After the popularity of the previous Saw the Ride VIP behind the scenes tour back in 2022 Thorpe Park have added more dates to the 2023 calendar to go behind the scenes of the world’s first horror movie rollercoaster.

Themed around the infamous horror movie franchise Saw the Ride was always a ride that intrigued me especially knowing that actual production used props are scattered around the ride and included within the theming. The rack trap from Saw 3 (production used not screen used I believe) features in the main queue line and can be seen before you ascend the stairs into the station.
Before our tour review begins let’s take a look at some statistics for this Gerstlauer Eurofighter rollercoaster that opened in 2009 at the park. 
Saw the Ride Stats
Top Speed – 89km/h 55mphCost – £13.5mLength – 2362ft 720mHeight – 100ft 30mManufacturer – GerstlauerType – Steel Euro FighterInversions – 3Theme Park – Thorpe ParkYear Opened – 2009
We all met inside the reception and received our VIP lanyard (printed with each of our names on) and a VIP Experience pin badge and away we went.
I liked having our names printed onto the actual Lanyard passes that was a nice touch but I wasn’t too impressed with the VIP pin badge or the lanyard itself. They were just the standard VIP lanyards and weren’t customised or related to Saw in anyway.

A nice addition for the collection but not as personalised or exclusive as something that would have been dedicated to the ride itself but there was a little surprise Saw gift in store for us later that I’ll discuss in due course.
Our tour began sitting in a meeting room as our guide scrolled through a 60+ page document including concept art and how the ride came to fruition. From queue line designs to station and train designs it was interesting documentation but just scrolling through a 15 minute slideshow wasn’t really what anyone had come for.

A video introduction with VoiceOver going over the concept art and welcoming people to the experience would have been a better option rather than trying to hear the tour guide over a rather loud sound system playing the iconic Saw soundtrack. Thankfully it was only 15 minutes out of our 2 hour tour so it was safe to say the worst was over.
During our Saw the Ride tour our guide took us around the back of the ride and we got a glimpse at the Exodus site which was a nice extra addition they have added to the tour. It was a little freebie and we also got to see a train being sent around in this exclusive area which was quite nice to see whilst the park was absolutely dead.

We then got to witness the train being taken off the track and into the maintenance shed which once again is another rare sight for any coaster nerd to see. What I will say is that our tour guide was very brief with the information given and was asking the group to ask him questions quite regularly.
Our rather shy group of fans didn’t have too many questions to ask but at the same time the guide wasn’t really giving us the ‘tour spiel’ it was more a very basic delivery of where we were and if we had any questions, then ask him.

Our guide seemed a little frustrated at the lack of questions (understandably) but it also works both ways. I’d have loved to have had a more in-depth tour where all of the information is given to me about where I’m standing in detail and THEN if there’s any questions to ask we do so.
It’s hard to ask questions if we’re not entirely sure of what we’re looking at or how certain elements of the ride are operated. I’d love that to be fine tuned in the future rather than a ‘here’s the station’ right… ask me a question type of deal.

You’re taken through the queueline, look around the station, take a peek inside the control panel room (no photos allowed here whatsoever) and then go behind the scenes to see the first drop, maintenance area and the indoor inversion space which is themed around the Saw Bathroom.
The first drop is certainly one of interest to me when I found out that out of all the inversions on Saw the Ride that one indoor drop pulls the most G-Force out of any of them!

Just accessing these areas not available to the public was actually a really cool experience and you definitely felt the exclusive VIP nature of the pass when going through private access doors as they unveiled more of the mysteries, theming and off limits areas of this incredible ride.
Just seeing the John Kramer body lying there along with details you’d miss whilst on ride such as a sawn off foot, you. really get more of an appreciation of the work that went into the ride.

We left our names written on the dusty track in our finger marks for little cheesy nerdy photo ops and our group of 12 made sure to get as many photos with the body as humanly possible. A real highlight for us Saw fanatics and a key scene in the first movie that defined one of the biggest horror franchises in the world.
Who knew that an independent low budget horror movie would blossom into the absolute powerhouse it is today with a tenth instalment of the franchise due to be released this October worldwide.

With a few smell pods here and there (unless it was natural smell) this bathroom certainly came to life in the most pungent way possible. Complete with authentic bird poop from the giant opening of where the track leads outside before the first lift hill.
Inspecting bird poop all over the floor and items that have fallen off riders that particular day is one game that I just did NOT want to play. Being inside this unique space though however was pretty damn cool and despite it looking absolutely nothing like the Saw bathroom in any shape or form (merely a reference) it was still a cool space to be in and to soak up.

Out of all of the places we visited the bathroom was certainly the highlight for me and seeing the production used props from around the ride. Funnily enough I spotted things on the tour that I’d never spotted during any of my rides on the ride during normal opening hours, things that should be clearly visible yet I have been oblivious every single time.
I’d certainly recommend the tour to Saw fans but if you’re a rollercoaster nerd and you want to learn a few things then make sure you have questions ready. If the format of the tour stays the same you’re really going to need to bring your interview A-game. I’d personally have a script for the tour so it could be informative for everyone and then expand on that information with questions but that’s just me.

For the price you pay (£52 with Merlin Annual Pass discount) I thought it was great value for money with the tour lasting 2 hours. Whilst for me it needed to have more information to soak up whilst we were walking around this could easily have been rectified with more questions asked yet I wanted to see the full format of the tour rather than bombarding the guide with my own personal questions so I could bring a tour review and a not a Sean interview review.
When your tour is over you are presented with a never before released poster of Saw the Ride which is a nice unique keepsake for Saw fans and coaster fans alike and just like that your tour is over and away you go.

I rather love the fact the park are making the effort with these VIP tours but they certainly could have additional improvements to make them even more VIP in their delivery. 
Improvements I would make:
Personalised the lanyard itself and the pin badge to be Saw specific. Licensed exclusive merchandise is much more exciting
Scrap the powerpoint presentation intro in favour of a video showing concept with VoiceOver. Make it exciting / prepare people for the experience
Include a lights-on exclusive ride of Saw the Ride or a lights-off ride where on-ride POV reactions could be captured by the park (not personal recordings)
Include the POV face forward footage in an exclusive personalised video for VIP guests only
Deliver a more information laden tour (scripted) where questions can be asked afterwards rather than arriving at an area and then encouraging questions
Exclusive lights-on group photo inside a ride train (professional or personal)
 
All in all I highly recommend the Saw the Ride VIP tour to anyone and as these tours continue to sell out (and they will) I hope improvements can be seen the more and more of these the park delivers.
Having a VIP experience within the theme park is such a great idea and one that I hope continues. I’d particularly find all coasters that have an indoor space more interesting than the ones which are exclusively outside so a Walking Dead: The Ride tour could be quite special if you’re able to access various places within the warehouse that not many people have graced.
For our full Saw the Ride review CLICK HERE
Keep an eye on the official Thorpe Park FB page and website for more VIP tour information