VortexBFForever

Earlier this week I saw a post on Facebook about Vortex’s little hiccup last Saturday and one of the comments went along the lines of “They’re getting everyone off because somebody fell out...”

I have had a few rides where my train has stopped completely in the mid-course brakes, but it wasn’t anything big. My train was up there for about 10-15 seconds tops. Sometimes (usually when someone is learning to drive the ride) we don’t release the train from the first set of block brakes at the end early enough because sometimes the driver “forgets” that a train is there, which causes the next train to stop completely in the mid-course brakes because of the ride’s block system. It doesn’t happen very much though, and it’s no biggie!

It feels like accomplishing a great deal, as my first time on Vortex I was still afraid of inversions. I have surely come such a long way since then, as I love inversions now!! It’s crazy to think that I have gone upside down over 3,000 times...it honestly doesn’t feel like that much!

I live just east of Dayton in the Beavercreek/Xenia area, so for me it takes approximately 45 minutes to drive 37 miles to Kings Island on a good day. Unlike some of you who would rather avoid 71, I personally enjoy driving on 71. I usually don’t run into much traffic as I am on it either earlier in the morning or later in the evening depending on when I work. I do have an alternate though (Colombia Rd). I start out on U.S. 35, on which I spend only a few minutes since I live just one exit down from U.S. 42, which I take south through Spring Valley and Waynesville to Lebanon, where I hop on 48 and get to see numerous drivers pass me while going at least 10 over (I have never seen the 50 mph speed limit more abused in any other place ) before I finally merge onto 71 (or continue going straight to Colombia Rd). If there isn’t much traffic on 71, I will gladly take it, as it is a bit faster and it will save a bit of time since the associate entrance is all the way down at the south end of the park and I come from the north...

May 4, 2018. I originally planned to pick up an Open shift for work and then ride as a guest after work, but someone needed her Swing covered that day. Since my dad would not let me stay for the fireworks either way, I decided to cover my crewmate's Swing, as my double the next day would allow me to see the fireworks nonetheless. Since the Swing shift does not start until noon, I had some time to ride some rides as a guest before work! I entered the park at 9:50 and headed left to catch some ERT rides on a certain Arrow coaster that was finally being included in the morning ERT... I ALMOST got my own train on my first Bat flight of the season...but several other people arrived as the train arrived. Either way, it was nice and quiet aside from Mary Poppins' "Spoonful of Sugar" playing on the FunTV, which was an unexpected surprise. I rode The Bat twice - once in the front and once in the back. I love the pop of airtime one gets coming off the turn into the second drop when riding in the back! On my second ride, I rode with a spider web next to me, which made for some fairly appropriate theming. The web's eight-legged owner was nowhere to be seen, so it missed out on the fun. I decided to take a quick spin on Banshee, as I had a couple of friends on the crew and I wanted to see if any of them were there. So after shoving Toothless and my fanny pack into a $2 locker, I headed into line for my first Banshee ride of the season. I didn't find the friend for whom I originally searched, but I did happen to find Kat! So we said hi as I waited for the back row seat which I had chosen. Yes, chosen, as there was less than a station wait which made for no point in assigning seats! I rode back row, far right on the Blue train. The ride was very fun, but also very rattling. But it was still very fun. I love getting pulled over the first hill, and it's quite intense! I retrieved my locker contents and headed to Adventure Express' empty station. Like The Bat, I would have had my own train had several more guests not shown up right as the train arrived, but that didn't matter since I had a nice front seat adventure on my first Express ride of the season! It was about 10:45, so I headed straight down to Coney Mall's east end. I need to try Coney BBQ sometime! As soon as I entered Coney Mall, I smelled it. YUM!! By now, I'm sure you know why I headed straight to here... ...not just because I of course craved some morning spins aboard Vortex, but also to finally accomplish something I had originally intended to do on last year's Closing Day HAD IT NOT BEEN SO COLD. It took three rides on Vortex today to get there at last. After enjoying two fun, intense, airtime-filled back seat rides, I hopped aboard the front... ...for a ride that I waited five long months for. At long last, I boarded Vortex for the 500th time at 11:12 a.m. (as seen on the Snapchat filter )! This is the first time I have taken a landmark ride in the morning. And in case you're wondering...I rode in the same seat in which I took my 100th, 200th, 300th, 400th, and first test rides of 2017 and 2018! Yes, I was once again on Train #1!!!! This is my visual proof that I rode Train #1; I took it right as I got off. Don't worry, the lady in the foreground is not looking at me. My 500th ride, dare I say it, was GREAT! Surprise surprise. But seriously, it was great! It was amazing getting to experience my first six inversions for the 500th time. Here's to another 500 more!! And this also means I have now gone upside down on Vortex over 3000 times!! While my train sat on the brake run awaiting its station arrival, I thought about the rides I had just experienced this morning. Then I thought this thought that some would think crazy: "Banshee rattled me more than this!" But it was true! Aside from the wacky transitions and slight shuffling typical of an Arrow, the three rides I just had on Vortex were actually smoother than the extremely rattling ride I had earlier on Banshee (granted I rode in an outside seat on the Blue train which isn't the smoothest, but still!). Feel free to not believe me, but I will stand by the experience I just had of a 31-year-old Arrow looper giving a smoother ride than a 4-year-old B&M invert. Banshee needs to step up her game because something's up. It's so crazy to think!! I wanted to cool off with a ride on Flume so I could make it an all-Arrow ride day (aside from my ride on Banshee), but instead I had embarked on a futile quest to obtain the ride photo of my 500th ride. Apparently Vortex's kiosk wasn't working of all times, and even the people at Mystic Timbers' photo station couldn't pull it up. Oh well. At least I have the memories! It was just after 11:30, so I didn't have time to ride Flume and still get back to Vortex in uniform by 11:45. Even though I didn't get to cool off in the way I originally planned, I would get to cool off later when it began pouring mid-afternoon! It was raining hard enough for Vortex to close for weather, so I got to clean the train as well as obtain some aesthetic shots. I'll post only a few as I don't want to spoil it all. Dare I say that some are Photo-Contest-worthy! Overall, May 4 was a good day! For clarification I will consider writing trip reports for only the days that include guest visits, as writing reports for every day would be too much. I may include some details from neighboring work days though, or at least give brief entries about them in the random discussion thread. +The Bat: 2 Total: 102 +Banshee: 1 Total: 26 +Adventure Express: 1 Total: 56 +Vortex: 3 YTD: 7 Total: 500

^Darien Lake in upstate New York had Pentatonix perform there last summer. I don't know if Darien Lake is classified as regional park, but it's close (it's definitely more than a local park).

I also live 45 minutes from the park. 50-55 if there's traffic or if nearly every single traffic light turns red en route. For me, U.S. 35 to U.S. 42 to S.R. 48 to Interstate 71 is the way to go. If it's a day where the park is expecting to be swamped *cough*Haunt Saturdays*cough* then I stay on 48 until I reach Colombia Rd, follow it to Kings Mills Rd and then to Kings Island Drive. That's my alternate trip-finishing route to KI as a precaution to avoid any rush traffic or delays that may present themselves on 71. -BFF, who loves to save all the time she can, especially since she comes from up north and has to drive all the way to the south end of the park to reach the associate lot.

I was working all day Saturday, and at one point we did have a pretty decent line (this was before the rain and the evac) with a wait of at least 15-20 minutes. It usually doesn't have too long of a wait even with a full queue, as the queue doesn't have miles of switchbacks like other rides do. Even with the squeaking, Vortex has been running very well so far this season; it actually gave me a smoother ride (aside from the wacky transitions, of course) than Banshee when I rode them before work on Friday! The squeaking is typical for early in the season; it's usually the new(er) wheels on the trains that squeak a little this early in the season, especially when it's wet outside. I know there is some other squeaking as well, but it is not a huge deal and it doesn't adversely affect the ride experience from what I've seen, heard, and experienced. After all, Vortex is 31 years old. Overall, great trip report! I enjoyed reading it.

I test rode Shake Rattle & Roll during a thunderstorm last year. It was fun yet it was also the scariest ride I've had on it. Well, I guess I won't see you much then.

That could have been me! But I also have crew mates who call Vortex their favorite ride too, so it may have been either of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened to be me though because I vocalize the most about Vortex being my favorite ride.

I'll be there! Working all day!

I remember it being an hour in 2010 and 2012. But in 2011 and since the 2013 season it has been 30 minutes. I wonder why it's not an hour like Cedar Point's early entry...

So I won't be attending Coasterstock, BUT I'll be working it, including the ERT on Friday night! So if you come ride Vortex during ERT, I will be there!!! I'll also be working on Saturday night and at MSD (Monster, Scrambler, Dodgem) Saturday morning.

Amen to that! The trains already get repainted each winter, and the station was repainted last year! I would be surprised if the track/supports still don't get a new coat of paint within the next season or so. It's been almost ten years since the last fresh coat (2009)! But other than that, I can't complain at all about the TLC that Vortex has already received this season. Fun fact: On our WindSeeker training day, some of us were cleaning the trains on Vortex, and I happened to look upon a small spot on one of the rails at which some of the orange paint had peeled/chipped in such a way that I could see all three paint layers: the original paint from 1987, the first added coat from 2001, and the most recent coat from 2009! That was pretty cool.

Yeah, since without them a certain song about a certain ride not sinking would not exist! -BFF, running for the door...with her new KIC shirt in hand.

While on the talk of fanny packs, I'm just glad that Mystic Timbers allows them as long as they are out of the way of the lap bar. I actually was able to ride Banshee with my fanny pack on its Media Day, presumably before they decided to not allow them. I don't mind that Banshee doesn't allow them; I just end up riding it only during the occasional times that I go extra-light and carry the few things I actually need in my snap pockets so I can ride Banshee and Firehawk without having to buy a locker. Though, $2 isn't bad to rent a locker for two hours. On the topic of Vortex, yes, it has a new air compressor, which should help a lot this summer. I just waited until others began to notice. I didn't notice if any footings were redone though. I'll have to look extra closely next time I'm at work.

@Bansheeback That's exactly why we explain to the guests in line for rows we are saving that we are doing so to accommodate a guest who cannot wait in the regular line (at least we do at Vortex). This way the guests in line know why they will end up waiting an extra train, and once they know that they're okay with it since it won't be that much longer before they can ride.

When I help guests with green sheets, I always ask what row they prefer (especially since many who ride Vortex often prefer a certain row/car on the train). Some request a specific row so I save that row for them on one of the next trains, while others say they are fine with any row. And when we save rows, we ask the guests next in line for those rows if they are okay with waiting an extra train and explain that we are saving these rows for guests who are unable to wait in the regular line but have waited the same amount of time, and generally they are okay with it. The only time I had a problem saving a seat was when the guests in line for that seat were with a larger group who wanted to ride all together, but it all worked out and we instead saved the row on the train after theirs. Green sheets at WindSeeker are a breeze (pun somewhat intended ), as all we do there is assign as many seats as we need to that party and then assign seats to the guests in line as usual. From what I've seen at Vortex, the guests in line there usually don't mind green sheets/Parent Swap guests who need a row saved. But I do understand that guests waiting in the regular line at other popular rides (e.g. Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, Banshee) may feel upset about those admitted to the ride through the exit. I'm sorry for those of you who use green sheets and have encountered upset guests in line. I wish you did not have to deal with this.

I would love to be up in the Eiffel Tower for at least one of the fireworks shows this year. I think watching from the platform with the lights changing around and below you would make for such a cool experience!!

I want to participate, but I won’t be back at the park until May!!!

Guess I'll have to watch out... Disclaimer, in all seriousness: We here on the "Windex" crew are not to blame for Vortex's not-as-smooth-as-Diamondback ride experience. So complaining to us won't accomplish very much, sadly. AND, Vortex was running quite well on opening weekend as it gave some rather smooth rides! I know from my four rides on it on Saturday!

The most I have stepped at Kings Island in one day is about 26,000 steps, and this was on a day where I worked a Swing shift and visited as a guest before and after. On one of my test rides on Vortex last year I was checking my FitBit Charge 2 throughout the ride to see what my heart rate was at various points of the ride, and I found it actually counting steps too! So according to my FitBit, riding Vortex apparently counts as walking or running.

- Ride Vortex for the 500th time, and celebrate with a fireworks ride on Vortex that same day. #MaybeMay4 - Reach 600 rides on Vortex - Reach 700 rides on Vortex (believe it or not, that is my target for my overall total this year!) - Watch the new Cirque show from the day it starts (unlike when I never saw Origins until 2016 and waited until 2017) - Possibly reach 200 flights on WindSeeker? (I'm at 121 and the most I've ridden in one season is 39) - Eat at Coney Bar B Que - Visit Soak City more than once - Spend at least one guest visit with a KIC group (especially if @Beastie1980 is there! We need to spend more time at KI together!)

Yes. I would recommend doing so while the cup is empty, for obvious reasons. But yes, I have ridden rides with my souvenir cup looped through my fanny pack strap.

He's technically a "loose article," but I secure him by placing him in a loop I have in my fanny pack strap (and he fits snugly in that loop), so as long as I have him strapped to my fanny pack, he can ride most rides! So he is a secured loose article.