"SAW - The Ride" - 10 Things to Know Before Visiting

The entrance to the ride is decorated to have the original Saw experience. The exterior queue line is decorated with mock razor wire fences and props. Walkie-talkie recordings of panicked policemen are played to the visitors waiting in line, with loud ambient music throughout the area.

The visitors walk through dimly lit corridors with four shotguns hanging from the ceiling that fire every 90 seconds to give a jump effect. The corridors lead up past a cage with a trap, and a body tangled in barbed wire. Mannequin parts are also fixed in various small devices or hanging from the walls.

The ride through the SAW experience

The ride and the accompanying sections are set in a building that resembles an abandoned sawmill. After the ride starts, the cars will first encounter Billy the puppet who gives a brief description of the experience ahead.

The car then reaches two dimly lit swinging pendulum blades and upon getting almost hit by the blades, a sudden hidden drop that is almost vertical pllunges directly into a pit of spikes that is narrowly avoided.

Air blasts are then fired out at the riders which imitate the firing of syringes from loaded crossbows. After another surprise drop, the car enters a bathroom, where it enters a heartline roll above a screaming and heavily bleeding victim of Jigsaw in a pool of blood. Water is sprayed at the riders to imitate blood. The car then travels towards the 100-foot (30 m) vertical lift hill.

After a bell ring, the car gradually accelerates through the lift hill and once at the top, there is a 100° freefall drop passing under large rotating blades. The car then enters an Immelmann loop, followed by an overbanked turn and an air-time hill. The on-ride photos are taken as the cars rise into a set of brakes. This is followed by a sudden drop leading into a dive loop, and the ride ends with a banked turn into the final brake run.

A plan for a new roller coaster was announced by Thorpe Park on 14 October 2008. The press release claimed it will be the "steepest freefall drop in the world". When Saw – The Ride was opened, it was not the steepest rollercoaster in the world. Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach had a 111-degree drop but it had trim brakes in it which makes it not a "freefall drop". Saw – The Ride was cleverly and particularly marketed as the steepest "freefall drop". This particular claim too was taken over by "The monster" roller coaster in 2016.

During the construction of the ride, the movie tie to "Saw" was kept a secret. It was called "Project Dylan". The ride was opened to the public on March 14, 2009, with competition winners and annual pass holders able to take a preview ride before it was opened.

If you like some crowd, the best time to visit Saw - The Ride is at the weekends. Note that the park might be closed in certain seasons, make sure to check the official opening hours calendar of the park before you plan the visit.

1. Keep your valuables and mobile phones safely in storage before taking the ride.
2. Adhere to the height requirements. Taller riders may be able to handle the G-forces more easily, but shorter riders may be at risk of being thrown from their seats
3. Secure all loose items before boarding the roller coaster.
4. Keep your hands and arms inside the coaster at all times. Not only is this a safety regulation, but it will also help you avoid getting hit by flying debris. 
5. Buying tickets online is recommended as they usually sell for half the price of one day ticket at the gate.

1. Project Dylan as it was codenamed during construction has no relation to any of the rides. The name came from the project director's cat.
2. Right before its opening, on a planned ride with a group of celebrities on March 11, the ride underwent massive delays and computer programming errors. An ambulance had to be called as one woman suffered a panic attack.
3. Thorp Park, where Saw - The Ride is installed is one of the most visited amusement parks in the UK. With over 1.9 million visitors in 2019.

The ride is over in less than five minutes. But there are a lot of rides inside Thorpe Park that you should spend a day to explore them.

From London Waterloo station, take the southwestern railway towards Windsor & Eton Riverside to Chertsey station. It is an hour on the train ride. From Chertsey Street Stop B near the station, take bus 456 towards Staines and alight at Thorpe Park's main entrance(10 minutes). Saw- the ride is located inside the park.

For one day ticket to Thorpe Park, it costs 34 British Pounds if you book online in advance. It will cost 64 British Pounds for a day ticket at the gates. For up-to-date ticket pricing, visit the official website of the park.

Saw - The Ride and the Thorpe Park are closed as of November 2022 and are planned to be open from March 18th. The park's usual operating hours are from 10 AM to 5 PM on weekdays and 10 AM to 6 PM on weekends. For an up-to-date opening hours calendar, visit the official website of the park.