VortexBFForever

On Opening Day when I rode Zephyr, the op made us stick out our arms and make airplane noises to "make the ride go faster." When I was riding it last Sunday (May 26), the op was playing Simon Says. It was quite fun, actually, and interesting to say the least.

Wet n' Wild sounds like a great place to visit! (I've never been there) I think you summed it up pretty well in this short-and-sweet TR.

I like Christian, soul, pop, and a little bit of rock and techno. Occasionally I listen to some 80's-type songs, particularly from artists like Eurythmics, Aha, Tears for Fears, and Chicago. But I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy movie soundtracks! <3 Very often I listen to scores from The Lion King 1 & 2, Happy Feet 1 & 2, How To Train Your Dragon, and March of the Penguins.

I heard about The Beach on the radio this morning - they also stated that daily operation begins May 25.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Pictures are now up, along with three new additions to the notes list! I am currently working on my Opening Day video collaboration in Windows Live Movie Maker and I plan to upload it to YouTube and post it here by the end of today! Update: Video is still in the process of being uploaded to YouTube. Expect it to be up by the end of tomorrow, or Tuesday at the absolute latest. As for now, I'm going to bed. I have school tomorrow! *starts snoring* ZZzzzzzZZzzz Update May 15, 2016: After FINALLY getting around to successfully saving the video in the correct format and uploading it to YouTube, my Opening Day 2013 video is now live, three years later!!

I wish I would've met you when I was there during the evening! Hopefully another chance will come along soon. Glad you had fun!

Very nice! I can't wait to go to The Beach this summer!

I'm sure the 5K was fun for you guys. Looking forward to the next part!

Very nice TR so far. Can't wait for the next part!

***YouTube video is now live!!!*** Disclaimer: I did not bump into or talk to any KICer, primarily because I decided not to text malem (sorry). But I still had a good time riding solo. The Beach is looking nice! My mom and I arrived at Kings Island at roughly 7 p.m., when a lot of people were starting to leave. Our first stop was the Season Pass Processing Center, because we had upgraded from Gold to Platinum so we wouldn't have to pay for tickets on our annual visits to Cedar Point. We were greeted with a good-looking line; the employee at the line's entrance nicely said that the wait would be no more than 15 minutes. He sure was right - the line moved really quickly! - so about 15 minutes later we were escorted to Station #9, where our pictures were taken and the passes were issued. After exiting the Processing Center we proceeded to the Front Gate, where our brand new Platinum Passes were used for the very first time. I was half expecting to hear "Secrets" by One Republic playing as we entered, like on May 16, 2012, but we didn't - although during the course of the trip I heard five familiar songs: "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz, "Hey Soul Sister" by Train, "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat, "First Cut is The Deepest" by Sheryl Crow, and "Wake Me Up Inside" by Evanescence. As we started up on the left side of the Royal Fountains, I saw a pair of Canada geese with two cute goslings. Not long after that, I noticed that Vortex was down and had gone down not very long ago. As I walked under the Eiffel Tower I noticed that the train stopped on the lift hill had passengers on board. I also noticed a couple employees walking up and down the lift, probably informing said passengers of what was happening. I was just about to enter the Eiffel Tower's queue, but I was informed that it was down, too! Hopefully not because of the light rain (I doubt it). Then I just decided to head into Coney Mall. Just before I passed the Juke Box Diner, though, Vortex started testing. The 20-something riders on board seemed very happy that the ride was going again, but a couple test cycles afterward, the ride was down once more. It would be that way for just over 20 minutes. I waited in the line outside for about 7 minutes from 7:35 to 7:42, then at 7:42 I decided to bail out, since Shake, Rattle & Roll and its 2-3 cycle wait line seemed to be calling my name. So I walked around and joined the line for SR&R, which was just inside the entrance and in no switchbacks. Guess what: what was happening now would be the exact opposite less than 15 minutes later. Yup! 10 minutes into the wait, when I was supposed to be on the next cycle, SR&R went down but Vortex had opened back up. I told you, it was TOTALLY THE OPPOSITE!!! I waited for 5 more minutes, then forfeited my spot in line because now this Arrow mega-looper next door was calling my name even more than SR&R had done! At this point it was almost 8; I had been in the park for an hour and had ridden NOTHING. I joined Vortex's line and used my 25 minutes of waiting to snap pictures until I was next in line for row 4-2. Photo Restoration Edit: This PTR has been divided into two parts as of May 14, 2016, as this originally was posted before the 50-photo limit was implemented on the forum. Part 2 will be in a new post!

I went during the evening (7 p.m. - 10 p.m.). It was still a little crowded at first, but during the last hour the lines were pretty short. Vortex's line was so short that I was able to stay on it for 4 consecutive cycles (I got to the ride at about 9:47; had I got there earlier I may have gotten more rides in). Racer and Adventure Express had station waits.

My detailed report on this (since it had occurred when I was there ) : I had just entered the park, not long after 7 p.m., when it happened. That was when I also found out that the Eiffel Tower was having problems as well (I was originally going to start out my trip on it, but apparently didn't get to). I headed back into Coney Mall when Vortex started going again. The riders that were stuck seemed very happy that it was working again, even if it was just a cycle's worth. Meanwhile, the other trains were being dispatched empty. About 2 minutes later, the ride was down again - this time, with no riders. It remained that way for roughly 20-25 minutes. (I also took some photos as well, but it may be a while before I get them up)

When I got to the park at 7:00 p.m., it was still a bit crowded. I had to wait 15 minutes to get my new Platinum Pass processed; when I entered the park, Vortex and the Eiffel Tower went down, and Shake, Rattle & Roll did the same thing about 20-30 minutes later. But during the last hour, the lines were pretty short. Racer and Adventure Express had station waits of about 5 minutes each, Zephyr was nearly a walk-on, and Vortex's line was about a walk-on as well. I was able to marathon Vortex for 4 consecutive cycles with the last one (my 140th Vortex ride ever) being a fireworks ride! I'll be writing the TR shortly

The buttons are still "bugging" me, so to speak. As of now, it STILL takes me to the Community Index when I try to view the drop down menu under my username - it's starting to get annoying... Edit: Never mind. It's working correctly again.

Riding Vortex again! And don't forget the other rides, of course...

Fantasmic stuff! That pool at the hotel you stayed at looks totally awesome! Oh and I've never been to Disney before in my life...sigh Glad you had a great time!

Just checked the Saturday forecast via weather.com's 10 day forecast (tomorrow I'll start checking the 5-day forecast) http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Mason+OH+USOH0566:1:US http://www.weather.com/weather/wxdetail6/USOH0566

Another amusement park-related dream (not KI, unfortunately) last night: I was riding the defunct Python at Busch Gardens Tampa. The track was its normal yellow, but the trains looked more like Tennessee Tornado's trains. Second, the seats were made of this red plush-like material and third, parts of the train had cobwebs on them as if it hadn't operated in a while. It was so weird! (I do hope I get to go to KI on Opening Day; I must be getting interested in riding an Arrow looper again!)