I love The Swarm, I really do.
When it opened in 2012 it was refreshing to see a quality coaster with excellent theming that didn’t have an unnecessary gimmick.
And then in 2013, Thorpe cocked it all up.
The Swarm didn’t rake in as many people as expected in 2012, Thorpe’s best idea to bump up their gate figures was to add a useless gimmick to their latest and greatest coaster. Fortunately, Thorpe didn’t turn the entire train backwards, instead they turned rows 6 & 7 backwards, which although lets people still enjoy the masterful ride in its full glory, also creates a queuing nightmare for anyone wanting to brave it backwards, brilliant.
Onto the ride experience itself then. As predicted by many enthusiasts, the effect of the near misses (A major part of the ride) is totally lost in the back rows, to complement the loss of one the rides selling points, Thorpe added a giant fucking billboard, because when you loose the near misses, you might as well add a redundant one, why not? I understand that the billboard was most likely added for the benefit of those riding in the better forwards facing seats but as with every other near miss, the effect is totally lost on the seats that many people are now riding The Swarm just to experience.
The backwards rows do have their high points though, the inverted drop and the final inline are great fun at the back, the drop in particular gives the peculiar and exhilarating sensation of being pushed off the lift hill, instead of just tumbling down it, The zero G roll on the other hand, is much, much better in the regular rows, mainly because of the fireball, you just cant see it in the backwards rows, which is such a shame after the time, effort, and health and safety checks Thorpe had to go through to get the effect working, some may argue that the fireball is more of a spectator effect, but I would disagree, its always looked fantastic and menacing as you twisted above it. The incline loop is average, as usual and the corkscrew just leaves you looking at a vast plain of mud instead of the usual view of The Swarms fantastic area, this isn’t good. If im going on a themed ride I want to be immersed in the experience, I dont want my immersion to be dashed by a load of mud. Then comes the inline twist which as I’ve said before, is amazing in the backwards rows, after this you’re given another great view of that lovely mud in the brake run, then you roll back into the station, you leave the ride, then the next set of people get on, accidentally setting off a sensor that determines whether the ride can actually leave the station, forcing a ride op to walk all the way to the end of the brake run to switch it back on again (I am aware that this issue will be solved soon, hopefully before opening day) after you’ve left the station, you can buy a photo… of the back of your seat, so if you were hoping to buy a photographic memory of you braving it backwards, your pretty much fucked.
In conclusion The Swarm’s brave it backwards seats are a pointless addition to a coaster that is great on its own, it has a few fun moments, but its let down by the loss of near misses, the diabolical sensor issue, and its failure to actually improve the ride in any way.
The Swarm – Brave it backwards really isn’t worth your time.
On the other hand, Regular Swarm is still awesome, and the new near miss is great.
CoasterGeek 