SAW: The Ride

The big brother of Alton Tower’s original Nemesis coaster, Inferno is one of just a handful of inverted rollercoasters in Europe and one of the best in the world. Hanging from the track above, Nemesis Inferno has the feel of an out-of-control train, as it hurtles down its course, carved from craggy rocks.

With nothing beneath you, and your legs just dangling during loops and tight corkscrews, Inferno gives a sensation of freefall missing from most rollercoasters. Definitely worth queuing up for… more than once.

Spinning, swinging, almost upside down; Vortex is my favourite ride at Thorpe Park. Weightless one second, and then pointing face-down hurtling towards the ground the next, it’s a dizzying experience and one that is missed out by many visitors to Thorpe Park as they make their way to the ‘big’ rides instead. Take it from me, it’s something you definitely want to mark on the park map.

Stealth

Stealth’s fear factor comes from the overwhelming sense of anticipation, which builds and builds the closer you get to your turn on the rollercoaster. Going from 0-80mph in less than two seconds has a peculiar affect on a person, one which usually results in a shocked scream, and seeing others launched towards the lofty 205ft drop at such an insane speed just doesn’t prepare you for how it feels.

Combine taking off in a plane with going over a bridge in a car, and you’re getting close to the feeling that hits you in the chest and turns your stomach.

It’s not a long ride, but is most definitely worth the wait – if your nerves can take it.

Enjoy Fright Night at Thorpe Park with tickets and hotel deals from just £41.50.

 When you sit down on SAW: The Ride you don’t really know what to expect because when you are queueing up, you only see small bits of it.

When your carriage first starts to move you expect there to be something like a sharp turn or a vertical climb, but it’s even worse. SAW: The Ride starts off with a calm 180º turn to the right, fooling you and making you think that the ride is calm but just as you start to relax there is a vertical drop right after the turn. Straight after the drop there is a sequence of sharp turns to the left and right, and there are also some small hills, just enough to unsettle your stomach ever so slightly. You then go around the first loop which thankfully, looks far worse that it is.

Soon after you get to the scariest part of the ride. You slow down until you are at a stand still, and then the chain hooks onto the underneath of the carriage and you begin a slow vertical climb which takes you to the top of the ride. This is where things start to get a bit more scary because as you get to the top, you dont have enough time to even say a word and you immediatly get unhooked from the chain. 

You plummet down a 100 foot, 100º drop passing underneath loads of spinning axes which are very close to your head. When you have passed those you start a big loop which makes you feel like you are about to fall out of the seat. Once you have gone through the loop you go through various different drops and do many sharp turns and corkscrews until you reach the end of the ride.

 When you step out of the ride you may not realise it but you are still screaming and you can barely stand up on your own legs, but then you come to your senses again and tell everyone that the wait is really worth it and that the ride is epic.

Published by: Alex Zerbino – The Harvey Grammar School

2009 is not a good year if you are superstitious – TWO Friday the thirteenths in just two months? Surely nothing good can come from that. Can it? If you are a theme park fan, then the answer is yes. Well, sort of.

On Friday March 13, Thorpe Park champions its latest offering to the masses: SAW – The Ride. Based on the film franchise of the same name, the ride is the world’s first ever horror movie themed rollercoaster. Having watched the films and been left feeling rather queasy after a few scenes, I must say the thought of this ride is horrid.

Here’s why:
1. It has a past vertical 100 degree drop.
2. It reaches speeds of 55 mph.
3. It has a past vertical 100 degree drop.

While researching the ride, I stumbled across a few more facts: It will last one minute and 40 seconds from start to finish (queueing not included), has three inversions and cost a whopping £13.5m to build.

The cost is especially impressive when you find out how much the other new ride that opens on 13 March cost. We’ll get to this in but a moment. For now, my colleague and I are debating whether or not Thorpe Park had to pay a license fee for the ride, or if Lionsgate willingly gave the rights for free in return for future sales of the DVDs. Any of you guys know? Please let me know…

There is also some debate about whether or not SAW – The Ride is a worthwhile venture from the film industry, or if it’s simply a product of those marketing types looking to make a few extra bucks.

Also, in ten years time, will we actually remember the films, or will they be cast into the pit of forgetfulness along with the fizzy Nemesis drink that made its way into our vending machines in the mid 90s? (Look it up – it did exist.) Nemesis is still one of the best rides in the world – a true legend in fact, and SAW – The Ride looks set to be another major player in theme park land. There is no doubt in my mind that we will still be riding it ten years time – I am just not so sure I will remember anything of Jigsaw and his sordid ‘games’ with complacent victims.

The second ride opening this week is Edge at Paulton’s Park. If you haven’t heard anything about Edge, let me give you a brief description: It’s a big spinny-roundy disc that seats 40 people. Said disc then spins horizontally while moving along a 90 metre section of track at speeds of 43 mph. Back and forth, back and forth, I’m not entirely sure that anyone will be able to stand up or hang on to any lunch after riding the Edge.

The ride is another first for the UK – it’s the only one of its type here and the eighth of its kind in the world. Sure, Spinball Whizzer at Alton Towers does the same sort of thing, but that one actually goes round a proper ‘rollercoaster’ track and only accommodates four riders at a time.

Edge cost just £1m to build which, let’s face it, is nothing compared to SAW – The Ride. With the backing of Merlin, Thorpe can justify the spend. Paulton’s, on the other hand, can’t.

So where will you be heading this weekend? If you live near London, it’ll have to be Thorpe, but if you live near the New Forest – you’re surely going to Paulton’s. Me? I’ll be doing something far more cowardly, like stroking kittens, or watching Raven with my kids. Either way, you are going to need to take a packed lunch – the queues are going to be loooooooooong.