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Can we quit with the whole “Kings Island owes us an explanation” B.S.? It’s starting to get annoying and making the rest of the coaster enthusiast community look like spoiled brats. Sheesh! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Time marches on and nothing lasts forever. Every park, every where has to remove and update rides for various reasons. Vortex held its records for height and inversions for a single year but it was far from the first of its kind, unless you were talking about its sheer size. Vortex's layout, I think we would all agree, was one of a kind and it was one of the best looking Arrow's ever produced. Like many Arrow designs, it took elements from past rides, re-arranged them and, in that era, moved them higher off the ground in order to capture records. Vortex started it, followed by Shockwave, at SFGAm (and GASM @ SFGAdv and Viper @ SFMM). One more inversion, a higher first drop and three loops higher off the ground and that's about it. This is probably what will doom the bigger customer Arrows in the long run. Vortex and it successors use the exact same designs (track, trains, etc.) as the original corkscrew welded together in 1975 and I suspect they were just never engineered for those kinds of stresses and the design was never really updated to accommodate it. Think about that for a minute. Vortex, with a 148' first drop, six inversions and top speed of 55 was executed using the the same basic design as the first Corkscrew built 12 years earlier with a 65' first drop and a top speed of 46 MPH. I know - there were some minor changes made (wheel size on the trains) but Vortex was a far more complex machine. Everyone knows the original Bat was a mechanical nightmare with inherent structural design flaws that would have required major, major rework to save. If the original Bat had survived for 10 or 15 year I think we could be more upset about it being removed (similar to BBW @ BGW). CP's Corkscrew and Gemini, compared to Vortex, are far less forceful machines.

Looks like they got the helix done! The helix looks really cool and I love how it dives down into that headchopper! Only 78 more days; yeet!

looking off the blueprints, looks like we only have about 16 pieces of track left

Obliterating the station is sad, but I wouldn’t really say there is a systematic removal of the park’s history going on. Have we forgotten last season already?

I would much rather they only light the head chopper and any close fly bys and then use the lighted wheels on the train to make it look like shooting stars. Can you imagine streaks of light just flying through the shy?

I could see 2020 having the area mostly just cleared. 2021 having the elements of what the pedestrian traffic flow will be and maybe a flat as well as future expansion infastructure. Then, 2022 introducing 'next.' A watchful eye at iaapa a few months ago may have spotted CF folks at the Jack Rouse booth. Not saying that happened... This was the first year in the last 4 I didn't go. But they design environments and I'm thinking that footprint will become an environment.

As the park has stated, The Vortex reached the end of its service life. The stresses on the ride, because of its height and speed are more than what is found on rides like Corkscrew. The station likely had to go as any other ride they put in there would likely need a different station set up anyway. The building was nearly 40 years old. Time moves on. Kings Island in twenty years will be different than what it is today. Just like Kings Island in 2000 was much different than it is today. Remember, twenty years ago, the park didn`t have a single B&M coaster! Now we are about to have three! Not to mention the GCI coaster.

Looks like wind has tore the plastic that was over the location for The Racer track work area. It was together in one piece a few minutes ago, but flapping wildly in the wind.

Yeah....That ain't lookin' to good.

Looks like some track is being lifted into place!

It almost looks like the piece they’re putting in is attached to the headchopper piece. Makes sense in how they can get enough leverage to slide it under there.. edit: after looking at the size of the piece as it’s going up, I don’t think it’s long enough to make it to the headchopper piece.

Yeah they put that piece in before it goes under the helix then under the drop

With the station removal my money is even more on Monster Jam going there for 2020. Edit: Whats with all the sad faces? Granted Monster Jam is sort of lame and capacity is low but it will be gone before the season is over.

In my opinion, they are removing the station and ride because they have plans that involve not only widening the midway, but also for adding a new ride/roller coaster in a year or two. Just my opinion here, but they will probably put in a new roller coaster and we'll all be shocked when it debuts.

Sad how Cedar Fair is getting rid of history. Should have at least kept the station. I think it added so much more aesthetically to that area, too. Vortex and Bat were firsts of their kind as well and they have now gotten rid of all traces of both. Funny how they keep Corkscrew and Gemini open up north though. When they opened they were firsts as well. Hmmmmm.....

I think its going to be along time before the park Sees any midway expansion. They have the empty Vortex plot of land. And Invertago plus The Bat are likely not to be Around too much longer.

Looks like some track is being shipped over.

I think its amazing that this ride gets attention since it is a gateway to the past and a ride that has served generations. I wish the Wurlitzer organ was operating more often. I love the sound of it and it makes me feel alright inside tbh.

https://kicentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Episode-6-2019-Year-in-Review-Part-1.mp3 Don`t forget that you can get this podcast on iTunes, and on Spotify! Show notes: Join Robbie (CoastersRZ) and Brad (IndyGuy4KI) as they are joined by Evan Duffy (DeltaFlyer) to discuss the 2019 season. On this first part of two parts, they discuss: -Kings Mill Antique Autos -International Street Renovation -Octoberfest Glockenspiel -The Beast`s 40th anniversary is celebrated -Grand Carnivale -The Vortex served its last riders at the end of the season. Stay tuned for Part 2 of the 2019 Year in Review coming soon! We hope you enjoy this episode! Sorry for the long delay since the last episode. We have Part 2 already recorded, and plan to record another episode in less than two weeks!

The cameras not running could be requested by the contractors as well. They could have trade secrets to their methods, they could not want footage out there if something were to happen etc. There is a wide open list of reasons the park may have decided to turn the camera off, or that it be requested to be off.

^ Good point there King Ding Dong. I should have mentioned that I think a new roller coaster will make it's debut in 2022 in the spot of Vortex.

I doubt that we will see a new roller coaster in 2021, on the heels of Orion. I would look for something smaller in scale for 2021, like a flat ride, Planet Snoopy or water park addition.

And up until Coney decided to remove their rides at the end of this season, they still stored many of the ride components in the off season on the second floor of Moonlite Gardens (including the Carousel horses).

^ Congo Falls too. And like I said, Timberwolf if they want to go that route.

I'm not trying to be a stick in the mud, but I don't think that Area 72 (formerly X-Base, and previously Fort Kinzel, and before that Fort Cooper), is a good place for potential park expansion. There is one way in and one way out bottleneck that creates a lot of congestion on the busiest days. If somehow it could be expanded to the length of The Racer, and connected with that second pathway its feasible, but still not ideal. If they want to expand, and it's been 20 years so maybe they don't, I would do it in Action Zone by better utilizing the existing space and removing Timberwolf.

Here’s video of the demolition (it’s a parody). https://fbwat.ch/1aBgcEisIgPdlNrX

I got 10 rides on Mystic Timbers during the charity event in 2017, I think anyone will defiantly get their Orion fix that night.

Light shining on a rain drop on the camera lens.

Orion is looking super ominous right now with these low clouds. Now let’s see some more night lights testing!!

I respectfully disagree. I think the least they could do is inform everyone of its closing prior to the end of the season so that everyone can get in last rides. Which they did. And even that used to not be the norm in the amusement park world. "There are even exceptions to that these days," mused this longtime fan of Volcano: The Blast Coaster, Tomb Raider: The Ride, The Crypt at Kings Dominion, and Curse of DarKastle. Anything above and beyond a fair warning in advance of closing is wonderful and greatly appreciated, but I hesitate at agreeing that it's "the least they could do". For whatever reason, parks seem hesitant to livestream deconstruction and testing. It's been a thing for years now that webcams quietly go down when testing starts on new coasters. To me, it makes sense that parks would be extremely hesitant to show those kinds of events, as amusement parks carry a stigma with the public as being unsafe. If something goes wrong during deconstruction or testing, it's going to come across as "the park is unsafe." You don't want to provide any evidence for that idea, because parks that are seen as unsafe don't have guests coming through the turnstiles. See also: Alton Towers after the Smiler crash, and especially after investigation revealed the park was to blame. There's a lot of emotion involved in tearing down a 30+ year old roller coaster, but at the end of the day, the park is a business, and they're going to do what they're going to do to keep money flowing in. I understand that it's frustrating to not see Vortex's deconstruction (or Orion's lift hill topping, or any new coaster's initial test runs), but we're on the downhill side of the off season (not including Winterfest since it's not really coaster-riding season). In two months and some change, we're gonna be riding Orion and seeing what the park looks like without an Arrow looper in it. I hope it doesn't take that long to get a webcam back or a view of Vortex's deconstruction looks like, but if it is, it's not going to be the end of the world. And in comparison to how far we were from opening day 2020 at the end of Haunt 2019, these two months of waiting aren't that long.

It looks like the Grand Carousel horses are getting some love this off season.

"Technical difficulties"

This may be a shock, but the internet and Kings Island have been around for decades.

I come from the future. Vortex lives to be over 30 years and wooden coasters have evolved thanks to companies like GCI, RMC, and GG. Also make sure to get a lot of rides on the Antique cars because they'll be gone in 05

As is Anaconda at Kings Dominion. Hopefully The Bat sticks around for many more years to come.

You definitely have a point. Closest thing we have to a jungle theme now is Congo Falls.

The answer is Yes. You are doing it for the kids.

Per person. Be a member of the media (online included) that KI recognizes as being beneficial to promoting the ride or their guest if allowed.

Yep, this forum has been around that long! I have been a member since January 6th of 2004!

First of all, THIS FORUM WAS AROUND IN 2004?! Second off, RIP.

I never thought we'd be fortunate enough to have 3. Though I'm one of those who believe that parks should have at least 1 coaster from their company. A big park like KI, CP, CW, etc should have 3 or more B&Ms in their line-up to minimize downtime.

Don't forget to mention 3 B&M coasters!

Check it out yourself, but I would say no more than 30' based off this topo map I looked up.

How deep was the valley that Vortex sat on? 100ft?

Thank you!

@MrSourNinja, got it added for you.

@Klabergian Empire Here you go! A couple elements I'd like to get more smooth (but it's planet coaster so it's tough) and a couple I am not 100% sold on but this is my concept for a smaller RMC that could fit in the plot. https://youtu.be/sn92a9lyIDA

Still not sinking at least.

To answer the question asked in the title, yes...in 15 years!