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SAW: The Ride


Mark9

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I found SAW to be one of the best rides in the park but I have to say it didn't particularly rival Stealth for me - though, it was my first time riding Stealth yesterday. Gosh, I'm late!The biggest problem with SAW is, as we all know, the frequent downtime. I queued for two hours and just as we got close to getting inside, it broke down, giving us an extra fifteen minutes of standing / sitting around. But I suppose that compared to some of the stories I've heard, this actually wasn't that bad. ;DThe theming outside was definitely overrated - they had some good ideas, granted, but one piece of "torture weapon" really did ruin it for me; the metal was rusted and looked old just as it was supposed to, but the wood it was mounted on looked brand new. Not very important, but, still. ;DMyself and my group found the countdown at the loading station to be a good way to rack up some more tension, especially since it was perfect - every train left the station as the countdown reached zero. I especially liked the water that spurts out of the "body" as you go through the corkscrew toward the end of the inside section of the ride, though somehow I don't think the water will last very long, and it'll just follow down the path of the vast majority of Thorpe effects. I have hopes for the guns at the beginning of the inside queueline though, as they made everyone jump! ;DFinally, we did NOT know we were being filmed! ;D It was the funniest thing in the world, seeing us riding it, but £12 for about two minutes of footage? No, thank you.All in all, I think Thorpe did a great job on SAW - and even if it was terrible, they're getting huge amounts of people coming to the park with the sole intention of riding it. I don't think it'll beat Stealth, though, as SAW will get old faster than Stealth will. :P:D

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Does anyone else agree that instead of "Billy" on his bike at the start talking to you he should be on a T.V. screen like you are in a trap, becuase Billy never actually appears on his bike in the traps that I have seen if that makes sense, also some people cannot see Billy that well when everyone is looking at him another reason why it should be on a T.V. screen.

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I see what your saying TimR, but if they were to add yet another TV with Billy there would just be too many. It's nice to have an actual animatronic that comes out at you. Also, I dont think implementing yet another TV would be a good idea, the ones before the lift hill are dead, and the ones that are on the stairs as you exit are tempremental.

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In my opinion Saw isn't even the best themed ride at Thorpe, it doesn't even hold a candle to Rattlesnake, Runaway Train, Dragon Falls, Nemesis, Hex, Valhalla, Tomb Blaster, let alone some of Europe's finest rides.Saw is good for Thorpe standards, but lets not pretend that outside of the warehouse, it's well themed because it quite simply isn't.

I really agree. The warehouse is themed very well. But the plaza seems bare.
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So...Mark what is the best themed ride at Thorpe Park?The only ride I can think of is Tidal Wave.SAW does hold a candle to Dragon Falls, Tomb Blaster and Runaway Train especially 2 of the mentioned are peeling away. Ordinary warehouses don't look like that in the UK.

Right, this is exactly my point. Saw is just a warehouse. It's a lovely, well designed station and the queueline is lovely but for what is supposed to be a 13 million pound attraction turns into a rollercoaster that is void of any kind of Saw detail. You say that Falls, Rattlesnake and Runaway are peeling away and I agree. However can you seriously argue that the old look takes away so much from the ride that the theme isn't apparent. For instance, take Rattlesnake. You enter through a belltower, the queue takes you around walls with rattlesnakes around, past Mexican animatronics, down into the main pit of the ride, through two shed filled with theming, a guy in a barrel, fire and light effects. You go through a small cave with another Rattlesnake before passing into another Shed with various impliments before entering the shed station. Then on the ride you go above the ride before plunging past a water tower, up and over the ride, through different sheds, over the main station before diving back into the main ride area. On Runaway the queue line is built as a staircase, around a central boiler. The queue-line takes you under the ride up and through the middle of the helix. The ride itself takes you up and through the rockwork.Dragon Falls plunges you between two face walls, into the mouth of a dragon, a beautifully designed station which is the pride of old Tussauds, A Buddha, a well designed ride.All the arguments that Saw looks better at the moment are absolute crap, of course it bloody does, its only been open for two months. When its been open for maybe 20 years, then you can start saying Runaway train looks crap. We're ignore the fact that for instance the indoor bit is completely in the dark so doesn't need as much detail whereas Rattlesnake, as a ride completely out in the open is far more thoroughly themed from top to bottom. We shall ignore the criticism of the lack of theming on Dragon Falls (What the hell is that about anyway). Saw is a nicely themed ride, but there is no way in hell its AMAZINGLY themed.
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Mark, you're on the right track - and may I also add that Saw isn't the best coaster to come out of Thorpe. Look at it's inversions, very basic, except for 3 different sections which I rather like.

Thats exactly why I think Stealth is better.
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People say SRQ is quicker.... but on the saturday before bank holiday weekend the SRQ was taking ages. In 20 minutes 1 person went through and there were like 11 people ahead. So 1 every 20 mins would be same as normal que... even longer. All depends on number of 3 and those SR in the actual que line, because they get priority.

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Also, I do believe that the second car has slightly longer to wait at the bottom of the lift hill compared to the first, yeah?I must say, honestly, I feel that SAW is going to be one of those rides that will get better with age. I mean, at the moment, we've got a roller coaster which is meant to be set in a derelict warehouse, yet everything feels new - because it is new. In 10 years, say, the ride might seem much better as the overall theming has had chance to 'wear' a bit, and thus go into the slightly more darker theme...

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