Rivertown Rider

I personally like Area 72, it sticks with the extra-terrestrial theme and is a nice wink and nod to the park's history. It fits much better than the generic Action Zone does. Hopefully they rename that area at some point in the future as well.

^ I agree. Something like Calico Mine Ride or even something like Black Diamond at Knoebels would be nice in the Crypt building.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Red get some retracking love this offseason followed by a paint job back to the original look prior to the 50th anniversary.

I give the park a ton of credit. Going to the trouble of painting those buildings is something that most people won't even notice but the attention to detail shows that the current management really finds ways to plus the area and the park overall.

One thing that is going to be difficult when they demolish Vortex is going to be trying to keep all of the trees that have grown up around it over the years. Unfortunately, I see most of those disappearing because it would be too hard to work around them.

Hershend is really the only one I would want. They put quality investments in their parks and generally excel at operations and customer service.

I really hope this doesn't happen. It would be like the Paramount days again.

I would love to see them add a couple more cameras. They could move the Mystic one to show elsewhere in the park.

This would be the fourth removal (KC, SOB, Firehawk, and Vortex) since I have been following the park closely. King Cobra- When I first got on the innerwebs in the late 90s there were rumors even then about it being ready to close down and later that it was for sale. I only rode it one time which was enough for me. While it is always sad to lose a coaster, I always joke that the people who miss King Cobra most are the ones who never rode it. While that is not completely true, Delirium has been a popular and successful replacement. Son of Beast- The hype and potential for the ride was amazing. Watching this massive structure start growing in the summer of '99 will always stick with me. It was the first time I really followed a coaster being built and I looked forward to it so much. Unfortunately it wasn't a great ride but the structure itself was amazing to look at. I was disappointed to see it go but Banshee and Mystic Timbers more than made up for the loss. Firehawk- I remember watching Quicktime animation for Stealth (now Nighthawk at Carowinds) and there were strong rumors we were going to get a ride like that @Shaggy has a great thread on here detailing this process well. Eventually we did get it and I finally rode it in '17. I enjoyed Firehawk but it was never a must do and I figured whatever was replacing it would be better and I expect Orion will be. Vortex- This one is tough because it was my first looper. Over the past couple of years I have ridden it more due to trying to get rows 5-1 or 7-1 where it is more enjoyable. The popularity overall with people has seemingly dropped lower and lower every year though. I can see why the park didn't want to throw a ton of money at it if it is metal fatigue. I am excited to see what comes though I think it will be 3-5 years down the road before we know.

I have only ridden one B&M sit down looper (Wildfire at Silver Dollar City) but I thought it was a great ride and would happily take something like that. The reason I prefer a Floorless over a Dive is that the layouts seem more thought out than a Dive where the Dive is the main focal point plus it would likely have more inversions than a Dive would. I also like that the capacity on a B&M Floorless would be 32 riders vs. The 24 riders on a Dive.

I do like the idea of the world's tallest, fastest, longest floorless coaster. The drawback to something like Copperhead Strike is that it is so short height wise. Something that shows up in the skyline is a nice fitting tribute to Vortex

I voted for Dive but I would love to see it be a Floorless. A true ground up floorless coaster would be great and would also allow them to pack plenty of inversions into a small space.

I hadn't posted in this thread but I did in some of The Vortex threads. I saw it early yesterday morning a little after 6 a.m.. Yesterday was a crazy day. It is like a show where you expect one character (Invertigo) to die but there is a plot twist and the series regular (Vortex) meets its demise. All in all though, I look forward to what the future brings.

If there is a good part, at least there is notice so that we can get last rides in.

It is crazy to think with Vortex leaving there won't be a coaster built in the '80s at all in the park.

This does allow the park to really re-do the area around The Vortex footprint and eliminating some of the bottlenecks (i.e. WindSeeker and Vortex's exit). I could see a multiyear improvement plan similar to how Wonderland did Frontier Canada. I'll probably do my suggestions for a five year plan in the next couple days.

I have had a lot of thoughts about the removal all morning. Honestly I figured it would be Invertigo leaving. Vortex was my first looper and will always hold a special place in my heart. While it does concern me that they would remove coasters two years in a row, I think that the park and the chain has a plan. While it isn't as popular as it once was it still was a capacity machine and those people have to go somewhere and they may not all be riding Orion. But while this stings, the future is bright.

I agree with you. I think Invertigo will suffer and I expect it to eventually go away probably sooner rather than later. Of all the areas in the park Action Zone needs the most help. It still has that Paramount throw it in an area and see if it fits vibe to it. While Banshee helped, the area needs a gradual refresh over the next few years.

Another small amusement park appears to be closing. I've never been to the park but it is a Premier Parks owned park and is one of the last remaining trolley parks. https://www.nj.com/camden/2019/09/112-year-old-nj-amusement-park-closed-suddenly-and-could-be-sold.html I have also seen elsewhere on Screamscape (http://www.screamscape.com/html/smaller_parks.htm), (I know, I know ) that Premier is trying to sell all four of the parks that they own. The other three are waterparks in Toronto, Virginia Beach, and Nashville and according to them Cedar Fair and Six Flags are both interested. One would assume that CF would want the Toronto water park as it would allow them to sell more platinum passes in Toronto but the Nashville park is also interesting. While it is a relatively small water park it sits on a lot of land which could be used to expand to a full fledged amusement park. With downtown Nashville only being 18 minutes away it would be a great opportunity for CF to expand into a new market that has been without a full fledged amusement park for over 20 years.

It looks like most of the dirt pile has been moved by the ravine area.

I'm glad I wasn't seeing things. I wonder what this is for. It would be great if it was a tunnel but I doubt that is the case since the blueprints/POV didn't show anything.

We went Sunday and took in some of the tween events (Madame Fatale's and C.H.A.O.S). Madame Fatale's was great. While the line was long, the actors seemed to be into it and it was great being able to see the old Tomb Raider building. I really hope in the next few years they find a way to put a ride in there because that is a space that could be utilized all season long even during Winterfest. As far as C.H.A.O.S. it was hard to hear with the overhead music going. My suggestion would be to turn off the overhead music during the day. It was neat being able to walk thru the space and walking thru the tunnel. I'm glad they are doing these events and I'll try to take in Shipwrecked and Blackout on future visits.

It was amazing how many people were there last night. I ended up riding Python, Flying Bobs, and Tilt-a-Whirl. Of the three, the Tilt-a-Whirl was my favorite and best ride of the three. It is great to see flat rides get so much love. Hopefully KI expands their flat collection as there is definitely a market for them.

Carrying over the discussion from the Haunt thread, there is currently another funeral visitation area set up this year. In addition, two new graves and tombstones have popped up tonight. What one or two things do you think are getting removed for the 2020 season? Do you think it is a ride or a building or a Haunt? I personally would be surprised if it is a coaster as I can't see them removing one after removing Firehawk last year. Most of the flats have been pretty reliable this year with maybe the exception of Viking Fury but it still seems pretty popular. Congo Falls, I could eventually see disappearing but that would be down the line if they put a new coaster in Action Zone. Interestingly I saw on someone's Facebook group someone posted a picture of Slaughterhouse. Could both Slaughterhouse and Madame Fatale's be going away and in 2021 we get a Rivertown expansion back in that area? What do you think is going away or do you think anything is going away?

I find it funny that the way the camera is positioned that we can't see any of the work that will be going on in the area I front of the coaster (Area 72). It makes you wonder if they have some surprises up their sleeves.