homestar92

Wasn't there something similar to this on TR:TR? Yes, there was a little zipper pouch in front of your seat in which to stow loose articles. See also the Dark Knight Coaster at SFGAm (and presumably on the other clones as well.)

As they shouldn't. Things that are nearly 20 years old aren't new.

Both parks are excellent! I really cannot recommend either of them enough. Holiday World is an easier park in which to experience all of the attractions in a single day. Thunderbird is stellar. Voyage is a very critically-acclaimed ride, though many here are not the biggest fans. Very "love it or hate it". Legend is a lot of fun, but very rough. Raven is, in my opinion, nearly the perfect wooden roller coaster, but it unfortunately loses a lot of points due to its disappointing length. It ends right when it starts to get REALLY good. SFGAm is also great. They have a huge collection of world-class rides, including my personal favorite B&M hyper and B&M invert. They also have my personal favorite Arrow Looper that isn't named "Vortex". Plus you've got Whizzer, which is a very rare breed of coaster and is a surprisingly fun little ride. Not to mention Goliath, American Eagle, Viper, Dark Knight Coaster... I could go on and on. SFGAm is huge. If you aren't going on a weekday (and possibly even if you are) you will likely need two days or a Flash Pass (ideally of gold tier or higher, bearing in mind that only the platinum one includes Goliath, and only two rides on it) to ride everything. If you opt to stay two days and are covering the cost of parking by yourself, I believe it is a bit cheaper to buy a season pass than to buy admission and parking for two days. You can also opt for a membership pass to alleviate the initial cost, but keep in mind that when you buy a membership, you are agreeing to make payments for 12 months. Whichever park you choose, you're sure to have a great time. Holiday World has my second-favorite "new for 2015" ride, but Thunderbird isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Now, as SFGAm goes... My enthusiast's intuition tells me that American Eagle likely doesn't have much time left, so I'd personally make it a priority to ride that if you choose that park. I could be wrong, of course, but given the condition of its paint, I don't have the warm fuzzies about its future...

We know one thing that attendees of another park in Louisville do not. We know with a very high degree of certainty that there will be a 2016 season.

Are we talking about the blue coaster in Coney Mall or the blue coaster in Action Zone? Because only one of those has ever "destroyed my head". As such, I avoid riding it and leave it for those who like it. No skin off my back. Nobody's forcing me to ride it, so its simply existing certainly isn't doing me any harm. That's why it's still missing its chain after it broke in 2011, right? I don't know where this myth comes from. Arrow parts are in NO short supply. At all. If/when Vortex is removed, lack of available replacement parts will NOT be the reason why.

Unless you have particular plans or ideas for that plot of land or feel that the ride is unsafe (and I can assure you that neither it nor any other Kings Island coaster is unsafe), that seems like a pretty silly thing to want. I don't find Diamondback to be particularly fun or exciting, so I just don't ride it very much... It keeps me from wasting my time with a boring ride, and it keeps me out of the line for the people who do like it. And people who do like it will stand in its line instead of the line for coasters that I like. Everybody wins and there is literally no down side to the deal whatsoever. If other people think it's great, then that's awesome for them. It being there does not harm me in any way. In fact, every coaster I don't care much for just keeps that many more people out of the lines for the ones I do. - homestar92, just saying... I don't get why everyone who doesn't like a given coaster always demands it be torn down...

I've stayed at Motel 6 locations that offered more than adequate comfort and accommodations at a great price. Granted, I've been at some pretty sketchy ones too. In general, when lodging on the cheap, read those reviews, especially the bad ones. Sometimes you get a great value. Then again, sometimes you don't.

And FastPay. And the "free refills all season" souvenir cup. Oh, wait...

A standing water slide? That brings "nope" to whole new levels for me.

Did you actually ask them about that? You seem like the type of person that would. At the risk of leaving a one-word post: ...Maybe...

^ Thank you for your story. I suppose I'll share mine. I've shared it before, but it isn't something I discuss very often. It was 2010. The first year I went to Kings Island that I was willing to ride the "big" rides. My (now-ex) girlfriend had dragged me kicking and screaming - literally - onto Flight of Fear. As much as I didn't think I would, I had a blast. I fell in love with roller coasters that day. Amazing how that one ride that I got on so reluctantly affected my life so profoundly - I've made so many great friends and memories as a direct result of that. Shortly thereafter, we headed to Vortex. On the part of the queue that goes over the ready brake, I hear someone yell my name. I looked down and it was an acquaintance of mine, Jeremy, who I'd known nearly my whole life, but never been particularly close with. We left the line to meet up with him after he got off and then we got back in line and we all rode Vortex together. I rode with my then-girlfriend and Jeremy rode in the next row (we were in 1-1 and 1-2 respectively because we were young and naive) and on the way up the lift hill, I had my first kiss. And as any decent friend would do, he grilled us pretty hard for that ("ew, cooties!"). I had a blast on the ride and it quickly became my favorite coaster. Our little group spent the rest of the day in the park and we rode pretty much everything else. That morning I was afraid of roller coasters, but by the park's closing time, I was hooked. After that day, Jeremy became one of my best friends and my number one coaster buddy. On July 4th, 2011, Jeremy and two other young men were killed in a pretty nasty car accident. It was a really tough part of my life... If you've never lost a close friend at such a young age, I hope that you never have to experience that. I wouldn't wish that pain on my worst enemies. Just a couple days earlier, Vortex had had its incident where the lift chain had broken, and it remained inoperable for quite a while afterward. I found it fitting. It was almost as if the ride didn't want to do anything either, as if it were mourning with me. Between the loss of Jeremy and the temporary loss of my favorite coaster, it was very difficult to go to Kings Island for a while. I think during that time, I was at the park once, and only for a couple hours before I couldn't stand to be there anymore. I'll admit, that whole period is kind of a blur. When I heard that Vortex had reopened, I dropped everything to get to the park early the next day and I went straight to Vortex. And for those wonderful two and a half minutes, it felt like I was with my best friend again. And for the first time in weeks, I was truly happy and truly enjoyed myself. That same night, I got a fireworks ride on WindSeeker (also my first ride on WindSeeker, as it happened), and it almost felt as if that whole day was just his way of letting me know that it was time to start replacing my melancholy with fond recollection of our few, but so memorable, trips to the park together that really made us become the best of friends. Fast forward to 2013, when we had the KIC event at the park (the one where we had a meet and greet with Ed Alonzo and tours of FoF and Firehawk). While we were waiting to see Ed Alonzo's show, I overheard another KICer talking about Vortex to his (now-ex, funny enough) girlfriend and I decided to interject into that conversation. This short conversation led us to discover a great mutual appreciation for old Arrows and ended up leading to one of the best friendships I've ever had. Vortex has an immense amount of sentimental value to me. I had my first kiss on the lift hill. It helped me cope with the loss of one very dear friend and introduced me to another. There is not another coaster in the world that could even begin to match that for me. The day of its final rides - whether that's 1 year from now or 10 years from now, I'll be there. I'll likely cry myself to sleep that night, and maybe for a few nights afterward. I'll probably have to even take a bereavement day off of work (which if I'm working where I am now, will cost me a vacation day, because apparently mourning a roller coaster that has closed does not constitute bereavement, but I digress). I don't care what they put there, it won't ever be as good to me for obvious reasons. I know that these machines can't run forever and I know that day is coming. But I sure as heck am not looking forward to it. But even if they remove Vortex, they can't ever take away all of the great memories I have with it. But for the time being... Long live Vortex! Oh, and in addition to all of this, I still think Vortex is one heck of a fun ride!

Probably similar reasons to why Banshee is a walk-on 75% of the time...

I will not disagree that the ride was designed around 5-1, because it was. But I will disagree on 5-1 being less headbangy than 7-1. But hey, to each their own. Why not try every seat? - homestar92, fan of the second-last row on every Arrow looper he's ridden, except the Corkscrews at Cedar Point and Valleyfair, which are inexplicably best enjoyed in 2-1.

And if you do mind headbanging you can reduce it greatly by choosing to sit in 7-1.

X-Base is considered to be part of Coney Mall and not its own section, so really, the two rides are fine given its current state. If they decided to make it its own section, then adding more attractions (and restrooms...) would be a good idea. I personally would LOVE to see an S&S Screamin' Swing back there...

And many, many, many people loved Thunder Road. Lack of popularity is not the only reason parks remove rides...

Put in other terms, take any multiple of 3. Then subtract one from it. Those are the acceptable row numbers for the smoothest rides on Racer and Beast. Basically, you want rows 2, 5, 8, and so on in that fashion.

My understanding is that due to certain Ohio laws, all manufacturer recommendations must be adhered to. Which would mean that unless Arrow (or more accurately in this case, S&S) specifically gives the OK for a modification to occur, it can't.

Being that Vortex is in Ohio, many modifications that might be possible for Arrows elsewhere would not be possible for Arrows at Kings Island.

Clearly someone has never been to Mt. Olympus. There's a reason they are currently selling admission for $9... I'd rather go three minutes up the road and ride the coaster at Timber Falls Adventure Golf. It feels safe, is actually fun, and doesn't really draw a line.

If it weren't rideable then how is it that I have ridden it well over 100 times this season alone?

We must check Cedar Point. Maybe the stage has gone there now, having fulfilled its mission at Kings Island.

I usually don't do all-caps, but... WE MUST NAME THE #KIBIGSTAGE !

I can confirm that at least one former SIX property has not banned selfie sticks, and is in fact selling them on their premises...

Last year in September, they were understaffed, but there were also so few guests that it kinda balanced out.