March 19, 201312 yr comment_153575 Listening to capital today THE SWARM advert seems to be on every ad break seems good I think they've done alright with it
March 19, 201312 yr comment_153581 I went on 14th March and it was empty (well apart from when Liam from One Direction and his chums stopped the rides to ride alone!), got to ride Swarm front and back 3 times. To be totally honest, I still enjoyed the front much more than the back, the first turn being at the front is amazing but not so much at the back, I didn't get the same feeling! and I didn't really get the same feeling going round facing backwards and not seeing the near misses and what was coming up. So for me, although going backwards is fun, I would still rather queue up to go at the very front! Definately not paying fast track to go backwards! Em x
March 19, 201312 yr comment_153591 Seems like mixed opinions on the backwards rows, I will have to see what it is like when I go on Sunday cos you got mer who says its amazing and is as good if not better then the forwards rows and then you got people like you emmaxr2i who were a tad disappointed with it and prefer the forwards rows. Looking forward to both and I will give me opinion soon
March 19, 201312 yr comment_153604 Here is a video of the swarm radio advert if anyone is interested http://youtu.be/I9ZSDJ0xQi8
March 19, 201312 yr comment_153622 My first ride on The Swarm was front row - AMAZING! I wouldn't even attempt going backwards - it would be very unfair on who-ever was sitting next to me as I would definitely be ill! I am being really lazy by not going and looking at past posts but what would you guys say is the best side to sit on?? I only did left hand side - front row first, then 4 consecutive goes on 2nd row Did you not ride it lat year? As for the side to sit on, I say left, mainly because the dive drop is awesome! Obviously the front row is the best but any row on the left is good. On the right it feels stranged to be flipped up through the dive drop, still awesome though.
March 19, 201312 yr comment_153665 http://look-at-this-now.co.uk/skxh8 Wonder what this could be.. Good one Thorpe, good one.
March 19, 201312 yr comment_153670 That video is good marketing - it's a shame the videos on the queueline TV's are so unconvincing and don't give off any sense of panic. They should be like this!
March 19, 201312 yr comment_153700 When we were there on AP day the screens weren't even running the news video. It was just a static (in comparison) image on them.
March 20, 201312 yr Author comment_153825 Just as a random question, does anyone know if backwards ORPs will be avaliable at all during the year?
March 20, 201312 yr comment_153828 Have definitely been told by someone that no, they won't. But I can not remember who said that so it might be totally wrong info. That doesn't help much, does it?
March 21, 201312 yr comment_153991 Posted on TPMs FB page. It seems that the winning slogan has made an appearance.
March 21, 201312 yr Author comment_154005 So, was able to ride Swarm today, and was able to do 5 rides. First of all, the billboard. Absolutely great addition. Good near miss, and good secondary near miss when you're on the left hand side. Adds to what is already a brilliant ride. Some may moan that it's needless or just 'another big thematic element', but it work well. And when you're on a ride with fire, well, it makes it all the better. It just works so well. Now then, the backwards rows. I was able to try back right and back left. After my first go, I wasn't sold on the idea. The first drop was good (because the first drop has been designed to be good), and the corkscrew was a surprisingly great feature, but other than that, I wasn't over the moon about it. It was still a great experience, but that's because the 'track and train' features of Swarm are a great experience. I did it later on in the day, and I think I appreciated it more. However, it loses the key feature of the Swarm - the theming. I don't care if you can see the theming elements after you pass them, you lose the effect of them. There's no way you can add 'backwards near misses' either, so you lose the key aspect of Swarm's experience. And, no matter how well it rides backwards, it doesn't compensate the loss of effect. As for the queueing of it, all I can say is I'm not looking forward to it when it's busy. I think they've handled they queueing outside the station okay, but inside will be difficult. Even with VERY short queues today, it was hard for people to get to the backwards rows with their backwards passes, and some people seemed to have lost the ability to use common sense / listen to instructions. Throw in backwards Fastrack, people waiting long periods of time and whatever else, I fear it could well fail. But only time will tell I guess. A couple more points. All effects were working today (including the mist under the plane wing - first time I've seen that working since May time?) bar the water skin behind the fire truck. The fire effect was going off periodically, not every train, but was catching irregularly. Going backwards didn't make me feel queasy or anything at all; felt fine all the way through.. Also, after my first go (which was going forwards), I was reminded just why I love this ride so much. It mixes elegance, force, theming, effects, everything into one. It's perfectly paced and, whilst a little on the short side, doesn't leave you feeling short changed. It is just pure brilliance. The way the near misses work as well is just phenomenal - from the way you curve into billboard (after being distracted by fire if you're lucky), to the way the helicopter blades catch you off guard as they look unassuming (I think I was quickly desensitised to that last season though!), to missing the corner of the billboard that's been chopped off. It all just works so, so well. I'll do a blog entry about this in a bit more detail soon, with specific comparsions between forwards and backwards, and furhter justifying these ratings... The Swarm (Forwards) - 10/10 The Swarm (Backwards) - 8.5/10
March 21, 201312 yr comment_154010 Passes for the backwards rows? They weren't using them yesterday, probably because it was so quiet.
March 21, 201312 yr comment_154041 We didn't need passes for the back rows, I check with Guest services if these were needed and they said they were not. But the signage states you need a ticket which is very confusing. did the front and back rows 9/10 for Front (would be 10 if the fire ever went off when I was on the ride), back 5/10, done it once won't do it again.
March 21, 201312 yr comment_154046 Terrifying mutated flight of your life http://www.look-at-this-now.co.uk/2rj0u
March 25, 201312 yr comment_154350 So Thorpe are advertising the Swarm via the Coca-Cola electronic billboard in Piccadilly Circus with a 2-4-1 ticket offer...
March 25, 201312 yr comment_154351 So Thorpe are advertising the Swarm via the Coca-Cola electronic billboard in Piccadilly Circus with a 2-4-1 ticket offer... And through kiss FM, they seem to decided to have advertised the crash pad aswell on a swarm show...
March 25, 201312 yr comment_154352 And through kiss FM, they seem to decided to have advertised the crash pad aswell on a swarm show...
March 25, 201312 yr comment_154353 Am I the only one wanting A more fleshed out Story line For the Swarm Like a 30min movie in the time voyagers theater
March 25, 201312 yr comment_154358 So Thorpe are advertising the Swarm via the Coca-Cola electronic billboard in Piccadilly Circus with a 2-4-1 ticket offer...Lame, desperate. They put in a £20m coaster and in its second year they promote it like this.P-lease!
March 25, 201312 yr comment_154360 Oh please, they've been doing two for ones every year for years now. Get with the times! Marketing is a massive deal for all attractions worldwide and Piccadilly Circus is an awesome spot to advertise particularly when thorpe have a cracking contract with thorpe that's even going years now.
March 25, 201312 yr comment_154364 Advertising in one (if not THE) busiest area in central London... FFS THORPE YOU IDIOTS!
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.