Total Thorpe Park - Park Guide

The Swarm is the UK's first Wing coaster, and provides an immersive ride experience from start to finish.

The Swarm was the world's first rollercoaster to have a dedicated single released for it! You Me At Six wrote and composed top 40 hit "The Swarm", and it's now available to download Amazon MP3 for just 89p! Just click on the link below to purchase.

See our month-by-month Swarm construction gallery in the Total Thorpe Park Archive:

The Swarm is the first Bolliger and Mabillard roller coaster to open in the UK for 9 years, the last being 2003's Nemesis Inferno. Bolliger and Mabillard have a reputation for smooth, reliable rides and as with Nemesis Inferno, The Swarm is no exception. It is without doubt one of Thorpe's best rides.

Thorpe Park seem to have a penchant for death and destruction, with SAW: The Ride in 2009, and 2000's Tidal Wave and Amity Cove before that. The Swarm continues this theme, and is set on its own desecrated island to the very right of the Park. What is immediately apparent to guests entering the area is how much thought and detail has gone into the themeing. It is quite superb.

"The Swarm" are an alien race and have launched an attack on the Park. Riding on the wings of "The Swarm", guests hurtle under a crashed plane wing, skim around the rotating blades of a ditched helicopter, and narrowly miss a water explosion caused by a trashed fire engine. The whole area has been wonderfully designed. The station itself is an abandoned church, with the ride control booth being an upturned police van. Queueline TVs show News 16's coverage of the alien attack, with a studio newswoman cutting to increasingly harassed roving reporters. Even the on-ride photo booth and games stall are situated in crashed vehicles. It all helps create the story and immerse guests in the ride experience - truly impressive stuff.

And what of the ride itself? Whilst not being the most intense coaster in the Park (Stealth and SAW take that crown), it's a lot of fun. The standout moment is the initial inversion, where riders are slowly taken upside down at 127ft and then dropped under the plane wing. It's quite a unique feeling, and certainly the most memorable. Following this, the train enters the zero-G roll (which itself is as high as Colossus' first drop), and dives down into the inclined loop. This inclined loop doesn't offer the same thrill as a normal loop-the-loop, but allows riders a breather before the train enters the helix around the helicopter. This a great set-piece, especially for those sitting on the right side of the train - here riders can nearly reach out and touch the water.

The corkscrew which follows is good fun, and is taken less slowly than the zero-G roll before it. The train then sweeps down past a fire engine which triggers a water splash element, before turning through the abandoned church into the inline twist over the waiting guests below. The brake run signals the end of the ride. It's worth noting that more so than with other coasters, the ride experience on The Swam differs according to which seat you get. Front row obviously offers the best views, but the back row on the right hand side is for us the preferred choice - it's the most intense, flips you over rather than under the first inversion, and gives you that helicopter water skim!

As for faults, there are very few. While its track length is similar to Nemesis Inferno's, The Swarm might feel a little short. Given the Wing-Rider seating, it could also offer more "near-miss" experiences than it does. Ultimately though, whichever way you slice it, The Swarm is an £18m triumph for the Park. It's hugely re-rideable, superbly presented, and thoroughly deserves 5 stars.

"The Swarm is an excellent ride, with possibly the best theming in the country. While it's not too intense, the ride is incredibly smooth, and delivers a fantastic experience. I'd recommend it to any roller coaster fan."
Richard, Kent, UK.

"Left this to the end of the day and wasn't disappointed. Fab ride on a par with Air at AT. The initial slow turn and first drop are superb. My favourite along with Colossus. 5 Stars."
Micky Cotton, Ledbury, UK.

"Thorpe Park have done a really great job with this one. The inversions are incredible, the themeing is superb and as already mentioned, it is hugely re-rideable. One of Thorpe's best. You simply can not miss out!"
Matt, London, UK.

"This is one of the best rides in Thorpe Park. It has a tremendous theme to it. I don't think it's for the faint hearted though - but a brilliant atmosphere."
Jay, UK.

"Positives: smooth, love the sound, themeing is great fun, those headchopper effects, the zero g roll, and the "Thorpe Park" inversion. Negitives: the water splash and fire effects don't yet work very well, and it's a little on the short side. But it is NOT too slow! The Wing Rider coaster makes you feel like you're going somewhere rather than just wizzing around in the air! Great stuff."
Jamie Linney, Surrey, UK.

"Man, The Swarm is one seriously hair-raising coaster! The inversions are incredible, like no other coaster in the Park! Great job Thorpe!"
Tommy Murray, Bracknell, UK.

"Loved The Swarm, shame there is not a lot of themeing around the helicopter area as this would help - and if the train went though the airplane fuselage, that would be amazing."
J Culver, Hook, UK.

"I tried to ride Swarm yesterday but was unable to ride because they couldn't close the restraint enough to insert the belt into the harness. The secondary restraint buckle is the shortest I have seen on any B&M rollercoaster being about 4 inches long. I have a 52 inch chest and the belt was a good 3 inches away from the buckle. I would estimate that the actual max chest dimension is closer to 46 inches."
Alan Prior, Bracknell, UK.