Hyperia is towering above the Thorpe Park Skyline and it's about to get bigger!
On Tuesday 20th February Thorpe Park invited us to have a look at Hyperia from within the park and check up on the progress of the rollercoaster from a different angle. For weeks we've walked down Monks Walk to get updates, but with the park now weeks away from opening again, we can see how everything looks from within the park again.
Hyperia dominates the skyline of the park and can be seen from almost everywhere. With all gold supports and sections of track now installed only white sections remain left to be installed.
Three white sections of the lift hill track have been installed since our last look at the project on Saturday. Along with the first section of catwalk stairs installed today whilst we were watched from the distance. The bottom of the lift hill can be seen on site waiting to be installed. Once the first section of the catwalk was installed at midday, a lorry containing more lift hill stairs appeared on site ready to be installed later in the afternoon. At the angle of 45 degrees, this lift hill is going to be a steep climb.
With the next stage of Hyperia construction being at such a height, the project now requires bigger cranes and machines. When chatting with the site manager he explained that during the rest of this week, the catwalk would be installed and bolts would be checked and tightened. Looking into next week a huge new crane will be installed over the course of a day or two which will allow the team to install more of the lift hill and finish off this massive project.
When the rollercoaster is topped off and finished, the top section of the ride will be pre-installed on the ground before being lifted into the air and topped off. In a process called "crowning" 3 huge bits of the ride will be bolted together before being lifted into place where the ride will be complete and then more exciting things can happen!
Theming has started to be installed on the maintenance bay with the word "Fearless" installed. We expect that the words "Find Your" will be installed above this. It would also appear that black panels are being installed on the building to create a flat appearance. We didn't expect to see any theming installed on this building but it's great to see the park putting in theming elements here.
Viewing the site from the balcony, this rollercoaster is huge! You can really take in how big this rollercoaster is and how amazing it's going to be. We can also get a small close-up on some elements like the gold strips of theming on the new shop roof, the motor that will power the lift hill and how banked the first turn out of the station is.
Other bits we noticed whilst being on site today, the old Platform 15 fence has been repainted black on the side facing into the park and theming inside the station can be seen from the construction gates.
Hyperia is looking amazing and we can't wait to be sat on the train climbing up the lift hill for the first time.
