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There was no wait and see how it goes approach to it. A limited number of pieces were going to be available, and that limited number was reached.

GREAT news! Thanks to IceePirate, my piece is secured!! I am finally going to get my piece of arrow history! I cannot thank you all enough here at KICentral for helping me make this happen. Im thankful for everyone here who helped me realize my dreams. A huge thank you to IceePirate for securing my piece of Vortex. Thank you everyone here so much. I owe you all here at KICentral a HUGE one. Im thankful i finally get to get my piece of arrow history. Thank you so much. Thank you!!

This a bump, but it’s nice to see that Coney Confections just got a new sign. No more clashing purple!

A week ago Cincinnati's Coney Island held a memorabilia sale and sold off a lot of the former amusement park's old pictures, artwork, ride vehicles, signage, etc. There wasn't too much posted about the sale ahead of time, but I recognized an old Kings Island map in one of the pictures shared on their Facebook about a week before the sale. After a little consideration, I booked a flight up to Cincinnati for a long weekend to visit family and hopefully score that map. And after an early Saturday morning (and a lot of stressing about getting to the sale early enough and finding the map before someone else got to it), I found myself the new owner of this cool vintage piece. It's a little faded and worn, but it's also nearly five decades old. I believe that it would've been displayed in the preview center for Kings Island at the old park (hence why it was being sold at the Coney Island memorabilia sale and didn't end up at the new park). The map was created by Ron Riegler, who would later serve as the chief art director for Kings Productions. It was one of several park maps created ahead of the new park's opening to show future visitors what Kings Island would look like. Whereas other maps had a lot of differences compared to what was ultimately built, this one seems to have been one of the final iterations and matches up with the as-built Kings Island really well. There's a few minor discrepancies between the artwork and what was actually built... I assume some were just artistic liberties, whereas others may have been actual adjustments. I think one of the most fun parts of Kings Island history is sharing it with others, so I took some pictures of the map's details to share here... with a sprinkling of commentary (especially with regards to what was painted and what was actually built). Description of the five themed areas and Ron's signature... note number five is the "Happy Kingdom of Hanna-Barbera", whereas the real section was known as the Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera. It also refers to the "Happy Kingdom Ride", which I assume would ultimately become Enchanted Voyage. The entrance plaza is one of the biggest changes between concept art and real life. The tram circle in the drawing is skewed to the side, whereas the real life variation was directly in front of the park entrance. There was also a line of flags here that I don't believe ever existed in real life, plus the International Restaurant appears to be included (in reality it didn't open until 1973). The concept of International Street here appears very similar to what was built, pardon a few small things. There is a floral clock and date in front of the tower, whereas the real life floral clock was behind it to the right (before being relocated to directly behind the tower in 1977) and the floral date wasn't added until 1973 to the left. Note that there's also flags on top of the carousel, which I don't believe were ever a thing. Oktoberfest and Coney Island. I'm not sure what's depicted between Sky Ride and Rotor (bottom left of the "2"), but I don't believe anything was ever built there. The Racer station and lift hill also show some flags that were never a real thing. Top of the map, with Racer, the antique car rides, and Rivertown. I think that Rivertown ended up being the most accurate to what was actually built. I can't pinpoint any changes. The railroad and picnic grove. It looks like a series of teepees at the railroad's turn-around... there were teepees in the real ride, but I think that specific location was home to the Fort McHale show scene. And finally, the Happy Kingdom of Hanna-Barbera... pretty close to the as-built, sans the big canvas tent structure over the center and the huge compass atop Enchanted Voyage's building (though the real one wasn't added till mid-1972). The map is a cool piece and I'm sure it made a lot of Coney Island visitors excited for the new park opening in 1972. It's cool to compare it to what was built, and I'm excited to (hopefully soon) get it hung up to properly display. If anyone has any additional comments on the history of the map or its contents (or if you think I erred anything), please feel free to share!

I know this isn’t what kind of photo that is expected in this thread...but it is one of my favorite trips to the park during Halloween. My nephew dressed up as Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. We had saved some of his hair from a previous haircut to make sure his goatee matched. The real fun was when he had his sweatshirt on over his costume...the double-takes from everyone seeing him were priceless...and little kids would just stare at him while waiting for rides.

And FWIW - I was watching some YT vids of Vortex last night. What a great ride. Yeah - it was from a totally different era and it could beat you up - but you can't deny Arrow and KI gave us something special. I found an old video tape from April 1988 when I first visited KI as part of The Beast 10th anniversary celebration. My reaction to Vortex was pretty funny. The ride was absolutely massive compared to any steel coaster I had seen before. My home park at the time was Great America in Illinois so my only reference was the Demon. Vortex dwarfed that ride. Sorry it's gone but at least we had it for 33 years. A good run ...

I agree with you about not using track where the ties were welded but I'll bet they could (and did) use curved track to make these. One of the post cards included with the collectible shows a picture of them cutting the rails on the curve right out of the station leading to the lift. My assumption is the collectibles are made from those rails. Otherwise, why include that particular picture? It seems like a strange choice so I think they were trying to say "Hey - your collectible was made from these rails." I completely agree it would have been easier to use straight rail cut from the station or either of the holding brakes before the station. But IMHO, making the collectibles out of a curved piece of track would probably work fine too. I don't know what the radius is for curved sections of Arrow track but cutting a 1.5" slice out of one those curves would probably be barely noticeable at the scale we're talking about. It looks like a small arc, but in 1.5" increments you probably can't tell. And congrats to those of you who got to buy one of these today. What a truly cool piece of history to own! I am really hoping those of us who cannot get to the park will have a shot at getting one online from KI sometime next week!

I think that is nice...although most of the general public might think it’s a bit sad! (Not me.) Also, on a side note...the people who criticize the (lack of) size puzzle me...it’s what it represents, not how big it is...a bigger piece would not bring me more memories...just less shelf space!

I’m thinking they’re redesigning the drop off lot. Currently lot and park traffic are mixed, and as seen last year and this year a car dropping off a passenger at KI likely ends up stuck in the traffic heading directly to the park and that’s a problem.

I'm happy for @Vortex1987. Thanks to @IceePirate for being so considerate.

The Kings Island Vortex Kits are now sold out according to the parks twitter account. None will be available for sale according to Chad Showalter's twitter account.

^Bills happen. And school is expensive. Im gonna pre-order my piece Tuesday when i get paid again. Itll be completely worth it.

Hopefully The Bat stays around for a good long time but unfortunately these old Arrows seem to be meeting their demise more frequently. Viper at SFMM is the only 7 looper left (the last descendant of Vortex) and several suspended have already fallen. The Bat is one of the better ones out there.

Thanks. A KIC member contacted me late last night and graciously stepped up and offered to stand in line and get me on the preorder list this morning while they were at the park. So my order is in. Preorder won't be in until Jan/Feb, but that's ok. My guess is KI produced a small number of these to see what the actual demand would be. Now that they know, they can safely make the rest knowing they are presold and that they will not lose money by making them.

Buying it only to turn around and sell it is so infuriating. I’d feel so bad if someone didn’t get to buy it this weekend all because someone wanted to make a quick buck.

I got the chance to experience the Tricks and Treats today. I was not able to take my children over yet, but waking through and seeing other families experience the festivities it sees all were really enjoying the event. The additional stations for candy and shows were spread out well and did not make it to congested in Planet Snoopy as seen in the past for The Great Pumpkin Fest. Here is the new Tricks and Treats Gallery that can also be searched on our gallery page here: https://kicentral.com/photos/

As I was driving into KI today, I saw markers all around the Marquee Sign (sprays nearby and on its electrical boxes). Furthermore, there are sprays on the berm 20 yards away. Im curious if they’re going to relocate or replace the marquee. Thoughts?

^He did me a wonderful thing. Something ill cherish for my entire life. And thanks for the pagoda shop for selling them. IceePirate, i wish i could let you know just how happy i am that you did this for me. Thank you so much to everyone here for the support and helping to get the park to sell peices. I seriously cannot wait until my piece is finally in my hands.

Haven't been on the forums much lately because of life stuff. I just came back and it has a new look! It looks great!

Yeah, from what I've seen KI really took the approach of the most direct "half" and not the most efficient. Need some good ole gerrymandering on these rides. My examples being Viking Fury where they could have both sides start at the top of the ship instead of one side being tucked down 1 row from the end. Scoot them back one you'll have happier guests and you don't lose any capacity. Another being Boo Blasters, maybe this one has to do with cleaning but to run every other car, and at 75% speed makes this thing terrible to wait in line for. Also The Monster, why would you not run both sides of the lines? If you want to space people why jam them all into the right side alone at the savings of a single worker. Loading and unloading will be faster, guests are more spaced out while increasing rides per hour without increasing people on the ride at one time.

Just to clarify, there will not be any sold online.

The kits are now sold out per Kings Island’s Twitter Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pretty light traffic for the last few weekends, but busier than most of the summer.

I’m hoping the park can get one to everyone who wants to purchase it. I personally don’t care if they would pump out 5,000 of them...I didn’t buy one because they were limited, I bought one because I wanted to have a piece of the ride. Years ago the late Jack Lord (of Hawaii 5-0) donated his entire estate to charity...all of his belongings were sold on eBay. One of the conditions of the winning bidders was that they could not immediately resell the items...I believe it was for a period of 5 years...I don’t know how well that would hold up in court...but it did give them the power to have a listing pulled off of eBay...maybe Kings Island could try something similar.

The park still has some pretty good sized pieces of track. You can see them when riding WindSeeker at the edge of the clearing. People have been speculating about using them as decorations, but at these prices and demand it makes sense to make more collectibles. My guess is there is at least enough track to make 200 more.

Definitely one of the last done. The train's enginehouse is in it's final location and the short trestle at the water tower is gone from the original I saw in 1971.

Good point about the curved track pieces. Also, hope everything works out for you, and you are able to get a track piece.

Actually the amount of track Kings Island could have salvaged for this is not as high as you would think. For the collectible they are selling, each 1.5 inch slice of track would have to be cut from a flat piece of track in order for it to work. While areas like the station, brake run, midcourse break run, transfer track, and lift hill will work, the majority of the track won’t work in the way they are making these mementos. Also, areas of the track where there are cross ties can’t be used.

I pray that i can get my peice ordered Tuesday. Even if I have to wait its ok. As long as i have my piece secured, ill be happy.

We knew that would happen - hopefully no takers so they eat the cost! It would be great if KI comes out and says "we have 7,600 feet of track to work with and will make and sell these as long as interest remains. Simply place an order." For those questioning the length of track...length of coaster was 3,800 but they have two rails thus double the footage... Now granted they probably didn't keep that much rail, but point being as long as KI has a supply available, price gougers like this will not be able to sell it.

Smh. People are greedy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wouldn't call myself a fan of Vortex, not even remotely close to even an enthusiast thereof. However, I did appreciate the coaster and enjoyed it more and more in it's latter years. It just had a really good layout, and honestly I think if it had some touch ups to smooth it out more it could have been a top 20 coaster at least.

The way I see it, I can always make more money. There are only so many pieces of my all-time favorite ride and once they're gone, there will never be any more. I realize that I am more fortunate than some to be in this position (and I PROMISE this isn't meant to be braggadocious) but I would have been willing to pay essentially any price they asked, even if it meant spending the entire pile of cash I have sitting in my bank account for a PS5. My track slice will become my most cherished worldly possession and will likely keep that title for many, many years or even decades to come.

Glad to see The Vortex fans coming out strong for their favorite ride! Anyone willing to pick one of these up for me please LMK. Got my last ride in a year ago next weekend I am in Colorado so there is no way I am going to get one in person - unless they somehow end up online Monday.

Ngl definitely higher quality than I was anticipating. It’s 100% metal and honestly it looks far more valuable than 198!

^per cap spending is going up Too bad ride queue lines are not that socially distanced...

For what track is left. Estimated 100-200. They sold out of what was completed. So most likely these will not make it to online sales. Current status of the line as of 11:37am. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

At first glance I thought the PR team was in SWAT gear.

I’m hearing they sold out but are taking orders...

A long drive...but well worth it.

A long line just 10 min after the park opens.

I've had lots of memorable days at the park; some include: The first time I rode Son of Beast, which got me over my fear of looping coasters The first time I rode Flight of Fear (my first indoor coaster); I remember it being one of those limited operation days, so I didn't really have a choice as it was one of the only coasters open lol The many times I've went to Spiritsong over the years (IIRC, I think one of the last opportunities I had to ride Son of Beast occurred when I was taking a break from the music); there was also that one time a few years ago I "won" (was actually given) concert tickets while in the park that day (lightning did not strike twice that next year lol) Mystic Timbers announcement was pretty cool; also that Preview Night was the most crowded I've ever seen the park (I only rode The Bat and Mysti)! Closing Day 2019 was epic - it was Vortex's Closing Day, one of my best friends met me at the park for a few hours and other things NYE 2019- in light of what this year has brought with me not going to the park, that night was one HECK of a sendoff!!! I'm sure there is more, that I just can't think of at the moment... EDIT: Back when I played, playing Pokemon Go at the park. I did a few Community Days with friends (got my first Shiny ever) and during the first Winterfest, I got a Delibird (which was a limited time event!)! I remember waiting in line for the Charlie Brown Christmas Spectacular, checked my phone, got out of line and headed towards Action Zone. Once I caught it, I was so happy; I said that it was a "Winterfest miracle"!

Tuesday can't come fast enough. I'm just happy my dream has come true. Because this has a deep meaning to me. Thank you Kings Island for doing this. Thank you so much.

I want this back so I can get to my favorite ride Daimonbdack alot quicker hahahaha

As a kid I loved that covered walkway. I would walk back and forth thru it . . seemed like a magical gateway to me . One end you can see and hear the sounds of International street, and go through the walkway to the sites/sounds of Rivertown to what I think you can see the log ride. To a small kid it just seemed you were going to two separate worlds.

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