SAW - The Ride is the world's first ride themed to a
horror movie, and when it opened, boasted the steepest drop on a
coaster of 100°. It is located next to Samurai, and sits on reclaimed
land in its own area in the Park. With a height of 100ft, a heavily themed dark ride section, and 3 inversions throughout the ride, SAW is certainly
one of the Park's big tickets.
SAW is a Gerstlauer Eurofighter, which are peppy, reliable coasters characterised by their beyond-vertical drops. There are only 8
passengers per car; riders sit in 2 rows of 4, which allows the car to
make quite tight changes of direction. Our tip: try to get on the front row of the second car of the two for the best ride experience. SAW is as intense (and rough), if not more, than the other coasters at Thorpe. At points riders are put through 4.7G; more
than any other coaster in the Park!
The ride begins in Jigsaw's
(very well themed) warehouse, where riders first see the Billy puppet trundling along on a
tricycle, warning them of dangers ahead. The car then picks up pace, and hurtles towards a pair of
swinging axes and metal spikes. This is one of the best parts of ride;
guests get great airtime and a big shock as the car dives down to escape. Jigsaw has more traps in store: the car slows down for riders to be shot at by guns and
bows, and as the ride continues, riders
next see a rotting dead body on the floor. The train enters a zero-G
roll, so guests are hung upside down over the
corpse, and the body squirts "blood" up at the unsuspecting
riders! This indoor section is surely the best dark-ride attempt from the Park to date; a great opener for the coaster.
After this ordeal, the car shuttles out of the
warehouse, and riders' eyes have just enough time to adjust to the
daylight before they are confronted with a video message from Jigsaw,
and the car begins the ascent up to 100ft. This is where the real coaster
begins. Unlike Oblivion at Alton Towers, SAW cars do not wait at the
top before they hurtle down to the ground - and going down the drop, it
really does seem as if you are about to get impaled on the spinning
blades below! The train narrowly misses, and runs straight into the
immelman loop, before careering around the rest of the twisted track.
Particular highlights in the end section of the ride include the snappy
dive loop, which really disorientates, and the large airtime hill, which
provides another float-out-of-your-seat sensation.
Thorpe Park
have done a very good job with SAW. They have worked closely
with Twisted Pictures and Lionsgate to produce an authentic ride; some
of the detail in the theming of this attraction is quite stunning. This
has been a long time coming! Is it, as the marketing hype would have you believe, "the
world's most terrifying roller coaster"? Well, possibly not, but it is
certainly a quality attraction, and a terrific addition to Thorpe's
ever-growing coaster lineup.
"The best ride ever... so scary it was unbelievable. The inside drop made my belly shoot into my mouth! Brill ride - I wanna go on again and again!!"
Mitchell, London, UK.
"SAW was really brilliant. The deadly spikes in the first drop were awesome to dodge, and that first twist before coming out was really intense. The rest of the ride was hair-rasing!"
Michael, Essex, UK.
"This ride was amazing!! Strangely though I didn't find the main drop as scary as I thought I would... but still 10/10!!"
Naoise, Kent, UK.
"The best ride ever! The adrenaline rush at the drop and throughout the ride is amazing! 10/10!"
Matt, Kent, UK.
"Going on SAW - The Ride is probably the best thing I've ever done, the theming inside is incredible, and scary too!"
Jamal, Reading, UK.
"This ride is amazing; I'm going back to ride it again very soon!"
Regan, Somerset, UK.
"One of the best parts of the ride for me was surprisingly the first drop, thought it was a bit better than the main drop, but they were both very thrilling. I also loved the amount of airtime on the ride such as the main air time hill and the drop just before the dive loop going off the MCBR, which to me was a more intense weightless feeing than the main air time hill. Both drops had a nice pop of air. And the dive loop was a great ending to the ride. Pulled a lot of forces and made me stick into my seat. Top ride :)"
Freddy, Maidenhead, UK.
"Brilliant! If Colossus has the most inversions, then Saw has the BEST inversions! Terrifying but awesome! The theming is ace."
Tommy Murray, Bracknell, UK.
"A very well built ride in my opinion. Theming inside is fantastic, although I thought the outside queue was extremely boring. Great ride though, well done Thorpe Park!"
Matthew, Watford, UK.
"The buzz from SAW - The Ride is utterly amazing, it in a totally different league to everything else at Thorpe. One of the best rollerocasters ever - everything is perfectly executed."
Daniel, Basingstoke, UK.
"I've been on the ride now 7 times, and I've gotta say it's great fun inside and out :) It would be better if there were actors inside all the time, though. 8/10. "
Alex Doughty, Boston, UK.
"SAW - The Ride was literally immense. The two drops were simply amazing and the adrenaline rushes were great. The ride is well worth the wait. The shotguns and the videos of Jigsaw were also quite frightening... for some! 10/10!"
Matt G, Kent, UK.
"I thought there were good and bad things about Saw. Firstly, the queue is very dull and could have been livened up a bit more with something more themed to the movie. You have to wait to get inside the warehouse till you start seeing Billy the Puppet and shotguns hanging from the ceiling... However, once you get in the car, BE PREPARED. It starts off in the dark with Billy talking to you on his tricycle, then there is a big drop which feels bigger than the outside drop, and it's in the dark. Overall a very good ride, I just feel like the Saw theme isnt 'out there' enough, they could have done more...."
Stuart K, Bristol, UK.
"The scariest part of SAW was probably the shotguns in the queue! It's really loud and sudden! I loved the theming in the tunnel and I didn't expect to get squirted with 'blood'! A brilliant ride! 10/10 for me!"
Richard, Kent, UK.
"A superb ride, the theming was great. I loved the cop car outside the ride, with blood splattered everywhere, but I didnt get the idea of the mannequins hanging from the ceiling. I think it could have been scarier."
Jamie, Warwick, UK.
"An amazing ride. VERY well themed, and the inside was awesome. Could have had more traps though and been longer. Other than that, it was amazing."
Robert, Hertford, UK.
"The queue was a bit long but it was definitely worth the wait for this amazing Roller Coaster. It's a great ride with lots of cool inversions and the vertical drop is the best! It's one of the best rides I've ever been on!"
Jamie, London, UK.
"An awsome indoor queue line, and I liked the TVs with Billy on them too. An awesome ride - 10/10 for me!"
Mark, Kent, UK.
"The best part was the first drop, but we were disappointed with the rest of the ride. We found it to be quite rough and we kept bumping our heads on the headrest which resulted in us both having a headache at the end of the ride - it could have been a lot smoother like some of the rides in Florida. Also, the queue line was very boring and they could have done a lot more with it. We were left standing in the sun with no shade which is not very good considering the amount of time we had to queue! Due to lack of imagination and the smoothness of the ride, I would give this 4/10."
Elaine, Essex, UK.
"Best ride at Thorpe Park! The indoor part is so snappy and scary and the 100 degree drop really pulls your stomach out. On the drop going off the MCBR it was like the train had ended up on Stealth's launch!"
Brandon, London, UK.
"SAW was the scariest thing I have ever been on! I was sick when I got off as I had just eaten 20 hot dogs in a competition with my mates... I won of course!"
Miley Brestidge, Austria.
"A very good ride. World class, in my opinion, with death defying drops and loops and fantastic theming. KEEP IT UP MERLIN!"
Orlando, Kent, UK.
"I was so terrified, I couldn't close my eyes!! The inside part nearly made me throw up, and the drop was truly thrilling. Though, I may be 13 but even I could tell that the blood was fake and Jigsaw was plastic through and through. 9 out of 10 =]"
Beth, Kent, UK.
"I loved the ride so much and I want to go on it again. The only downer is the queue and I had to wait about an hour to go on it. However it was so worth the wait and I loved every minute of the ride!! Highly recommended in my opinion. 100 out of 10 is my rating!"
Carys Harkins, Hastings, UK.
"Loved the ride and highly recommend it. However it was a bit rough and could give you a sore neck or back! I wasn't expecting the first section in the dark so that was pretty exciting! 8/10"
Ronnie Wright, Reading, UK.
"Ride was quite rough and I spent most of the ride trying not to bang my head. Normally, I cant wait to get back onto most rollorcoasters, but I think I'll leave this one! I'd give it 2/10 for fun!"
Kev, London, UK.
"This ride contains some of the best inversions I have ever experienced, and the themeing is phenomenal, absolutely brilliant."
Max Wellington, Wokingham, UK.
"I loved SAW. We didn't have to queue for long and the queue line was really imaginative; the gun shots were particularly effective. The ride itself was amazing, going up you can't see where you're going - it's that steep! The drop down was immense, really gave you a rush of adrenaline. 10/10!"
Charlee, Tonbridge, UK.
"EPIC! I WAS SO SCARED AND SCREAMED SO LOUD, I LOST MY VOICE!"
Matilda Ledger, London, UK.
"I think the best parts are the 80° drop indoors, the 100° drop outdoors, and the airtime hill as your stomach drops and you lift out of your seat!"
Brandon, London, UK.
"This was the best ride I've ever been on! So well themed and spine tinglingly fun!"
Matthew Barnes, Basingstoke, UK.
"Well I think this is the most terrifying ride I've been on! The drop was outstanding, and the indoor section was spectacular! The layout was so twisted, it was just amazing! You creep up to the top of the "doesn't-give-you-much-time-to-think-about-it" lift and then get pure G-force in your face! I wouldn't pick on Jigsaw's voice too much as some people who ride coasters & don't watch the Saw series wouldn't know it was any different."
Ross, Dundee, UK.
"This is the best Eurofighter out there I think; it has a very good first drop. I went on the ride all day and it made me realise that Thorpe has done a first rate job, especially where the axe almost hits you! Riders always tend to put their heads down there. I'd give the ride 8/10 - it's varying reliability is the only thing that lets it down."
Nathan, Chesterfield, UK.
"I planned to leave my house to get to Thorpe Park a few hours earlier than planned to make sure my friends and I didn't have to wait for ages to get on Saw. The early morning waking up session was SO worth it. I can't stress how much fun I had on the ride - really terrifying and the drop was AMAZING! 10/10!"
Julie, London, UK.
"I get that everyone loves this ride, but I don't. My main problem with this ride is the length. It is far too short. After that big drop, it's practically over, as the rest of the ride is nothing special. In my opinion they paid more attention to the themeing rather than the actual track which the coaster relies on! Now don't get me wrong, the inside is good, with that pitch black drop and the in-line twist, but it doesn't make up for two hours of queueing!! What a waste of time."
Matt, London, UK.
"This ride is the best in the Park! The first drop is horrible when you just miss the spikes. The theming is great! 10/10"
Rowan, Whitchurch, UK.
"Awful - not because it's scary, it isn't so much, but because it's so uncomfortable. Nemesis / Colossus / Stealth all manage thrills without banging your head repeatedly from side to side, leaving you with a head and neckache; my husband agreed. Have ridden this twice now - thought I had to give it a second chance - but never again."
Rebecca, Epsom, UK
