Guests could once take a disorientating ride on Ripsaw, a piece of shrapnel that sat rusting in Forbidden Valley after being thrown out of the Nemesis pit. There was just one question: Can you cut it?
Fact File
- Location:Â Forbidden Valley
- Manufacturer:Â HUSS Rides
- Ride Type:Â Top Spin
- Height:Â 18m
- G-Force:Â 2.3G
- Cycles:Â 8 & Maintenance Mode
- Fountains:Â 35
- Duration:Â 2 mins (approx)
- Gondola Capacity:Â 40
- Capacity per hour:Â 855
- Opening Year:Â 1997 (15th March)
- Closing Year:Â 2015 (8th November)
After making your way through the queueline, which included a bridge over one of the main paths in Forbidden Valley, guests boarded the 40 person gondola, ready to be detoxed. Overhead harnesses and lap bars tightly secured riders in their seats, before the ride sequence began.
The gondola was attached to two large arms which moved together, causing the gondola to swing backwards and forwards and even flip riders upside down. There were 8 possible sequences to put riders in a spin, however only 6 were used with guests.
If guests hadn’t already lost all perception of where the ground was, the ride ended by lowering riders face first into the fountains which sat below the ride. Only the lucky few on the ends of the gondola escaped this very wet fate, although it did mean that Ripsaw was great on a hot day when guests wanted to cool off.
In 1997 Ripsaw replaced Thunder Looper in Forbidden Valley. The ride was essentially a Huss Top Spin with the added feature of 35 powerful water jets that soaked the riders, offering a similar experience to that of Rameses Revenge at Chessington World of Adventures Resort.
There were only a few aesthetic changes to Ripsaw during the years it was at the park. These included the removal of theming elements on the ride itself, as well the on ride photo being removed and the recolouring of the restraints.
As laid out in the Resort’s long term development plan, Ripsaw was removed from the park over the 2015/16 closed season although some of its theming was left intact with its former site becoming home to a pay-per-play attraction, Forbidden Sweep, the following season.
