Corkscrew is one of those coasters that, unless you have a real aching to go upside-down, you should probably ride later in the day just because it's best when you're trying to 'cool down' from the day. Not that it's relaxing or boring, but it doesn't offer the same thrill and feeling of danger that the other rides at the park do.
Nevertheless, Corkscrew was one of the first ventures by Arrow Dynamics, and was the first roller coaster to feature three inversions, one loop and two corkscrews (what an original name!). Anyway, though it isn't necessarily a tall coaster, it does have an intense finale. Starting from the station, the trains are the classic Arrow inverted coaster trains, with standard shoulder harnesses and the front car symbolic of a true Arrow masterpiece. From the loading and the initial drop out of the station, through a sharp unbanked turn, the train engages the lift and hesitates for a few seconds before resuming its original speed. Once at the top, which for being a short coaster does take a comparatively long time to reach, the only part of the coaster you can see is the loop and the corkscrews because of the design of the cars.
The first drop is amazingly powerful, with lots of quick negative G's, and following the first drop is a bunny hop (the neg-G's almost hurt!) into the clothoid loop. From the loop, the train quickly hops into the brake run, nearly slowing to a stop before beginning the third main drop, which becomes more banked the closer the train approaches the first corkscrew. The sensation of people walking under you is really cool (the train's first cork travels over part of one of the side walkways) as the train begins the first cork. It's only after the end of the first one that you can realize what a great inversion, though simple, the corkscrew is.
So, there is a double corkscrew, during which time the train almost accelerates, and from the second cork the train takes a long inclined journey in the brakes, which occur so quickly that from the loading platform, you can see just about everybody's heads in the incoming train bob forward as it happens. There are two more sets of gradual brakes needed because the station is on a slight incline, and that's the whole ride.
So maybe it isn't that bad of a ride. See for yourself.
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