What on earth has Sea World done to the Corkscrew?

If you visit this site often, you may have noticed a report about the new colour scheme for Sea World's roller coaster, Corkscrew. When I first saw the pictures for it, my first impression was that it looked pretty good, but soon after I realised the validity of Sea World giving Corkscrew a new colour scheme, which is none. In fact, in ways they really have taken something away from this awesome coaster just by changing the colour and adding seatbelts to the trains. Let me explain.

Orange is one of my favourite colours and it works well with white, but it is the last colour I think of when I think of Sea World. I mean, Sea World's colours are blue and white, which is pretty basic, but it's symbolic, easy to remember and it also relates to the fact that the place hosts marine life. Adding on to that, the park has even gone through the effort to use this colour scheme throughout the entire area, from the buildings and rides right down to the direction signs, and it works very well. So why did they feel the need to change this with Corkscrew? It may have looked plain and boring but everyone knew that Sea World had "The White Coaster" which supports why it was a bad idea even from a marketing/public relations standpoint. In fact, it didn't look like it actually needed the paint job too, which is quite a surprise seeing as how white would show any kind of aging the most, like what happened to Thunderbolt which was only a year older than this ride. Furthermore, because the track was white, it made the red train stand out in contrast, which is very appealing to the eye. In the picture used in the report, you can only just discern the difference in colour between the train and the track. The reason I haven't attacked the train for being red and not blue is simply because the white track/red train colour scheme is a very nostalgic one for coasters. Those two colours have been used together on coasters for ages, especially at seaside fairgrounds. Sea World simply adapted that and used it to its advantage. And that's what the Corkscrew is; it's a nostalgic ride to Sea World and the Gold Coast, and I personally feel that with this paint job they have taken a piece of that nostalgia away from the ride. The same goes with these seatbelts they have added now. I don't see the point. The horse collar restraints were fine by themselves. I just hope they didn't do a dodgy job by just zip-tying them to the restraints, ala Cyclone...

Let's face it, there is really no point to repainting or adding seatbelts to the trains. In fact, they could have put the money to better use, like fixing up Bermuda Triangle. Now that is a ride that's aging badly, and could use a nice touch up on its effects and the actual volcano itself. My wish for this ride now is that if the trains do get a new paint job or new trains as the rumour suggests, they get a colour scheme that will work with the track and not blend with it. Personally, I think a white body with an orange stripe down the sides of the train would work great with the track and would remedy some of the problems I analysed in this entry. However, the fact remains that the coaster is still awesome and that the experience from riding it will remain as great as it always was.

Photo: Zane Kingi