[Vortex Removal Updates]

5 minutes ago, Klabergian Empire said:

The glare on the weatherbug cam doesn't help.

Yup. Logged on and thought the ride was gone, but it was just the glare. 

[What happened to the Tomb Raider ride?]

When I rode Tomb Raider the first year it opened, I was so stunned that it was a ride existing at a Midwest theme park. I'd heard descriptions of it, but it didn't prepare me for how thrilling and well-themed it was; it was truly a scary ride (being held over the water or being unexpectedly flipped was such a thrill). It was great and quickly became one of my favorite rides at the park. 

I had a few years where I didn't end up going to Kings Island, but I went back in 2009 to celebrate my 30th birthday with my family. I knew it had been renamed the Crypt by that point, but I didn't know anything else had been altered. My sister and I made a beeline for the back of the park and then...what a letdown. Horrible theming in the queue, no theme at all in the ride itself. Just a few mild swings and halfhearted spins upside down. We got to the end, looked at each other and said, "Wow, that sucks now." And never rode it again. Now it's just a big ugly box looking out of place in Rivertown. I can't think of the last time a ride had that fast of a downturn in quality so quickly. 

[Remembering King Cobra]

Growing up, King Cobra was always that one coaster that, when I finally rode it, meant that there would be nothing I was too afraid to ride. It was the most intimidating ride for me at KI when I was young ('80s and early '90s) even if it wasn't the tallest. I just remember thinking "no way am I going on something that stands me up and loops me upside down." 

I finally tried it in the early '90s and the funny thing is, I remember thinking it was fairly tame. Never really had a scary ride; it was just a lot of fun. Vortex and The Beast were the tougher rides for me. 

But that's not to undersell KC because, as I said, it was a fun ride. I remember it not being the loop so much that put a smile on my face but the bunny hills, which had some fun airtime. The helix at the end was a lot of fun, too. I was really bummed when I took a few years off going to Kings Island (Cedar Point was our home park and after I graduated high school there were several years I couldn't make it on our family trips due to work/college) and then came back to find King Cobra was gone (this was before the days when we had a website like this to keep us posted. I have fond memories of it. I had one aunt who was the only other person in our family who would ride it with me. She passed away a little over a year ago, and my happiest memories of her were riding the King Cobra. 

[Vortex Removal Updates]

I don't have a problem with them turning off the camera for the liability concerns mentioned above. And really, I'm 40 years old and have a job and two kids -- I can't be staring at a webcam all day in hopes that I might, at the right minute, see a piece of roller coaster come down. 

But I do wish KI would see that there might be something to be gained by taking pictures or video of the demolition and posting them somewhere...Instagram...here? Demolition of a ride isn't sexy, especially when there isn't a replacement in the works. But it's the end of a historic ride. I seem to remember CP documenting the demolition of Disaster Transport and the Space Spiral, and there was video of SOB's main hill coming down. Feel like some sort of documentation about Vortex, especially its loops coming down, might be proper. 

[Vortex Removal Updates]

6 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said:

A coaster themed Haunt maze would be awesome with different scenes utilizing sections of track and cars.   Has that been done before?  

I like the idea...but I wonder if a PR team might get a bit nervous about the idea of a haunted house that says "hey, imagine if after this you went on one of our rides and died". :-) 

[Vortex Removal Updates]

1 minute ago, silver2005 said:

Also, where would you put the corkscews as a display like that?

I think you could have kept the corkscrew or the batwing where it is and leave it as a photo opp until they're ready to do something to occupy the space. It was always one of the best photo stops in the park. 

That said, I get it. They're opening the biggest coaster in the park's history next season, and it would look highly tacky to have a brand new roller coaster standing next to a SBNO one, even if it was just the photo opp there (although I think a big dirt field is going to look pretty odd as well, as would a bunch of high walls that aren't touting any new attraction). Vortex's removal this season was inevitable; I just wish the park had provided more access to watch it. It was a classic, and I'm sure they would have known that its fans would want to see it through its final stages. 

[Rivertown expansion concept]

I like the idea of a better barrier between Planet Snoopy and Rivertown, because it all kind of blurs together at Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. I remember the tunnel they used to have connecting Rivertown to Hanna Barbara Land. It was such a nice little transition area. Also, moving Back Lots entrance to Coney Mall would be nice, as I always find that area kind of an out of the way oddity, and you could put some trees and tables in there for a nice little dining section. 

Definitely get rid of The Crypt building. I'd get rid of The Crypt entrance, too. Make that a quieter section of the park. Maybe create a wooded area with some nice lighting that's kind of a hangout patio with good BBQ food, craft beer, a nice little hangout portion for us old folk. 

[Locals concerned that Kings Island is violating noise ordinances]

10 hours ago, Pez said:

I have no sympathy for Mr. Taylor.  His grandfather sold land for the park and could have negotiated for noise considerations.  Concerns about noise would have been present 50 years ago.  He apparently opted for the cash instead.  Now a legatee two generations later bemoans he state of his inheritance.  Kings Island is the only part of Mason east of the 71.  All the surrounding residences are in Deerfield Township.  Residents of Mason don't hear anything except fireworks.  Orion won't change that.  I am sure the Mason residents are more concerned with their own enjoyment of the park and it's tax, employment and tourism revenue than the noise concerns of a man who inherited what remained after his grandfather sold land to be used for the park's construction.  Mason officials have every reason to accommodate Kings Island and no reason to do anything for Mr. Taylor.  Mr. Taylor has an adequate remedy in court for a nuisance action. However, the fact he acquired the land from someone who sold a portion of the land knowing it was going to be used as an amusement park would seem to provide a formidable defense.

To be fair, when Kings Island was built 50 years ago, it had one big roller coaster that likely didn't make the noise that today's coasters do, and I'm sure in the 1970s, there was no real expectation that rides would be built 200-feet tall and feature speeds that had this much noise. It's a fair complaint. 

Not that I think there's much that will happen here, although I don't doubt that KI will take measures to deal with the noise. But having worked at a local newspaper for years, this strikes me as a story that arose on a slow night at a city council meeting and the reporter knew that a citizen complaint about the popular amusement park in the area would make for a good headline. I doubt this is the beginning of some giant fight. 

[New For Cedar Point 2020]

"I'm a tour guide on the Snake River ride. Trapper Dan is my name." 

[Early 90's pics.]

Man, that hits right in the nostalgia, as those were my prime KI kid/teen years. 

Loved the walk-through aircraft carrier queue for Top Gun. It was just this year that I realized that they completely removed all the flooring and catwalks for it (the effects were removed years ago). 

The dolphin show was always a lot of fun. And I loved the floral clock; we did our family picture in front of it every year. 

[Pizza like La Rosa's?]

Every year, one of my most-anticipated things about our annual KI trip is the food we're going to eat (this may be why I was not allowed to ride FoF this year). LaRosa's is one of my favorite things. 

But this year, it was really underwhelming. It was overcooked at the Festhaus, just really gross and unappetizing. I think I need to stop buying it there -- except that it's really a great spot to go on a rain day or to get out of the heat (and I'm not eating in-park Panda Express). 

[Pizza like La Rosa's?]

19 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

I think KI should partner with LaRosa's to revamp all the locations in the park, both to approach the quality outside the park and possibly expand the menu.  

Re-open the International Restaurant as a LaRosa's sit-down pizzeria. 

[The History of Outpost 5]

I'd love some TLC to be given to Adventure Express. I might be wrong, but I feel like the arrows no longer pop out of the wall/ceilings in one of the tunnels anymore, and I wish they'd bring back the smoke effect and do some better lighting or effect work in the lava tunnel. 

Although, really, it's still a really fun ride. My 7-year-old son isn't a fan of roller coasters with big drops, but he loves AE. I actually took my first night ride on it with him this year and it's a really fun ride in the dark. 

[Future of The Bat]

The Bat ... it's fine! 

I loved the ride when it was Top Gun (and I was much younger). These days, I might not always trek out there (which is really weird, since I ride Banshee several times a visit...and can't walk a little bit more to The Bat?), but I rode it with my nephew this year and we had a good time. I grew up with Iron Dragon, which is a ride that has definitely seen better days (it's slow and dull). The Bat swings you around and is a gorgeous photo spot. 

That said, I feel like Action Zone is way overdue for an update. It's the one area of the park where the theming is incoherent or, honestly, non-existent (except: ... action?) . I'm not a big fan of all-year haunts (or, to be honest, haunts in general). But I feel like using The Bat and The Banshee to establish a kind of supernatural theme -- haunted castle/woods? -- ripping out Invertigo and Congo Falls and really doing something with that area would be a good call. It's the corner of the park that feels most Six Flags-ish and thrown together, even if there are some legit great rides (Banshee, Delirium, Drop Tower) there. But everything from Timberwolf back through Invertigo/Congo Falls really needs an overhaul. 

[Vortex Is Leaving After This Fall Season]

9 hours ago, PKIDelirium said:

I wouldn't mind seeing the batwing element just left in place where it is and freshly painted. Right on the midway, they could even put up an info board/sign about Vortex where the photo spot sign is now. I mean, what else would fit in that little area for it to be in the way of future development?

I would love to see something like that. 

For the park's 50th anniversary, I'd love it if, instead of a ride, they put together some really nice exhibits throughout the park about KI history. Artifacts and photos from old rides, videos and commercials where possible. Maybe do something like that in Tower Gardens or clear out space for a museum. Or, perhaps better, just all around the park, maybe with commemorative plaques where the old rides once stood. 

[Vortex Is Leaving After This Fall Season]

On 10/31/2019 at 3:18 PM, flightoffear1996 said:

I don't know that coasters will get much taller. You actually have a lack of extra money with upcoming generation and they tend not to spend what money they do have on theme parks. That and the price of steel keeps going up and up.  I believe most financial analysts are saying that GenX will be the first generation ever to have it worse than the previous generation. 

I'm okay with that. Height is overrated. I like a good drop like anyone else, but other than bragging rights, I'm not sure there's much else to height other than "oh, thinks look a little smaller from up here." Millennium Force is plenty tall at 300 feet; Top Thrill Dragster is a lot of fun, but I don't know that I can really tell a difference between 300 and 400 feet. 

Rather, I think innovation is what coaster manufacturers should be focusing on. New ways to get speed, new features to make us scream. That's what I'm curious about. 

[Flight of Fear the good bad and the ugly]

I don't think it's rough now, but when it had the over-the-shoulder restraints, it was the most painful ride in the park. The lap bar is tight, but man when it had the OTSRs, it felt like sticking your head in a pinball machine. 

Ride itself is fun. I've been on a few launch coasters, but this one's launch is one of the most effective; I think it's because the ride is indoors and you're staring into straight darkness. The launch is load, sudden and you don't have context of what you're going to. It's great. Aside from the slowdown mid-course, it's one of the great wild rides at KI. Sometimes, if the ride is just right, we hit the end brakes and I actually feel like we've stopped on an angle because I'm so discombobulated. 

If I had one thing i'd recommend changing, it might be to update the theme. The video has always been purposefully cheesy but now it just looks old (although I love the look of the hangar, the UFO and the launch station). Maybe update the story and some of the multimedia -- if they're turning the entire X-base into Area 72 with Orion, maybe create an overarching story. 

Also, I'd love some subtle updates in the spaghetti bowl. Nothing elaborate, but something that shakes the reminder that you're just looping around in a giant tin can. Maybe a way to make a starfield so you feel like you're hurtling through the cosmos. Play with the lighting and some effects work. Maybe just some fog (although not sure if the moisture would hurt the ride). But I feel like we're launched from some pretty good theming into what feels like a roller coaster set up in someone's garage. 

[Next Steelie to Fall]

Invertigo for the reasons stated above, also because, from just a subjective point of view, I don't think it's a good ride. I've always felt it looked cheap and tossed into a corner of the park; it looks like something you'd find at a budget Six Flags park, not a high-quality amusement park. Also, if you lose that and Congo Falls (and maybe Timberwolf?) you have room to really do some expansion to the front of the park or overhaul Action Zone. 

Flight of Fear is still a fun coaster. No reason to lose it. 

The Bat isn't a great coaster, but I do think it's one of the better coasters of its type; it's very photogenic and some of the twists and turns are good fun. 

Adventure Express, Flying Ace and Backlot Stunt Coaster are fun themed, family coasters. They're essential for kids who are aging out of Planet Snoopy and considering tackling the bigger rides. The park has a good balance of big thrill rides and family thrills and needs to maintain that. 

[Ideas for the Crypt building?]

18 minutes ago, fyrfyter said:

Rivertown would also be beautiful minus the drop noise from Diamondback. Maybe they should remove that as well...

The noise from Diamondback is the noise of a roller coaster (screams, trains going down the track)...it's part of the expected and desired ambiance of an amusement park. Giant, white metal buildings are not...this is why Disney does its best to hide the show buildings or blend them into the park (and why, even though they're thematically appropriate, why Universal Studios' sound stage buildings look so hideous). 

You can't always avoid having a big building; that's the nature of wanting to have some indoor attractions. But you can design them in ways that don't detract from the beauty of the park. With Tomb Raider, I don't know that it would have cost too much to design the metal show building to look more like an ancient temple or something; or, if you need to go cheap, gets some vines to hang off of it or something. At least make an effort. Same with FoF...they do a decent job with the military base theming near the entrance, but it wouldn't necessarily set them back much to design the rest of the building with some government-type signs, warning lights, etc. to make it look more like a secret base. 
 

[Vortex Is Leaving After This Fall Season]

Vortex was always seen as a rite of passage ride when I was a kid. I was only 8 when it came to the park, and it loomed large for so much of my young adulthood. I remember being terrified the first few times I rode it, scared to death I was going to fly out on the barrel rolls. Even as an adult, it was the one ride in the park that felt wild and kind of dangerous -- it was rough, it threw you out of your seat, it banged you around. I started taking some years off of it on annual trips as I got older, because it became a bit too much on my old frame to be slammed around. This summer, on our annual trip, my nephew wanted to ride it so I went with him, not knowing it was going to be my last ride. And it was a good ride. 

My son just hit 48 inches this year and he's still a little apprehensive of the bigger coasters; he likes Adventure Express and Backlot Stunt Coaster, but Mystic Timbers was a bit much for him. I can't wait until he finally works up the nerve to try The Racer of The Beast. And The Vortex was always going to be that proud moment where I saw him conquer his fears; he'll have to try a new ride for that. And sadly, even if he decides he wants to go upside down, he'll have to wait, as the park's only looper with a 48-inch height limit is now closed. 

I'm torn about whether I want them to tear the ride down this winter. On the one hand, I hate the thought of the once-mighty Vortex being SBNO for a season or two, rotting in plain sight. On the other hand, the back section of the park is going to look awfully empty without that orange-and-blue track winding its way over the trees (I don't even think Orion is going to be able to offer such beautiful views). 

[Ideas for the Crypt building?]

Agree with those who say to tear it down and start fresh with the area, even if it's a dark ride. The building is a giant eyesore -- I'd rather an outdoor ride in that area (a giant metal building really detracts from the whole Rivertown theme) or where they've made an effort to make it blend with the surroundings. Make the facade a giant old west or frontier-type building (maybe a decrepit old house if you must have your haunted house -- haunted houses make me yawn) and if you need to save money by constructing a metal building, make it a large one-story building where we can't see it towering over everything. 

Technically, not even the Tomb Raider/Crypt theming made sense in Rivertown as it's a jungle, not a woods. But whatever. Use the entrance and treat it as a cave, sure. 

All I know right now is that whenever I see that building, I think the only way it could be worse is if the giant metal box was sitting on lakefront property hosting the most pathetically themed bobsled coaster I can imagine :-) 

[Vortex Is Leaving After This Fall Season]

2 minutes ago, SnakePlissken said:

I don't care how tall or is or if the coaster breaks records. If its a fun ride that does not feel like Diamondback 2.0 that is good enough. I will be there pass holder preview day. I bought fastlane again for this. I'll likely break my own record of 15 visits in a year to ride this thing over and over. If only I had a way to ride it media day but I know that a pipe dream that won't happen.

Yup; I think all the crying and complaining over "is it a giga" or "is it not" is silly. I've ridden Magnum, Millennium Force, Diamondback and Top Thrill Dragster -- all different coasters. And you know what? the height makes little difference on the experience to me. I think Mystic Timbers is just as thrilling as Millennium Force, and I think Magnum's airtime is just as much fun as that on Diamondback. Numbers mean little. Just give me a ride I can scream on and smile at, and I'm happy.  

[Six Flags Entertainment (SIX) in Bid to Acquire Cedar Fair L.P. (FUN) - Reuters]

Kings Island community last Friday, after reading about Vortex removal: Things couldn't possibly get any more upsetting...

Six Flags: Hold my Batman souvenir cup. 

[Six Flags Entertainment (SIX) in Bid to Acquire Cedar Fair L.P. (FUN) - Reuters]

Six Flags is synonymous in my mind with cheapness (and not in the way that means affordability). It's the McDonald's of amusement parks, and I can't see Six Flags lavishing the care on parks and respect for history that, say, Kings Island did last summer. 

I really hope this isn't true; it would really mean the downfall of many of these parks. 

[Reaction to other rides removal over the years]

I remember there was a lot of outcry (online) about the Eagles, but I don't recall much about King Cobra (to be fair, I live in the Detroit area and this was before KIC time, I believe). But it wouldn't make me too surprised if the reaction to King Cobra was like the reaction to Vortex -- a lot of people claiming that the ride ride was ground-breaking and historic, but wasn't really that enjoyable anymore (I think Vortex after 33 years is much more fun that Cobra was after 17). There might be the difference that King Cobra didn't have the aesthetic benefit that Vortex has; you lost it, but you weren't losing one of the great parts of the park's skyline or a prime photo position. 

That said, we all have likely gotten upset over various removals. To this day, I miss Smurfs Enchanted Voyage because it was the first ride I fell in love with as a kid (even Phantom Theater served as a poor replacement, in my opinion). Likewise, I miss Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canals because I have strong memories of riding it with my grandfather and I loved the way that ride looked in Rivertown (I'm also upset that its replacement is now just a big metal box...although we likely wouldn't have gotten Diamondback either). And I know it's not really a ride removal, but I still hate that Woodstock Express is not called The Beastie (a change that happened way back in the Nickelodeon days)...except that my kids both call it The Beastie :-)