Thorpe Park’s The Swarm Has Its First Riders
Surrey, England’s Thorpe Park is putting the finishing touches on their new wing roller coaster, The Swarm. Recently, four former fighter pilots braved the great-looking coaster. I love the look of the trains. Instead of an eagle (like Dollywood’s Wild Eagle) or a jet (Six Flags Great America’s X-Flight) theme for the trains, The Swarm’s alien trains look awesome. I wonder if those red lights and red eyes will glow bright enough to enhance night rides.
Here are some photos of those lucky test riders as well as some earlier photos with dummies:
[simple_slideshow size="large" link_click="0" auto_advance="1"]
The airplane wing at the bottom of the first drop (Image 2) looks really close to the track. As does the half-destroyed building that the train flies by (Image 3). I’m really glad that the Thorpe Park incorporated these scenery elements. They didn’t have to, but it was a wise move as they reinforce the theme and create some exciting-looking interactions. Bravo!
UPDATE: Here’s a better test video from Thorpe Park of those pilots riding The Swarm at Thorpe Park:
What’s Your Take?
How do you think The Swarm looks? Leave a comment below. Images courtesy of Thorpe Park’s Facebook page.
February 23, 2012 at 00:35
Whoa…I love the drop under the airplane wing! Can’t wait to try that out someday.
February 23, 2012 at 08:03
All the ring coasters have awsome trains! Furios Bacco, Raptor, Wild Eagle, X-flight, The Swarm, all of them have nice trains!
February 24, 2012 at 08:25
love the post apocalyptic look, wish we had some better themed coasters here in the States. With the exception of the big Disney/Universal/SeaWorld parks, nobody really theme's anything. Six Flags (and back in the day Paramount) have made half hearted attempts and I guess that's better than nothing, but I think it adds a lot to the experience if done well.
February 28, 2012 at 02:54
Busch Gardens (a.k.a. Seaworld Parks) also dose a very good job at themeing their rides, and there are other stand-alone parks here in the U.S. that also theme their rides well. (Dollywood, Mt. Olympus, etc.)
February 28, 2012 at 08:52
I did forget about Herschend, they do great work at Dollywood and Silver Dollar City, but Mt. Olympus and similar smaller "theme" parks…I don't think they have GOOD theming necessarily. Definately adequate and I appreciate the effort, but it's not comparable to what they're doing at the bigger parks. The Swarm is far beyond that level of theming and that's more what I was getting at.
February 24, 2012 at 12:08
This maybe my national pride talking but this looks the best of the new lot of wing coasters, even if its not its on the same level as the stuff you guys get over the pond which is very rare for us in the UK. Looking forward to checking this out
February 24, 2012 at 12:41
It looks good for theming and thrills, but I was dissapointed to find out that it has a very short layout. It lasts 30 seconds from drop to brake. It still looks pretty cool though with the theming, so I want to ride it.
February 24, 2012 at 12:55
The Swarm definently has better theming than all the other wing coasters opening this year, but I don't think it has the best layout. Its awesome theming (especially the trains) will definently help set it apart from the others.
February 24, 2012 at 15:04
I live RIGHT NEXT to thorpe park and i know all about this. I find it interesting very interesting that the coaster critic would post this since it is english. but i like it A LOT.
February 24, 2012 at 21:17
I hate the idiots saying the ride is slow, its not. Its around 60mph, it just seems slow in the video as the trains are so large.
February 25, 2012 at 01:05
Speed can be deceiving. Many times at theme parks I've heard people remark how slow a ride looks, but you're right some rides just look slow because of the trains.
Pingback: Saturday Roundup #12 « Social Theme Parks
March 2, 2012 at 04:51
This ride looks awesome, and there are obviously loads of people already loving it. I study architecture in the UK and I’m really interested in how people feel about abandoned theme parks and also about specific rides. I find theres a certain nostalgia towards them and a lot of childhood memories buried in them. Taking this ride for example, it is creating memory right now and if it were abandoned how would people feel looking back at it? Any comments would be really welcome.
March 11, 2012 at 06:07
Can't wait,
Going there in 2 weeks so will definitely write a review
October 11, 2012 at 09:50
I had a chance to ride The Swarm and visit Thorpe for the first time last month. The ride was a pleasant surprise as I did not have huge expectations going in. My full trip report can be read here: http://jonathanhawkins.net/thorpepark2012.php