Corkscrew has been twisting riders upside down at Michigan’s Adventure in Muskegon since 1979, back when the park was still known as Deer Park under owner Roger Jourden. Built by Arrow Dynamics, it holds the distinction of being the first inverting roller coaster in the state of Michigan, introducing local riders to the sensation of going upside down as looping coasters were still spreading across the country.
The coaster shares its exact model and layout with the original Corkscrew that once operated at Knott’s Berry Farm and another still running at Salitre Mágico in Bogotá, part of a small handful of Arrow Dynamics Corkscrew-model coasters built in the late 1970s. Nearly five decades later, it remains one of the oldest continuously operating Arrow coasters in the world, a testament to the durability of Arrow’s steel-tubular track design.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Michigan’s Adventure
- Manufacturer: Arrow Dynamics
- Opened: 1979
- Height: 70 feet
- Top Speed: 45 mph
- Length: 1,250 feet
- Inversions: 2
The Ride Experience
Corkscrew’s layout is classic Arrow Dynamics: a modest lift hill feeding into a compact circuit built around its signature double corkscrew inversions, which give the ride its name and its ride model its identity across the industry. At 70 feet tall with a top speed of 45 mph, it’s far from the tallest or fastest coaster at Michigan’s Adventure today, but the abrupt, rattly transitions and tight inversions typical of vintage Arrow trains still deliver a distinctly old-school thrill that newer coasters rarely replicate.
The full circuit covers 1,250 feet of track in roughly 70 seconds, a brisk pace that keeps the two loops feeling immediate rather than drawn out. Riders looking for the classic feel of 1970s-era steel coaster engineering, complete with the characteristic side-to-side head shake through the corkscrew elements, will find Corkscrew a genuine piece of roller coaster history still running today.
History and Legacy
Corkscrew debuted in 1979 when the Muskegon property operated as Deer Park under owner Roger Jourden, years before it was rebranded Michigan’s Adventure in 1988. Its arrival made history for the state, as it became the first roller coaster in Michigan capable of turning riders upside down, part of a wave of Arrow Dynamics corkscrew-model coasters that had begun appearing at parks like Cedar Point and Knott’s Berry Farm a few years earlier.
Over the decades, Corkscrew has worn several paint schemes reflecting changes in park ownership, from its original look to an orange-and-yellow scheme under Cedar Fair, and most recently a teal and dark blue repaint with white supports introduced in 2024. Through every color change, the ride’s core structure and layout have remained untouched, preserving a rare surviving example of Arrow Dynamics’ earliest corkscrew-model design.
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Corkscrew Photo Archive: June 2002
These are original ThrillZing photos of Corkscrew taken at Michigan’s Adventure on June 27, 2002, restored and upscaled from the original camera files. They show the Arrow looper’s orange track and teal supports from every side of the midway: riders inside the vertical loop, trains on the lift and the turnaround above the smoothie stand, the station, and the ride across the lake. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
Corkscrew FAQs
When did Corkscrew open at Michigan’s Adventure?
Corkscrew opened in 1979, when the park was still known as Deer Park under owner Roger Jourden, nearly a decade before it was renamed Michigan’s Adventure.
Who manufactured Corkscrew?
Corkscrew was built by Arrow Dynamics, the pioneering coaster manufacturer credited with creating the first modern looping roller coaster design.
How many inversions does Corkscrew have?
Corkscrew has two inversions, both corkscrew elements, which is where the ride and its Arrow Dynamics model name come from.
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