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This was back in 2001 when there were no camera phones yet, this was what I had lol

My second submission as well. Someone gave me inspiration for this shot (and probably the person that will win this contest) and it seemed to be a popular spot for photographers on the last operating day for the ride. Sometimes iPhones do take good photos (sometimes

From the park’s Twitter page: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Will we get to keep the view from this window, or is it gone forever as well?

10/27/19

FAA says anything over 200’ so the answer is yes.

My 2nd entry.

I’ve been on top of Drop Tower to mount a camera back when I was in tech services before I went to the electric shop. there’s actually a small man basket lift inside to get to the motor house at the top. When I was sitting up there along with a co-worker you can feel the tower swaying with even the slightest breeze, talk about a gut wrenching feeling...

My 2nd entry. This is the last daylight photo I ever took of Vortex on 10/27. I titled it “Riding into the sunset” Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Took this on Sunday from the patio at Miami River Brewhouse. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Second submission

One more..

I thought invertago would have went before Vortex.

Me: “Hi my name is King, and I have been webcam free for 12 days.” Group: claps and cheers Me: “ I just take every day one at time, it has been three days since my last outburst flaming others on KI, I think I am getting stronger each day.” Group: claps and cheers

Theres nothing like riding Mystic Timbers when its 32 out and you have to wear that coat, a hoodie, hat and gloves. I love riding it in the cold and wish I could ride others too. I love walking around and seeing the lights, seeing people ice skate, seeing the snowflakes being blown. Walking around with a Starbucks hot chocolate in my hand. Watching some of the shows as I walk from area to area. Eating my favorite chocolate covered pretzels and Buckeyes from the candy shop. I have no kids and I go alone. I ride the train at least once every time. I plan on going at least twice this year even though I am almost 2 hours away. If hours were longer or if I could find something to pass the time during the day I would consider staying overnight and going both Friday and Saturday.

I took this in October 2018. I remember thinking it was the best sunset I’d ever seen at the park. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here's one taken by your's truly in January of 2002... Not sure where I got this next one - but its incredible... (Not taken by me)

First picture I ever took of Vortex: July 1992

Taken in 2017

Well if any pilot flying a plane hits a roller coaster, they're really clumsy .

Definitely a pretty stagnant day on the weatherbug cam due to the rain and high winds, but hopefully with the more sunny weather tomorrow we will see that last large support finished and another piece of the drop placed!

Is... Is there an intentional reference in there to a certain KICer who I think we all miss?

Next time we have major construction remind me to buy and hide one of these in the park. Cell Signal. Solar Power. KI webcam if the cams arent up well then we are lol

One final sun set shot before my final ride. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I took this picture last weekend with the new iPhone 11. The camera takes amazing photos! Really going to miss seeing this iconic track in our park...

Normally I would dispute this...but after researching your posting history I guess I have no choice but to believe you. (Sorry IndyGuy, I couldn’t resist.)

You mean like this?

Maybe it's a factor, but I'm still hesitant to believe it's solely Orion construction. Both of those are small items in the overall construction schedule, and realistically could even be done with FOF still open. Edit - Actually, if the park treats X-Base the same way they did Rivertown or Action Zone when Diamondback and Banshee debuted, respectively, then I could see that whole area getting overhauled with a new midway, infrastructure, etc. I could see that justifying closing Flight of Fear for the event.

To me, Steel Dragon 2000 is the steel structure equivalent to SOB in terms of massiveness (better designed obviously). Its ridiculous due to the earthquake proofing (which is why it got a nice $50 million price tag, too). I think I prefer the minimalist approach of I-305. Its a radical departure from normal supports which gives it a unique and maybe even an unorthodox look. You don't expect a coaster so tall to have so few support beams. It helps that its color scheme makes it pop more than the other gigas, too.

Personally always been a fan of I-305's supports. They just make the ride look so massive and intimidating (pun partially intended).

You could always get a pilots license, fly over and take legal pictures with out breaking any rules.

You also have to take into account the height of things surrounding it. If you have a 200' tall coaster, but trees near it on a hill at 150', the coaster is considered 50' above surrounding terrain. The tower is tall enough to "cover" most of the stuff around it.

The big allure to Winterfest is being a romantic date night/family outing atmosphere with the decorations, activities, ice skating, and hot chocolate. It's fun to add a coaster to the mix, but I only consider it a plus.

I've personally never seen a beacon on Diamondback, and its over 200' tall...

This is what I imagine he means by "working hard"...

Here's one last thing that I have dug up to post during this off-season. This is a May 1980 magazine article about the behind the scenes of The Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad. I am going to string this out over a few days because there is so much to read...and because I can! I hope you enjoy it.

While I think both styles look cool in their own right, I picked other being Steel Dragon, which appears to be even more imposing than Millennium Force due to having even more trusses and latices make up the support structure. The Arrow and Morgan hypers always seemed the most awe-inspiring for this reason, and Steel Dragon just takes it to whole different level. Just look at this thing.

That’s a pic we’ve had for over a week. I wish they would at least post something we should be able to see on the webcams but can’t. I may be in the minority but I sure miss when Don Helbig was in charge of PR. I feel things have gone downhill since Chad took over.

Someone forgot to put down the extension ladder.

The webcams have only been down for 10 days, it feels like they have been down for 10 years.

If we only had a way to keep up on the project in real time................. oh wait. lol

Shared this one on my socials... RIP Vortex.