In 1979, John Broome, one of the then directors of Alton Towers, wanted to make the Towers and Gardens into a new style of leisure attraction. On , Corkscrew opened to a crowd of 30,000. It became the main attraction of the park, and led to attendance numbers doubling from 500,000 in 1979, to over 1,000,000 in 1980. It was a
Vekoma MK1200 Corkscrew with Bayernkurve. Weighing a total of , and built within a base area of , the modular steel track was painted yellow, whilst the steel supports were painted black. Two trains of six cars (24 riders per train, four in each car) were a patriotic red, white, and blue, and the entry and exit station was blue and white. In 1984, more attractions were built in the new 'Festival Park' along with
Enterprise and the Twirling Toadstool (then Wave Swinger). When a newly themed area called Ug Land opened in 1999, Corkscrew's appearance was modified. Its trains and track received a new paint scheme, and dinosaur-themed props were placed around the ride, including a dinosaur skeleton that guests would pass under in the waiting line queue. In 2005, a new
roller coaster called
Rita was built (originally known as Rita: Queen of Speed), as well as there being several other changes to the park. This resulted in Corkscrew becoming dated, and eventually a decreasingly popular attraction of the park. Customers also reported that due to its age, it had become increasingly bumpy and uncomfortable to ride. In October 2008, after 28 years of service, Alton Towers confirmed that the ride was to be dismantled at the end of the 2008 season, to make room for the 2010 attraction
TH13TEEN, built under the codename Secret Weapon 6, or SW6. On 9 November 2008, after carrying an estimated 43.5 million thrill-seeking passengers, Alton Towers held a special event in honour of the attraction in which the Corkscrew completed the final circuit of its track. The official date for the last day in regular service was 2 November 2008 - the last day of the season. After being dismantled, the section of track which formed the two corkscrew inversions was saved, and repainted blue and gold. It is now displayed at the main entrance to the park near the ticket booths. ==Ride experience==