VortexBFForever

I rode once when it was Scooby-Doo. I faintly remember it but mostly remember Shaggy telling me how to use the fright lights/blasters as I waited in line. Once it became Boo Blasters, I didn't ride it for years because it was not Scooby-Doo. Then I started riding it once in a while, then more often once Winterfest came back. And then I transferred to Tech Services where I would begin checking in the blasters on the mornings the park was open. From Winterfest 2019 all the way up to its last day this past Monday, Boo Blasters' startup constituted my morning routine. I learned exactly how the blasters worked (and they DID work, at least most of the time ) and gained experience with pneumatics as I also helped take care of the animation, as well as audio with the many sound effects. My favorite calls would come from Boo Blasters for blasters or displays, as it meant I could test ride and even fix it on the spot if I had what I needed on hand. My coworkers and I believe it's haunted as we've had unexplainable little playful things happen while we're there. In fact, every time we went to do our startup, we would say "good morning Boo!" If I did startup alone, I would "chat" with Boo since I think out loud and am proud of it. If there really is some sort of spirit or ghost taking up residence in that building, I 100% believe we would be friends. After becoming the last person to ever check in the blasters on Monday, I had a literal blast on the best last seven rides I could ever ask for with my friends. Our competitive spirit and their blaming me for stealing points (because they don't work in Tech Services ) coupled bittersweetly with seeing and hearing for the last time the same effects on which I've helped work. While I eagerly look forward to this long-overdue next era of our dark ride, I am still grieving Boo Blasters which is perfectly okay. How could I not grieve Boo when it was my morning routine for six seasons? 1 ride as Scooby-Doo 242 rides as Boo Blasters Hopefully many more rides as Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare!

I rode RiverRacers on Sunday! The water was cold but it was fun. I really enjoyed the first drop, which reminds me of the big drop on Tropical Plunge’s blue tube slide. The enclosed part looks cool. While the rest of the ride isn’t nearly as fast as the drop, I think it’s a nice successor for Pipeline Paradise and something a lot of people, including kids and families, will enjoy. As for my own preferences, yes I would ride RiverRacers again in the future, but the aforementioned Tropical Plunge drop remains my favorite drop on a Soak City tube slide.

Not that I am biased, but Bat does deserve more merch. I’m happy it got socks, a mug, a poster, and a pin for its 30th in 2023, but I would gladly buy other Bat merch such as shirts (and yes, I’ve already bought the Homage shirt that features the original Bat!). And of course, Vortex merch will always catch my eye.

There’s a reason I call Vortex’s site the “hole of sadness”…it’s depressing whenever I walk by and hear 3 Point Challenge’s music not complemented by Arrow looper sounds. The deafening silence accompanies my walk to WindSeeker, making me long for 2019, when that end of Coney Mall was full of life between Antiques’ arrival and Vortex’s departure. Add to that the drones’ costing us our WindSeeker fireworks rides; they look cool, but I’ve always felt conflicted watching them fly above Vortex’s old stomping grounds. I’ve memory-dumped about Vortex in other threads, so I’ll spare you but regardless, it’s undoubtedly helped me become who I am today, a courageous thrill seeker and a now full-time KI associate. The three seasons I worked Vortex (2017-2019) are three of the best years of my life. To this day, if my higher-climbing Bat ride count hits a milestone or I accomplish something at work using what I learned from Vortex, my first thought is “Vortex would be proud.” WindSeeker and Bat may be my favorite active rides at the park which I appreciate in the same way I did Vortex, but Vortex will always be my all-time favorite.

Hopefully this year's return of Grand Carnivale will also bring back the tasting cards. My favorite part of Carnivale 2023 was the tasting card for 10 items, especially since I could use it over multiple visits! I miss Hot Summer Nights/Royal Rhythms from 2019 and 2021, or just having a live band on Bandstand for that matter. Few moments beat getting to join the conga line as they played "Hot Hot Hot"! I agree that I-Street needs the orchestral music back (NOT the covers that played 2020-21). The jazz was cool but my KD visit last April revealed just how much I miss hearing those beautiful orchestral pieces on our I-Street. This is a long shot at this point, but I still have a tiny shred of hope for Eiffel Tower and WindSeeker to be able to stay open for the fireworks again, sometime in the future. I understand the lasers and drones prohibit their operation during recent shows and that would require a significant change, but I dearly miss being able to watch the fireworks from nearly 300 feet up. Not to mention that unique opportunity had set KI's fireworks experience apart from the others. From my personal experience, WindSeeker fireworks rides are a core memory from when Vortex was still here, and I loved still getting to experience them after Vortex left...at least through 2021. Chalk it up to nostalgia, but I really want those fireworks rides back...

I have counted 664 lifetime rides on WindSeeker since my first flight on June 30, 2011. I actually discovered my favorite movie trilogy, How To Train Your Dragon, by riding WindSeeker! While not the most thrilling ride, WindSeeker has always held a place in my heart ever since I operated it alongside Vortex from 2017-2019. I hope to eventually ride all the WindSeekers. So far I have also ridden Cedar Point's and SteelHawk at Worlds of Fun. I've seen in person the ones at Dominion and Carowinds, albeit closed due to either staffing or high winds, and I still have not visited Wonderland. Hopefully that changes within the next few years!

I'm rather fond of WindSeeker too. I have waited in a full queue on busy Haunt nights before. I believe its 64-rider-per-cycle capacity is the main reason its line is usually short, especially now that there is no massive Arrow looper to help draw guests to the ride.

I’m briefly emerging from my lurking to inform you that my 2000th Bat ride is fast approaching! I plan to take it tomorrow afternoon/evening depending on how many I can get later today between the rain showers and storms. If you’re at the park tomorrow, come celebrate with me! The exact timing will largely depend on how close I get after work today…

Early Ride Times | Season Pass Benefits | Kings Island (visitkingsisland.com) Not yet, but they can be found at this link. Edit: They're here!

I always loved riding WindSeeker during the fireworks, which has been one of my fondest memories especially when Vortex was still here. I like the drones and lasers, but dearly miss these fireworks rides and subsequently feel slightly conflicted when watching the show. Honestly, I hope the drones and lasers eventually get phased out so the WindSeeker fireworks rides can return.

Surely I'm not the only one who loves to compare decades-old speculation to the present! teenageninja had nothing to worry about as Top Gun is still here (sans theming) and a fraction of Oktoberfest still exists (i.e. Festhaus and the Age & Weight game). Top Gun was only 10 at the time, and there was already speculation about it leaving?! 21 years later and it's also still here lol 1 and 3 proved to be correct! If by "significantly altered" he meant "repainted and renamed," Outdoor Man was correct about Flight Deck. Of course his SoB and Crypt claims were correct too. Or 15, for that matter...it's still here!

I'm happy to say that Top Gun is still here in 2024!

Not to mention, most coaster merch is geared toward the same five rides (Mystic, Beast, Diamondback, Banshee, Orion) which I understand are the most popular, but for those of us whose favorites are less represented, more merch of other rides is greatly appreciated. I really like how there were new shirts for Adventure Express in light of its Adventure Port touchup, as well as a few items celebrating Bat's 30th anniversary and even some Phantom Theater merch during the respective show's run! That's definitely a step in the right direction!

Yeah, unfortunately the project got cancelled; I believe that happened in 2020. It looked so promising!

Orion stole my Toothless hat for a day in 2020 It was fine until the last hill, then it flew off right before we hit the brakes. Fortunately, it landed on the top of the catwalk, making it easier for my crew friends to retrieve at the end of the night. Also in 2020, my travel-size sunscreen bottle went missing on Flume (I kept it in my fanny pack but it would fall out very easily) and I didn't remember my boat number, so I ended up marathoning Flume until the bottle turned up. I got six rides from that ordeal I've found, and sometimes witnessed, phones that fly off Banshee or Orion throughout my time in maintenance. If they land on the service road, I try to turn them in at the respective station so they don't get driven over and further damaged. One such time at Orion, I saw a phone fly out of a train going over the speed hill and managed to turn it in as that same train was returning to the station! I've watched plenty of hats fly off WindSeeker especially when I operated it. I watched a white ball cap fly off the head of the guy in front of me mid-ride on Bat last year. A flying cell phone hit me in the arm (would have been my face if my arm wasn't raised) before I heard it hit the nearby structure while speeding over Magnum's bunny hills. When I first got my glasses in 2021, I nearly lost them on a particularly spinny ride on Tsunami at Scene75 Dayton. They flew off my face but landed on the floor of my row! I thought they were for sure in the ride area. One evening after park closing in 2018, my crew and I looked for lost articles under Vortex's turnaround (after the first drop, before the loops). Some of the hats we found had moss/lichen growing on them because they were in that thicket for so long! I also found a phone broken in half on that same expedition. There are perhaps even more stories that escape me at the moment, but these are definitely among my most notable.