The Swarm or Mandrill Mayhem; which UK B&M Wing Coaster do you prefer?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. After the recent opening of the World of Jumanji at Chessington, the UK now has two B&M Wing Coasters; The Swarm at Thorpe Park and Mandrill Mayhem at Chessington World of Adventures. These two rides are quite different, and are aimed at different markets; Swarm is an extreme thrill ride, while Mandrill Mayhem is aimed more at families and intended as a starter thrill ride. Indeed, I can imagine that many of you think I’ve lost my marbles by even comparing the two; I can hear you all saying “Swarm is the extreme thrill ride, so that’s obviously going to win with enthusiasts!” from here. With that being said, I have heard a fair few people saying that they prefer Mandrill Mayhem to The Swarm, so I’d be interested to know; do you prefer The Swarm or Mandrill Mayhem out of the UK’s two B&M Wing Coasters?

Personally, I haven’t ridden Mandrill Mayhem yet, so can’t vote on this poll.

However, The Swarm is a ride I used to absolutely love, but have grown to not like as much over time, with the tight vest restraints and rattle increasingly bothering me. With that said, that wing over drop and final inversion are just sublime, and the sense of speed it has is just amazing! I’ll be very interested to see how Mandrill Mayhem stacks up by comparison.

But I’d be keen to know; which of the UK’s B&M Wing Coasters do you prefer? Are you a Swarm fan, or is Mandrill Mayhem more your style?

 

[JoshC.]

Swarm by a country mile.

Mandrill is uncomfortable and bouncy. Swarm is much smoother.

Swarm has better theming, audio and is an all round better experience.

The 'thrill' vs 'family thrill' discussion doesn't come into it for me. Swarm is just simply so much better.

 

[Howie]

Indeed, I can imagine that many of you think I’ve lost my marbles by even comparing the two

You nailed it there my friend.
I mean, just out of fairness, I won't vote until I've ridden Mandrill... but unless I too lose my marbles in the interim, I'm 99.9% certain which way it'll go.

 

[Hixee]

Swarm. That is all.

 

[I'veGotFourB&MsInMyGarden]

I haven't had the opportunity to ride MM yet however those launches (especially the first one) look intriguingly punchy. Just like Matt N, I used to love The Swarm. It used to be my number 1 at Thorpe however has slowly been surpassed by Inferno, SAW and even Colossus. The last time I rode it I found that the bounce on the outer seats had become a lot more noticeable. Given that I've heard that MM has quite a severe bounce to it, I don't really know how I would find it. I would guess that I'd ever so slightly prefer The Swarm. Maybe? But I will refrain from voting until I have ridden it (which I plan to do sometime soon).

 

[CineramaMax]

I didn't find Mandrill to be too bouncy at all. It's definitely the smoothest and most re-rideable coaster at Chessington. I think people set their standards way too high in terms of how smooth a rollercoaster has to be. A very minute rattle does not equal a terribly rough ride. There are some truly rough coasters out there, we can all name a few as well travelled enthusiasts.