Shaggy

For those of you clinging to hope that Vortex is being “re-profiled” or “redesigned” or such... let me rip the bandaid off. It’s being taken down... removed completely... kaput. I understand it’s not due to one issue but rather several... metal fatigue, cost of maintenance, low ridership, low marketability. It sits on prime “real estate” and the area will be better used in the future. it will always hold a special place in my heart, but it’s time. Can’t make an omelette...

See... didn’t believe me did you?

It will be demolished. But likely not until assembly of Orion is done. Sad, but it had a great run. I remember fondly when it opened. But as far as folks getting angry about losing a coaster, I invite you to look for the forest, not the trees.

...yet... ;-)

My personal speculation is, and this is just a guess, we'll see Vortex bite the dust in the forthcoming years and a "Copperhead Strike"-type coaster go in its place.

The same thing just happened with Lakemont park in PA... so this does not surprise me.

I've ridden this same ride at Lagoon in Salt Lake (Great park BTW.) Its a very fun ride, and I recall that after I rode it I thought "This would be a great ride for KI!"

LOL - tempting but just lookie - no sellie...

I thought many here would like to see a rare KI memento that I recently added to my collection. This is a carved marble slab mounted on a framed backing with a brass plate inscription. It was presented following the 1981 season - and it features the (then) new "The Bat" as part of the collage of KI images. From what I have learned, this was presented to a former Full-Time KECO/Kings Island staff member. Its quite a piece! If anyone has anymore info about this, please share!

Just be glad its seat belts and not those darn steel cord magnets that the B&M hypers initially had. Back after Raging Bull & Nitro opened, the park had retractable steel cables added to each seat with a magnet at the end. The magnet attached to a metal rivet on the clamshell. If the magnet wouldn't attach - no ride. Well, those things wreaked havoc on loading. Not to mention the steel cable would slice hands and fingers. Ultimately they went away - I think - in favor of seatbelts and visual lines at the base of the restraint.

When Maverick was built at CP, the ride had a significant portion of track removed and replaced. A barrel roll was deemed too extreme for the trains and (potential) riders. Because of that, new track pieces had to be manufactured and shipped to the park (Intamin uses an overseas steel manufacturer I believe.) It delayed the ride approximately one month.

It was removed, in large part, because a 90-something year old man claimed he broke his neck on it (4 years prior) and sued the park.

So, let me get this straight. KI just announced a $30million capitol expenditure... a Monster coaster... biggest in parks history... exactly what “enthusiasts” have spent years crying for... at a time when NO other park has announced anything remotely on par... and said enthusiasts are complaining about it? Typical I may have to take the off season... off. From the beginning of the “speculation” it’s been an onslaught of negative, cry baby entitled “opinions.” Frankly, I cant wait to ride it. I absolutely love KI, and the people overseeing the park are doing a stellar - STELLAR- job of elevating it to be one of the best parks in the world. All the naysayers should get marked with a crimson “A”... so they’ll all stand out in line... which they’ll no doubt be clamoring to ride come next spring.

I grew up going to KD as a kid/teen. The safari, as I recall, did not extend into the red. Much like KI, it was located to the east of the park. See the area in blue below...

A little over a week ago everyone here was whining about how there were no teasers... now everyone is saying how great the campaign is... This board both amuses and frustrates the ^(*$ out of me. LOL

Newton's 4th law: This Fourth Law states – “Neither matter or energy moves relative to Absolute Space”. A body of matter or a photon is always at zero velocity relative to absolute space. When a force is exerted on a body, the body does not move or accelerate relative to absolute space, it only moves relative to other matter but its relativistic mass will increase. Its “space energy level” increases. When the body emits more energy than it is receiving its mass will decrease. When a body emits a photon it speeds away at the speed of light but remains stationary relative to absolute space’”

Hang on guys... I may be on to something... I did a search, and... anyone remember this? I am just taking a jab in the dark - and frankly I only thought of it because I have a cat with a middle name "Newton" LOL! I am loving that KI is doing these posters. Way more fun that people posting blueprints.

I would suspect the watermark letters have nothing to do with it's name... but are a reference to just the theme or what it does... The letters could simply be referencing one of the laws of physics. N E W T O N 1 K I - based on Sir Issac Newton's 1st law of motion "A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion unless it is acted upon by an external force." or N E W T O N 2 K I- based on Sir Issac Newton's 1st law of motion "The force acting on an object is equal to the mass of that object times its acceleration." or N E W T O N 3 K I - based on Sir Issac Newton's 1st law of motion "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Or it could simply be a more generic "N E W T O N S K I" or "N E W T O N @ K I" Isaac Newton was an astronomer and invented higher math like calculus and statisitcs... so these "hints" would fit nicely with the rumored "space" theme... and the math analogy would pair up well with ride stats. Fun guessing game - this is what I've been waiting for.

I find it odd that image on the Bayern Curve poster is not reminiscent of the original ride's theme. The original ride, which was in Octoberfest, was themed to an Olympic Bobsled - not a space rocket orbiting the moon...

Although it would be fun to see this new tease end up being another coaster install, I believe it to be a water park addition. Word on the street has, for a few years, been that Holiday bit off more than they could chew financially with the B&M install. Because of that, they've scaled back to installs more conducive to the parks bread and butter - Splashin Safari. Didn't they just announce they were retiring a 30-year-old original SS dump-bucket water attraction for future expansion?

Hyperspace Mountain is terrific! I had ridden it before - as recent as 3 years ago. It was the second thing I did when I got to DL park last week. (Matterhorn being first.) Its far superior to the FLA Space Mountain, and I am so glad they brought back the SW overlay. Frankly, as a whole, the Disneyland rides are a bit better IMO. The Florida versions of Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, Indiana Jones (in Florida the same ride has the Dinosaurs overlay) are modified versions of the MUCH superior CA versions. I've always felt there's a charm at Disneyland that WDW doesnt have. However that doesn't mean that WDW doesn't have its plusses, or is lacking superior attractions.... Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios will always be the best of the bunch (even before the Guardians overlay at CA), Cinderella's Castle is still one of the most beautiful things ever built, Dumbo's Circus area is far better than Toontown, and Hall of Presidents etc. Ultimately, its like comparing apples to oranges, but DL has so much intimacy and history to it. And that is what I'm most drawn to. Its really the diamond in the Disney parks crown.

Congo Falls/Timberwolf Octoberfest Those - IMO - need some love.

Frankly, unless the rumored 2020 coaster does super huge numbers for the park, I could see it being a long time before a new, large coaster install appears at KI. They've gotten some pretty darn good response to just the infrastructure and small-ish capitol addition they made this year. Their return on investment *seems* to have really boosted attention to the park. That speaks volumes - and I expect the park will follow suit with more broadly-based additions. That having been said, I do shake my head a bit to think that the park hasn't even acknowledged next years "rumored" coaster, and already the topic is changing to a potential follow-up coaster. Makes me chuckle to myself.