Colossus - 2002 Intamin Multi Inversion Coaster located at Thorpe Park Resort just outside Chertsey, Surrey UK!
Deep within an ancient jungle lies a force that wields a power so immense it will turn your world upside down decisively within seconds! It’s power is so famous infact, that locals to the area have come to know it by another name, and that name is The Power of 10!!
Lying forever patient, intertwined within the undergrowth of the Lost Cities ancient jungle it waits, forever seeking those foolish enough to wander within reaching distance of it’s cold, steely grasp.
When they do however their reality is warped and twisted beyond recognition as they spiral through it’s twisted metal coils 10 times over before finally meeting their demise at the hands of the one the locals call, Colossus!
Colossus is an ancient force, and once awoken, it’s hard to put back to sleep once more.
The Ride
Hailed as the world’s first ever ten looping roller coaster Colossus opened at Thorpe Park Resort back on 22nd of March 2002 and has continued to wow all who have ridden it, even to this day.
At the time of opening due to it’s whopping total of 10 inversions, Colossus officially took the record for most inversions on any roller coaster anywhere in the world, however this record was taken from the ride once more in 2013 when Alton Towers Resort opened what was at the time code named Secret Weapon 7, however as we all know later became the Gerstlauer masterpiece, The Smiler!
Colossus takes riders up to a total height of 98.4ft, before plummeting them into a sheer onslaught of mind bending inversions, speed and overall insanity throughout a whopping 2,788.7ft of track.
The ride features a varied range of inversions including but not limited to a Vertical Loop directly after the first drop, two Corkscrews and a visually satisfying Cobra Roll, however it is perhaps the rides Quadruple Heart Line that is the most iconic inversion to be featured within the ride’s lengthy layout overall.
Riders also reach a total speed of 44.7 mph too meaning that the whole experience lasts just 1 minute and 32 seconds from start to finish.
Although there have been many iterations of this particular type of roller coaster over the years at various other theme parks and amusement parks throughout the world, Colossus still remains the first of it’s kind to be installed at any theme park worldwide making the addition of this iconic ride back in 2002 yet another world’s first for a UK theme park.
The Experience
Although there are those who claim Colossus hasn’t aged well over the years causing it to be claimed by many as notoriously rough and an uncomfortable ride experience overall, we have to say that apart from a little head banging we found this ride to be extremely smooth and great fun to ride overall.
It’s also fair to say that Colossus for us was definitely a front row coaster.
The experience you get from being at the very front of the ride not only meant you were physically pushed even faster through some of the inversions, however it also meant we got some incredible views of the surrounding area in the process due to the height of the lift hill and the turn around section at it’s peak.
We also found the ride to be extremely forceful too, especially as we powered through the ride’s first inversion, the Vertical Loop!
Was does remain clear is that not only is this coaster all about the speed, however it also feels as if disorientating the rider was factored as a major selling point to brilliant addition too.
Overall the experience for us was by far one of our favourites throughout the visit, however we also feel that we just didn’t get to ride this coaster enough and as such we will be making Colossus our first port of call when the resort reopens to the public at the start of 2021!
The Setting
Colossus is located within the Lost City area of the park and features extensive landscaping, plant life and themeing.
This we definitely feel gives for a fully authentic feel when it comes to immersing the rider into the world the ride’s storyline is set within.
There is also great use of themed structures and buildings as well as good use of area within the rides layout to include a full walkway throughout giving for what we felt were definitely some of the best views of the ride from within the park itself overall.
The queue line is also incredibly well laid out and this means that you are forever teased by the experience to come as the train soars past above your head, the shrieks and screams of riders permeating the air as it does so.
Now, whilst it’s clear that the ride area also used to include water as well, giving for the full illusion of being set within a jungle, this has sadly since been removed which we believe was down to improper filtration and the stagnant odour this created throughout the ride area (this is however just hearsay and not confirmed as being the official cause for it’s removal).
There are also several themed structures and carvings located throughout the ride area too all baltently based around the idea of a lost civilisation feel which we feel only adds to the overall ride experience.
This really does help to create an immersive experience overall, and with a ride theme such as the one given to Colossus this is ultimately essential in creating a lasting impression ensuring guests will want to come back and ride the ride time and time again.
If that wasn’t enough then the amount of shrubbery and plant life that occupies the area will surely lead you to believe you are standing in the middle of a jungle alone!
Any Changes?
As much as we definitely enjoyed our ride on Colossus, we definitely felt that the trains would have been far more comfortable had they have had the lap bars and seating of the Rev B model (the same as the trains on Flamingo Lands new ride) as opposed to their current ones.
Had this have been the case it’s almost certain that not only would we have experience far more hangtime throughout the ride’s ten inversions, however the whole experience would have been that bit more comfortable overall.
That being said this doesn’t mean we may not still see the addition of new trains on this ride in the future, however the removal of over the shoulder restraints (OTSRs) in favour of Lap Bars would definitely not go amiss with this ride.
Other than this we found the rest of our experience (especially the front row ride) to be absolutely fantastic and well worth the ample wait we have had up until being able to finally ride it earlier this season (August 2020).
Final Thoughts
Overall Colossus made a fantastic first impression on us here at Theme Park Insanity and we have to say we thoroughly enjoyed our ride experience from start to finish.
That being said it’s no secret that this ride is definitely in need of some much needed tlc as not only is paintwork drastically faded since it’s installation, however some of the ride area felt a little tired and unkept too.
We could potentially see this ride being removed in favour of a new attraction or ride at some point in the future, however we definitely don’t feel this is likely to happen anytime soon.
This is due to the fact that despite the aforementioned Colossus still continues to draw in the crowds with a decent minimum wait time of 60 to 90 minutes on average during the resort’s busier periods.
This alone proves the continued popularity of the ride with many who visit and when you factor in the fact it also appears to be a crowd pleaser as well Thorpe would definitely need to ensure that if they were to replace it the ride they replaced it with had the same level of draw to it that Colossus currently commands.
We therefore definitely recommend checking out this awesome addition to the “Island like no other” on your next visit if you haven’t already and hope to see Colossus stay at the resort for many years to come!
The other question that remains however is this? How popular will Colossus be with the opening of Flamingo Land’s brand new ride next season? Only time will tell!
Thanks for reading!
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