Corkscrew
1976
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Corkscrew opened in 1976 as Cedar Point's first record breaking roller coaster. Corkscrew was the first roller coaster to go upside down three times and the first to go upside down over a midway!
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In the 1960's Cedar Point began its transformation into '' The Disneyland of the Midwest''. This meant that many popular rides would open. The first ride that was brought in was the Western Cruise. It proved to be so popular that over the years Sky Ride, Rotor, Space Spiral, Mill Race and many other rides started to appear. In addition to rides, Cedar Point started to add roller coasters again. After not having any roller coasters in operation for 7 years, Cedar Point added: Wild Mouse ( 1959-1962), Scamper (1962-1969), Broadway Trip (1964-1964), Blue Streak (1964), Cedar Creek Mine Ride (1969), Wildcat (1970 - 1978), and Jumbo Jet (1972 - 1978). Over the years rides got much bigger, faster, and much more impressive. Cedar Point was on the fast track to becoming a modern amusement park!
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While Cedar Point was making its comeback from when the park fell from its greatness, elsewhere in the world, parks were adding coasters that would change the world and eventually Cedar Point.
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In 1975, a prototype coaster opened at two parks. Knott's Berry Farm in California as Corkscrew ( 1975 - 1989) and Opryland in Tennessee as Wabash Cannonball ( 1975 - 1997). In 1990, Knott's ride was relocated to Silverwood Theme Park. These two roller coasters would be the first roller coasters in the world to send riders upside down with their corkscrew elements. On May 8, 1976, Magic Mountain in California opened Great American Revolution, the first roller coaster in the world to feature a vertical loop, just a weekend before Cedar Point, a little park in Ohio would introduce its new roller coaster that would break many records and stun the public.
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Until 1976, Cedar Point had never had a world record breaking roller coaster before.
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With other parks building roller coasters that went upside down, Cedar Point wanted to have their very own ride that also had loops.
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According to newspaper articles from when the ride was being built, the new roller coaster would be called ''The Great Lake Erie Roller''. For unknown reasons, the ride name was dropped and renamed Corkscrew before the park would open.
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The day before the ride opened, Arrow was testing the ride out. While testing was going great, two of the trains had collided while the incoming train was going into the station. Arrow quickly pieced the two trains together and started manufacturing a new train for the park. No one was on the train or hurt. If that were to happen today the ride would be delayed. Until Dick Kenzil's book was published in late 2015, only Cedar Point and Arrow had known about the innocent.
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Standing 85 feet tall, Corkscrew became Cedar Point's tallest roller coaster as well as the first roller coaster at Cedar Point to break records!
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Being built in 1976, Corkscrew was painted red, white, and blue to help the country celebrate its 200th birthday!
Corkscrew Records Broken
World records1. First Roller Coaster to go upside down 3 times! (The record was held until Carolina Cyclone was built at Carowinds in 1980.)
2. First Roller Coaster to go upside down OVER a midway! 3. Most Roller Coasters at a single Park! (5) |
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Park records1. Tallest Roller Coaster at Cedar Point. (Until 1978)
2. Fastest Roller Coaster at Cedar Point. (Until 1978) 3. First Roller Coaster to go upside down! Corkscrew was such a popular ride, that it put Cedar Point on the map and started a tradition of tallest and fastest. Corkscrew cost 1.75 million dollars in 1976, that is $7,457,995.50 in 2017! |
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Corkscrew was a very popular ride from the start. It helped Cedar Point beat an attendance record of over 3 million people for the first time. The ride was an instant hit. It was smooth, fun and a great ride for the park!
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Corkscrew Ride Facts:
Opened: May 15, 1976 Company: Arrow Development Designer: Ron Toomer Type: Custom Looping Coaster Height: 85 feet Speed: 48 MPH (38 thru the corkscrews) Hills: 3 Inversions: 3 Capacity: 1,800 per hour (with 3 trains) Cost: $1,750,000 Number of Coaster in 1976: 5 Corkscrew was Cedar Point's first record-breaking roller coaster. Since 1976 Cedar Point has opened 13 world record-breaking roller coasters! |
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Ride Experience
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Corkscrew's beautiful station is located far away from the busy main midway of Cedar Point, at the far end of the ride.
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Corkscrew begins with a dip out of the station and a turns right leading to the lift hill.
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After turning 180 degrees, Corkscrew sends its 24 passengers up the lift hill.
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Corkscrew lifts its riders up 85 feet. Being an older roller coaster, Corkscrew has a slower speed on the lift hill. With the slower speed, it gives you time to take in the view of the beautiful park and the taller rides!
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Corkscrew drops its riders 50 feet down the lift and reaches speeds of 48 MPH!
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After the drop, riders are sent into one airtime hill where riders are lifted out of their seats and they experience a moment of weightlessness!
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Riders are then flung head over heels into a huge very forceful vertical loop.
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In 1976 Corkscrew was only the second roller coaster in the world to feature a vertical loop at that time. There had been earlier coasters to go upside down, but they had issues and were torn down.
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Corkscrew then gives its riders a slight break and goes into a straight section of track that gives riders a great view of Cedar Point's Main Midway!
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Corkscrew then swoops down really close to the ground to strike its riders with two more inversions!
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Corkscrew riders are then flipped upside down twice over the midway! Corkscrew was the first roller coaster in the world to go upside down over the midway. While going through the Corkscrew's, riders reach speeds of 48 MPH!
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In 1976 Corkscrew was a very exciting roller coaster!
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After the Corkscrew elements, the ride returns to the station.
Riders must be 48 inches tall to ride Corkscrew.
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Withstanding The Test Of Time!
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When it opened in 1976 it did HUGE things for Cedar Point! Corkscrew really changed the pace for roller coasters when it opened.
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Corkscrew was so popular when it opened that it put Cedar Point on the map, and on the road to becoming ''The Roller Coaster Capital of the World!"
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When it opened in 1976 Corkscrew was Cedar Point's tallest and fastest roller coaster.
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Due to the park expanding, Today Corkscrew is located in the center of the park. The ride still retains its classic 1976 color scheme and feel.
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Over the years Corkscrew has gotten extremely rough. As a result of its rough ride, and bigger and better rides being added Corkscrew has lost its popularity.
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Corkscrew is an ok ride to start people out on that have never gone on a coaster that goes upside down, but we suggest that you start on something like Maverick or GateKeeper first because going upside down has changed so much in the last 40 years.
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Since Corkscrew opened in 1976, 20 roller coasters have been added to Cedar Point! Over the years, bigger and better rides were added to the park including: Gemini (1978), Ocean Motion (1981), White Water Landing (1982 - 2005), Demon Drop (1982 - 2009), Avalanche Run (1985 - 1989), Iron Dragon (1987), Magnum XL-200 (1989), Disaster Transport 1990 - 2012), Mean Streak (1991 - 2016) Raptor (1994), Mantis (1996 - 2014), Millennium Force (2000), Wicked Twister (2002), Top Thrill Dragster (2003), MaXair (2005) Sky Hawk (2006) Maverick (2007), WIndSeeker (2011) GateKeeper (2013), Rougarou (2015), Valravn (2016), and Steel Vengeance (2018).
Over the years, rides have gotten bigger and better! |
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Photos by: Jake Hamons, Joel Rogers, Cedar Point
Last Updated: 5/20/2020