Vonni Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Ugh the cameras are still down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Zo Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 From driving by today, the Orion lift hill looks like it's probably somewhere around 200'. The drop is also being constructed but isn't quite as high up yet -- maybe around 150'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 I can finally grasp the scale of this thing. Looks pretty sweet. Â Â Â Â Photo Credit: Amusement Insiders Facebook Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonni Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDD27 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 So here's a bit of a trip report. I made it out to Kings Island this past weekend to be there for the end of Vortex. With the exception of about a half an hour breakdown on Saturday, she ran beautifully the whole weekend and Sunday provided beautiful weather for the final rides. I took my last ride around 7:30 just after sunset right before she went down for good. I might be in a very small minority, but Vortex was my #1 coaster and I'm really gonna miss it. The weekend started gloomy as the old Arrow's final days rolled around I'd really love to have one of these banners She still looks beautiful, even after all these years Saturday provided a great opportunity for rides, as the rain kept most people away. Sunday proved to be a beautiful day, the perfect way to send Vortex off. This was my last front row ride on that final morning I'm really gonna miss these views Still the best drop on an Arrow looper As the sun began to set her time was running out It was time for the last ride As I made my way through the queue I got to watch the last beautiful sunset over Vortex I might be smiling, but on the inside my heart was heavy knowing this was going to be the last time. And with that she rode off into the sunset. After the final rides the park played a salute over the lift speakers and it made me tear up just a little bit. Goodbye, Vortex forever #1 in my heart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 (edited) Sucks to lose your #1. When they decided to run Mr. Freeze backwards I was not happy about it. Â Did you have to wait long to ride it on Sunday? When you mean they played a salute, did you mean they played Taps? If not, this is the only thing I could find via search... ... ... Â [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] Edited October 29, 2019 by prozach626 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDD27 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Sucks to lose your #1. When they decided to run Mr. Freeze. backwards I was not happy about it. Did you have to wait long to ride it on Sunday? When you mean they played a salute, did you mean they played Taps? If not, this is the only thing I could find via search...  [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]  Yeah, I believe it was taps, but it could be heard even from the front of the park. It was a bittersweet moment. The lines Sunday were really long at the end of the night the line spilled through the extra switchback set up and out down to the bathrooms by windseeker. Even so Vortex churned through people so it was only about 40 minutes. And that was 40 minutes I was glad to wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Sometimes it's easy to feel kind of cheesy about the coaster things that give you 'feels,' but I guess you really don't need to suppress emotions for what's important to you. (unless you're me...) Just know that you may have been the only person crying about Vortex who wasn't doing it out of physical pain! Â Had to be Taps: [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]Â Thanks for the pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDD27 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Sometimes it's easy to feel kind of cheesy about the coaster things that give you 'feels,' but I guess you really don't need to suppress emotions for what's important to you. (unless you're me...) Just know that you may have been the only person crying about Vortex who wasn't doing it out of physical pain! Â Had to be Taps: [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]Â Thanks for the pictures. Â You'd be surprised the turnout of enthusiasts and just locals that had stories to tell was incredible Vortex really meant a lot to a lot of people. I'll never understand why many people find Arrow coasters to be so rough. I get that they can be a bit jerky, but I enjoy it it feels out of control like a coaster should. I can think of many rougher rides. I remember in Rolling Thunder's final year at Great Adventure it actually bruised and cut me more than once. Regardless I love the classic arrow looper and each one is harder to see go because eventually they will be extinct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 I'm sure there were a ton of people there who loved Vortex. Â You might be one of seven people to show up if Ninja at SFSTL ever has its last riders. Unfortunately, I don't think that will happen in my lifetime unless it's hit by a blessed meteor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDD27 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 I'm sure there were a ton of people there who loved Vortex. You might be one of seven people to show up if Ninja at SFSTL ever has its last riders. Unfortunately, I don't think that will happen in my lifetime unless it's hit by a blessed meteor. Â The last Arrow's to die will be the absolute worst ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Ninja started as a bankrupt Arrow completed by Vekoma in Vekoma's worst years. Since Ninja is at SFSTL it will be one of the most modern steel coasters at the park forever. That makes it an indestructible pile of shit. When you ride it and your head smacks against the restraint for the 10th time you start having visions of La Ronde. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDD27 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Sounds like a 10/10 ride to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastard69 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 The transitions especially have no 'snap' to them I think this is true of most B&M coasters made since around the time they started manufacturing wing coasters, dive coasters became more popularized and they introduced those staggered "wing" trains on their hypers than gigas. That timing would make sense as well because those types of rides require smoother elements and transitions by design. I'm guessing they decided to use the same type of "smoothness" for all of their designs, since they've mainly only built those types of rides since than any way. Plus they made their first family inverted model the same year as Banshee, so I'm assuming the full size models are going to be more aligned with the smoothness and flow of all those types of coasters. Â Wanted to loop back around to this now that I've ridden Banshee...Damn that ride is underwhelming. It looks great but than you get on it and it's like "wow it pulls...1.2 gs?" I mean Silver Bullet is kind of boring, but at least it has that awesome over bank. Banshee is the most disappointing B&M I've ridden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 I made my way to the park on Sunday on a one day turn and burn to get a last ride on Vortex. I'm glad I did and it really was cool to see all the people that showed up to do the same. Long lines and tons of people taking pictures and videos from all different spots and angles. The weather was beautiful and lines were long all over the park in the afternoon, especially fastlane. I'm guessing fastlane was so busy because of pass renewals, as was the case for me too. I waited about 35 minutes starting at 6:20 to ride the Beast; even longer than I waited on a very crowded nice weather Saturday Haunt night a couple years ago with fastlane. Â ^I'm the complete opposite. I love Banshee. It feels so big and fast. At opposite ends of the spectrum, my favorite inverts are Batman and Banshee. They are very different experiences but I really enjoy both. Â ^^I would probably go to get a final ride on Ninja for sentimental reasons...but it really is such a piece of trash. I really like Vortex, Ninja can kick rocks. I was disappointed to see in the SFSTL thread that it is receiving some maintenance work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLCHeadache Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 I will cancel my Six Flags membership and boycott the chain if the St. Louis Ninja outlives the Magic Mountain Ninja. Â Banshee is the Millennium Force of B&M inverts. Everything on a grand scale. There's a place for those, as well as the Raptors and Mavericks of the world. Say what you want about the vests, but Banshee doesn't have a view as badly obstructed in the middle seats as previous generation B&M inverts did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 Wait.... There are actually people out there who LIKED Vortex?!?!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DILinator Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 I'll never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever... (well you get the point) understand people who dog on Banshee, or specifically act like it lacks forces. My last rides on it in particular, just a couple of weeks ago, my feet actually were going numb by the end of the ride, usually a Batman hallmark. The ride pulls serious forces, and that's a simple fact. Maybe some don't like its spread out (read: unique and interesting) layout, compared to the Batman and Raptor Invert models, and that's fine, because opinions and preferences are for each, their own. But it's a forceful coaster, just like Millennium Force, and those denying it, are denying science, and physics, as my body a couple weeks ago can attest to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedrinho Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 ^ Preach! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 I've said many times before that Banshee delivers speed sensations and has smooth gradual transitions more akin to a B&M hyper than a typical invert. If you go into it expecting the same flavor as Montu or Batman you'll be disappointed. Â Banshee is kind of unique to the invert family. To say that it's forceless isn't very objective. It just doesn't deliver forces in the same manner as snappier inverts. Banshee is hauling ass at the bottom of every swooping hill and element. Â I personally love it and I have zero concern for my ears when I ride it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastard69 Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 I'll never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever... (well you get the point) understand people who dog on Banshee, or specifically act like it lacks forces. My last rides on it in particular, just a couple of weeks ago, my feet actually were going numb by the end of the ride, usually a Batman hallmark. The ride pulls serious forces, and that's a simple fact. Maybe some don't like its spread out (read: unique and interesting) layout, compared to the Batman and Raptor Invert models, and that's fine, because opinions and preferences are for each, their own. But it's a forceful coaster, just like Millennium Force, and those denying it, are denying science, and physics, as my body a couple weeks ago can attest to. Â I would not recommend you ride any B&Ms built before 2006, if Banshee makes your feet numb, ones with forces might kill you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelwee Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 I'm late to the party (funeral?), but somebody on Instagram posted a video of the salute to Vortex. They played "Taps" over the lift hill speakers after its last ride. Link to video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastard69 Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 ^Somebody else posted a tribute video playing "I'll be missing you" in the background. Some of these coaster boys really need to chill. Although I can't wait to hear what music they use when Beast closes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDD27 Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 ^Somebody else posted a tribute video playing "I'll be missing you" in the background. Some of these coaster boys really need to chill. Although I can't wait to hear what music they use when Beast closes. Â I don't think Beast is ever gonna close, unless the whole park closes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 I'm late to the party (funeral?), but somebody on Instagram posted a video of the salute to Vortex. They played "Taps" over the lift hill speakers after its last ride.Link to video  DO I HEAR SOMEONE CRYING?  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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