Corkscrew (Silverwood)

This article is about the roller coaster at Silverwood Theme Park, originally installed at Knott's Berry Farm. For the roller coaster at Cedar Point, see Corkscrew (Cedar Point). For other roller coasters of the same name, see Corkscrew (disambiguation).

Corkscrew
At Knott's Berry Farm, circa 1980
Silverwood Theme Park
Coordinates	47.906974°N 116.708516°W / 47.906974; -116.708516
Status	Operating
Opening date	1990 (1990)
Cost	US$1 million
Corkscrew at Silverwood Theme Park at RCDB
Knott's Berry Farm
Coordinates	33.844652°N 118.001456°W / 33.844652; -118.001456
Status	Removed
Opening date	21 May 1975 (1975-05-21)
Closing date	1989 (1989)
Cost	US$700,000
Replaced by	Boomerang
Corkscrew at Knott's Berry Farm at RCDB
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Arrow Development
Designer	Ron Toomer
Model	Corkscrew
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	72 ft (22 m)
Drop	62 ft (19 m)
Length	1,250 ft (380 m)
Speed	46 mph (74 km/h)
Inversions	2
Duration	1:15
Capacity	600 riders per hour
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)

Corkscrew is an Arrow Development prototype Corkscrew roller coaster located at Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho. Ten exact replicas of this same design were produced 1975–1979 at other scattered parks, followed by numerous other installations around the world featuring updated supports. After being sold as the prototype, this corkscrew originally operated at Knott's Berry Farm from 1975 to 1989. Developed by Ron Toomer of Arrow Dynamics, Corkscrew was the first modern steel inverting roller coaster open to the public, with identical models opening at three other parks days later.

Ride Experience

Corkscrew in 2020

After the train is dispatched from the station, it enters a small dip and into a short U-turn followed by a 70-foot-tall (21 m) chain lift hill. When the train reaches the top of the hill, the train slopes down and into a 90-degree banked turn. The train then enters the first drop and goes into a small camelback where riders experience a sensation of airtime. The train makes a sloped banked right turn and into a set of two consecutive corkscrews. The train then travels through one final 90-degree banked turn and into the brake run which leads back to the station.

Historical achievements

When Corkscrew first opened at Knott's Berry Farm, it achieved two things of historical significance. Corkscrew was not only the first modern inverting coaster in the world, but it also was the first roller coaster to take riders upside down twice. Corkscrew was actually a prototype originally built on site at Arrow Dynamics in Mountain View in Santa Clara County, California (before Arrow Dynamics' relocation to Utah). Once Arrow Dynamics completed reviewing the design, members of the Knott's family personally opted to purchase the prototype. Ten exact replicas were produced 1975–1979. In 1989 Knott's Berry Farm sold the Corkscrew to Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho for $250,000 to make room for Boomerang.