Jump to content

Saw: The Ride

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Makron1n (talk | contribs) at 02:03, 23 March 2009 (→‎Ride experience: Mostly minor text changes, some rewording). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

SAW: The Ride
The 100ft beyond vertical drop and Immelmann Loop. Under construction on 28 October 2008
Thorpe Park
LocationThorpe Park
Park sectionCanada Creek
StatusOperating
Opening dateMarch 14, 2009
Cost£13.5 million
General statistics
TypeSteel
ManufacturerGerstlauer
DesignerJohn Wardley
ModelEurofighter
Track layoutCustom
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Inversions3
Duration1:40
Max vertical angle100°
Capacity1,100 riders per hour
G-force4.7

Saw: The Ride is the name of a custom Euro-Fighter roller coaster in the Canada Creek area of Thorpe Park, a UK theme park. It is themed and based around the Saw horror film franchise. The roller coaster is similar in style to Speed, located at Oakwood Theme Park and Mystery Mine at Dollywood. The codename 'Project Dylan' was used during construction, the real name and details of the ride being announced on 13 October 2008. The ride opened to the public on Saturday 14 March 2009, although people who won a competition held by Thorpe Park entitled "Disciples of Jigsaw", along with those with an annual pass, were able to ride on the 13 March 2009, one day earlier than the public.

Ride experience

The ride starts with an indoor section, where riders pass Jigsaw's equipment and a Billy doll on his tricycle, who laughs at you as the train passes by. Riders then come across two swinging blades which appear to get closer, before a previously unseen drop saves the riders from hitting them. The train travels along a straight piece of track and the riders are blasted with air. Large spikes are seen ahead, though the train misses them by ducking down another drop. The train goes into a barrel roll, as riders can see one of Jigsaw's victims. 'Blood' is sprayed at the train from the body, then the train exits the building and travels towards the 100ft vertical lift hill.

Before going up, riders pass two large TV screens and a digital clock. When the digital clock counts down to zero, Billy appears on the TVs and Jigsaw says "Game over". Billy's evil laugh can be heard as the train travels upwards. The cars then dive down the 100° drop (reaching 55 miles per hour) and pass under large spinning blades. The second inversion then takes place, an Immelmann loop, which delivers three seconds of weightlessness. The on-ride photos are taken as the cars rise to the left into a set of brakes. Then they descend a steep drop into a dive loop and the ride ends with a banked turn into the final brake run. The train makes a turn to the right into the station to be unloaded.

Theming

The ride is themed entirely around the "Saw" film series. It is the only roller coaster in the world to be themed on a horror/torture movie. There were original plans to theme it around a haunted sawmill, but this has since been altered into an abandoned warehouse, the workshop of The Saw series' main character: 'Jigsaw'. It was rumoured that the ride will be restricted to over 15 year olds only, due to the horror-style experience, but Thorpe Park has simply placed a "recommendation" that over 12 year old children enter the ride.[1]

Incidents

The new Saw: The Ride Under construction on 28 October 2008

On 11 March 2009, the ride was scheduled to be launched by a group of invited celebrities. The ride experienced a delay, a barrier shut-down and a subsequent stop, blamed by park officials on a computer programming error. Paramedics were called when one woman had a panic attack. [2]

On 14 March 2009, the ride was scheduled to officially open to the public. However, less than two hours after the park's opening, the ride was shut down due to technical difficulties and did not re-open for the remainder of the day. Thorpe Park offered complimentary tickets to all guests who had bought tickets at the gate, and free priority passes for the ride to all annual pass holders.

On 21 March 2009, the on train stopped right before the drop at the top of the lift hill. The riders waited for about 10 minutes, and then the ride operated again. The ride was shut for a few hours but then reopened for the last 30 mins then broke down and re opened again after 5 with the remaining people in the que line to ride. The riders were offered ultimate fastrack wristbands for the rest of the day.

References

  1. ^ "THORPE PARK - In 2009, THORPE PARK unleashes extreme terror, SAW - The Ride". Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  2. ^ "Panic on world's scariest ride". Daily Express online, Friday 13 March. Available at: http://express.co.uk/posts/view/89083/Panic-on-world-s-scariest-ride

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saw:_The_Ride&oldid=279065399"