WolfBobs Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Is it to late to start the rumor it's being relocated to Kentucky Kingdom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntaminLove Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 I love Arrow mega loopers and I hate to see another one go. Vortex is my favorite of the mega loopers and my second favorite Arrow coaster. The Beast and Vortex were the main reasons why I wanted to go to KI years ago. The news caught me by surprise. I figured Vortex would be around for a few more years since Firehawk got the axe last year. It sucks that two big coasters are being removed two years in a row. I think the ride maintenance is the reason. Maybe they've had enough of buying expensive parts and welding the track. I'm happy I'm able to get my final rides in a few weeks. I'll miss Vortex a lot and it will be strange not seeing it there. It really is a pretty and photogenic coaster. Hopefully whatever replaces it will be awesome. Fingers crossed for an RMC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmerleeberry Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Is it to late to start the rumor it's being relocated to Kentucky Kingdom? Nah, nobody's gonna believe you; they already got a T3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark549 Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Two and done for me (front / back seat). The coathanger transition into the MCBR - ouch. Maybe Vortex could literally be melted down into Orion track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedrinho Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 I do have really mixed feelings about this. We only had one Fast Lane day at the park and only rode it once in the front seat because of the jolty roughness and the awesomeness of Mystic TImbers, The Beast, Banshee and Diamondback. From day one leaving KI I had the feeling I should have given it another chance, back row, holding tight to the restraint. Perhaps it could have been mediocre or even better (which is fully OK for me with classic coasters). Back in 2017 I thought the location would be great for a real intriguing and intimidating Dive Coaster, towering towards the midway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgtlover Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Goodbye Vortex, may you roast in hell. I know many loved it for nostalgia or whatever, but it was a POS that needed replacing years ago. The only thing I can say good about it was it was quite picturesque. Something that looks so pretty shouldn't give you a headache before you get to the first inversion. I look forward to seeing what becomes of that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 (edited) PS: Being put on the Kings Island season pass promo image is the “Sports Illustrated cover curse” of the theme park world. Edited September 27, 2019 by coasterbill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLCHeadache Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Yes, Vortex was iconic and the first drop was among Arrow's best, but the drop into the corkscrews was one of the worst moments of jank I have ever experienced, and the location is prime terrain. So long as the replacement is inversion-heavy and reuses the station, I'll be happy for KI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Zo Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 My first visit to Kings Island was during the fall of 2007. It's almost painful to think of the state of the park's coaster collection back then. I was doing re-rides on Vortex, SOB, and Firehawk -- maybe I was too young to know any better. Actually, I probably rode Vortex more than any other coaster that day, excepting perhaps The Beast. SOB is gone. Firehawk is gone. Vortex is on the way out. In their place, we have Diamondback, Banshee, Mystic Timbers, and more coming soon. This park has come a long way since then. Nowadays, I'm way past the point of giving courtesy rides to junky coasters. I haven't been on Vortex in a long time, and I really won't miss it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 I told Emily that Vortex was going to be removed. She rolled her eyes and said she knows. I asked Hell the hell she knew, since she usually isn't into this hobby like I am. And she told me, "You made me join all of your lame roller coaster groups on Facebook." Hopefully whatever replaces it will be awesome. Fingers crossed for an RMC. I have no clue how this hasn't been mentioned prior to this post. Now, it's only a matter of time before someone says they should build a ground up RMC and call it Son of Beast, while they share some of their thoughts on exactly what elements it should have and how it should interact with the surrounding area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Yeah, I'm totally cool with Vortex biting the dust. I don't remember if I rode it on my visit there last year...and that should tell you how much I care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 I am NOT at all sad to see this god awful POS coaster leave the park. And the amount land it opens up is insane!! I'm hoping for a custom RMC Raptor in it's place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur_Seaton Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 An iconic ride for sure, one that's definitely "of its time." I only rode it once as I didn't really didn't see much point in riding it again, but I do have a soft spot for some of these old steel coasters that linger long past their shelf life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyUD06 Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 A shame. When I rode in in 2017, it was plenty smooth and didn't have any of the traditional arrow headbanging like I'd get on something like GASM at SFGAdv. Has it really gotten that bad in two years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jconsolmagno Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 PS: Being put on the Kings Island season pass promo image is the “Sports Illustrated cover curse” of the theme park world. I think you mean Madden curse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DILinator Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 PS: Being put on the Kings Island season pass promo image is the “Sports Illustrated cover curse” of the theme park world. I think you mean Madden curse. That kind of dates you! (And by extension, coasterbill and I!) Before there was a Madden Curse, there was the Sports Illustrated Cover Curse! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamico2 Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 Vortex must have been in need of some seriously expensive maintenance, otherwise the removal at this time makes no sense to me. The ride pushes through close to 1600 people per hour, with only 3 operators! Firehawk struggled to do half that with, what?, 13 ops. Plus, I don't see KI going major coaster again until 2023, at the earliest. I am certainly in the minority, but I actually quite enjoy Vortex. It is without a doubt the best pre-Schilke Arrow looper. Word certainly got out quickly. Before dusk, Vortex had a longer line than Beast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 Hey, you can never really accurately predict, when a coaster is well beyond it's sustainability...and safety, yes? No? Well, maybe you can, but sometimes you really can't do it. And 30+ years, is pretty good years for a steel coaster, too. My once and only times to ride it, was in May 1995, after attending a con in Chicago. Loved it. There's also a little corner of one of the walls in one of the Guest Rooms, that has a few of my actually photographed coasters, one of which I enlarged because I loved it so much... My shot of Vortex, from The Tower. My Corkscrew shot, which had another train up the lift hill. I really liked this shot I took. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedrinho Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 A shame. When I rode in in 2017, it was plenty smooth and didn't have any of the traditional arrow headbanging like I'd get on something like GASM at SFGAdv. Has it really gotten that bad in two years? For sure, on July 6th 2017 it had frequent breakdowns over the day and was rough as hell in the front row. Head banging galore. One of the breakdowns. Two trains had to be evacuated. Pretty interesting to see. It was done for the day afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 The responses to this closure are hilarious. I thought the Orion complaints were plenty entertaining, but between the two of them I feel like we've struck gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 If only all the complaining enthusiasts would actually stay away from Kings Island.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIDelirium Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 You know, being right on the Coney midway and having that classic design feel to it, I think the station would be a nice venue to be converted into an in-park history museum. They could even leave that small fixed part of Vortex track that leads into the "shed" part in place alongside the old Bat footer right next to it. It would fit right in with how they've paid homage to past rides in the Antique Autos theming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK4494 Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 That moment when KI gets rid of Vortex but KD gets rid of Volcano and not Anaconda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KPfan Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 It's a decent ride as far as Arrow loopers go. Suffers from the same issues as others designed the same way. In my opinion the only thing it really needed was fresh trains and a paint job. But I only get to ride it 2 or 3x a year so more seasoned riders may disagree. My guess is it came down to not wanting to invest more into the ride. They can do a lot with the space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur_Seaton Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 It's a decent ride as far as Arrow loopers go. Suffers from the same issues as others designed the same way. In my opinion the only thing it really needed was fresh trains and a paint job. To fix some of these early Arrows, it seems like someone would need to take some math and a hammer to the track and round out some of the more coat hanger-style transitions they're known for. Some of the old Arrow designs are really cool and it'd be interesting to see a resurgence of old layouts done in a more modern / smooth way. I'm not really a big fan of RMC's in-house designs, but it'd be cool to see how a layout like Vortex or Viper might work as single-rail raptor track (or whatever they're called). (Knowing RMC, though, they'd tie the track up in knots or invert the entire lift hill to ensure requisite discomfort and thigh bruising.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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