Until yesterday I’d never been to Thorpe Park in Surrey. It was a theme park that has always been on the to-do list for many years but fate always intervened and I never ended up going.
When I originally planned to go many years ago the park had just built a Saw rollercoaster. A licensed coaster linked to one of my favorite horror movies.
Fast forward a whole ten years later and I finally got to visit the park and ride it!
Themed around the infamous franchise the coaster is the world’s first horror movie roller coaster. The ride is full of incredible theming and references to the films and it’s not just a novelty coaster.
Saw – The Ride is a seriously intense rollercoaster made by Gerstlauer. The ride consists of an indoor section, followed by a vertical lift that instantly catapults riders 100ft downwards at a ‘beyond vertical’ drop of 100 degrees.
Saw the Ride Stats
Top Speed – 89km/h 55mph
Cost – £13.5m
Length – 2362ft 720m
Height – 100ft 30m
Manufacturer – Gerstlauer
Type – Steel Euro Fighter
Inversions – 3
Theme Park – Thorpe Park
Year Opened – 2009
Theming
The area around Saw – The Ride is incredibly themed. The whole indoor section of the ride is built inside a warehouse structure much like Jigsaw’s lair in the movies.
The queue line is littered with traps and fun little engineering tools that Jigsaw would use to build his contraptions.
The rather cattle penned queue has speakers playing audio as you go around and barbed wire lines the tips of the fences as you are ushered into the warehouse.
Upon entering the warehouse there are various winks and nods to the film. Shotguns dangle from the roof as a tribute to the shotgun trap from the first movie.
There are various traps, billy the puppet dolls and more Jigsaw lair equipment littered around the loading area.
I was told that there were actual props used in the film inside the building but I didn’t see anything that looked production or screen-used to me.
If anyone knows what they are please do comment below!
Jigsaw’s lair is dark and the indoor theming is incredible, it really adds to the atmosphere and it feels instantly as thou you’re on a Saw movie set.
Saw – The Ride Trains
Each Saw train has two rows of 4 seats with over the shoulder restraints. The same design/locking mechanism as the restraints on The Smiler at Alton Towers.
The trains are light and move freely almost making the rider feel like a pinball in a machine.
They’re quick and the seats themselves are comfortable up until certain points during the ride.
Saw – The Ride Experience
With an indoor section full of drops towards spikes, fake blood being sprayed at the riders and a loop this immersive experience builds the tension before the coaster even gets outside.
As the coaster turns a corner you are face to face with a 100ft vertical climb. With the trains being light you certainly feel more awkward on the ascension than you do on The Smiler’s vertical lift.
It’s very unusual but the lift-climb is much faster and before you know it you’re flying down towards rotating Saw blades.
The second you hit the bottom of the drop you’re already working your way into a loop. It really is quite a thrill.
Many enthusiasts have claimed that Saw is a bumpy and rough ride. I had my head back (as instructed) the whole time and didn’t really feel any roughness up until the first brake run. Whilst the brake run didn’t really slow the train down much you are dropped quite sharply downwards and every turn before the end of the ride thereafter is jolty.
Thankfully after the drop, there aren’t many sections of the track left so the head banging didn’t last long. Just enough to rough you up a little bit.
Up until that point thou however I thought the ride was very smooth indeed for a 10 year old Gerstlauer coaster.
Overall
This was my first visit to Thorpe Park and Saw – The Ride was certainly one of my favorite rides of the day.
Certainly a tough choice between this ride, Swarm and Stealth for the most intense roller coaster of Thorpe Park title.
The theming of the queue line and indoor section is incredible I just wished theming around the coaster after the vertical lift around the outdoor section would have much more added to it.
It goes from a heavily themed area to a coaster with zero theming outdoors after the first loop.
Overall it’s an incredible experience that I would ride over and over again. Being a huge Saw fan I’m pretty sure I’d have enjoyed it if it was a Saw-themed teacup ride! But all the same, after 10 years it’s still a great coaster.
There have been rumors that this ride MAY be re-themed and I really hope that isn’t the case. With the upcoming reboot/remake of Saw next year, the franchise is still relevant and the ride could be upgraded to match later Saw installments.
The ride certainly doesn’t deserve to be rethemed to any other horror-themed ride that’s for sure!
Review by Sean Evans
