Saw: The Ride - 2009 Gerstlauer Eurofighter located at Thorpe Park Resort, Surrey, UK!
Step into a labyrinth of twisted steel, rickety traps and horrors beyond your wildest imagination as you “Face your Fears” and take on one of horror’s most iconic serial killers – Jigsaw!
Just outside the boundaries of the Ancient City the Jigsaw killer himself (the infamous serial killer from the legendary horror film franchise Saw) has found a new home and this time he’s challenging you to pit your nerves against the clock as you attempt to escape one of his infamous (and usually fatal) games of life or death!
As you make your way slowly towards the dilapidated warehouse where he lies in wait you’ll traverse a barbed wire chain link fence ridden labyrinth of horrors and witness first hand just how imaginative the killer can really be before stepping through the door of his lair itself and letting the real game begin.
Here you will make your way up through the narrow, trap ridden corridors of the warehouse itself where you will pass some of those who didn’t quite ‘have what it takes to survive’.
All the way you will be taunted by Billy (Jigsaw’s evil puppet counterpart) to ‘live or die’ as you make your travel ever upwards towards your final destination (the station area of the ride itself) passing even more despicable horrors as you do so.
Once you step aboard however that’s when the fun really begins! It’s time to face your fears and escape with your life as Jigsaw throws all he has at you ever trying to prevent you from leaving his lair alive in the desperate hope you won’t reveal his secrets to those other willing victims who may just unfortunately wander into his path of hellised mutilation and destruction!
So, what can you expect from the ride itself? More importantly what even is Saw:The Ride?
Saw: The Ride primarily is the UK’s first ever and more importantly the world’s first ever Horror IP based roller coaster!
The ride itself primarily a custom Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter (the same type of roller coaster such as Speed: No Limits at Oakwood and Typhoon at Bobbejannland) and features the perfect mixture between indoor dark ride and outdoor coaster featuring some of the best themeing on any roller coaster here in the UK in our opinion.
This is due to the sheer scale the ride’s production has undergone during construction and indeed just how faithful the ride’s designers and creators have actually stayed the movie franchise’s actual narrative!
Being huge fans of the film franchise ourselves we have been desperate to experience this ride for ourselves ever since we heard about it opening at Thorpe Park back in 2009 and it’s safe to say that after doing so we were certainly not left feeling let down or disappointed.
The ride’s first drop (and we’re not talking about the iconic outdoor drop seen in the picture to the left) makes the ride worth riding alone, however the sheer amount of near misses and unexpected thrills this ride packs along the way will certainly give even the most hardened thrill seeker a run for their money.
This is due to the sheer pace this ride possesses as it’s clear from riding it a good few times that Saw: The Ride doesn’t let up from the minute it leaves the station to the moment it re-enters it.
Packing in everything from a 100 degree drop (a world record breaking drop until the record was taken months later by Mumbo Jumbo at Flamingo Land by 12 degrees) to a perfect mixture of inversions, themed encounters and a vertical lift to boot Saw: The Ride delivers a horror movie worthy experience from start to finish.
The large and iconic rotating blades at the bottom of the second drop alone give for a lovely heart pounding thrill and when you mix in the sweet moment of ejector airtime around half way through the outdoor section it’s fair to say that this coaster is by far one of the best additions to the island like no other in the last 15 years!
The indoor dark ride section however is a different beast entirely!
From leaving the station you will make your way past Jigsaw’s infamous counterpart astride his tricycle before descending (literally) past swinging blades, a spike ridden shelf, fully loaded cross bows and even one of his mutilated victims as you attempt to escape the warehouse ever hopeful you can make it out alive.
It’s when you make your way outside however that you truly realise just how much you still have to contend with.
It’s no secret however that most who have ridden it claim it to be one of the roughest attractions at the resort (and for the most part we can understand where they are coming from here), however putting that fact aside (as is a must in this case) Saw: The Ride really is a package experience.
This is due to the consistently immersive nature of the attraction from start to finish. The way you enter straight into the narrative from the minute you enter the queue line to the way you are left with the ever haunting message post ride that “the games have just begun” in our opinion helps to leave a truly lasting and very positive impression on all those who are brave enough to ride.
We would therefore go as far as to say that Saw: The Ride is up there with the likes of The Swarm and Stealth for us and it’s not hard to see why when you consider just how lasting the legacy of this attraction really is (especially considering the success of the former spin off live action horror maze – Saw Alive).
So the main question that remains is this? Next time you enter the island like no other and pass the boundaries of the Ancient City will you dare venture into the horror ridden labyrinth of one of horror’s most iconic serial killers and test your nerves against all he has to offer?! We know we certainly will and as such we can’t wait for the chance to do so once again!
Live or Die? MAKE YOUR CHOICE!!
