SonofBaconator

They had one where GateKeeper is now, it was called Space Spiral and sat right next to Diaster Transport

I think Cedar Point will. I could see them build one and have it double as an observation tower of sorts since they got rid of theirs in 2012.

@CoastersRZ Could be a parking lot coaster

Yeah, it was not uncommon for Taft to have different rides with similar names- Bat, Vortex, Thunder Road, Grizzly could all be found at one point at more than one park. Now parks, aside from Six Flags, are trying to be more original when naming their coasters.

Back in the day, it was logo that debuted with the ride. content://media/external/file/140956

Never thought of that, Vortex is "leaving" next year- the Canada's Wonderland one.

Sea World Entertainment really loves launched coasters

Most amusement park railroads that have three or more trains usually only run two. Walt Disney World typically operates 2 locomotives unless its a busy day, the same can be said for Busch Gardens Tampa and Williamsburg. With regards to Carowinds, they most likely didn't have a need to operate a 3rd locomotive but kept it just in case.

@MaxxForce, KI is already on the map..... Cedar Fair is not going to work with Vekoma when they have a good standing relationship with B&M, RMC, Gerstlauer, and MACK.

I wonder if they're announcing it Thursday so people will have time to ride it Friday?

True but its still listed as a live product on their site.

@McSalsa I assume that the picture I provided is a "Next Gen" model, though interesting still flawed in one way- the train faces the sky on the lift hill. I'm sure parks are going to B&M because of Vekoma's not so perfect reputation. Vekoma might still make spare parts, but that's like adding new parts to an old, crappy car. At least with Vortex, S&S might be able to make spare parts and in terms of reliability Vortex has a way better track record than Firehawk.

@McSalsa According to their website, Vekoma still has the Flying Dutchman on their product list so I don't think spare parts are as hard to come by as people think. https://www.vekoma.com/index.php/experience-thrill-coasters/flying-dutchman

Holy Crap that's awesome, I never noticed my post made it to the news! See, analyzing pays off!

Remember, Kings Island was dropping Splintercat teasers like crazy to throw people off to don't be shocked when there's a lot of clues hinting at multiple coasters.

I wouldn't question the mods.

I guess my biggest gripe is that they announce the name but not the ride. I guess without photo evidence that confirms its not Firehawk, a lot of people will still assume Firehawk is indeed the coaster.

There's also a ton of land on the other side of the maintenance road that's relatively clear. I can see it being an out and back that essentially runs parallel to the river while also having a lot of curved sections like Fury 325's second half.

I think people who think Vortex or The Bat will be removed are forgetting how much land Firehawk and Dinosaurs Alive would leave the park to expand on.

Can we please get Rick Rolled next season in the shed next season? My life would be complete if I was in the shed and they played

Also fits my Cedar Point/ Kings Island 20 years later theory Magnum XL-200- 1989/ Diamondback-2009 Raptor- 1994/ Banshee- 2014 Millennium Force- 2000/ Kings Island Giga-2020

The more that I think about it, the more I see Firehawk coming to Kentucky Kingdom. First refer to a comment I made on the "Kings Island Confirms Removal of Coaster" Thread In addition, Firehawk is a double used coaster so I'm sure a price could be negotiated that was suitable for both companies. The distance from KI to KK is literally under two hours away so shipping won't be as strenuous or costly as buying a brand new coaster and having it shipped. It will still be an old KI coaster so KK might draw in some Cincinnatians, and other KI fans that might feel nostalgic. Kentucky Kingdom gets a new, unique coaster, and Kings Island gets more land and loses all the maintenance issues Firehawk had over the years.

Am I the only one who doesn't think that the demise of Firehawk and the reveal of "Kentucky Flyer" isn't a coincidence? Kentucky Kingdom released the name of their new attraction but didn't specify what exactly was coming to the park- in comparison Kings Island confirmed that a coaster was leaving but didn't say which one. This leads me to speculate that the announcements will go hand in hand where KI announces that Firehawk will leave then Kentucky Kingdom will make a full announcement for Kentucky Flyer. This is all based on a lot of "ifs" but there could be a lot of truth to it.

That pretty much sums up my whole theory as to why I think its Firehawk. Vortex is way too iconic to be axed off without having enough time for guests to say goodbye.

Theming can be replaced and reworked so that shouldn't dictate a coaster existence in the park. Top Gun didn't fit next to Banshee so they just rethemed it. Ricochet was renamed to Apple Zapple and themed to Candy Apple Grove. Vortex at CW is getting renamed to complement Frontier Canada. Need I go on? It surprises me how many people prioritize theming over ridership, safety, and reliability. If that were the case, Kings Island would just remove BLSC because it doesn't fit in with its theming, or KD would remove Intimidator 305 and Flight of Fear because it doesn't fit the Safari theme.