A Rhode Island woman is racing against a November 1 deadline to buy a roller coaster and bring it home to the Ocean State. The ride, known as The Corkscrew, currently sits at the Wild Waves Theme and Water Park in Federal Way, Washington, which is scheduled to close its doors on November 1. As reported by The Boston Globe, 42-year-old bank employee and mother Croft has been drumming up support on TikTok and through a Change.org petition to acquire the ride and revitalize the memory of the defunct Rocky Point Amusement Park.
This isn’t just a quest for a thrill ride; it’s an attempt to reclaim a piece of Rhode Island’s cultural fabric. For decades, Rocky Point was the epicenter of family summer memories in Warwick, defined by its seaside atmosphere and the adrenaline of its signature coaster.
The steep climb to a purchase
The logistics of bringing The Corkscrew back are daunting. The ride was originally custom-built on-site at Rocky Point for the 1984 season by Arrow Dynamics, a firm that revolutionized the industry by using pen, paper, and mathematics rather than computer-aided design. When the park shuttered in 1995, the coaster was sold and moved to Washington, where it was purchased at auction for $850,000 in 1996. It has since been renamed “Wild Thing” and painted bright yellow.
Croft has been tasked with submitting a proposal to Premier Parks, the owners of Wild Waves, by the end of October. While Westin Petree, the director of sales and marketing for Premier Parks, stated there is no official asking price, the financial hurdle is only the first of many. Croft has reached out to casinos, shopping malls, Governor Dan McKee, and local philanthropists, searching for a partner with the capital and the land to host the ride.
“I’m hoping someone is out there that must miss it enough to want to do something,” Croft said.
Warwick city officials decline the investment
Despite the deep nostalgia shared by local leadership, the city of Warwick has made it clear that it will not be the ride’s benefactor. Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi, who grew up with the park and created the New Year’s Eve fireworks display there, acknowledged the site’s importance to the region’s identity. However, the economic reality of operating a theme park attraction is a non-starter for the municipal budget.
Picozzi told The Boston Globe that the city is not looking to enter the amusement park business, noting that the cost of buying and maintaining such a ride would be a fortune that the city simply does not have the resources to cover.
The engineering risk of a second move
Even if the money is found, the physical act of moving the coaster is a gamble. According to Sean Randall of American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) Northwest, moving a ride of this vintage is a precarious process. To transport it, the coaster would have to be chopped into pieces, mirroring the process used in the 1990s. This structural intervention could potentially jeopardize the ride’s future safety.
Randall noted that only about 15 Arrow rides have ever been moved. While ACE Northwest has indicated they would be willing to provide financial assistance for relocation efforts if a viable park were found, the technical risks remain a significant deterrent.
A world that no longer exists
On TikTok, Croft’s videos of old Rocky Point footage have garnered thousands of views, with users recalling first dates and concerts from a bygone era. For some, like Los Angeles-based actress Jessica Gardner, the ride is a visceral link to her late mother and childhood bravery.
Croft has noted that while Rocky Point was once where people went to have fun, there are now so many other mediums for fun that it is just a different world. Croft herself admitted this is a fair point, acknowledging that the mediums for fun have shifted entirely since 1995.
Currently, the original site exists as Rocky Point State Park, which reopened in 2014 as a space for passive recreation. It features markers where rides once stood and remnants of the old park, including an arch from the 1964 World’s Fair.
Without a proposal by the end of October, The Corkscrew may remain in Washington until the park closes, or disappear into the scrap heap of amusement history.
