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Vortex Is Leaving After This Fall Season


THE_BEASTmaster

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5 hours ago, fyrfyter said:

Looking back on everything, I suspect this message came from above KIs control. I suspect they were told to lose the coaster that costs money but was lacking in attendance and sadly that’s the oldest one we have that fit that profile.

I get what you're getting at, but Vortex doesn't really fit that profile actually. Vortex's ridership is still higher (as of 2014 which was the last time stats were published, anyway) than many coasters that are perceived (perhaps falsely) as being more "popular" and it has historically not been an expensive coaster to operate.

I highly, highly doubt that corporate arbitrarily told them they need to get rid of a coaster, even if there was one with above average maintenance cost and below average ridership (Firehawk fit that bill, but the reason for its removal is quite obvious and was definitely not a last minute decision). All we will ever have is speculation, but the closest thing we have to a "consensus" among those speculating is that something is damaged in a way that would be extremely expensive to fix. The apparent suddenness of the announcement would also seem to point that way. In my mind, the most likely thing is metal fatigue or other structural issues that would require complete replacement rather than a patch job.

However, deep down in my mind, I would really appreciate the irony if it turns out the reason it's going away ended up being because a sinkhole formed under it. That would actually make me chuckle, which is something I haven't done much of regarding this removal. One did form seemingly out of nowhere under the Corvette museum, so I suppose that's a thing that can happen.

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^^Most sinkholes happen suddenly.  If something like that were to happen under Vortex, it would be catastrophic.  The Beast and Racer would have to be undergo some serious analysis as well and would likely be closed for an extended time period.

And the serious structural integrity theory:  If the ride was dangerous, the park should have closed it immediately instead of keeping it running on the weekends.  Think of the liability if something were to happen on one of these last days.

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57 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said:

^ The ride might not be dangerous yet but if analysis showed it could become after another season then they needed to retire it.  We will probably never the real reason until someone retires and writes a book about their career.  Maybe sooner if it is replaced with something quickly.  

The real reason will be included in my book, which is coming out May of next year. The reason is not as dramatic as many of you think.

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18 hours ago, homestar92 said:

In my mind, the most likely thing is metal fatigue or other structural issues that would require complete replacement rather than a patch job.

I think this is what it is. I don't think it has much to do with ridership or the park wanting to remove "eye soars" (i.e. the Paramount years). 

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Not that Kings Island or Cedar Fair particularly care about preservation and historical legacies of rides when making decisions but....

 

You guys should take a look at how Efteling retracked most of Python, their Arrow looper, a few years back. KI could've done something similar to the Python transformation with leaving the lift, drop, and brake run while retracking the rest of the ride. By all accounts, Python's retrack was a success and the ride is much smoother now. 

 

https://www.efteling.com/en/press/eftelings-python-roller-coaster-with-loops-re-opens-to-visitors/

 

The park went with a company called CSM Manufacturing, but I've also heard that Vekoma was willing to do the job (presumably with their new track design) but at a much higher cost. 

 

 

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But that renovation cost several million to complete.  Not saying Vortex isn`t work that, but I am sure the cost of doing something like that verse the return on attracting visitors simply didn`t make it viable.

I would say that Cedar Fair cares about preservation.  After all, they are renovating the engine on the Worlds of Fun Railroad (and even purchased one of the former Kings Dominion engines) so that the railroad can get up and running again.

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Seems pretty clear to me that CF strategy is to bring a big new ride every 2-4 years so long as the economy is good. I don't care how much of a people-eater Vortex is, there's typically a short line if one at all...until the announcement they were closing it down. Giga going in for 2020 to bring folks into the park; might as well save on Vortex maintenance costs for a couple years then build the next big hyped thing in its place---whatever it will be.

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A lot of you don't seem to realize how roller coaster safety works. There is nothing wrong with Vortex. If there was something wrong with Vortex it would not be operating right now. The only reason it is being removed is to save on operating costs.

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1 hour ago, Dan said:

A lot of you don't seem to realize how roller coaster safety works. There is nothing wrong with Vortex. If there was something wrong with Vortex it would not be operating right now. The only reason it is being removed is to save on operating costs.

That's not really how engineering works either. They could know it has some amount of cycles left before nearing it's safety factor and are choosing to just close it now than to close it halfway into a season. They know pretty much exactly when parts will fail. It could also have to do with off season climate etc.

But yeah, just because something is "wrong with Vortex" doesn't automatically mean that it's not safe.

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Roller coasters are inspected regularly, and the inspections are used not only to find existing problems which need corrected but also potential issues, parts which are still in spec but not by much.  Basiclly it is safe to operate for right now but will need replaced or refurbished in the near future.

When the track reaches that point, it is rarely worth the expense to fix.  Which is what has happened to several Arrow coasters.  From what I remember sections of the rails on Vortex have been cut off the ride and had replacements welded in place.

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20 hours ago, KIghostguy said:

The real reason will be included in my book, which is coming out May of next year. The reason is not as dramatic as many of you think.

That is until your publisher tells you that you need to “spice It up” a bit to sell more copies....then the reason will read something like:  “The engineers had known for years, Vortex was a death-trap on wheels...”.  :P

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2 hours ago, Ben43065 said:

To all those getting their final Vortex rides this weekend I hope you enjoy it.

I will enjoy my Vortex rides, as I always do... But I can tell you that for me and probably many others, it will probably not be a happy day. There will be tears, and probably not only from me.

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We are going tonight. I am all about many rides on The Beast and Mystic Timbers. And the last 3 times I have been, we havent rode but one flat ride and that was Bumper Cars...Oh and Pirate Ship.  I'll ride a few flats, Obviously Banshee and Diamondback. Mystic Timbers and Beast I'll try to Marathon a few times.  And I do love Adventure Express night rides. I save Racers more for Summer and twilight rides. Flight of Fear at least once as my wife loves it.  Here is my conundrum. A few weeks ago I said my goodbye kind of to Vortex, which was my first big ride; the one I was forced onto against my better instincts. I remember _____ my pants up the hill and the drop was a cross between more ____ into my pants and so fun!  i was immediately hook-line and sinkered!  That was Vortex's first year.  Anyway a few weeks ago on my Goodbye run, it broke down for 20+ minutes and we were forced to sit there coming into the station. That seems a fitting end. But I really kinda want to ride it again. The line might well be the decider there. 

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2 hours ago, DeltaFlyer said:

Temporary queue lines have been set up for this weekend. I am hoping the lines don’t get too crazy tonight, but I’m sure they will. 

Tomorrow is almost certainly going to be a soaker of a day. If it's raining hard tomorrow night---which it might---I doubt lines get too crazy but who knows? If it's dry Sunday like they are saying it will be I think it starts slow, but fills up with locals over time.

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