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I've made a Planet Coaster ride of what I think Vortex could look like if it was a 15 inversion monster. Stats: 187 ft. 76 mph. 15 Inversions 5451 ft in length. 4.1 G.s The coaster also features a dual sided locker system like on Siren's Curse. But the lockers are found at the top floor. Two Disability elevators for each side. Genesis is a fictional company and the antagonist of the ride.

But why? Was the Mall at Coney Island themed in three sections? I propose to take The Vortex and walk plots and add them to rivertown. The area from the tower to the junkyard coaster should be annexed by international street with the Junkyard Coaster removed, and lush landscaping with classic flats, somewhere Granny and Pappy could spend time with their kids and grandkids.

Also the fact 2027 is the 55th anniversary of KI and Over TX is building Tormenta for their 65th anniversary and Fiesta is working on something for their 35th anniversary next year. Also Mystic opened for KI's 45th. I wouldn't hold my breath though as the chain is in so much debt and every project (yes including whatever Fiesta Texas is building according to Jeff) was planned either before the merger or the early days of the merger. It wouldn't shock me one bit if outside of the 3 major delayed 2026 projects and Fiesta Texas that we don't see much more capital outside of park improvements or smaller flat rides.

All that. They already have the resources, they just don’t use them. Enclosing the lower part of the lift and certainly the final brake with lighting/projection would be another fairly inexpensive add

The chain/park does have an opportunity to do something amazing though. While I realize we've gotten smaller additions the last few years, if 2027 were our year for a major installation, that would mark the 40th anniversary for Vortex if it were still standing. That would make for an incredibly awesome way to honor a classic while also giving us the much anticipated big coaster. One can dream.

At this point, I’m partially in the camp of leveling the land and just adding a new area of the park- but with that would come the added cost of the actual leveling, running sewer, adding rides/buildings which would require more staff, etc.

Looking like Supercharged will also be set to close.

I mean, it doesn't EXCLUSIVELY mimic drifting--the cars themselves are on a controlled spin. Here's a video: They've only said it's opening this year, so it may very well not be close to opening. I would also assume that if they've started testing, we won't see a massive amount of theming in the ride area.

I wholly agree with you on that first point! The Crypt's building and area would be better suited to a Rivertown expansion so a new lake and town area could be added alongside a new dedicated entertainment venue. The Vortex plot should be occupied by a thrill coaster — not a family thrill coaster. It doesn't need to be the biggest or baddest of anything, but a Big Bear Mountain-style coaster would not fit what the area does need. Whatever replaces Vortex needs to be photogenic and vertically diverse. Photogenic to give guests a new visually stunning ride to view from the pathways. Vertically diverse so it both adds to Kings Island's skyline while filling out the space provided by the ravine. The park also has a desperate need for an inversion machine, and family coasters very notably do not feature inversions. If the park was looking to make their next coaster family-friendly, why would they use the Vekoma Ghostrider model on the most recent survey? I understand that Kings Island is a "family park", but those families grow up and want more thrilling coasters as their children get tired of what the park has. There's an argument to be made that it should have a 48" height requirement (or similar). I get why that might be. The issue is that Kings Island has been playing it safe and it has not worked out in their favor very much. Orion was made to appeal to families and didn't receive a high enough ROI: though Orion opened in July during the middle of a global pandemic, so there were other issues with its opening. River Racers was designed to appeal to a larger audience while leaving more budget for other attractions and did not receive very stellar reviews in its first season of operation. My point with these two examples is that appealing to a broader audience hasn't really worked out well for Kings Island. Yes, families who want thrills could go up to Cedar Point, but it's unlikely that they would go as often as they might if they could have something more thrilling at KI. As families struggle more with the economy there's also less chance that they'd be willing to travel the 3+ hours.

I think a Big Bear Mountain style coaster would be a great fit in The Bat area if/when Six Flags decides to retire it. Have it utilize the terrain and run through the forest. Give it a "Dark Forest Adventure" style theme. If not The Bat area, the area in between The Crypt building and The Beast would work. I would prefer to see a multi inversion focused coaster on The Vortex site mainly due to the departure of Vortex and Firehawk and Invertigo's future being likely up in the air.

Maybe they could render it orange and blue so we could see what a Vortex homage would look like.

That looks incredible.

ML Designs created a concept of a Vekoma Ghostrider with an extended layout in The Vortex plot and it actually fits pretty well!

I used custom supports for the first inversion, but the rest are auto-generated. Kings Island isn’t my home park but I really hope y’all get something like this.

Cool concept @ethancoaster! Did you use custom supports?

^ What a twisted mess of steel! I love it!