Kings Island removing Vortex

Today, I drove by an empty building that used to be a Family Video, which had been open and renting movies just a few short months ago. As I looked at it, I realized that I have the same feelings about it that I do about Vortex: I used to love going there when I was a kid, and even though I hadn't been there in long time and basically no longer had any use for it, I still liked having it around and I'm sad that it's now gone.

It's so wild to me to remember these being state of the art, signature rides for the parks that had massive marketing and multi hour waits. Then they devolve into walk ons that I somewhat regretted riding because of the head pain but were still beautiful to look at. This is very similar to the demise of GASM at SFGAdv and it's sister at SFGA.

I haven't posted on here in years, but this one is pretty emotional for me. I worked on Vortex in the early 00s.

It's a beautiful ride. Smooth symmetry. 2 loops, 2 corkscrews, 2 more times upside down in a boomerang.

In a beautiful setting among the trees. There's numerous locations where you can see the entire ride, including from the Eiffel Tower.

Sure, it was a jarring ride. About once a week when I worked there, a tween-aged girl would get a bloody ear from her earrings banging against the shoulder restraints. But the smoother rides of the newer B&M's are less exciting. You can prepare for speed, but Vortex can always surprise you.

Vortex was a joy to drive. The drive box was well-placed to give the driver a view of the whole platform and the ride itself. It's not the most efficient coaster, but it's one of those rides where a good driver can make a huge improvement in capacity.

Vortex helped me overcome my fear of heights. One time when the ride was down, I was sent up to talk to guests on the train in the mid-course brakes, about 60 feet in the air. Open metal stairs that you could see right through. I was terrified but doing all right calming the guests down. Then the driver came over the loudspeaker and told me to pick up the phone. For some ungodly reason, the phone box in Vortex's midcourse breaks is on the outside of the guardrail facing away from the platform, so I had to reach over the guardrail, open the phone box away from me and reach about 18 inches away from the platform & a foot down from the top of the guardrail. 60 feet in the air. I reached in for the phone & all that I could find was a bundle of wires. Someone had removed the phone! All that adrenaline rush, terrified I'm going to fall over the edge, for nothing. The sheer ridiculousness of it taught me a lot about fear.

She might just be a cranky old lady to some. But she will be missed.

I haven't logged on to this forum in years, but I saw this in the news today, and wanted to see what others were saying. The Vortex was the first multiple looper I ever rode, and I have a lot of nostalgic feelings of laying my eyes on it the first time, and how wild and visually striking it was. As the old Arrows die off, that's maybe the saddest thing lost, the incredible visual image these former giants conveyed as you entered the park or drove past one. Cobra rolls seem to have won out against the reciprocal batwing in terms of comfort, but the latter was always cooler-looking, and Vortex's is aesthetic perfection in terms of its location.

More objectively, the ride as a whole became more uncomfortable over the years, or maybe newer steel coasters set new standards for smoothness. In any case, although the ride was mostly a box-checker during more recent visits, let me say this: from the back seat, that first drop is wonderfully brutal, and long after most other coaster could no longer give me that "lost stomach" feel of my first coaster ride, the Vortex always came through.

I don't think I'll need to get one last rife in; I had a season pass all through high school and can visualize the ride just by closing my eyes, but in terms of what it represented and delivered during maybe those first dozen years, I will miss it dearly.

So is it staying or going? Kings Island’s Facebook says buh-bye but their Twitter says not so fast...

https://twitter.com/kingsislandpr/status/1045340008612270080?s=21

I have been worried this day was coming for a few years now. When they announced Firehawk was leaving I thought it bought Vortex a little time. If it were Anaconda I wouldn't even give it a second thought. But I always liked Vortex. Possibly enough to book a quick weekend to Cincinnati if I can get enough of a deal on one of the budget airlines.

That tweet is from a year ago today, 9/27/18, when they announced Firehawk was leaving and everyone had thought it potentially could have been Vortex.

Brett- Yep I just caught that. Funny that it was on the same date a year ago.

It’s time. The ride is not well designed with bad transitions that can be seen by the eye. That is prime space that can be much better used. Kings Island does not have a flourless, wing coaster, wood hybrid or wood twister yet to name a few.

Just like the removal of Firehawk, something better will folllow.

Here's an interesting question to ponder. The last time I went to Cedar Point, Corkscrew seemed to be riding OK, and Demon at Six Flags rides to me as good today as it ever has. It's been more than a decade since I was on Vortex, but is it the size and scale that is bringing these coasters down? WIll we see the same thing that we've generally seen with the large Dinn-Summers wooden coasters.

Here's the part I find interesting though, the quote "the ride has simply reached the end of its service life". While I'm not disagreeing with this statement, what does this mean for Magnum (only 2 years newer), the mine trains at most parks (Mine Ride at CP for example is 50 years old this year), Iron Dragon (same year), or Dragon Mountain at Niagara Falls (slightly older).

Now, that being said, that space has a lot of potential... Maybe something else like Time Warp at Silver Dollar City or something like Powder Keg...

That’s just a way of saying “we can’t justify the cost of maintenance for this ride that isn’t popular, is getting more expensive, and people complain about”.

I didn't ride it last year when we were there. In 2016 (17?) it hurt too much. I like an arrow multi looper, but no thanks.

Walt S said:

Here's an interesting question to ponder. The last time I went to Cedar Point, Corkscrew seemed to be riding OK, and Demon at Six Flags rides to me as good today as it ever has. It's been more than a decade since I was on Vortex, but is it the size and scale that is bringing these coasters down? WIll we see the same thing that we've generally seen with the large Dinn-Summers wooden coasters.

Here's the part I find interesting though, the quote "the ride has simply reached the end of its service life". While I'm not disagreeing with this statement, what does this mean for Magnum (only 2 years newer), the mine trains at most parks (Mine Ride at CP for example is 50 years old this year), Iron Dragon (same year), or Dragon Mountain at Niagara Falls (slightly older).

Now, that being said, that space has a lot of potential... Maybe something else like Time Warp at Silver Dollar City or something like Powder Keg...

You raise a good point Walt because I was curious about the fate of Viper at SFMM? Arguably my favorite standard looping coaster anywhere in the world and its only 3 years younger than Vortex. Does this mean SFMM is gonna get a wild hair up their backside and take it out too ?!?!?

super7* said:

Kings Island does not have a flourless

Kind of you to be mindful of the gluten-sensitive.

Walt S said:

Now, that being said, that space has a lot of potential... Maybe something else like Time Warp at Silver Dollar City or something like Powder Keg...

This will leave KI without a traditional sit-down looping coaster. The only "proper" replacement in my opinion would be something like a custom B&M Floorless. The timing is very bad though due to having just spent so much money on Orion, so we may be looking at a vacant plot for some time.

I mean yeah that's true (that we'd be missing a traditional sitdown looper) but I just don't buy the whole floorless hype. Don't get me wrong they're good rides, just dated imo.

A dive would give the park that vertical drop coaster they're missing, which is why I predict that to be the next coaster, however soon or late that comes.

The thing about a Dive is that they have to sprawl out somewhat because of the large radius turns and inversions required by the ride vehicle. I think a Dive would be a good future replacement for both Invertigo and Congo Falls over in Action Zone where they could have some close interaction with the entrance, like Invertigo has now, and have some room to spread out over the midway, the path dividing AZ proper from the amphitheater, etc. It would also likely be a hyper-class Dive, and the Vortex land is already quite close to Diamondback on one side and soon to be Orion on the other.

A floorless on the other hand can be more compact in nature, and match or exceed Vortex's 6 inversions. It could also make better use of the available terrain that's under Vortex that a Dive's wide train and large track could have problems utilizing, and also have an element up close and personal with the midway like the iconic boomerang on Vortex.

I think that with utilizing B&M's steeper lift hill design, and placing the lift where Vortex's currently is, they could do something really unique with perhaps a 150-ish foot height, like taking the first drop into a high turn element instead of directly into an inversion, the same way Vortex does, but in a more modern fashion. They've already done things not previously done by B&M, like an invert that doesn't have a loop for the first element, the first hyper with a water brake, and now the first Giga by means of terrain.

Magnum has seen significant track replacement, so that's why it will last. I imagine they could do the same for Vortex, but it doesn't fundamentally fix its slide rule engineering. Magnum gets away with it, so to speak, because it only has one set of curves, the roughest part of the ride.

Coasterhound36 said:
You raise a good point Walt because I was curious about the fate of Viper at SFMM? Arguably my favorite standard looping coaster anywhere in the world and its only 3 years younger than Vortex. Does this mean SFMM is gonna get a wild hair up their backside and take it out too ?!?!?

SFMM just did a VERY long rehab of Viper in late 2018. While I still won't ride it, they did just invest some serious maintenance time and money on it, so expect it to stay for a while. However, it's the last of the giant Arrow Multi-loopers, so let's be honest about its fate.

The thing I wonder is how much of the perceived roughness of these old Arrows can be attributed to the actual aging/wearandtear/deterioration of the structure/track itself, and how much can be attributed simply to the newer rides being so much smoother.

Some of both, I'm sure. But I feel like its more the latter, as I have a hard time believing that Vortex or Magnum were ever objectively smooth rides.

Comparatively smooth perhaps, but not objectively. Even when they're brand new they still had those awkward(bent) transitions. Asking for some input on this as Vortex was my first big Arrow in 2008. Rode Magnum for the first time in 2010.

What were peoples' reactions when these rides first opened? To those who were around back then.

as for replacement? Copperhead Strike type multi-launch could use the terrain to its advantage quite nicely . See Helix at Liseberg, though that ride has the benefit of a much larger elevation change. Perhaps with an elevated portion or two over the midways.

I agree that a traditional Chain lift multi-looper is missing from the park's lineup, but I'm not sure that in today's market, that really matters.