RIP corkscrew you shall be missed

news sorce alton towers times

see below of details that corkscrew shall be closed at the end of this season

there will be a final fairwell on the 9th of november and anual pass holders will get in to the park as normal

surely not? i mean they only just put yourday on corkscrew didn't they? well i am not a huge fan of the thing but being a it was the first UK inverting coaster so it will be a little depressing when it gets the chop.

[gouldy]

The removal of Corkscrew is not a rumour:

http://www.altontowers.com/pages/theme- ... -corkscrew


"Unveiled to a crowd of over 30,000 in April 1980, the ride has since carried over 43,449,840 guests through it's double helix. A special day of celebration will be held on Sunday 9th November, which will be the last ever day the Corkscrew will operate."

Flippin' 'eck. That's nearly all of England!

thats it, whos up for a trip to the towers on the 9th november to say a big goodbye to the corkscrew, i know i will be doing so. ohh and heres the full press release

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Corkscrew Closure Confirmed
The iconic Arrow Double-Corkscrew roller coaster, Corkscrew has been confirmed to closing at the end of the 2008 season. The ride, which opened in 1980, is widely heralded as the ride that led to Alton Towers immense popularity today. But after 28 years and an estimated 43.5 million riders, Corkscrew will take it last riders on 9th November 2008, in a special Good-bye Event.

Russell Barnes, from the theme park, said: ?????????The corkscrew has played a key part in the heritage of the Alton Towers Resort, and I am sure millions of our guests will look back with fond memories of the first time they were inverted upside down, twice within three seconds.
?????????We are extremely proud to have hosted Europe?????????s first double helix rollercoaster, but it is now the right time to say goodbye to the attraction as we look forward to continuing to pioneer fantastic family entertainment of the future.?????????

Rumours have been rife for a while of a possible closure because of the plans leaked that showed concept art from the Park?????????s plans for a 2010, a year when Alton Towers is expected to open
a major new attraction ????????? when the resort will be celebrating 30 years as an amusement/theme park.

Alton Towers closes on 2nd November 2008, but will re-open on the 9th November, for one final day for people to ride Corkscrew.

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and some addition info about the corkscrew. that final day i will make a fairwell video in dedication of corkscrew. it shall be very missed

First Installed 1980
Opening Date 4th April 1980
Location Ug Land
Cost ?????????1.25 million
Manufacturer Vekoma
Designer Arrow Dynamics
Weight 350 tonnes
Track Length 728 metres
Height Of Drop 23 metres
Maximum Speed 44 mph (70 km/h)
Maximum G Force 3.1 G
Ride Duration Approx. 1 minute, 45 seconds
Capacity 24 per train
Throughput 43,449,840 people
Total Cycles 1,810,410
Distance Travelled 1,317,978.48 Kilometres/ 818,953.31 Miles
Seating Arrangement 2 trains, 6 cars per train, 2 row per car, 2 seats per row
Restraint Type Shoulder restraints
Height Restriction 1.2 metres

[Coasterkidmwm]

It does look rather out of palce at that park.

naa it was very in place in the park bringing some really nice release form all the B&M perfectness in the park. plus it is part of the uk roller coaster history which its an important park. it was very in place and always is and was a good ride to do once

History just doesn't pay the bills... in fact it makes them grow as older rides require more and more maintenance to keep running. Not to mention keeping up with safety requirements. I was pissed when they pulled the Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop from California's Great America (CGA) in 2002, it was one of only two weight drop Schwarzkopfs that made it to America (out of 3 total shuttle loops)! Now it's spare parts for it's still running sister at Six Flags Kentucky.

I'll be really sad when they finally pull the Arrow corkscrew from CGA too, it's only a matter of time. I have a lot of history with that ride as it's my first looper.

Eventually the only place you'll be able to ride these old rides is in a simulator... I almost feel we have an obligation to create accurate recreations of them while there are still some ridable ones to compare with.

my biggest wonder is has it been scraped or sold on?

i expect it will be scrapped, because im getting that impression, but it would be nice if it were to be sold on

Any idea if we can look at some of this said concept art for 2010?

[hyyyper]

my guess is that i'll be either sold to a park that can't complete the payment and let it rust on the parking lot or it'll be scrapped

[Oscar]

Was the coaster any good or was it just a pain in the arse to ride?

Well I hadn't ridden that particular instance of it, but I've ridden two other Arrow corkscrews many, many times and if it was true to form it was a little jerky and prone to vibrations but a tight fun layout (Altons looks longer than any versions I've ridden). So I'd say it probably fell between your good or pain in the arse choices; damn good for it's era, hasn't aged entirely well.

But I have an entirely biased love for them anyway.

its a great coaster in my opinion for a 30 year old coaster. it is jerks and painful but it never let alton towers down, never had a majour accident and never really let alton towers down its such a shame its getting old.
if i win the lottery tommrrow night i will buy it for my back garden love and care for it.

i know so many people around only care for the perfection ist is B&M but the charm of a painful coaster will get me anyday.

and i dont know if anyone seen the pictures posted on towers times for 24 hours before they were asked to be taken off the site but they showed evil trees, 4 robot arms themed as trees growing out of the ground, alot of evil forest themeing and a wooden coaster blasting through the floorboards of a old house in the middle of the woods.

so whatever is being planned its going to be massive and awsome. so could there still be a wooden rollercoaster planned for alton towers??????

I'm always sad to see an Arrow classic go, but those rides have trouble competing these days. I do love those terrible banking transitions.

[hyyyper]

Originally posted by Woodie Man

I'm always sad to see an Arrow classic go, but those rides have trouble competing these days. I do love those terrible banking transitions.

It's a Ve-ko-ma, and I don't mind it going, plenty of other good coasters to ride. Win some, loose some

My bad, just going off what others have said. I didn't mean to offend your Dutch pride hyyyper.

you might not mind it going hyyyper but us british do. its as majour a part of uk coaster history as the grand national or the big dipper. i shall be there to wave it fairwell and give it alot of attention. im very much going to miss it as its always been a great fun ride.

[Turbo]

Didnt i make a post about this yesterday?

this was done way befor yesterday

Wow that one was a Vekoma, how embarrassing. When I was looking at the pictures of it for my above comment I remember thinking "wow, that doesn't really look like an Arrow corkscrew..." I should have trusted my instincts and dug a little deeper. Ah well.

Still sad to see a 28 year old coaster go down.

its an arrow designed coaster built by vekoma so your right in both respecs. id say its more arrow than vekoma its like shockwave at drayton manor. its built by B&M but designed by intamin

I went to Alton Towers last sunday and rode this for the last time, i don't find it rough at all, but then again, i have had a lot of practice with the restraints, you can avoid the pain by the way you sit.

I can't believe this ride is leaving, it WILL be missed. I am glad i got a YourDay dvd with me and my family on it!

[gouldy]

Originally posted by gazag

you might not mind it going hyyyper but us british do.

I'm... well, I'm not "British", I'm English, but I'm not really that bothered, it's not like it's Nemesis or anything. It WAS a big part Alton Towers' history and AT wouldn't be what it is today without it and as such Corkscrew should be remembered, but I for one am thankful that they are getting rid of it. In the last 5 times I've been to AT, I think I've ridden Corkscrew once. The one good thing about it is the little pop of air you get in the back seat on the first drop. The rest of the ride is slow and gay and makes you feel like you've got anal piles. And, once it fired green liquid into my eye, which was fairly painful. In this day and age, it just really isn't a great ride and it certainly is NOT a big draw for the park, which let's face it, is the main thing!

yeah i just feel sad about it going as i have always loved it. i guess ill have to go to holland or to flamingoland to keep riding one.