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The Swarm roller coaster

The months of hype are over, and Thorpe Park's highly-anticipated new roller coaster for the 2012 season is finally here. Guests at the self-professed "Nation's Thrill Capital" have been experiencing The Swarm, the first "winged" coaster to open in the UK. But does it live up to expectations?

Thorpe Park has invested in an expensive marketing campaign for The Swarm, under the slogan "War is Here". There's no escaping the post-apocalyptic theme at the park, with roaming actors chanting conspiracy theories and soundtracks for other rides being interrupted by mysterious noises. Excited adrenaline-junkies have descended on the island that hosts the ride, housed close to the existing Stealth and Flying Fish coasters.

Awaiting them is the world's second Bolliger & Mabillard Wing Rider roller coaster, which forms the centre of a small new land. The area, dotted with burnt-out vehicles, also hosts a shop, several game stalls and a new dining outlet, Roast & Relish (which serves hand-carved pork and gammon baguettes).

The Swarm and shop

The Swarm dominates the new Swarm Island area.

The Swarm has become the second-tallest ride at Thorpe Park behind Stealth, and is visible from all over the park. It offers UK theme park fans the chance to soar into the skies on "wings" on either side of the track, an experience that is currently totally unique in the country.

War is Here

The Swarm plane

Where are Lost's Jack and Kate when you need them?

An accusation that has often been levelled at Thorpe Park is that it doesn't invest enough in theming to surround its mega-thrill rides. Only the harshest of critics could claim that this is the case with The Swarm. The ride's backstory centres on an alien invasion of the Earth, and for once the surroundings - and the coaster itself - are completely consistent with the plot.

The Swarm fire engine

Two fire engines have been sacrificed to become part of the The Swarm's theming.

The area that houses The Swarm is designed to resemble the site of a mysterious incident, and is strewn with wreckage. The most impressive element on show is a crashed plane, which will remind many visitors of the opening episode of Lost. It's not just for show - the coaster itself passes within inches of the plane's body. Other burnt-out vehicles (including two fire trucks, a lorry and a helicopter) are used cleverly to house games and shops, or simply for show.

The Swarm helicopter

"Fuel" sprays out of a helicopter that has crash-landed close to The Swarm.

The storyline, filled in via "News 16" reports that are shown in The Swarm's queue line, is that a swarm of aliens has attacked London. As well as destroying large swathes of the city, the aliens also have a nasty habit of plucking humans off the ground and carrying them into the skies. The coaster's trains represent the aliens themselves - and riders are set to be "abducted".

Heading to church

The Swarm's lengthy queue line winds along the outside of a mock church, which has been partially destroyed during the aliens' attack. Visually, the line isn't particularly interesting, but the combination of the ride itself and the News 16 reports are enough to build anticipation for the excitement to come.

On nearing the station (housed inside the ruins of the church), guests are offered the chance to join one of two sub-queues: one for the front row of the train, and one for the other rows. These are then split further, with some guests queuing for the right-hand wing, and others queuing for the left-hand wing.

The Swarm station

The ride's trains exit the station under an overturned police vehicle.

Unusually, rather than queuing separately, guests who want to ride on the front row are given a pass and join the final section of the queue with the other guests. This can cause some confusion, with many front-row passholders seemingly unaware that they should have been waiting on the left-hand-side. Thorpe Park is likely to refine this system as the ride beds into operation.

The station itself is very impressive, with the alien-themed trains gliding into the church in a suitably menacing fashion. The church theme works well, and hosting the ride operators' booth in an overturned police vehicle is a neat touch.

The Swarm lift hill

The Swarm emerges from the devastated "church".

Wait times for the The Swarm hit upwards of 70 minutes during the opening Saturday of the 2012 season. While this represents a significant wait, it was still much shorter than wait times for Saw - The Ride, suggesting that the newer ride will cope reasonably well with the large crowds that are sure to swamp it throughout the summer.

Boarding the "wings"

As with the first B&M Wing Rider, Gardaland's Raptor, guests are seated in groups of two on either side of The Swarm's trains. Groups who wish to ride together in a single row have to coordinate cleverly across the queues on either side of the station, but ride operators are accommodating in this. There's little point, though, as you won't be able to see your friends on the other of the train.

The Swarm train

Guests on either side of The Swarm are separated by the coaster's track.

The over-the-shoulder restraints are very comfortable, to the point that you almost won't notice you're wearing them. Being seated on the wings, with no track beneath you, provides an unrivalled level of freedom and the head-banging that affects Thorpe Park's most recent coaster, Saw - The Ride, is not in evidence on The Swarm at all.

Flying with The Swarm

On leaving the station, The Swarm's trains ascend its 127-feet-tall lift hill. For those guests that manage to keep their eyes open, this offers stunning views across the rest of Thorpe Park - but most will be focused on the unusual element that awaits at the top of the ascent.

Unusually, the first inversion on The Swarm takes place before it even plummets down its first drop. The train rolls 180 degrees at the crest of the hill, leaving riders dangling upside down. They then race down a half-loop, seemingly on a collision course with the plane wreckage below. At the last moment, they dip under the plane's wing, providing a classic "near-miss" sensation and completing a stunning start to Thorpe Park's new addition.

 

The Swarm first drop
The first drop of The Swarm features an unusual inversion.

There's barely time for riders to catch their breath before they are rocketing through a 100-feet-tall zero-G roll, which leads into two highly banked turns and a corkscrew. The second of these turns takes place over a small pond, giving riders a great view of the crashed helicopter that sits partially submerged within it. Thorpe Park is still working on the fire and water effects that will take place in this section, which are currently a little underwhelming.

The Swarm plane near-miss

Many riders duck as they swoop under the plane wreckage.

The Swarm's circuit completes with another near-miss (this time with a section of the church's wall), and an inline twist. At this point, we felt fully warmed-up and ready for some more thrills. Unfortunately, though, the train then hits the brake run and coasts back into the station - with the total ride time coming in at under two minutes.

Our Thoughts

The Swarm packs a number of incredible elements into its compact circuit, all of which are greatly enhanced by the wing rider coaster's design. There's no other ride in the UK that offers the same sense of being exposed to danger, with the near-misses being particularly pronounced for those sitting on the outside of the train. Riding on the front row at least once is recommended, as you'll have a much better view of the scenery surrounding the ride.

The Swarm long distance view

There's no missing The Swarm on the way into Thorpe Park.

The main downside to Thorpe Park's new ride is its short ride time. In reality, much of this is spent on the lift hill and coasting back into the station, with less than a minute of "real" ride time. We heard few complaints from fellow riders about the length of The Swarm, but we felt a little short-changed - brilliant as it is, the overall experience of the new ride is just too short for it to be considered a classic.

That said, though, the same accusation can be levelled at nearby Stealth, and that hasn't stopped it becoming one of the most highly-regarded roller coasters in the UK. The Swarm's ride system and circuit are stunning engineering feats, and Thorpe Park has defied its critics by installing some of the best theming seen alongside any ride in the country.

The Swarm leg-chopper

No other rides in the UK offer "leg-chopper" moments to rival The Swarm's.

The Swarm is destined to become one of the most popular attractions in a park that is already packed full of major coasters and flat rides. It may have fallen just short of our sky-high expectations, but it's still a ride that every theme park fan in the UK should make a pilgrimage to experience.

You can keep up to date with the latest confirmed and rumored opening dates for new attractions through Theme Park Tourist's "New Attraction Watch" section, and by signing up for our weekly newsletter.

 
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Comments

I love this ride. First time I went to thorpester is 2012 I was desperate to ride it but the queue was too long. It was 80 mins. So I came on 31/8/12 and queued 90 mins, honestly too long bjt I loved the ride it was thrilling and the near misses were great. Ever since I have been on it 8 times fowards and 2 times backwards.
Thrill - 7/10
Fun - 8/10
Comfort - 9/10
Overall - 8/10

'Brave it backwards' was our first experience as this was advertised as the most challenging - sadly not!

We got in the queue, close to the main entrance and after 10 minutes of not moving, they announced that the 'Brave it backwards' queue would take nearly two hours, not a good start, but understandable as this is a newish attraction!!! Finally we got to our seat close to two hours later and hoped for the best! We were both excited and couldn't wait!!

After 75 seconds or so it ended and we both turned to each other and said, "is that it?" 1/10

We queued up again later on in the day to try it forward and the queue by now was a lot less and we had a funny feeling this was because people thought that it wasn't worth another go!
We did, we thought it was before we made a final decision on Thorpe Parks new £20 million ride!

A lot better going forward, but still too tame and too smooth, noting really exciting about it. A generous 6/10

There is a positive about The Swarm, the decor and overall styling of the ride is brilliant. Love the theme and the attention to detail in the queue line and the winged coaster is amazing, the 'News Reports' to build up tension was good, but the ride itself is just a let down.

Overall an average 5/10.

Rise itself is pretty average- its that first twist and half loop that I think makes it special

I went on swarm with a friend yesterday and although there was long queing time which was mainl due to the hype it was worth the wait. It was the first big rollercoaster i have ever been on other than the vampire ride at chesigton. It was amazing and i would recomend that it was the one ride you have to go on if you go to thorpe park. Next time though i would consider buying a fast track or que for it as soon as i got there.

4 of us travelled 125 miles to go on this after the hype!
we decided the queue was too long in the morning so did the rest of the park 1st after going on many roller coasters (some of us different ones around the world) we went on the swarm after a 35 minute queue we was hauled up the incline and poof it was over, did we blink and miss it? extremely disappointing coaster slow and awful!
other reviews are saying collosus and saw are better,
WE AGREE! we cant say it is even remotely good we say dont waste your time its slow and too comfy not what we expected DONT WASTE YOUR TIME!!

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