Coaster-Fiend
Mega Poster
Picked the perfect date yesterday for a trip to Staines finest- less than 3k park guests and the weather was good. Queue times never exceeded 5 mins and a lot of stuff was walk on inc Swarm and Stealth for most of the morning. The only bummer- SAW was closed all day. by 5PM I was utterly shattered having clocked 29 rides in total, my bro had done 31. Ride breakdown-
The Swarm x8
Nemesis x3
Stealth x9
X x2
Colossos x2
Loggers x3
Teacups x1
Rapids x1
My take on The Swarm-
Theming- the theming is EXCELLENT. I can't think of many coasters that have this much put into the theming. I mean, there's half of a commercial airliner strewn across the track! Plus a trashed firetruck, a mock up helicopter and the blown out church style station building. It's quite impressive. Inside the station as a new train arrives a screeching metal sound plays through the PA and the effect is very cool. My only negative about the site (and it's not really a negative) is that land upon which it's built has just been left as upturned earth. No grass has been laid, it hasn't been patted down, essentially it still looks a bit like a building site. But of course this lends itself to the theme of destruction and within a few seasons it will be covered in weeds anyway which imo will look a bit better.
Ride- the lift hill provides a cool visual of the seemingly vertical drop and as you crest the lift hill and the train flips depending on what side of the train you are on you will either be way above the track or way below it.
The drop provides a good bit of air and after that the main aspect that stands out for me about this coaster is the interaction with the scenery. The 100ft zero G is a highlight as is the inline twist at the end of the layout over the station. Obviously it's turns are not as tight as Nemesis Inferno, so it's not really as intense as that ride in terms of the way it changes direction, but you get some good hits of air and the visuals are great. Also the back row is by far the best on this ride. The air on the drop increases and you briefly lose your stomach on the zero G when rode on the back. Overall I'd give The Swarm 8/10. it's not amazing, but all things considered it's very good and on a par with Stealth as best ride in the park.
Side note- The Swarm's ORP card cases are crap. Uninspired designs front and back in a low res pixelated presentation, where you can barely see any of the ride WTF\?
The Swarm x8
Nemesis x3
Stealth x9
X x2
Colossos x2
Loggers x3
Teacups x1
Rapids x1
My take on The Swarm-
Theming- the theming is EXCELLENT. I can't think of many coasters that have this much put into the theming. I mean, there's half of a commercial airliner strewn across the track! Plus a trashed firetruck, a mock up helicopter and the blown out church style station building. It's quite impressive. Inside the station as a new train arrives a screeching metal sound plays through the PA and the effect is very cool. My only negative about the site (and it's not really a negative) is that land upon which it's built has just been left as upturned earth. No grass has been laid, it hasn't been patted down, essentially it still looks a bit like a building site. But of course this lends itself to the theme of destruction and within a few seasons it will be covered in weeds anyway which imo will look a bit better.
Ride- the lift hill provides a cool visual of the seemingly vertical drop and as you crest the lift hill and the train flips depending on what side of the train you are on you will either be way above the track or way below it.
The drop provides a good bit of air and after that the main aspect that stands out for me about this coaster is the interaction with the scenery. The 100ft zero G is a highlight as is the inline twist at the end of the layout over the station. Obviously it's turns are not as tight as Nemesis Inferno, so it's not really as intense as that ride in terms of the way it changes direction, but you get some good hits of air and the visuals are great. Also the back row is by far the best on this ride. The air on the drop increases and you briefly lose your stomach on the zero G when rode on the back. Overall I'd give The Swarm 8/10. it's not amazing, but all things considered it's very good and on a par with Stealth as best ride in the park.
Side note- The Swarm's ORP card cases are crap. Uninspired designs front and back in a low res pixelated presentation, where you can barely see any of the ride WTF\?
