Zodiac has been noticeably absent throughout Thorpe Park’s 2026 season, leaving many people wondering whether we had seen the last of one of the park’s long standing flat rides.
Earlier in the season, CJ & Pops actually made a video saying we thought Zodiac was toast.
We’d seen it spinning during spring testing and, from the ground, it looked absolutely fine. But as the months passed, Zodiac remained closed and increasingly looked neglected. We genuinely wondered whether it had a future.
Thankfully, we were wrong.
More recently, we spoke with a senior member of Thorpe Park’s engineering team. We asked if he would explain the situation on camera. He declined to be filmed, but was happy to talk us through what had happened and, most importantly, told us that Zodiac is expected to return in 2027.
We shared that news on TikTok, but what we didn’t share was the technical detail behind it. Given the huge response to that post and the number of people interested in what actually happened, we’re happy to share that now, exclusively!
So, what went wrong?
According to the engineer, Zodiac underwent significant work during the 2025/26 winter period. During subsequent testing, a problem was identified with the ride’s Hydraulic Rotation Motor, or HRM.
We were told the HRM had failed beyond repair and needed to be replaced.
And this is really the reason Zodiac hasn’t operated this season.
The HRM required for Zodiac isn’t an off the shelf component that Thorpe Park can simply order and have delivered a few days later. Zodiac is a legacy Huss Enterprise and, according to what we were told, the replacement HRM has to be specifically manufactured for the ride.
That means going back to Huss for a bespoke replacement, with the associated manufacturing process, cost and, crucially, a significant lead time.
By the time the failure had been identified and the replacement process considered, there simply wasn’t a practical route to having the new HRM manufactured, delivered, installed, tested and Zodiac returned to operation during the 2026 season.
So rather than the ride simply being abandoned, Zodiac has effectively been out of action awaiting a specialist component that takes time to produce.
But why couldn’t it operate if we’d seen it spinning?
This was the part we found particularly interesting, because we’d watched Zodiac during spring testing ourselves and thought it looked fine.
What we couldn’t see from the ground was whether it was achieving and consistently maintaining the rotational performance required to carry passengers.
Zodiac operates without conventional passenger restraints. As the wheel rotates, riders experience what is commonly called centrifugal force, pressing them firmly into their seats. In physics terms, the inward force keeping the rider travelling in a circular path is known as centripetal force.
Those forces aren’t simply part of the thrill. They’re fundamental to the way the ride safely carries its passengers.
The ride therefore needs to achieve and consistently maintain its required rotational performance. According to the engineer, the failing HRM meant Zodiac could spin, but couldn’t reliably maintain the required rotation.
So seeing Zodiac spinning didn’t necessarily mean it was capable of safely carrying passengers through its normal ride cycle.
That’s exactly the sort of issue testing is there to identify before guests are allowed to ride.
Why does getting Zodiac back matter?
There's something sad about seeing a ride sitting dormant. Theme parks are supposed to feel alive, and seeing Zodiac sitting unused throughout the season was ultimately why we thought it might be finished.
There's a practical consideration too. Every operating attraction adds capacity and helps distribute guests around the park. Every group riding Zodiac is a group that isn't standing in the queue for something else.
That's why we're genuinely pleased to have been wrong when we said Zodiac was toast.
The senior engineer told us Zodiac is expected to return in 2027, although plans and engineering programmes can of course change. This information came from our conversation with a senior member of Thorpe Park’s engineering team rather than a formal announcement from Thorpe Park.
When we originally posted the news, we simply told everyone Zodiac was expected to return.
Now, for everyone who wanted to know more, that's the story behind it.
And we'll certainly be happy to see Zodiac spinning again.
