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All of this I concur with. Vortex was a household name/ride within the park. One of the staples. When talking about Kings Island, to this day, people still mention The Vortex. And there are still a ton of people I interact with that didn't realize its been gone for as long as it has been now. The reaction is always the same. Sad face. It was so many people's first BIG roller coaster and first coaster with inversions. It got pretty rough in the last leg of it's life. Good days and bad days. I definitely remember my last ride on it, the last day of operation to be exact, being one of the best I'd had in a long time. Almost like it knew it's time was up so might as well put on a good show. It was bittersweet and sad. I got lots of pictures and videos. I still need to take time to post them as there can never be enough photos or videos of this now defunct legend. Loved it or hated it, you remembered it. I just don't want to see some generic, thoughtless, coaster/ride go in its place. If KI continues with the trend of honoring the past, especially something as iconic and legendary as Vortex was, I remain optimistic that something amazing will occupy that special plot of land. And it would be really neat if the paint scheme could be similar. That dark blue and orange simultaneously popped yet blended in with the beautiful trees in the backdrop. I don't know how to describe it any other way than that, but I think most of you can understand what I mean. And ah yes. The chain lift. I think just about any coaster lover has an affinity for a good old Arrow chain lift. That sound in and of itself is so iconic and I miss hearing it along with all of the other well-known Arrow looper sounds. The old air-brakes. The specific sounds the trains made while traversing the course, the rattle of the structure. I miss sitting at LaRosa's having a bite to eat and being right next to it. I could go on. But I think I've made my point. Vortex was part of the fabric of the park for a good chunk of it's existence. The park was a mere 15 years old when Vortex debuted. Pretty crazy to think about it like that. It truly was one of the foundations of our beloved park.

Pictures today. There is paint on the grass that just did not come out in the picture.

Cannot agree more and to add, the sound of snapping the Eagles back on that path is missed by me just as much. Vortex was an icon at the park and fit that spot perfect after the original Bat. So, whatever goes there has to pay tribute to the legendary coasters before it.

Wow… 5 years… Walking through the park it definitely is missed. It was almost like a landmark for my childhood… walking into the entrance and seeing it peering from the back… the sound of the train going through the batwing was mesmerizing, and I loved the sound of the chain lift. The wood fence just makes me sad at the moment. It’s like a huge incomplete is just sitting in that part of the park.

My prediction is a clone of Moosehorn Falls currently under construction at Canada's Wonderland. I honestly believe that CF will probably buy that type of slide in bulk and put them in multiple parks similar to what CF did with the drop slide complexes in the 2010s.

Here's a description of a Mag Nail I found Source: https://www.chrisnik.com/magnail#:~:text=Mag nails%2C are used for,nail could be set into.

Survey Marker in Coney Mall near Jukebox Diner:

Whenever I think of Vortex, let alone walk by the empty plot, I feel like I lost an old friend. I've mourned the loss of that coaster way more than I thought I would. Knowing what BGW did with Loch Ness for this season, it makes me especially sad to think of Vortex's demise. KI has been on a major nostalgia/history kick for several years now... a re-launch of a refurb'd Vortex could have been a home run for them. While I understand the reasons for its removal, to me the park still seems "off" without it. It was a landmark ride - mostly because it was so many peoples first "big" coaster. As others have said - not only is there a visual void, but also an audio void. When I walk by that area, its weird to not hear the sound of the metal catwalks rattling coupled with the jingling of the lift and the bell as a train was dispatched. I also still stand by my opinion that Vortex's first drop was the best tummy tickler at the park. Whatever goes there MUST be a landmark and visual masterpiece worthy of the hallowed land it will reside on.

As someone utterly fascinated by amusement park history, the specific history of all the coasters that have crossed the 100 mph mark comes to mind. All of them have had major issues getting open and/or staying open. Superman: The Escape and Tower of Terror had major power issues due to LSM's beings so new and the weight of the cars, I read Superman required its own line off the California power grid which was mind boggling at the time. For the S&S attempts- I'm not privy to Dodonpa but I'm sure it had issues given how Hypersonic went and has been dismantled, and Ring Racer was blowing air compression tanks. TTD and Kingda Ka- cable snaps, overheating wheels, the TTD incident which led to TT2 Formula Rossa launches straight into trims because even with its giant layout, the curves are still too tight for the necessary G force requirements to riders, also requires goggles to ride due to sand particles flying into your face at 150 mph I'm really, really skeptical about Falcon's Flight. I think it has the potential to be to Intamin what X was to Arrow. I don't think the industry has really got a lock on how to do coasters over 100 mph.

^ I'm thinking the "announcement" was due to CM. If the new parts come back off the trains, that's going to be a red flag for opening anytime soon. It's not exactly encouraging it has not tested more (which I'm assuming due to lack of video). The social media monsters are losing their minds over the downtime. The Zamperla blame game is rampant. Suddenly everyone forgot about new ride issues with: Intamin, Arrow Dynamics, RCCA, Huss, S&S.....

A couple of possibilities with this “no announcement announcement:” - “We know you know it’s testing. Don’t read too much into that.” - “This ride will not be open for Coastermania.” - “The fix didn’t have the desired results.” For the sake of both Cedar Point and Zamperla, I hope it opens soon. Additionally, for the same reason, I hope this doesn’t happen again.

With Camp Snoopy coming in 2024, I'm thinking it's very possible we're going to see a Soak City expansion in 2025.

Anyone who thought that coaster of this magnitude would not have challenges in the inaugural season was deluding themselves. Had Intamin, B&M, S&S or RMC done it, there would still be challenges. I hope I'm right, but I don't think this spells the end of TT2 or zamperla by any means. When these issues are resolved it should prove to be much more reliable than dragster ever was. I'm glad zamperla and Cedar Point are taking the hit to do it right. It just sucks that because of the hit that CP may take financially the budget cuts will further be hoisted on Kings Island.

Of course not, but I just see a lot of similarities to past failures with record breaking rides that got too ambitious and to that of how X basically ruined Arrow. I've seen this story before.

Where exactly near jukebox diner is this? How far from The Vortex area? If it's close to it, then that likely means early surveying has started or is about to start. I believe for big new coasters surveying happens about 2-3 years in advance so this basically lines up for a 2026 coaster project which would mean 2025 season would be another decoding thread year! Also I found out what this type of marker is used for. It is a MAG nail. It is used as a point where surveying equipment is placed on.

I've never heard of such a thing until now. I guess this means that we are definitely in a post COVID world when some sweaty germ ridden human can be dropped in a pit of crap that other sweaty germ ridden humans have wallowed around in, while people gather to watch. And in this case, the viewing area is already congested unless they open up a plaza behind the claw machine. Without opening up significant space behind this area, this is very, very poor planning.

The city of Mason website? Its permit BLD24-0364, the description is Kings Island HUMAN CLAW INSTALLATION, just go do a building permit search and search for that record.

Pretty sure it’s for a human claw game. Cedar Point is in the process of installing one right now, and Kings Island filled a permit to install one a few weeks ago.

^ if the failure was indeed vibration fatigue (Silver2005 brought up a great point of coasters hitting the 100mph mark and the numerous issues- and my belief vibration fatigue was likely a major culprit in each example), any type of NDT testing would not be necessary. The pics of the test tape rub marks exclude part failure but rather part design is the culprit. The original bogies could not be adjusted to prevent vibration. It would be interesting to know if the bogies were aluminum like the chassis or steel. Thinking deeper- the revised bogies are "beefier" than the original and the revised parts are still intact makes me believe more parts for the bogies are necessary and Zamperla was testing last week w/o more parts in hopes to get TT2 up and running without compromising safety.

I would tend to think, and although I really don't know as much as most of you but it would make sense to place the "mini" area previously mentioned back behind splash landing and seeing something replace zoom flume. It does look likely for a slide near mondo Monson, and as far as pinapple paradise getting something beyond water but revamped bathrooms or mini food stand, the idea of the food truck concept would fit well I think there. I couldn't imagine a removal of wave pool. My idea would be take the area behind splash landing along lazy river, toward zoom flume and using that space to create a mini themed area. Steampunk or something in line with nature, little miami, something beyond beach theme, it really does feel inauthentic the beach theme.

Got some up closer pics of the markings. Does anyone know what the stake in the concrete marking is used for? I remember seeing it in the concrete before construction began of Orion and Adventure Port.

Concrete has been poured in the area. There is something sticking up out of the ground that is covered. Still not quite sure what it'll be though.

If memory serves, the Original Recipe(R) bogies were removed upon the initial closure of the ride, and the replacements were not installed until some time later, once Zamperla was back on site. If that is, indeed, the case, I suspect they were removed and shipped back to Zamperla for analysis - NDT/ultrasonic testing, micrography, etc. - so as to inform of possible solutions to the issue. One explanation for why they wouldn't remove these prototype bogies is that they already know the original failure mode, and have those bogies to reference. Also, it's reasonable to assume that, given the original bogies lasted quite some time before showing an issue, the prototype bogies were not cycled nearly enough to exhibit the same symptoms/issue. And continuing with that assumption, those bogies were fitted with sensing equipment that told them all they need to know about the design, so no need to get them back to Italy.

Don't worry, though, the bar next to it is always open and fully staffed!

Not the last time I checked lol, but it ties in well to the mail order bride ads

If ends up being a new attraction, this is likely the 4th Cedar Fair park that is expanding their waterpark in 2025 based on rumors. The other parks are Cedar Point (a slide complex was just removed), Dorney Park (Lightning Falls/Cascade Slides were removed) and Valleyfair (I've heard some rumblings that they plan to expand their Soak City into their rapids ride area, but take that with a grain of salt as I have no source on that outside of just rumblings.)

Racer seems to be racing much better this year than recent years. The faster lift hill on red is offset by the slower turnaround on red. The trains are staying together until the finish.