COASTER

A theme park is basically a

location for the whole family. Is it

then particularly clever to theme

a coaster after one of the most

horrible over-18 horror film

series? The answer is yes –

when those concerned are cal-

led Thorpe Park!

Text: Tim Herre

Photos: Jennifer Born

In order to understand this, one must be familiar

with the history of the Tussauds parks in the Lon-

don area. Up until the beginning of the new millen-

nium, two identically equipped theme parks in the

immediate vicinity, vied for the attention of visitors to

the English Capital. This era was over at the latest

by the spring of 2002, when Thorpe Park presented

its "Colossus” to the public, an Intamin Looping

attraction with ten inversions. This installation was

the starting point that formed Thorpe Park into a thrill

park, followed by the B&M Inverter "Nemesis Infer-

no” and the Intamin Catapult Coaster "Stealth”. The

message was clear: "Families please go to Chess-

ington World of Adventures 20 kilometres away!

Thrill seekers, and teenagers this way please! Come

right on in!”

The family public is only catered to as a side line at

Thorpe; the focus is clearly on the target groups that

demand action, action, and more action. And so it’s

no wonder that "Saw – The Ride” has become an

absolute crowd-pleaser.

Naturally there are controversial discussions about

whether the whole thing hasn’t gone over the limits

and all borders of good taste, and those who shout

in answer "yes, naturally”, and continue to shout, are

right somehow. But only somehow, because the fas-

cination caused by the sadistic games of the cen-

tral Saw-character Jigsaw, has become a mass

phenomenon, and the resulting marketing-technical

expansion in the amusement sector was only a mat-

ter of time.

Theme parks also fascinate the masses, and must

do accordingly, or it doesn’t pay.

An adrenalin-kick with

interesting theming

SAW

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The rusty looking

station area

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And it’s not as though the horror first begins when

the eight-seat cars of the Gerstlauer “Eurofighter”

make their start. Already in the waiting area, the eyes

of the prospective ride guests have to get used to

the exponents out of the workshop of Jigsaw, and

one doesn’t have to be knowledgeable about the

Saw-series to imagine how the victims of the main

character take their punishment caused by the rusty

implements in the, in the meantime, six Saw-films.

Other parts of the waiting line are an almost three

metre high barbwire fence crowned by razor wire,

which not only prevents pushing forward – still a

huge problem unfortunately in a teenager-park such

as Thorpe – but causes additionally an oppressive

atmosphere. The barbwire naturally can’t cause in-

jury, because that which looks to be razor sharp is

in actual fact real looking, but of foil.

The theming is consistent both inside and out – in

other words the most unpleasant in corrugated

sheet metal look, complete with bloody body parts,

video, incredibly loud soundtrack, and eerie lightn-

ing.

The capacity for a construction with individual cars

is decent, as there are always two cars loaded

simultaneously. On an average, a car leaves the

station every 26 seconds, which brings about a

theoretical capacity of not less than 1,100 passen-

gers per hour.

The ride itself travels in the dark initially in the build-

ing connected to the station. After a right curve,

guest are first confronted by Jigsaw, who cycles to-

wards them on a tricycle in a half circle, greeting

them nicely with the words “let the game begin!” The

car in the following track section travels towards only

The station area doesn’t

look any better: the rusty

“charm” overbalances an

abandoned industrial building

Warnings everywhere

about entry and use

45

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shadowy recognisable large axes, which are avoid-

ed by way of a small drop. Particularly effective here

are the barrels that follow with thorns, that are only

seen during the first moments of the drop, when they

are illuminated for a short time. After a left curve, the

ride ascends a few metres, after which the car

enters a warehouse scene with compressed air on

both sides – this works sometimes intensely, some-

times less, depending on whether one is hit or not.

However the highlight of the dark section only

comes at this point: after another left curve, ride

guests recognise the rescuing daylight, but sud-

denly the car goes into an Inline-Twist – directly over

a corpse on the ground that sprays

water right up and into the faces of the

riders. A frightening moment that stays.

At this moment the ride could in actual

fact be over, however, oh yes – no

comes the outdoor part. Here, the thrill

seeker expects a little more than the

usual, solid "Eurofighter”-fare. The array

of the elements presents a welcome

change, for example a vertical loop is

completely missing. The large drop

sends the cars directly into an Immel-

mann; the rest of the course is played

out behind the drop and the large

station building. There, the course is

extensively spread out, but narrow man-

oeuvres are still waiting, which is typical

for these types of constructions. After

an overbanked turn to the left comes an

airtime hill, followed by a drop angled

slightly to the left, and an ascending

180° steep curve, up into the block

brakes. Another steep drop follows, and

with the unbelievably narrow, under the

ground line Dive-Loop, the highlight of

the ride comes really at the end. One

could say that the ride sequence was

well choreographed. The signature of

advisor-designer John Wardley can be

recognised here.

What’s the verdict? “Saw – The Ride” is a “Euro-

fighter” that without a doubt has been set in the most

elaborate of scenes – most particularly because of

the indoor section. This spring, the experience will

be extended by a new attraction: diagonally behind

the coaster an all-year-round horror maze with live

scares will open on the old amusement steamer

“Thorpe Bell” – and with that, the park with enough

experience, presents the most extensive Halloween

event in the United Kingdom with its “Fright Nights”

every month of the year. We wait then in anticipation

just how much more frightening “Saw” will be in

2010. ■

46

■ Opening: 14.03.2009

■ Track length: 720 m

■ Track height: 30.5 m

■ Max. speed: 89 km/h

■ 3 inversions: In-Line-Twist,

Immelmann, Dive-Loop

■ Max. banking: 100°

■ Max. acceleration: 4.7 g

■ Ride time: 1.40 min (inc.lift)

■ 8 vehicles, each for 8 Pers.

■ Capacity: 1,100 Pers./h

■ Designer: John Wardley

■ Static/Dynamics: Stengel,

Munich, Germany

■ Manufacturer: Gerstlauer,

Münsterhausen, Germany

■ Operator: Thorpe Park,

Chertsey, England

RIDE FACTS

The inversions are well

known manoeuvres of various

“Eurofighters”

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