, it’s only June, so perhaps the park has plenty of tricks up its sleeve to host bigger events here later in the peak season. Until then, both during the morning wait and the rest of the day, it unfortunately remains a rather bare plaza that could have been given a completely different, much cozier setup. It’s a bit of a shame, because that first impression of your theme park day is worth its weight in gold!

Waiting two long years: Did I finally find my ‘Fearless’ on Hyperia?
The rope drop took place at exactly 10:00 AM, and the second it did, I made a bee-line straight toward the rollercoaster I had been waiting two full years to experience: Hyperia. Obviously, I wasn’t the only one with that plan. From every corner of the plaza, crowds of enthusiasts and thrill-seekers came storming out, all converging on the park’s massive golden eyecatcher. Watching the masses swarm forward, my heart sank a little; I immediately anticipated a monumental queue that would take up a huge chunk of my morning. As you stand in that queue line—which is completely open and leaves you entirely at the mercy of the elements and the notoriously unpredictable British weather—the sheer scale of the ride is overwhelming. That gargantuan steel structure towers terrifyingly close right above your head, a constant reminder of what you’re about to face. Fortunately, once I actually reached the station, the crowd dispersed surprisingly well, and to my absolute relief, I only had to wait for about ten minutes before it was my turn to finally find my ‘Fearless’.

If my memory serves me right, I climbed into row 8 for my very first ride—and yes, I emphasize first ride, because I will definitely get back to that in a bit. Now, I am usually not someone who gets nervous or jittery before riding a rollercoaster, but I have to honestly admit that I felt a sudden spike of adrenaline and a knot in my stomach the moment that lap bar locked into place. After all, I had been building up to this exact moment for two long years. Looking at my own personal coaster credit list, this easily ranks as one of the tallest and most intimidating coasters I have ever attempted. Silver Star at Europa-Park might be around the same height or slightly taller, but other than that, the rest of my track record consists of significantly smaller machines. Did I have sky-high expectations for Hyperia? Absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt! Were those expectations met after that first cycle? Not at all. In fact, as I pulled back into the brake run and stepped out of the train, I felt a massive wave of disappointment. I literally stood there on the exit platform thinking to myself: Wait… is this really it?

Reliable B&M power after a false start:
With that slightly disappointed feeling lingering in the back of my mind, I decided to head over to Nemesis Inferno—a B&M inverted coaster that honestly has never let me down. Fortunately, it absolutely delivered yet again, doing exactly what it was built to do. The ride was its usual beautifully smooth, forceful, and intense self, which immediately made up for that unexpected false start on Hyperia. It instantly gave me that genuine, raw coaster thrill I had been craving, and thankfully managed to distract me from the fact that the main goal of my day had just turned out to be such a massive letdown.

As it turned out, the notoriously unpredictable British weather became my biggest blessing that day. The forecast of constant rain had clearly deterred the masses from traveling to Thorpe Park. The result? A wonderfully quiet park where the queues for almost every single attraction barely exceeded 5 to 10 minutes all day long. Even for a brand-new, immensely hyped Mack masterpiece like Hyperia, the wait time at one point dropped to a mere 5 minutes—something regular visitors and season pass holders usually can only dream of. Yet, I felt it would be a shame to spend my entire day just marathon-riding Hyperia to force myself to like it, especially since the park boasts so many other incredible roller coasters that deserve some love.

One of those gems is the park’s other B&M creation: The Swarm. This remains my absolute favorite wing coaster to this day. Despite all the impressive new roller coasters I’ve ticked off across the globe over the past two years, this machine still hasn’t flown out of my personal top 10. The queue for The Swarm never crossed the five-minute mark either, allowing me to secure back-to-back front-row rides on both the left and right wing in no time at all. After completing both sides, it instantly clicked again why The Swarm ranks so incredibly high on my personal leaderboard. What a wonderfully intense rollercoaster this is, packed with brilliantly timed near-miss moments that genuinely make you feel like you’re about to clip your feet on the scenery. Back home in the Netherlands, I obviously have Fēnix at Toverland, but that one just lacks that extra punch and simply doesn’t trigger the same sensations for me as The Swarm. Honestly, if The Swarm and Fēnix could swap parks today, I’d buy a Toverland season pass in a heartbeat!

Surprising flat rides and horror tucked away in a hidden corner:
Fortunately, the incredibly short wait times also allowed me to experience several attractions that I had to skip during my previous visit due to the heavy crowds. Among them was Depth Charge—a water slide where my companions confidently assured me I wouldn’t get wet at all. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The moment I climbed into the dinghy, it became painfully obvious that a dry exit was completely out of the question; the whole thing was so soaked that I ended up completely drenched before we had even started sliding down! In addition to that, I finally managed to tick off Detonator, Vortex, Quantum, and Rush this time around. Every single one of them is an exceptionally good, surprisingly intense flat ride. In terms of thrills, G-forces, and target audience, they naturally fit perfectly within a true thrill-centric park like Thorpe Park, adding a great bit of variety to your day.

That intense, gritty atmosphere reached its peak when I decided to dive into the park’s designated horror corner. First up was SAW – The Ride, a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter that immediately sets a sinister tone thanks to its gory theming based on the famous movie franchise. The beyond-vertical 100-degree drop and unforgiving inversions delivered a wonderfully aggressive ride experience that matches the brutal vibe of the attraction perfectly. Afterward, I paid a visit to The Walking Dead: The Ride and the revamped Ghost Train. While The Walking Dead is technically a somewhat older indoor coaster, its pitch-black atmosphere and lighting effects still make it a highly entertaining experience. Ghost Train added a truly unique dimension to that with its live actors and psychological suspense. These attractions give Thorpe Park that recognizable, slightly dark edge that you simply don’t encounter very often in most other European parks, contributing massively to the overall versatility of its lineup.

However, it is a bit of a shame that the majority of these rides are crammed into the exact same corner of the park, making them feel slightly overshadowed by the massive coaster giants dominating the rest of the skyline. The interaction with those major roller coasters would have been so much cooler if these thrill rides had been distributed more strategically throughout the park. That would visually create far more action along the midways and bring that high-energy dynamic to every single area, which fits Thorpe Park so well. All in all, they are highly enjoyable attractions that do a great job supporting the park’s capacity, and I sincerely hope the park keeps them around for years to come. Unfortunately, intense flat rides and unique horror experiences are becoming somewhat of an endangered species across the entire industry due to soaring operational and maintenance costs. Therefore, I’m secretly afraid that by the time I plan my next trip to England, one or more of these unique classics might have quietly vanished from the lineup.

Stealth: A 20-year-old icon facing operational struggles:
Speaking of attractions that might potentially disappear: Stealth. This year, this legendary Intamin accelerator coaster is already celebrating its twentieth anniversary in the park. Unfortunately, you can tell by looking at it lately that the ride is starting to struggle more and more to stay operational. This was painfully obvious during my visit; throughout the day, Stealth suffered from frequent and prolonged downtime due to stubborn technical glitches. Interestingly, while many roller coasters at that age start to develop a rough, rattling, or shaky ride experience, Stealth has thankfully avoided that completely; the train still glides incredibly smoothly along the steel tracks. Here, the issue lies purely in the engineering behind the launch system. The hydraulic technology used to catapult the train forward is now heavily outdated, incredibly complex to maintain, and finding specific replacement parts nowadays has become an absolute nightmare.

What makes Stealth even more special is how it dominates its surroundings. The coaster is the undisputed centerpiece of Amity Cove, a beautifully themed area designed to look like a 1950s American seaside town that has been struck by a devastating tidal wave. The contrast between the quaint, vintage Americana styling—complete with retro diner architecture, old-school gas stations, and weathered beach signs—and the industrial, towering mass of Stealth’s launch track is brilliant. As you walk through the area, the immersive background music and the roar of the launch completely transport you to a different place. The way the coaster interacts with the surrounding pathways and the nearby Tidal Wave water ride creates a high-energy atmosphere that is hard to replicate. It’s an incredibly cohesive piece of theme park design, and losing Stealth would completely tear the heart out of Amity Cove, leaving a massive, irreplaceable void in both the skyline and the area’s storytelling.

Nevertheless, I truly hope with all my heart that Thorpe Park chooses to keep investing in this absolute icon. Twenty years is a massive milestone for such an intense, mechanically demanding launch coaster, but over in the United States, Cedar Point has proven with Top Thrill 2 that these types of rides can be given a completely new lease on life through a state-of-the-art LSM retrofit. So, behind the scenes, there is definitely still a glimmer of hope for the future of these steel giants. I sincerely hope that during my next trip to England, I won’t find Stealth standing SBNO (Standing But Not Operating) or permanently closed behind a construction fence. If, against all hopes, that does happen to be the case in the coming years, I can at least say I made the absolute most of it this time around; thanks to those beautifully short queues, I managed to close out my day with four incredible, back-to-back rides right before the end of the day.

The comeback of Hyperia: A hardcore front-row coaster:
So, was Hyperia able to redeem itself later in the day after that initial, deeply disappointing first impression? Writing this now, I still have a very distinct mixed feeling about it: yes, the ride definitely improved significantly as the day went on. However, that improvement was almost exclusively tied to the moments I managed to snag a front-row seat—thankfully, two out of my six total rides that day were right at the very front! In my opinion, Hyperia is a hardcore, unapologetic front-row coaster; the further back you sit in the train, the more the ride experience seems to deteriorate. My absolute biggest grievance with this machine is its pacing. The setup of the ride is brilliant, featuring a truly spectacular, breathtaking first drop, but after that initial rush, the coaster just ends far too abruptly. Whether this was a budgetary constraint or a design flaw, I personally would have chosen not to cram all those intense elements so aggressively back-to-back. Instead, giving the layout some breathing room with an extra sweeping turn or an additional airtime hill would have done wonders. As it stands now, flying into the final brake run at such high speed makes the ending feel completely dead. It’s an absolute shame for a roller coaster that possesses so much raw potential on paper, yet falls just short of achieving true greatness.

Of course, what certainly didn’t help that initial experience was the fact that it took me two long years to finally ride Hyperia in the flesh. If I hadn’t ridden absolute world-class coasters like Toutatis, Der Schwur des Kärnan, and Voltron Nevera in the intervening years, Hyperia would undoubtedly have scored much higher on my list right from the start. But because of that two-year wait, combined with experiencing those extraordinary, top-tier machines, I unconsciously built up an expectation pattern in my mind that was, in hindsight, probably a bit higher than what Hyperia could actually deliver.

After returning home, I really had to sit down, process all my rides, and weigh the pros and cons carefully. Ultimately, despite my criticisms, Hyperia still manages to squeeze its way into my personal top 10 favorite roller coasters. It takes the tenth spot, which unfortunately means that Hals-over-Kopf at Erlebnispark Tripsdrill has to surrender its fiercely coveted position on my leaderboard. So, luckily, Hyperia managed to make a bit of a comeback later in the afternoon and undo some of the damage, but the ultimate, flawless perfection I had secretly been hoping for unfortunately remained out of reach.

A record-breaking day at Thorpe Park: Enough thrills for years to come:
With a truly staggering total of 31 (!) attractions clocked in a single day—including a mind-blowing 23 rollercoaster rides—I honestly don’t expect to be traveling back to Thorpe Park anytime soon. Don’t get me wrong for a second: it is and always will be a fantastic park, and for a die-hard thrill seeker like myself, it is absolutely the place to be in the UK. However, precisely because the park was so incredibly quiet, allowing me to ride everything on loop until my heart was content without ever having to wait, I feel like I’ve completely maxed out the experience for now. The sheer exhaustion and adrenaline of marathon-riding these giants back-to-back was amazing, but it also means I’ve had my fill. Until Thorpe Park announces a major, groundbreaking new coaster or unexpectedly drops a spectacular, high-thrill flat ride onto the map to shake things up, there’s simply very little reason for me to rush back. For the time being, after such an insanely productive day, my system is pumped with more than enough Thorpe Park adrenaline to easily last me another two years—if not longer.

That being said, the park looked absolutely immaculate this time around, which massively elevated the overall experience and made just walking around a pure pleasure. Where the entire area surrounding Hyperia was nothing more than a giant, barren mud pit during its intense construction phase two years ago, it has now transformed into a much greener, cleaner, and more atmospheric plaza thanks to some well-placed landscaping, fresh pathways, and mature greenery that helps tie the whole look together. The rest of the park left an equally fresh, well-maintained impression on me; the various themed lands looked pristine, the midways remained spotless throughout the day, and it was clear across many areas that a lot of effort and budget has recently been poured into refreshing the paintwork and restoring the original theming.

Now that Universal Studios has officially announced its grand arrival in England, the stakes are higher than ever, and I am incredibly intrigued to see how a park like Thorpe Park will strategically counterattack to defend its territory as the UK’s premier thrill capital. They will definitely need to keep this high level of maintenance and innovation up if they want to compete with a global giant. No matter what happens, we are heading into some fascinating, highly competitive, and exciting years in the European theme park landscape, and I can’t wait to see how it unfolds!

With my ‘Fearless’ officially found, my eyes are already locked onto the next major milestone: the big 300. Only 5 credits left to go!