KIBeast

He sure did! Although, it was not new to him. He had already reached the 52" height requirement before this year.

So, upon hearing the news of the impeding closure of The Vortex, I managed to arrange a year end trip to ride this classic one more time. For this trip, it was only my son and I that went. The wife stayed home to pack as we are moving on October 31st. It was not just a chance to ride Vortex one last time, but also would be the 1st time that he was tall enough to ride anything in the park. This will not be a long trip report. Just going to give some highlights. We arrived at 11am, right at opening. For the first 2 hours, we rode quite a bit. At 1pm, the park gates just flooded with a ton of people. Made for some very long lines as I did not have the money to splurge for Fast Lane. I hadn't been to KI for a Haunt in many years and it was nowhere near that busy. Now for the highlights. We went to Invertigo 1st and were met with a very short line. He was excited to try a new coaster as our first ride of the day. He really enjoyed it as did I. Rode Racer and noticed that it was noticeably smoother. Later, we rode the Blue side and it was as rough as ever. Normally, it wouldn't be noteworthy to me, but after riding the Comet at Hersheypark, there's no good reason for Racer to be as rough as it is. Comet is way older and far less bumpy. The next new coaster for him was Flight of Fear. He was genuinely nervous about riding. Maybe it's the indoor atmosphere, I don't really know. On a personal note, I would like to detract an earlier statement I made about this coaster and its theme. It still looks good and was groundbreaking at that time. Trey loved this new coaster as well. We had LaRosa's in Rivertown for lunch. Was really good except for the fact that we had to move twice due to bees hounding us endlessly. I don't care for the no lid, no straw thing they have going on. I would like to enjoy my lunch in peace. I had obtained a 2nd cup to split a drink with him since I have a cold. I wound up throwing mine away after one drink. The bees were so annoying, one landed in mine, so I trashed it. We went around to Diamondback since that was the last new coaster for him. It has been a number of years since I had been on it. We both loved it. DB has some great floater air time. This is his new favorite. Later that day, I paid $10 for 2 chances at winning Fast Lane passes. The 1st time, he landed on winner's choice, so he picked Diamondback. 2nd time, he landed on Banshee. Last summer, he spun the wheel and landed on Mystic Timbers twice. So, for the record, he's 4-0 against the wheel. We had our mandatory night ride on The Beast, which was epic as always. On our last lap for Vortex, also a night ride, as we waited maybe 40 minutes at most, I couldn't help feel a little bit sad at this coaster's impending doom. I also understand why it has to go and I am happy that for 3 seasons, Trey was able to enjoy this classic, iconic coaster. As a final thought, a friend of mine pointed out something that I have taken granted for years. The sheer size and area that Vortex now resides in stretches from Coney Mall to Rivertown. That's going to be a huge gaping hole left empty for at least another 2-3 years. That will be a sight to see. It does leave me with excitement for future expansion in this area. My mind goes nuts thinking about all of the possibilities of what may come.

Great addition for Hersheypark. I thoroughly enjoyed my first trip this past July. However, I won't be back any time soon as I found myself exhausted after going up and down hills all day. I honestly can't believe no one even suggested the name Hershey Highway for this new addition.

I have only been on one other Top Spin, which was located at Geauga Lake. The Texas Twister. I thought it was rather fun and I don't see why you couldn't put another one in there while themed to Rivertown somehow.

A paint job, or lack thereof, has no bearing or telling of a coaster's fate. King Kobra was painted and then removed the following seaon. I think there's a possibility that a dive coaster or wing coaster could wind up in that area. (I have no insider info nor claim to. Just a guess)

I wouldn't bet the farm on it ever being built.

This is very reminiscent of Geauga Lake. I know that the waterpark at GL lasted a number of seasons, but does anyone think that Coney Island will last as long without their dry park?

Man, you hit that one right on the head. I think if these people are going to be so disappointed, then stay out of Orion's line. @KIghostguy , I've been on Banshee, Raptor, and GateKeeper. The first two are nothing like the last.

I thought the props were the coolest thing about FOF. The video was cheesy and terrible. It was interesting enough to watch exactly one time. The launch moment literally has zero bearing on the theme.

You're talking about a possible few thousands among millions of patrons.

Why wouldn't they be as good? Just curious as to why you would think so? Personally, I would be good with a floorless, dive or wing coaster at KI. Like others have said, the GP doesn't know the others even exist.

If you wanna get technical, the term Giga came from Intamin. It is something they came up with to refer to the height of Millennium Force. They did the same thing again with the Strata Coaster term for TTD. B&M doesn't even use the term Giga Coaster, if memory serves me right. The coaster community has made it a general term for any coaster that is a height of 300 ft.

Seems I remember liking Thunder better.

So, I went to Hershey for the first time. Something that is on what I would call my amusement park bucket list. As I am getting older, and with my back issues, I cannot say for sure how long I will be able to do this. The family loves coasters, so Hersheypark seemed like a good idea. I was right. We got an evening preview, which I think is a nice perk. Our hotel was nice and I enjoyed the chocolate smell permeating the hallways. I like the look of the park and its setting. My only issue was walking the hilly terrain. I suppose I am spoiled by Kings Island and Cedar Point with their relative flatness. On to the coasters... The park was not terribly busy, so the only really long wait at all was Laugh Track. I liked the concept and thought it delivered a good ride for the type it is. The very first coaster we rode, though, was Comet. As an older wooden coaster, I fully expected quite the bumpy ride. When we hit the brake run, boy was I in shock. Not only does this coaster deliver a good punch, but it is a really smooth coaster. This disappoints me greatly that The Racer at KI is in the condition that it is. My favorite coaster is Skyrush. Was very nice seeing it outside of our hotel room. Great speed and fun ride. Farenheit was a very unique experience. The drop reminded me of Maverick, but for a more extended amount of time. Really cool inversions and the third coaster I've been on with a cobra roll. Lightning Racers is such a sweet looking set of coasters. Lots of fun elements with passing over and under each other, plus going head on was definitely one of my favorite points of interest. Very smooth ride as well. It's funny to listen to my 10 year old talk about each coaster because he recognizes the manufacturers. Great Bear is a cool invert. First one I have seen with a drop like that. Going through the canal was definitely unique. Sidewinder is also another that I enjoyed. It was only the second that I have been on like that, which was Headspin at Geauga Lake. Nice placement on that one, I thought. Storm Runner was blast. Love the top hat into the long drop. This was only my 2nd accelerator coaster from Intamin. I don't think the duel loading station is any more efficient. Cool looking though. Super Dooper Looper is a real trip back in time. Pretty fun with an iconic loop that is a nice sight while walking through. Trailblazer, I thought, is a pretty fun mine train coaster. I still think my favorite is Adventure Express at KI, but it definitely ranks above the sleepy Cedar Creek Mine Ride. I only took one lap on Wild Mouse. The hairpin turns, at this point in my life are just too rough. Not to mention my leg slammed into the bar between myself and my son. Unfortunately, we did not get to ride the Wildcat. It was open the first evening, but we ran out of time to sneak it in. The following full day that we had, it was closed the entire day. All in all, Hersheypark is a great Amusement Park. Great settings, great service, and some pretty good food. My only compliant outside of the hilly terrain, was the lack of merchandise that is not candy related. I totally get some of the reasoning behind that, but at the same time, I really would like to have bought a nice coaster t-shirt while there. Not that there were none, but you had to really look for them and not many shops carried them.

I, for one, am excited that announcement day is upon us. I think I speak for a lot of us here when I say that this announcement is something that we have all looked forward to for years.

Totally agree with you on this one. I really don't understand all of the back and forth about a layout anyway. You can literally tell nothing about the ride experience from the leaked layouts anyway.

What "Hollywood level special effects"? There were statues, fogs, fountains and prop replicas. Not sure those are better than anything we've ever seen a KI. The enchanted voyage had animatronics. The Phantom Theater had some good effects. I'll just agree to disagree. Nothing has really wowed me with over the top effects.

The theming on FOF is really not much better than that of MT. Neither was Tomb Raider. They all have stationary effects, which is on par with what has been achieved in the past. Anyone expecting Disney-like was setting themselves up for disappointment.

@Drummermattk nice pic! I really need to make my way to that park and check it out for myself.

It gives me hope to an extent. However, and I did not bring this up, it's not just the age that is a factor. I had back surgery when I was 19. Now, in my latter years, I have issues with back pain. Multi-level degenerative disc disease, bulging discs, and a disc that grinds on one particular nerve. I had a nerve ablation done 2 years ago which alleviated that last problem. However, the nerve grows back and I am waiting to be scheduled for another ablation. The good news is, it did work for 2 years. Word has it that it can grow back in as little as 3-6 months, so for it to last 2 years is a blessing.

Congrats on the new baby! I have not visited Carowinds as of yet, but it's on my amusement park bucket list. I am, however, going to visit Hershey Park, another one on my bucket list. At age 48, I know I won't be able to do this forever, so I want to visit as many as are financially feasible before I have to retire.

Yeah, same as you. The entire hangar was full along with the queues outside. Probably a 3 hour wait. We all felt like it was a great ride, but got even better once the OTSR's were removed.

I remember waiting in line for a long time to ride. It was worth the ride, although too much headbanging. I love metal music, and if I'm complaining about the headbanging, then it's way too much haha.

None of the aforementioned are food items haha. I dig the boardwalk idea though. Last year after spending 3 days at CP, I finally took note of those abysmal dorms. Holy train wreck Batman. Looked ghetto fabulous.

I am happy that Racer is getting re-tracked. I never found it too bumpy myself, but I'm sure that GCI will do some quality work. I am more than happy with Mystic Timbers. I think it met all expectations.