Forget
everything you were told in Geography. Calypso Quay, a colourful
tropical retreat can be found just down the coast from Amity Cove, the
disaster-struck New England fishing village.
Whilst
in the sleepy province of Calypso Quay, it is easy to forget the traumas
of Amity, where the good citizens of Marlin County cheat death daily as
tidal wave after tidal wave pounds the tide-marked town.
Sleepy
Joe has had it easy for the last year dozing in his hammock to the
tropical beats of the calypso music. But the tables have turned, and a
volcano now threatens the peaceful Caribbean township with disaster as
it smoulders with activity.
Visitors
are urged to clamber into carriages to escape the perils of the active
volcano and are in for an explosive performance from Nemesis Inferno,
the red-hot new impression on the Thorpe Park skyline.
A
subtle tropical style gives newfound depth to the previously flat but
colourful Calypso Quay theme. The rocky landscape of the volcano forms a
perfect backdrop to the lush green foliage surrounding and the rich
maroon track-colour of Nemesis Inferno.
Adding
spice to an already hot theme, vapour pours from many peaks on the rich
amber volcano as the soft roar of the coaster encircles the pathways
below.
Adhering
to a Wardley trademark, Nemesis Inferno literally plays with the
hot-footing members of public on the ground with the ride’s acrobatics
being nothing short of a spectacle.
The
queue takes you under the figure-eight finale with a few small
cattlepens to soak up a busy day’s queue. The vantage points are
unsurprisingly plentiful, and a climb up the side of the volcano gives a
unique view of Calypso Quay before you enter the station.
The
station is quite a vanilla affair when compared to the rest of the ride
with charred wood panelling on the walls and flickering lanterns on the
ceiling. The layout is impeccable, though, with the front-seat queue
stretching the whole length of the station and using the available space
to additionally zig-zag three times before you get to the gates.
Whilst
the décor is only moderately atmospheric, music adds a certain drama to
the whole experience of loading the trains. Whilst outside the music it
is quite subtle, as the station floor drops and the train is lit in a
rich shade of red, a pounding bass-line leads the train out of the
station, evolving into a warming melody welcoming back returning riders
before fading out ready for the next train to depart.
Trains
flow through the station like lava through a valley with wheel covers
and the underside rain-catchers emblazoned with a striking flame design,
beautifully flaring up against the understated black of the train and
the warm shade of maroon that colour the seats and restraints.
At
the moment, loading times are very impressive, and once the floor drops,
a smooth curl downwards encircles the volcano before squeezing into a
tight tunnel underneath the rocky landscape.
Inside
this active volcano, a thick mist licks around the tunnel walls with a
life of it’s own as you cut through the rolling smoke, lit with a
warming red luminance.
Inside,
from a turn pitched to the right, the train sweeps around into a
blissful curve to the left, swooping gracefully to the right, over a dip
and back into daylight.
As
the mist is dragged with the train out of the tunnel, a final sharp turn
sends the train skywards on an impressively quick lift.
Any
scaredy-cats with eyes closed will have the upper hand, as they won’t
see the rather unflattering view of the Amity Hotel below as the train
drops into a curling 180-degree swoop ground-wards. Whilst this drop
arguably looks like a poor-man’s version of the tight Batman: La Fuga
drop, it rides really well, and doesn’t feel dissimilar.
At
the bottom, a blast of water from the pond below clears just as the
train scathes through the clearing spray, pulling away from the water
underneath into a tight vertical loop.
As
the train drops out from this loop, a blast of water is heard behind as
another geyser of water explodes and the train swoops up over the
pathway into a sleek inline twist.
At
the moment, the inline twist only hints at what we can expect from the
summer months - currently it is only a lukewarm version of Batman’s
truly explosive inversion.
But
what separates this inline from the rest is yet to come. Just as you are
scooped back up into your seat, a swooping turn sends you into a
ground-hugging turn, pulling sharply up into a forceful flick from a
barrel roll.
Just
as you realise where you are, the train pulls up away from the ground,
offering a nice sensation of height from a turnaround into the second
barrel roll, this time going clockwise over the pathway below.
Following
a waterfall upstream, a sharp climbing turn soaks up a lot of speed as
you navigate a 270-degree clockwise helix sharpening tightly at one
point before ducking down under the brake-run structure, finding the
lost speed and pulling into an anti-clockwise spiral, climbing away from
the ground and flicking into the brake-run where you stop smoothly.
Nemesis
Inferno is merely smouldering at the moment, but has the inklings of
erupting into something special. Inferno goes beyond being just another
B&M coaster with a unique opening, dropping through the volcano in a
nicely paced entrée long before a superb figure-eight finale wraps
things up.
Inferno
carries across all that is good about a B&M coaster. Impeccable
pacing harbours elements that are always smooth but never forceless. In
fact, it’s nice to ride Nemesis Inferno in the knowledge that it is
one of only a few 100ft compact inverted coaster designs (Batman and
Nemesis being the other most notable examples).
Even
with an original layout, Nemesis Inferno avoids the perils of settling
for being a coaster with a volcano-shaped station by offering effects
like the spectacular introduction of the smoke-filled tunnel and the
30ft-tall geysers under loop 1.
Also,
lest we forget Thorpe Park once making light of what could otherwise be
a grim theme. In this case, too, theming actually adds to the ride
experience itself. Furthermore, you don’t need to know much about the
theme to even enjoy it. It makes sense in every possible way.
Nemesis
Inferno perfectly compliments Colossus. Inferno is the coaster with
substance that follows hot on the heels of a coaster that has impact.
Nemesis
Inferno is no lukewarm affair. Hot theming, explosive effects and
red-hot pacing mean that Inferno will send temperatures soaring during
what is a flaming good ride whether you’re in the midst of it’s
searing wrath or just standing away from the heat on the sanctuary of
the ground.
Marcus
Sheen (02 April 2003)
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