VortexBFForever

After writing bits and pieces about this wonderful trip in between shifts as well as forgetting about it for a while, I finally present to you my detailed novel of my second trip to The Island in Pigeon Forge, my third trip to Dollywood, and my first visit to Carowinds, thanks to Carowinds' daily op ending one week later than KI's. Let's go! Part 1: The Island in Pigeon Forge On Sunday afternoon (August 15), Mom and I arrived in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We lounged around in our hotel room for a couple of hours before deciding to check out The Island. I had gone to The Island during our previous trip namely to ride The Wheel and watch the fountain show. I originally wanted to go after Dollywood, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to use the extra time tonight to go (which would be the right decision since inclement weather kept us away the next night). Five minutes of driving and another five of walking later, we were back at The Island, home to a 200-foot-tall Ferris Wheel that dwarfed everything in its vicinity. I wanted to eat something first as I was rather hungry, so I eventually ended up with an Auntie Anne’s pretzel and honey mustard. Now I was ready to ride some rides. I ended up purchasing the unlimited rides wristband ($35) plus the high ropes course and its jump ($10 + $5) so to get my money’s worth, I had to do at least $50 worth of experiences, including the high ropes course. (spoilers, I didn’t, but I did what I wanted to do). I’m not usually one who rides whatever coasters they can find, but I did just happen to see a coaster of a kind that I enjoy. Spinning Parrots is an SBF Visa spinning coaster. It may have just a simple figure-8 (exactly like Nuclear Rush at Scene75 Columbus), but I like Nuclear Rush so I decided to take Spinning Parrots for, well, a spin. As expected, it was fun for what it was, and I considered it a warm-up for tomorrow. Now came the main attraction, the Great Smoky Mountain Wheel. After four years, I looked forward to riding it again. I boarded Car 35 and got comfy for the roughly-ten-minute ride. Mom did not join me since she doesn’t really like Ferris Wheels or most rides that are high, so she became my personal photographer from the ground. The panoramic view that the Wheel offers never gets old, and I hope I don’t wait another four years before I can do this again (I will say this a lot during our time in Pigeon Forge). One waiver and harness fitting later, I ascended the Island Ropes Course. I figured it wouldn’t be much different than some of my climbs at Kings Island (while also being rather different since the rides usually don’t have ropes on them lol). My favorite part on the whole ropes course were the two ziplines one could ride across on the middle and upper levels. It started raining while I was up there, which made for a rather fun zipline experience, and fortunately the rain didn’t last long. After losing count of zipline runs, I joined the short line for the jump off of the top level. The jump down concluded my time on the high ropes course, as well as my time at The Island as it was starting to get late. I took in the atmosphere just in case we didn’t make it back tomorrow. +Spinning Parrots: 1 +The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel: 1 Total: 2 +The Island Ropes Course: 1

September 30, 2007. After hearing countless accounts of my brother's visits to this place called "Kings Island," I got to see the park for myself courtesy of my mom who had won a drawing for two tickets at a blood drive. Son of Beast's massive lift hill was the very first thing I saw. The Grand Carousel was the very first ride I rode. I knew all the different coaster types thanks to RollerCoaster Tycoon, but I realized that building them in a game and riding them in real life are two completely different things, so I rode mostly the smaller rides. I remember seeing a red train rolling backwards over Racer's many hills, and sadly I wasn't willing to try it under the assumption that I would eventually ride it in a future year (that aged well). I stood in line for Dodgems but didn't ride it because the totally normal sparks of the car's poles rolling along the grated ceiling was unsettling to me somehow (I made weird assumptions as a kid ). I first laid eyes on Vortex (one of my brother's favorite rides) and watched it for at least 10 minutes before deciding, "Someday, I'm going to ride this...just not today." I already knew Vortex would be a special ride to me but still wildly underestimated the epic decade that would follow of my history with it. Finally I found myself in Nickelodeon Universe, home to more rides that better suited my preferences. I did ride Little Bill's Giggle Coaster (3 times) and Backyardigans' Swing Along, but the main attraction happened to be the Fairly Odd Coaster. My mom rode with me the first few times since I was nervous, but eventually let me ride by myself when I got more used to the ride (hence my riding again repeatedly - a technique I would go on to use on bigger coasters ). I remember the operator on the mic encouraging us to put our hands up at the start of the ride, as well as the male-voiced spiel "Welcome to Cosmo and Wanda's Fairly Odd Coaster. Please remain seated..." During another ride, I found a 2007 brochure under the seat in front of mine, which I read cover to cover on the way home. I have a mental note of this attraction they kept calling "Tomb Raider - The Ride" but thought nothing of it (including the fact that 2007 was that ride's last season as such). By the end of the trip I had amassed roughly ten rides on Fairly Odd Coaster alone - my first marathon! We ate some pizza by the fountains before we went home, to mitigate my sadness over leaving. But I knew I would return. Side note, during the '07-'08 Cedar Fair ride name change en masse, I thought it was normal for the park to change their ride names each year so needless to say I was confused when all the names remained the same after the 2008 season, while also being aware of the arrival of our favorite B&M rattlesnake. But that's a different story for a different time.

I love Invertigo! It's one of my favorite rides. I love riding on either end (partially because I normally ride by myself or with one friend). After just over 100 rides on it, my best experiences come from staying relaxed throughout the ride (as tensing up will make you feel worse), and taking a deep breath during the more intense moments to avoid blacking/graying out. I hope you can get a better experience on it.

I also rode Blue Racer last night, in row 9 (a wheel seat!) and it was the smoothest ride I have ever had on it. There were still small bumps here and there as expected, but it is a night-and-day experience from my first ride in 2008 (which was the roughest). As the first big coaster I rode, I have a whole new appreciation for Racer and will definitely make sure to ride it more often!

Panoramic power!

Hopefully this summer I can once again see and ride two of the trains I checked for three summers...and of course get my first rides on Fury 325.

Rankings are not my strong suit. I group my rides instead. But I will give it a try! Orion Diamondback WindSeeker (for sentimental reasons ) Invertigo Delirium I love a lot of rides, and these are just five of them! And yes, Vortex would be on this list if it were still here.

empty plot of land on Coney Mall's east end > Vortex Boo Blasters > Phantom Theater Madame Fatale's > Tomb Raider: The Ride

As of Saturday, March 13, the last coaster I have ridden is now Nuclear Rush at Scene75 Columbus!

A few weeks ago I dreamt I was riding Orion in a prone position, as if I was on Skyflyer. Imagine taking a 300-foot drop lying facedown! On top of that, Orion had SINGLE CARS instead of trains, and on one of my flights/rides, I valleyed. Even though I was lying down, I still rode on top of the track (like on a sled). Long story short, I dreamed the result of Orion and Skyflyer having a baby, and it was indeed very interesting (and thrilling!!).

As much as I enjoy and appreciate Orion, Diamondback, and Banshee, I do not want a B&M in Vortex's space. I personally hope for Vortex's successor to feature a handful of inversions with a lower height requirement (48") as I know from my experience working at Vortex that a lot of young thrill-seekers set foot inside Kings Island. Dare I say that it MUST be as photogenic as Vortex was, in its own way. Bonus points if it breaks a record! Right now, a Mack multi-launch has my vote. Granted, I have not yet ridden one, but Copperhead Strike looks fun (and photogenic) and I hope to visit Carowinds this year to find that out for myself!

Thanks to a several-minute-long station stop, my highest score on Boo so far is 6240, on August 23, 2020. Part of this may have to do with the fact that part of my job is maintaining and testing the blasters...

BUMP! And here we are, ft. the wonderful MultiQuote feature, in January 2021. Let's see how this topic aged! And yes, it was just a rumor at that time. Thankfully. Soon is a subjective term... Vortex lived for 7 more years. Close enough We Vortex fans thankfully got that chance, with a month's notice. Hey look, my own take on it! Yes, Vortex operated for at least a few years to come; yes, I worked on Vortex (for three years, 2017-2019!); and yes, I was crying when we lost Vortex, albeit in varying degrees since the emotions hit in different amounts at different times rather than all at once. In addition, I got my wish of working on Vortex's final crew. I wish. Now if you had said this between 1999 and 2009...but still, 7 more years was still rather good. How did this play out? I'm genuinely curious. Yay, 7 more seasons! Definitely longer than the "foreseeable future," as subjective as that is, so this was spot on. I live by this statement. I often like to say something along the lines of "don't worry about the future, because it'll undermine your enjoyment in the present" and that was definitely my motto with Vortex. I made sure I enjoyed it in the present rather than be tempted to worry about its future. And to add, in the end we must remember that KI is a business... Me too. And I was. A lot of us were and likely still are since barely more than a year has currently transpired. A lot of hearts ache over Vortex's 2019 departure for sure. You're on to something... Vortex indeed reached its 30th anniversary. I hoped it would reach 35. But alas, it settled right in the middle, at 33 seasons. The Bat's 29th season is this year (2021). Its 33rd season will be in 2025. We shall see how things swing. Let's hope the 11th Commandment continues to hold up for numerous more seasons! And let's not forget our four-decades-old Flume; it's technically an Arrow too.

If you want to get super technical, Vortex has -1 years left. In all seriousness, I really miss it.

Tsunami at Scene75 Dayton on January 2. Before then, it was a front seat night ride on The Beast on November 1!

I have multiple other favorites for various reasons, but Orion has already proven itself as a favorite. I started working in maintenance as it was being built and I got to put sound equipment on it, so basically I helped build Orion! I had wished for a B&M giga to come to KI for some time, so Orion was literally a wish come true. When I felt sad over Vortex's demo, I could look over at Orion and see what was new, and watching its test cycles was a reminder to me (and later a lot of us) that things were going to be all right. Orion became so special to me even before it opened. As for other favorites, I have a soft spot for WindSeeker (the ride I worked along with Vortex and my most-ridden active ride), Diamondback (got me over fears of height and speed), and Invertigo (another ride I think is overhated) among others.

Hmmm, I wonder what season it is

This was mine, in response to a 2012 KIC Day trip report.

Little did 2003 KIC know that they had nothing to worry about as there were still 16 more years for them to enjoy Vortex. Not to mention, Vortex was only 16 years old and people were already worried about its future?! While there is nothing wrong with speculation, I prefer to not worry or think a lot about a ride’s future because that undermines my enjoyment of that ride in the present.

Vortex. Not that I’m biased or anything

I think I will wait until the next time my birthday (February 25) is on a Saturday, as well as when I have started attending Cedar Point more than twice in a year so I can appreciate Winter Chill Out a little more. I wonder what sold out faster: Winter Chill Out 2021 tickets or the online Vortex track slice kit sale on November 10, 2020?

I do not have a worst, but back when I was just getting into roller coasters, Blue Racer was at the bottom of my list. My first ride (not sure which seat but it was probably a wheel seat) had so much roughness and jackhammering that it turned me off for a few years. That ride was in 2008 and I didn't start riding it again until 2011. Even then, I would not ride that often or would ride the Red side...until last year (2020). I had my best Racer rides ever last year. Red was still pretty good, but Blue was consistently exceeding my expectations of how smooth it was (not to mention it would also win more often ) and that gave me a whole new appreciation for Racer especially since it was my first big coaster! I rode it more last year than any other season, and I look forward to many more rides on both Blue and Red this year after the retracking!

It was nice to meet you! Now to see if I can catch up to your count...only a 58-ride difference.

Public domain and Shutterstock have not served them well... Of all the rides on the list, Valravn is the only one with a matching picture! It's almost like they shouldn't rely exclusively on stock photos!

As someone who delights in accruing unconventionally high ride counts, I took Orion's 300-foot plunge 219 times. I don't have all-season Fast Lane, for those of you who may be wondering, though every once in a while I buy it if I have friends visiting and getting it too. 60 of those times were in the same day, as I did a day-long marathon on August 10 to pay homage to my previous day-long marathon on Vortex on August 9, 2019. Dare I say it, but Orion could be the first ride to match my Vortex ride count (1221 1/3), if my 334-ride WindSeeker count doesn't get there first!