Vortex is leaving Kings Island

[Snoo]

Interesting, this all came out of nowhere! I'm surprised that Vortex is chipping and not Anaconda at Kings Dominion or any of the Cedar Fair Corkscrews - they get much worse reviews. I'm going to believe that they will keep some parts as spares for the other Arrow loopers in the Cedar Fair chain.

To be honest, riding it this year, they didn't have all the trains running and the ride seemed worse then it was before. It certainly has seen better days but it's no surprise this mega loopers are dying one by one. Just not worth it given what they provide.

 

[LooksSlow]

I wonder if they will re-use the station again - it could be the first ever station building to be used for 3 different coasters!

Please correct me if I’m wrong. Z-Force, Iron Wolf, Goliath.

 

[Antinos]

God, @CanobieFan's meme is too true. What woodwork did all these people come out from?

I liked this ride back in like 2002...but it's currently 2019. The ride is old, it's seen much better days, and it was built with what is now ancient tech when it comes to roller coasters. People may have their happy memories and soft spots for the ride, but whatever eventually replaces Vortex will be vastly superior.

Considering the suddenness of the announcement, it seems like the park realizes that the ride is on life support. I don't know how I feel about going to ride something that's likely limping through its last days.

This announcement does bring up an intriguing thought though. The earliest B&Me are not much younger than the Arrows and Vekomas that have been removed over the past few years. Although Hulk and Dueling Dragons are fringe cases, how much longer will it be before we see some of the early Batman clones get the axe? How much longer will the Six Flags coaster wars era mega coasters last? These are the rides that I will genuinely miss.

 

[Lori Marie Loud]

Nah all the batman clones IMO are overrated.

 

[Bathtub Gin]

Nah all the batman clones IMO are overrated.

Nah

 

[Jcoasters]

Batman clones are amazing rides, the only reason they're overrated is because of the sheer number. I think if there was only the original, it would be a top 5 invert no problem.

I'm cool with this, I won't ride rough rides just for the credit. I've never been to KI, but I would of probably avoided Vortex.

They were cheap **** compared to the Schwarzkopf's anyway, just horrible designs. I'll happily ride and old Schwarzkopf. Shockwave at SFOT comes to mind as a pleasant experience, Mindbender SFOG is on my bucket list!

 

[tomahawk]

This ride put me in the worst mood I've ever been in at a park. Hands down.

A shame we can't help tear this pile of **** down.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[cookie]

Tbf, I think Vortex is easier for Kings Island to kill off than something like a Batman clone or one of the turn of the millennium mega coasters would be for Six Flags. Arrow isn't around making parts anymore and the coaster itself hasn't been overly popular in a while. If they really wanted to save Vortex I think there'd be ways (Vekoma?), but that doesn't seem worth the investment.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

GIGA?!

oh wait.
To be fair, Vortex does sit on a significant plot of land. I could honestly see a large-scale mack launch coaster fit in there, maybe an upscale Copperhead Strike.

 

[Lori Marie Loud]

Question is what in the blue hell could replace Vortex. Not a giga, obviously. Maybe they're just retheming it?

 

[CrashCoaster]

What I don't understand is why are they closing it now?

Orion is opening next year, so surely it would have made sense to keep it around for a couple more years until a new coaster is due?

 

[tomahawk]

What I don't understand is why are they closing it now?

Orion is opening next year, so surely it would have made sense to keep it around for a couple more years until a new coaster is due?

Probably not worth the maintenance costs. Maybe they can use the extra manpower to get rid of the rattle on the B&Ms

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[Pokemaniac]

What I don't understand is why are they closing it now?

Orion is opening next year, so surely it would have made sense to keep it around for a couple more years until a new coaster is due?

If not for the fact that Firehawk also closed already, I'd say it would be to keep the workload/running costs at roughly the same level even with the opening of Orion. Adding a ninth coaster of that scale to the park would be an extra expense, compared to keeping the number at eight. Maintenance schedules would have to be worked out, extra crew hired and trained, all that faff. Easier to just say "the time and money we used to spend maintaining Vortex, we're now spending on Orion, everything else stays the same". Although I can't see Orion being more of a hassle to maintain than Vortex and Firehawk combined; with the closure of both, surely the workload would be easier in total?

I guess another factor is that Vortex wasn't very popular already, and with a shiny new coaster across the park it would get an even smaller share of guest attention. Better to whisk Vortex away silently instead of paying to run it for minimal crowds for a couple more years.

Other reasons have already been stated in the thread. It seems like Vortex was just doomed from a wide range of factors. It had a lot of things going against it, not very much going for it, and the park figured the best thing to do would be to just tear it down and prepare the site for further developments.

 

[KJ7500]

I only rode Vortex once, back in 88 when it was in it's second year of operation. I waited 3 and a half hours to ride, much to the chagrin of my family who were anxious to make the long drive back to Detroit. It was maybe a little herky jerky in those young days, but definitely not rough. (King Cobra on the other hand...) Vortex was a blast, and the first coaster I ever rode solo as nobody else in my family was willing to endure that massive line that stretched way down the midway.
I tried to get my dad to postpone the drive back home for a night ride on The Beast, as in those pre-internet days it was only after I got off a day ride and was talking about it when a more seasoned KI-goer said "oh, that's nothing! You gotta ride it at night! " Pops wasn't having it though.
I still haven't been back to KI but would like to head down to sample Orion, Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, Banshee, etc
Given what I've heard about latter day Vortex it's no loss. I don't mind smaller Arrow loopers. I've ridden the Corkscrews are CP and VF in the past 3 years. I find em clunky but not painful. Both those were a one and done for me. But something the size of Vortex with sharper transitions, I can only imagine. It seems like it had a pretty good run, really. Look how long it outlasted Shockwave at SFGA.

 

[Hyde]

At least we know Kings Island will have a great spot to host the Monster Truck Jam next year.

 

[Pear]

Very sad about this closure. Vortex was a very fun ride and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I skipped out on it when I went in May since we didn't have much time at the park and were going back to ride Orion anyways.

 

[Hyde]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1188619307774828544

 

[Hyde]

Wanted to share a few photos I grabbed from Vortex's closing weekend. Glad to get to remember it's last rides in peak fall. For all it's faults, it certainly made it's mark as the tallest full-circuit roller coaster and most inversions in the world on it's debut, and managed to outlive many of it's other multi-looping Arrow brethren. Not sad for it's removal (more-so excited for the land it opens up), and really see this as the scene from Babe where the farmer says to the pig, "That'll Do".

 

[Coaster Cinema]

I hope that Kings Island will send something to the museum.

 

[Pear]