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I'll never forget the first time that guests got to experience the 2009 version. It's important to note that even before Cedar Fair emerged on the scene: Tomb Raider was a shell of its former self. The ride, like many highly themed Paramount attractions, did not have its theme maintained. Not sure if this was due to a lack of resources or poor design (there was lots of blame going around), but the "totally themed, highly immersive, thrilling dark ride attraction" it was in 2002 did not fully exist in 2007. Many of the effects were gone, didn't work, etc. The best example was the spinning light that lined up with the door that you could eventually see struggle to spin. Still, I guess enough worked. The 2008 ride cycle was at least fun, then came 2009. The "boring ferris wheel" program was.... wow. It was bad. The queue itself looked ok, but the animatronic bat looked like a cheap thing bought at Party City. Shout out to the employees who did their best... warning guests about loose articles, trying to make things fun, even at one time resorting to Jungle Cruise-esque comedy routines in the pre-show to try and liven things up. That very first cycle: "Welcome back Crypt riders, how was your ride!?" Nothing but a chorus of boos and jeers. Every guest walking out of the exit was annoyed they had waited. That ride went from being one of the most popular with a line every night to having single digit riders by 9:15 PM. The only good part of that was if you worked it... you were heading home (or to the bar) at a reasonable hour. So, so, so, so bad. That generic wind howling... the empty box... the concrete floor covered in dirt... the skeletal remains of the "lava pit." And in the end, even with that mellowed out, boring cycle: the ride STILL didn't work properly.

Me during WinterFest lol

The primary purpose of the registration is to collect t-shirt sizes and coaster club affiliation information so membership can be verified in advance with the participating clubs.

We have a lock on piano via @pianoman and a bona fide OSU worthy trombone player in @Ride On_17. Still need a tenor and/or bari sax, trumpet, guitar, bass (electric or double), drums/2nd cowbell, 1 or 2 singers, and a 3rd cowbell part. @IndyGuy4KI and @malem can be band managers and the rest of KIC are the groupies. There is a discussion to be made for @VortexBFForever or @stashua123 for marketing, but will be discussed at a future date. #KICmusicshenanigans

Wow, I am having SO many flashbacks to my life on here and KIExtreme from 2008-2011. It's also really entertaining to me that Defunctland's video about Tomb Raider: The Ride is being shared around here and quoted. Many of his videos are inspired by and based on the Theme Park Tourist articles written by @bkroz (with permission.) He, TombraiderTy, myself, and many others used to speculate quite a bit about The Crypt's future and how it could have been rethemed back in those days. It's just really interesting seeing all that stuff come full circle, in a way, ten-ish years later. I'm old. So, if I could remember where I saw this, I'd link to it, but its location has been lost to the sands of time. I'm fairly certain it was here, but I haven't been able to find it via the search engine. It's been years, so this may not be accurate to what the original person said, if they were correct at all. Someone who worked for the park (in maintenance, I want to say?) once said that Tomb Raider's effects were designed in such a way that made them very difficult to repair without hiring the theming manufacturer(s) to repair them. I believe that person suggested that it was to help sell warranties, but the park/Paramount Parks didn't go for it. I want to say that the same thing was mentioned about Italian Job: Stunt Track? Even though Paramount by far wasn't doing a great job with theming upkeep, how nonfunctional TRTR's theming became in its later days would suggest that something was up. I DO definitively remember someone (@Shaggy? @The Interpreter? someone else?) saying that TRTR was possibly intended to be the start of a huge transformation of the park, if it had been successful. Given the Universal-like budget and nature of the ride, I love to daydream about what could have been. I can't imagine Paramount would have stuck to the original themed areas forever. I think Cedar Fair eventually got the hint that theming is what made TRTR what it was. In its last season (2011), the queue and ride cycle featured pieces of the Inception score. It wasn't the TRTR score or experience by any means, but I honestly think I appreciated that ride in 2011 more than any other year it operated as The Crypt. Lame as the ride cycle was, the Inception bwaah bwaaaaahs made it more of its own experience instead of it simply being "that ride that used to be Tomb Raider." It still was that, of course, but less so. I don't remember the exact track they originally played, but up till 2011, I know they played the Adventure Express "blowing wind" effect from before its second tunnel while The Crypt was loading/unloading riders. The Inception score just added more mystique to the whole thing. The Crypt ride cycle switch was so jarring, too. If they weren't using Kings Dominion's Crypt's exact cycle from 2008 to mid-2009, they were using one very similar to it. It was forceful as heck. You'd go into repeated spins, and it'd about plaster you into the seats. And then it went to a ferris wheel that did flips. Like, it wasn't shocking that the ride was tearing itself apart. Even in the ferris wheel cycle, there was such a powerful CLUNK when the gondola would lock during the cycle to flip you upside down. I'm speculating, but it just felt like the ride system wasn't capable of doing much more than what it did as Tomb Raider. It just didn't feel built for intensity. Tomb Raider: The Ride was such an anomaly. I truly don't think we'll ever see a seasonal park try something on that scale again. It was sincerely the sort of thing you'd find at a Disney or Universal park. I thought it was incredible: it's what got me interested in the industry. I also accuse it of giving me a preference for jungle adventure-y themes and rides and experiences, because visiting Ta Prohm in Cambodia is on my bucket list, and Volcano at KD, Crypt at KD, and Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland were/are some of my favorite rides, too. It's very odd and sad for me to see some of them go. But, that's the amusement industry and life.

I think this is one of the signs that the apocalypse is near...Ty admitting that the ride was at least underwhelming at one point in time!

I think a B&M dive with a drop that faces the Eiffel Tower would be cool. It would be an awesome view of the whole park, especially at sunset. Do I think we need another B&M? No necessarily. Do I think we will see any hint of innovation with the next coaster installed? I really hope so. With the terrain changes in The Vortex area I really think something like Time Traveler would work really well.

The tame ride cycle was introduced mid-May 2009. In retrospect, it's kind of amazing it lasted almost three full seasons with such an underwhelming ride experience. For what it's worth, the ride was originally built and tested outside in Germany. I realize a few weeks of outdoor operation is different from years of it, but I'd be surprised if the majority of the ride and its components weren't made weatherproof. Here's a few photos of it in Germany (source unknown; they've been floating around the web for 10+ years now): I've never seen that third photo until now, but it appears to be our (one and only) Giant Top Spin. I don't think any regular top spins had the A-frame support style, but I may be mistaken.

Fund raising hits the $75,000 milestone! https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2020/february/fundraising-surpasses-usd75000-for-orion-first-riders-auction-benefiting-a-kid-again?fbclid=IwAR2udneIDT0uY-J_N0Q9aaxaiAkxaN-2Wo7wfk5fbWYyHRbxtlFVgSb6Ctw

Riding off into the sunset. My last daylight photo of Vortex taken on its closing day. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sadly I was too little to ride King Cobra when it still was up, I do remember seeing it when I was younger, if I was a little taller I could have rode it.

It looks like via the Weatherbug cam and no new updates on social media that not much work was done on the demo of Vortex today?

I personally don't want to see Congo Falls go since its one of three water rides at Kings Island (excluding Soak City). But I will say that speculation of this kind is dangerous. If we just talk about how much we don't like The Bat, chances are it may go. Look at what happened to Vortex. I think another part of why Vortex is being removed is because it was having bad publicity as a ride. I won't go into much further details than this, but I really do believe that speculation of this kind is really dangerous. Going along with what @Oldschool75 and @IndyGuy4KI said, we should be focusing on what we have now and saying goodbye to what is leaving than just discussing what is going to be removed next.

I have always thought that a dive would be ideal here.

I hope the switch to a single Fast Lane is something that happens at all the parks. Hopefully the price point for the single Fast Lane option would be somewhere between that of regular Fast Lane and Plus, but I'm betting it's going to be closer to the cost of Plus

Hard to see, but there's a crane up next to the 2nd hill.

I will negotiate free all season past lane passes for all band members!

Friday is normal, But on Saturday I am having a Gratulation ceremony here, So when I get back (Hope it's under 8:00 pm) Your gonna see me with my fricking Gratulation Robe and ride Orion before it closes. (And yes i'll show it to everyone.)

I honestly don't want to see The Bat close, although that would be a great area to put in a new ride. I think the next ride to be removed would be Invertigo, I just have a feeling since it included in the Orion teaser back in the summertime, Vortex and Firehawk was also featured on this poster.

Yeah! I dunno if you've ever ridden another Top Spin, but they're very different ride experiences from what ours did. They're very disorienting and noticeably faster. They're worth a try, though I think the only one left in the U.S. at this point is at Six Flags Great Adventure. All the Cedar Fair ones are gone now.

Not sure if anyone posted this video but it show the loading station at the 6:20 mark.

In addition to what @TombRaiderFTW noted, keep in mind too that the "movements" of TRTR were also a bit different than that of a traditional top spin. Again, I'm not an engineer, but the lava pit scene was a good example: rather than swinging, the gondola was locked and slowly moved downwards over the the theming as opposed to having momentum. If you ever stood in The Beast queue and heard the loud screech coming from the ride... that was energy being released. It was quite a bit different from other top spins, even the one that eventually premiered at PKD. As for symptoms of the theming... even before Paramount was gone, the theming had been degrading.

^ I wouldn't say "misused." It was the only ride of its size and type, and the Ohio ride licensing department (Department of Agriculture) doesn't allow rides to operate outside of manufacturer recommendations. It's more that the design itself was safe, but it wasn't a great concept for a ride system for how big it was. Standard HUSS Top Spin models (Top Spin, Top Spin 2, Suspended Top Spin) are much smaller and more nimble with how they move. Ours was the only Giant Top Spin ever made, and its movements felt very... I guess the word I'd use is clunky? It was just very obvious how much power was going into moving the very heavy components. Like, I have no doubts that figuring out how to power the thing was a big hurdle for the park. You know how giants in movies are characterized by how slowly they talk and move because of how big they are, and they can accidentally punt normal-sized people into the next country with how grand and sweeping and powerful their movements are? It was like that, except for a ride. So when they started running the intense first cycle as The Crypt, the clunks got clunkier. It wasn't anything unsafe, but it just felt like the whole system was being strained more. (The fact that they removed an entire row of seats from the gondola before that cycle was implemented does give the impression that the whole thing was too heavy to do the intense cycle as it was originally built.) And apparently it was being strained more, because its final ride cycle was incredibly tame--the ride spun like a ferris wheel, rotating forward twice (and locking the gondola once so you'd flip once), then rotating backward twice (again locking once so you'd flip once.) It was a gentler cycle, and again, you could kinda get the vibe that it was easier on the ride, too.

Haha, thanks. It was more so... lots of coffee this morning and typing quickly while waiting in line for more. Thanks for this post, @TombRaiderFTW. Ironically, I never touched again after 2009 despite being around until its removal. I totally forgot about the Inception score! I'm no engineer by any means, but this was always my impression too. Like, it was so big and required so much energy to do anything. When the ride would have an issue and break down, it performed normally and went about its proper "homing" procedures as intended... but the earth shattering sound and the shaking of the building made it seems as if the world was ending. I was never able to experience Volcano, but was its theme and design on par with Tomb Raider? Also, I just realized... that ride wasn't themed to the movie "Volcano?"

I can't imagine them scrapping 3 coasters in 3 straight years. There was NO WAY The Vortex closure was planned, it was obviously a last minute decision and we're not hearing the real reason...end of service life is a silly and generic reasoning.

Anyword on what was done with Python? Is it being sold or scrapped?

Ah, thanks! I totally forgot the ride operated with the final cycle for nearly three seasons. If I recall correctly, the water effects were originally removed not from Paramount's lack of maintenance (surprisingly), but due to corrosion issues.

The problems were not worked out and that’s why it was removed.

The Giant Top Spin was the problem. The ride was a poorly designed prototype that was tearing itself apart. Exposing it to the elements would be like placing a standard laptop in your lawn during a thunderstorm and hoping for the best. My long term hope is that we get a new themed dark ride, fitting the aesthetic of Rivertown, placed into that building. :-)

It's always semi-annoyed me that the didn't just end up moving the Giant Top Spin to a different part of the park. Action Zone? Most people wouldn't care, and it'd look great next to Delirium.

It will be interesting to see if they widen the pathways with Vortex being gone. The area back by WindSeeker has needed some more space but that should be less of an issue this year since Vortex exit traffic won't be happening anymore.

We should start a KIC band. @silver2005 you game? I will play the cowbell.

It looks like CP is going to have live bands for the 2020 season. https://www.wtol.com/mobile/article/news/local/cedar-point-searching-for-bands-to-perform-at-park-for-2020-season/512-a47dc155-a203-4cc1-820f-dab9aa03339f

We're in a weird spot. Do we innovative and take risks or play it safe? We've been in the "Play it safe" bus for years following the additon of SOB. Cedar Fair has added 3 B&Ms and 1 GCI- all safe moves. I feel like their choices to not bring a lot of innovative rides to KI in favor of safer ones is to give the park good PR. If we got a T-Rex I would be a little suprised because that would but is back in the innovative/high risk category. Don't get me wrong I would love a single rail, high capacity, coaster; but with new models comes problems. Would it be safer to get rides like a B&M Dive or possibly a Floorless? Those coasters are certainly GP eaters and wouldn't upset them in the least. Enthusiasts would be disappointed that we would be getting our 4th B&M but at the end of the day, the GP are the main targets.

Post by rollercoaster expedition on Instagram:

Thanks for sharing! I've never seen that sign in person, but that picture makes it look a lot bigger than I've always envisioned it. Must've been like highway signs, which are massive yet look much smaller since they're elevated up above you. Here's a shot of that sign when the ride was still around (but apparently not operating, based off the a-frame in front) (source unknown): And interestingly, here's an older picture showing a different snake but the same text (source unknown). I would bet they changed the sign in 1999 with the Action Zone overhaul, but just speculating. And to throw one more image in, that I found when searching for the above two... from the end of the ride's life (courtesy Coasterguide): It's interesting to see how the first set of turns on Adventure Express were shaped to wrap around King Cobra. I'm pretty sure some of those concrete foundations for King Cobra's turn-around are still up there, as Banshee doesn't use that small plot of land. I've always wondered if they were the same building - thanks for answering that!

I'm hoping something like blue black and orange.

Anything happening with Orion? I wonder if the trains will each be a different color?

I totally agree with enjoying the here and now, and I don't want KIC members to get stuck on the past and future so much that they can not enjoy what the park has to give them now. Respectively we are a KI enthusiast forum where we can dream of and discuss anything regarding the past, present, and future of our beloved park.

Looks terrible

Drop Tower is also one of the better capacity non-coaster rides in the park along with Delirium and WindSeeker.

Agree 100%, Drop Towers are an essential flat ride. If they removed Drop Tower there would only be 2 high thrill flat rides left in the park. Not to mention Kings Island has a very impressive Drop Tower.

I always felt like KC was a better ride than its B&M counterparts because it was less extreme. I always found Mantis and Chang to be more of a stress test for my legs rather than an enjoyable experience. A memory that sticks out to me is the KC indoor-ish queue was the first place I recall ever seeing Coke machines that took dollars, which I thought was absurd at the time.

I agree. While it remains to be seen what will happen to the site, something WILL happen. And although there may not be an actual firm "plan", there's likely at least ideas being tossed around. As a former (P)KI official once told me "Areas of a park are viewed in terms of real estate. If a parcel of land has a low-producing or aging attraction, we begin mulling the viability of using that land for a future installation - and then may choose to ready the site for a new attraction." Fiscal planning and guest satisfaction surveys will likely help determine how quickly it happens.... but I guarantee you there's already an intent to use the space for something else they can market in the future. BTW, before "The Bat" was ever demolished, the park began looking at other options for the land. At the time it was demolished, the park then sent David Focke on a trial expedition overseas to solicit and test new coaster possibilities. Remember - this was happening at the very same time King Cobra was being added. (KC opened in 1984 - that following November the park announced demolition of "The Bat". Vortex opened in spring 1987.) The park already knew they wanted a high-thrill coaster to take The Bat's place before they even began looking at specific manufacturers and types. There were at least 3 different manufacturer proposals for the site - and ultimately KI chose to work with Arrow again in order to design and develop Vortex. I'm excited to see what the eventual outcome of Vortex's removal will be... but for now I'm more excited to take rides on Orion. In these insane social media days of "I want to be the first to know" or "I want to be the first to tell" the park isn't about to breathe a word of future intentions to anyone not directly involved. Whatever comes of The Vortex land vacancy, I selfishly don't want to hear about it via "leaked" blueprints. That just spoils the fun and speculation for me - and just isn't a nice thing to do to the park. Shaggy

Per the email newslettter I got from Coney, Fire Up the Night is now on Satruday, June 6th this year. I imagine they will do what they do for July 3 and Balloon Glow and keep the pool open until 9:30 that night.

I remember seeing King Cobra a lot as a kid, but I never got to actually ride it. In fact, it's the only Walk of Shame I've ever gotten on a coaster. The day I attempted to ride, the height checker wasn't at the designated spot, so my step-dad and I waited in line and once on board, we found I couldn't ride as the seat was pulled down as far as it could go, but I was still on my tip-toes. It didn't really faze me much (IIRC, this was the same day I braved my fear of looping coasters by riding Son of Beast), but my step-dad wasn't too happy. The removal was hard for me as I always remember it being there and then it was gone. Change was (and to an extent, still is) hard for me.

I take it you have never eaten at Harmony Hall? Take Coney BBQ, Larosas, Island Smokehouse, and Hanks and put them in a single building to choose from. A great variety of food options in one place.

Please no dive coaster

Seems fitting that a topic about a chain being replaced starts off with a broken link.