From what was described, it definitely sounds pretty terminal and not likely to be a quick fix. Very glad it kept anything that broke, contained within the ride system.

Given the noises I heard last week and the description here, it makes me wonder if it was something that should have been identified and serviced before it went pop. Having it closed for preventative maintenance during Fright Nights would not have gone down well from an operations view. But if they tried to get the last couple of weeks out of it, I'm guessing the cost and complexity of repair just went up significantly.

I guess it was lucky that they didn't put a scare zone in Swarm Island this year, they'll just be able to close it off now.

Yes as far as I'm aware they had a sign showing The Swarm was closed on the way to Swarm Island and didn't see a single person even looking/walking near it on the full day.

Like you said it was probably a gamble hoping the ride would hold out for just 2 more weeks

Just went on TWD, member of staff told me they were fitting a new chain today and that it should be testing tomorrow, possibly opening in the afternoon, also said that the issue wasn't terminal and it wouldn't be shut for the rest of the season. I'm in the park again tomorrow so I'll see if it is testing.

Edit: just seen it test today. Whatever the problem was seems fixed

Forgot to mention, that gears sheering and breaking isn’t really a major problem, can be easily fixed and can literally be done in an hour or so.. well, dependant on the type of gear I guess haha.

And if that’s true about the chain.. must of done a lot more damage than originally thought.. but if true about opening for the weekend, then that’s pretty good going!

If it's up and testing, then this is good! Perhaps I should have given the park a little more faith to have spare parts in stock.

I've only seen it test once today, so it could be either broken again, or the park's too understaffed to run it

PsychOXRat wrote:

I've only seen it test once today, so it could be either broken again, or the park's too understaffed to run it

It may just need more testing to make sure the part has been fitted correctly

Today Swarm's queue message went from "Closed" to "Come Back Later". Looks like they're going to try and open it today

Edit: it has now opened

Thorpe's Instagram Story is saying that The Swarm is also getting a new chain.



Given the noises and apparent breakage of it at the end of last season, it's not so surprising.

Winter track inspection, by u/davethefish.

With the wind at the moment, this is not a job I would want to be doing!

Ooh nope! Cool picture though.

It always amazes me how they can walk the track with little to hold them on. It must be an awkward job though, unhooking between each strut!

I bloody love this coaster so so so so much! Its just a big barrel of joy for me and I can't wait to get back on it. That dive drop is just such a nice feeling. It gives me a warm feeling inside. Sad I know, but this coaster is just fun to me and I adore it!

I mean, I guess it's alright.

First time I saw it, the dive drop just looked insane, a massive presence in the park. I just love the scale of this ride, it may not be the longest ride ever, but because of the really wide and long trains, everything is just huge.

I had to giggle a little bit this year. Having seen so many comments about The Swarm being forceless and boring, I heard a couple of people exclaim they were starting to grey-out on it through the inclined loop, during the ERT this year. It was certainly going the fastest I'd ever ridden it then and I remember it was starting to shake, which is somewhat unheard of for B&M.

Hopefully the park has done some grounds keeping by the dive drop though, because on my last ride of the season I hit my hand on a branch at the bottom of the drop. Not much fun when you're going nearly 60 mph!

A great coaster in my opinion. I remember the marketing and build up towards the opening and being so excited.

The ride continues to impress me and does remain a solid addition to the park. I still miss the rows being reversed, it offered a different perspective and actually scared me more than riding forwards. The dive drop, near miss elements and the attention to themeing/detail is incredible and just adds up to create a great overall ride. The overall ride area still sets the standards for theming with rides in the UK.

I do hope Thorpe's newest addition to the park (whenever it arrives) is as good as this and proves to be as smooth and as thrilling as this.

Also the soundtrack is pretty good

The Swarm was probably the first theme park development I took some interest in following.

It’s an all round solid attraction in terms of both ride experience and theming.

While usually not the most intense, I did have something of a grey-out when riding it backwards, which I think is the only time so far that that has happened...

This is more of a preview, as I’m visiting for the first time since breaking the 1.4m barrier.

The Swarm is my most anticipated ride for my trip, mainly because it’s unlike anything in the UK. The dive drop looks like it’ll provide some great hangtime, much better than the only other hangtime I’ve experienced, Smiler’s 1st inversion. As for the rest of the ride, it looks like a perfect mix of intensity and inversions.

Favourite ride in the UK. 2nd favourite in the world. The theme is amazingly well executed with the train and station design, yet still behind Stealths in my opinion. Not only is the layout a fun one by itself but imitates how I expect the creature it is based on would act. Yes it isn't the most intense but it's easy to excuse when you factor in the amazing first zero-g roll (on the back at least) and near miss elements. All of its elements are very tall and makes the coaster really intimidating, exacerbated by the wing over drop. The restraints are wonderfully comfortable and it rides amazingly, can you believe it will be 7 this year? With it being winged, many different experiences are on offer but my favourite seat is by far the back left. When I first went to Thorpe in 2014 it was the first ride I saw and I ran straight to it, somehow I wasn't phased by it even though I was ten . It was my first inverting rollercoaster so I hold it quite dear to my heart and hope I never see the day it leaves the park. This instantly gets a 10/10 from me, sorry if there was some overlap between previous posts, I tried to keep it original

I really got involved with the viral marketing of The Swarm, so much so that I managed 3rd place. The YouMeAtSix single also added to the rides debut. It is a shame they don't used the lyrics more!

The ride is short, but as others have said, very good. It is a very comfortable ride, but backwards was intense!
The area really adds to the park too, and is a prime example, along with Wicker Man of what Merlin can do! They do need to replace the screens around the ride though. The news bulletin add to the apocalyptic atmosphere!