November 1945 was the beginning of something incredible for the amusement park industry, which then was practically non-existent, other than a few regional parks temporarily closed (that sounds all too familiar!) due to the Second World War. In a small workshop in Northern California, engineers Karl Bacon and Ed Morgan began a machine shop, and soon Arrow Development was a thriving business. The early 1950s led to a shift in the company’s focus; machine parts were less in demand as leisure industries rose, and Arrow developed the first ever carousels, or merry-go-rounds, for the nearby Alum Rock Park in San Jose, California.
It wasn’t until Walt Disney contracted the company in 1953 however, to play a part in creating the world’s first theme park, Disneyland, when Arrow’s founders really realised what they were capable of. After building many innovative new ride systems, from Snow White’s Adventures to Mad Tea Party, Ed Morgan and Karl Bacon would work with Walt Disney to build their first rollercoaster, and the world would experience the first tubular steel tracked ride, Matterhorn Bobsleds. Since then the company went through all the ups and downs and twists and turns of a rollercoaster, with many enjoyable and intense rollercoasters popping up along the way, so lets explore some Arrow Dynamics history and celebrate some of the masterpieces this now defunct manufacturer has left behind!
Magnum XL-200, Cedar Point
The Rollercoaster Capital of the World is known for it’s innovative and record-breaking rides, and Magnum XL-200 is an early but still great example of this. Opened in 1989, this coaster was the first ever Arrow Hyper, over 200ft, standing at an impressive 215ft! Thirty one years later Magnum still packs a punch, with several airtime hills and a drop of 195ft, or 194.7 if you’re being super precise.
Fun fact- when Magnum XL-200 opened in 1989, Cedar Point actually played down the height, advertising it as 201ft as opposed to the more truthful 205ft statistic the park uses today! No one really knows why they did this, but it’s likely just to make it seem slightly less intimidating- Magnum opened in the late 1980s, when the idea of any coaster over 200ft was terrifying (and still can be!), and this advertising method was probably used to bring more riders to the coaster, rather than scare them away!
Vampire, Chessington World of Adventures
Throughout the 80s and 90s the Tussards Group were working hard to transform the historic Chessington Zoo into a family theme park, one of the first in the UK. The second phase of this involved the opening of Transylvania, a new themed land which was home to two attractions, Professor Burp’s Bubbleworks, a water-based darkride, and Vampire, a suspended swinging coaster manufactured by Arrow Dynamics.
If you want to learn more about Transylvania and its well-loved rides, check out this article exploring the history and closure of Prof. Burp’s Bubbleworks!
The Secret Formula: the success and sad removal of Chessington’s Bubbleworks
Throughout the late 80s and early 90s, attraction designers like John Wardley were working hard to bring the American concept of a theme park to the UK, and a lot of the parks we know and love today, Thorpe Park, Chessington, Alton Towers and more, were all being redeveloped or built to fit into this…
Designed by attraction designer John Wardley, Vampire opened with the rest of the land in April 1990, and was an instant success with visitors, able to be enjoyed by families and thrillseekers alike. The coaster opened with traditional Arrow Suspended trains, and operated with these until 2001, when Vampire underwent renovation and reopened a year later with updated floorless trains by Vekoma. The new trains not only fixed some roughness issues with the Arrow trains, but also added an extra thrill element to the ride, letting riders’ feet dangle over the trees, making them feel as if they’re really flying!
X2, Six Flags Magic Mountain
California is home to many incredible parks, with some great rides, and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, Santa Clarita is one of the largest. This park holds the world record for the highest number of rollercoasters in a single amusement park, but this isn’t the only legacy Magic Mountain holds- it is also the location of the last ride Arrow Dynamics ever built! When Six Flags received planning permission for a new coaster in the year 2000 Arrow’s legacy influenced their decision to contract the company to build the ride, and despite being close to bankruptcy, they had something game-changing in mind.
The result was the world’s first 4th Dimension, or 4D coaster, a new and experimental take on rollercoasters which involved riders being on either side of the track, rather than above or below. The trains would spin freely as they navigate the layout, creating an all new experience for riders. X soft-opened in December 2001, but didn’t have its official opening until a month later in January 2002. Unfortunately this ride couldn’t secure Arrow’s future, and the company went filed for bankruptcy shortly after X’s public opening.
When X received new trains in 2008, it was renamed to X2. First new trains are added to Vampire, then X2, it seems many Arrow coasters end up getting upgraded trains at some point or another!
Matterhorn Bobsleds, Disneyland
Opened in 1959, Matterhorn Bobsleds is possibly one of the most iconic coasters of all time, holding countless legacies, including the first rollercoaster in a Disney park, the first ever ride to utilise a tubular steel track, and of course the Disney mountain that led to every other Disney mountain! This classic ride is also well-known among the theme park community for another reason- it is the first rollercoaster Arrow Dynamics, then Arrow Development, ever built. It really was the one that started it all.
Disneyland had been open for a few years when there was a demand for a new thrill ride, at the time Snow White’s Adventures was the most thrilling ride at the park and as more and more darkrides sprung up across the US, it began to lose its novelty. Even back then, nothing could beat that unique Disney magic (or fear!) but the demand was there even so. Walt Disney wanted to build the Disneyland’s first thrilling rollercoaster, but not lose the immersivity of his other attractions, but unfortunately he was unable to find a company would dare to take such a risk. That was, until Walt approached Arrow Development, who had already built Disneyland rides such as Mad Tea Party, King Arthur Carrousel and Autopia, and asked them to design a coaster that would take riders on a bobsled adventure around a snow covered mountain, plunging into water at the end.
It was certainly a challenge, but the growing company took it on, and after a few years of construction Matterhorn Bobsleds opened in June 1959, housed mostly in a forced perspective rockwork mountain inspired by the Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland. The whole ride was revolutionary, from the impressive theming that likely led to the creation of so many other heavily themed coasters, to the new tubular steel track that creates the feeling that you really are riding a bobsled, right down to the plunge into water at the end of the adventure. That bit never made much sense though, surely if it’s in the mountains, everything would be frozen and icy- so how is there an un-frozen pool of water for riders to plunge into?
Fun Fact: when Matterhorn Bobsleds was being designed, Walt Disney actually wanted there to be real snow on the mountain, but due to the technical limits at the time, and the hot California summers, this was practically impossible, so fake snow was used instead!
The Big One, Blackpool Pleasure Beach
This ride is exactly what the name suggests: big. When The Big One opened to thrill-seeking riders in May 1994, it broke the record for world’s tallest coaster, previously held by Magnum-XL 200 at Cedar Point, and even today holds the title of the UK’s tallest coaster at over 200ftft. (We really need a giga over here in the UK, or just a hyper that’s taller than Steel Curtain!) The second Arrow hyper is extremely similar to its predecessor Magnum XL-200, with an almost identical track colour and layout, and both coasters offer a beautiful coastal view as the trains climb the lift hill.
The Big One’s height is actually a bit of a grey area, with different sources giving different statistics, it is widely accepted that the drop is 205ft, but the most common height figures are 213ft, or slightly taller at 235ft. Which height stat do you believe? Let me know below!
For seventeen years, The Big One was sponsored by well-known drinks company Pepsi Max, and was known as the Pepsi Max Big One, and it wasn’t until 2011 when the ride’s sponsorship was removed, and the name was shortened to the same name it holds today. While it may not be a world-record breaker anymore, The Big One is still an impressive rollercoaster that is a favourite among thrillseekers and enthusiasts visiting Blackpool Pleasure Beach today!
Corkscrew, Cedar Point
Out of all the coaster models built by Arrow Dynamics, the classic Corkscrew was one of the most popular, with 24 installations worldwide, second only to the Custom Looping Coaster. Many Arrow corkscrews have been named simply Corkscrew, and you’d be forgiven for thinking this Corkscrew holds the same name as what it actually is, an Arrow corkscrew. (I said Corkscrew a lot in that sentence, oops!)
This is not the case however- the Cedar Point Corkscrew is in fact a Custom Looping Coaster! Even back in 1976, when this classic rollercoaster opened to thrill-seeking riders, Cedar Point were breaking records with almost every coaster they opened, and Corkscrew broke the world record for the most inversions with three! Nowadays, with rides like Smiler at fourteen and Colossus at ten, three inversions seems like hardly any, but at the time this coaster was cutting-edge.
The three record-breaking inversions are a vertical loop, and two corkscrews that interlock, hence the name Corkscrew. Today, many riders find this classic Not-A-Corkscrew (yes, I did just make that up!) rough and uncomfortable, and like many Arrow coasters it has began to lose some of its smoothness, but no matter whether you love it or hate it, coasters today may not be the same if Corkscrew was never built! It really is a ride of historical significance!
What is your favourite ride or rollercoaster by Arrow Dynamics? Let me know below and join the conversation!
Your articles are amazing. Thank you for your hard work.
It’s definitely worth a visit! 🙂
Interesting! Never heard of that park before
Love this Lily
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Coaster Dreamers 
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoy them. Sorry about the late reply -Lily 🙂