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Swarm

What is your opinion of Swarm?

  • Outstanding

    Votes: 5 18.5%

  • Great

    Votes: 11 40.7%

  • Good

    Votes: 9 33.3%

  • Average

    Votes: 2 7.4%

  • Not Great

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Poor

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Heuughhhhh.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    27
SaiyanHajime

SaiyanHajime

CF Legend
I know we have a topic already, but I wanted to see the data in poll form. Not only that, but the ride has had time to settle in now, so it would be great to see how opinions have changed from the first few weeks. When we all went for the CF-Live, the majority of people were very impressed.

I thought the general consensus, amongst enthusiasts at least, was that Swarm is pretty damn good, but the public's opinion seems to be that it's boring. Now coming to realise that even amongst enthusiasts, it's not been well received... Which is beyond me! Maybe it's just a case of different sites having different taste as a collective, and I was just paying attention to CF... Or maybe I wasn't paying attention, so I wanna check what you guys think. :P Thorpe Park rides are typically difficult to get a feel for the general consensus on, because we get a lot of overrating from locals who haven't traveled and unnecessary bashing from Alton fans, so lets just see how this goes...

If you could vote and then just add a few relevant comments, that would be fantastic!

I think Swarm genuinely very, very good... And given where it is, it's pretty outstanding. I've gone for "great" because it's not really good enough to mingle with the world's best, but it's by far one of few quality rides on offer in the UK. It's an interesting ride that actually has some solid qualities that I wasn't expecting, whether or not it'll hold up to the test of time I'm unsure though, with a similar one already built in the States.
 
I liked it, I wouldn't put it up there with the B&M floorless/sitdown model's I've ridden, but it's a good ride. The one thing that unfortunately put's me off is the feeling of nauseousness during and getting off the ride, I only seem to get this on a couple of coaster's which is a relief, the other being Inferno and anything that spins!

So to sum it up, a fun short layout, fantastic first inversion, some good forces, some really strong themeing in places and enjoyable ride interaction.

It deserves a 'good' vote.
 
Joey said:
I think Swarm genuinely very, very good... And given where it is, it's pretty outstanding. I've gone for "great" because it's not really good enough to mingle with the world's best, but it's by far one of few quality rides on offer in the UK. It's an interesting ride that actually has some solid qualities that I wasn't expecting, whether or not it'll hold up to the test of time I'm unsure though, with a similar one already built in the States.
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I think this is the crux of it for me. Swarm is very good - for the UK. I think they layout is good (a little short) and I think the theming is alright (they don't make enough of the close calls in my opinion) and I do really like the station. It's by far the best addition we've had in the UK in years, but does that mean it's really an outstanding ride? Not for me it doesn't.

It's getting a 'Good' rating from me. It's a brilliant addition for Thorpe Park and the UK in general and it's fun ride with some good forces and enjoyable elements. The wing-coaster trains are great and I love the sensation of being hung out on the edge and flipped around. However even among the wing-coasters I can't see how this wouldn't be the weakest of them, let alone the rest of B&Ms line-up. And that's only one manufacturer...
 
What Hixee said, pretty much. It's good and probably my favourite ride at Thorpe, but as I don't rate any of the other rides there (apart from N:I) it's hardly a glowing appraisal ;)

I think it's the best UK addition for years and years, but that says more about the sorry state of coaster installs in the UK ;)
 
Like I've said in every other Swarm topic, my main issue with Swarm is that it promised some of the best theming ever and in my opinion it just didn't deliver. I just don't believe I'm in a small English town, if there had been maybe some facades of like, a Post Office, or a Co-Op, things like that, like, actual buildings I think the whole experience would have been so much more immersive and therefore more enjoyable for me.

In terms on the coaster, I love the first drop and zero-g, but the rest of it I find a bit boring, it's too short and just doesn't do enough in the second half. So I've chosen good, mainly for the failed potential.
 
When I rode it in March on the Live, I thought it was a bit... meh. But when I jumped back on it last week, it felt MUCH more intense. Like... a lot more! I found myself with my head pinned down on some of the elements, which I was very surprised by!

It is, however, quite short and as Jordan has just said, the theming is good but didn't blow me away. My favourite parts? The first drop, zero-g, inline twist and definately the low lying corner after the inclined loop.

I rated it 'great' because although I love it, it just doesn't compare to the likes of Nemesis for me...
 
It's great fun, VERY reridable and probably my favourite coaster at the park but just like pretty much everything else in the UK it's way too short...around 45 seconds I think. It's just pathetic really.

It's good for England, but just that. Still a step in the right direction though, we need more big thrill coasters instead of the family friendly ones we usually get. I'm giving it a "good".

I'd like to echo Ethan's comment, it's gotten more intense as the wheels have worn in. Well, I could be talking crap but it certainly feels like it has.
 
A sign of a good coaster addition is when you find yourself wondering "what did I used to do all day in this park before that coaster was here?!" After 3 visits this year, I am at that point with Swarm. It's great fun. It's intense in places. Its' smoothness makes it the most re-ride-able coaster in the park. It doesn't bash you around or give you a head ache as soon as you come off. The trains look beautiful.

I've rated it as 'great' for these reasons; but it would have been 'outstanding' if the coaster were slightly longer; with a nice non-inverted drop squeezed in somewhere before the corkscrew, just to give another dose of that 'swooping' feeling you get on a wingrider.

I appreciate the efforts made with Swarms theme, but still don't find its' story particularly immersing; perhaps because The Swarm island doesn't feel secluded enough from the rest of the park. Steath, Tidal Wave, Flying Fish and Depth Charge interrupt the tense atmosphere they have tried to create. Plus, with all the rain we've had, I bet they're regretting building that open air station!

A popular criticism of Swarm seems to be that the ride is not that intense. But I see this as a good thing. It was a better move to add a new, unique ride experience to the UK rather than simply another face melting thrill machine.
 
Hixee said:
I think this is the crux of it for me. Swarm is very good - for the UK. I think they layout is good (a little short) and I think the theming is alright (they don't make enough of the close calls in my opinion) and I do really like the station. It's by far the best addition we've had in the UK in years, but does that mean it's really an outstanding ride? Not for me it doesn't.

It's getting a 'Good' rating from me. It's a brilliant addition for Thorpe Park and the UK in general and it's fun ride with some good forces and enjoyable elements. The wing-coaster trains are great and I love the sensation of being hung out on the edge and flipped around. However even among the wing-coasters I can't see how this wouldn't be the weakest of them, let alone the rest of B&Ms line-up. And that's only one manufacturer...
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<3.
 
As we all know, I'm not exactly given to praise, but for me, Swarm FINALLY makes Thorpe worth visiting, whereas I've happily avoided it in the past. Furthermore, I'd say a 9/10 and a '2nd best coaster in the UK' definitely equates to Outstanding - I'll agree there's better on the continent, and that I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing what more can be done with the Wingrider concept now that a company with some idea of how to make rollercoasters has got involved with it, but that doesn't detract at all.

Unlike those bloody metal cages on the outside seats. Those are annoying.
 
Those metal cages (they're on the inside btw :wink:) are there to stop your leg coming into contact with the track and getting ripped off. They're annoyingly intrusive but if you sit in an inside seat right at the front it literally looks like your foot is about to touch the track - so they kind of need to be there!

I'll never forget sitting next to you on your first go, your reaction to the first drop was "...Oh hello!!! *big grin*" haha!
 
I went for good.

I really do like the coaster and for the UK its probably the 2nd best coaster we have.

But as people have said the theming is ok but there could be more choppers. I love the 1st drop and some of the turns plus the part over the station.

I just find the outside seats a bit to bouncy for me, hurts my back a bit :(

But like Inferno it ends far to early when it has enough speed to carry on a bit more.

It the best coaster at Thorpe but I can only vote it good as there are better coasters in the world I have been on. They done a great job with it but as normal with Merlin I just feel they could have done that little bit more and just fell short of delivering its full potential.

It has set a standard for UK themed coasters though that I hope continues.

I have not been on it since they added lights and fire.

To help you Joey a few people at work went and their kids did and thought it was boring and wondered why I liked it. They all preferred Stealth and Collosus. One of their sons queues 2 hours and said it was a complete waste of time and did not bother with it again. I asked where they rode and they got put in the middle and most of us have found this the worst place tbh.

I dont tend to listen to what other sites say after going on coasters they rate highly to find out they are not good, and stuff I like they hate. Some people hate The Swarm simply due to the fact of where it is, but if it was at Flamingoland they would love it even if it had no theme.
 
One thing I like about all the wing coasters is that slow twist into the drop, looks like fun.

Are the rides more forceful, being on the sides like that?
 
^ Only two of the wing coasters have a twist and dive element... and I personally wouldn't say being beside the track makes it more forceful. Except for on the inline twists.
 
Sorry, but I dont get all these "its good for the UK" comments... its as if all we have is **** Wacky Worms and Go-Gators!
 
^I only say that because it's good, but suffers the same shortness as pretty much all our other ones. Plus, while I haven't done any foreign parks, in my opinion I think that most European and American parks have much better, longer rides than us.

If you compare our recent additions like Ben10, Th13teen, Kiddie Koasta or Zooooom to things like Oz'Iris, Skyrush, Leviathan, Blue Fire, Mountain Flyer or even Verbolten...then that's where my criticism of our rides comes from. To me most our coasters have a sort of half-arsed "that'll do" feeling to them, and are over far too quick.

Mind you, Nemesis is still a prime example that we have some top-notch rides. Oh and regarding your last line, I do believe either Billing Aquadrome or Gullivers MK recently installed a Go-Gator... :wink:
 
If you compare our recent additions like Ben10, Th13teen, Kiddie Koasta or Zooooom to things like Oz'Iris, Skyrush, Leviathan, Blue Fire, Mountain Flyer or even Verbolten...then that's where my criticism of our rides comes from.
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Thing is though, you're comparing our tiny little country to the REST OF THE WORLD! Its not really a fair comparison, is it?
 
It is when you consider that Merlin class themselves as one of the largest attraction companies in the world, with what they consider at least one of Europe's premier theme parks.

Though generally I agree that we do bloody well for the size of the country.
 
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