VortexBFForever

We had just gotten back in the Fast Lane line for another ride, but then we realized...we still had yet to hug the support! It was 6:20 at this time. So instead of riding again, we hopped out of line (we were not yet to the bridge so it was easy) and went all the way back past the batwing to the famed midway support, where we proceeded to take pictures of us hugging the support. We literally had a support group meeting, featuring an actual support. I discovered how to listen for a train by putting my ear against the support and listening to how loud the rumble was (and it was crazy loud when a train passed overhead!). That was cool. Someone had written "We Love You" on the support, which was sweet! I got the picture as a train entered the batwing, which is barely visible beyond the foliage. But it's in the picture. It was 6:40 by the time our support group meeting concluded. 20 minutes left! As much as we wanted to squeeze in another ride, we didn't want to take any chances. We wanted to enter the line right before 7:00 so we could at the very least be on any of the last ten trains. Kayleigh and I got our picture in front of Vortex's ID sign, joining the ranks of many others who were doing the same for the same reason. Now it was starting to get crazy. The line had grown to where it wrapped around the Urgent Scare ambulance and back toward WindSeeker's entrance. Security personnel were beginning to show up so nothing ugly would happen. We joined an entire GROUP of 30-40 people who were standing and waiting for the exact same reason we returned: to hop in line right before/at 7:00. We knew a number of people in the group, so at least we got to reminisce some more. All of us had one common interest: to get on the last train or at least get close to it. There were definitely more than 28 people here so I had no idea how this would work out. As 7:00 drew closer, the line got longer, and our anticipation grew. In just minutes, Vortex would close for the last time. In the meantime, the setting sun brilliantly colored the sky, with the dominant colors a fitting blue and orange. Vortex was riding into not just any sunset, but one of its own colors. Even the weather was assisting in its sendoff. Suddenly, people started scrambling to get in line. My group got swept up in the action as we tried to find a spot as close to the back as we could get. However, many other people had the same idea. My group ended up trying to find the back of the line twice until we decided to stay where we are. We ended up in line next to the restrooms, with the end of the line now by Antique Autos (where the brick wall ends). I looked at my Fitbit, on which the time read 7:02. The park was now closed for the season, and Vortex was now closed forever. We weren't as close to the end of the line as we hoped, but at least we were in line. One of my supervisors came out with the "We're Sorry, This Ride Is Closed" sign and stood at the end of the line, with several security guards. One other guard stood in the middle of where the line wrapped around by WindSeeker and the restrooms. I saw a group of WindSeeker riders exiting and marveling at how long the line was. I wondered if any of them were hoping to get in line for Vortex by closing. This massive line was and always will be the longest line I have ever seen for Vortex. The line had moved a little bit by the time I took this picture, as we couldn't see the end of the line from where we were at closing. We slowly moved around past WindSeeker and the ambulance as the line moved toward Vortex's queue. As we moved closer to the ID sign, I noticed a group of six people wearing matching airbrushed shirts that said "Original Vortex Crew" on the front and "One Final Ride" on the back. Wait...original Vortex crew!?!?! Once Kayleigh and I realized this, we got really excited. We had the chance to meet people WHO WORKED AT Vortex IN 1987. I always thought that it would be cool to meet even one person who worked there back in the day, but I had long accepted that it probably wouldn't happen because everyone would be who-knows-where at this point. But now...it was about to happen. We, members of Vortex's final crew, were about to meet members of Vortex's first crew. I noticed that they weren't moving with the line, but rather letting people pass them. That was good since I was hoping they wouldn't have moved on before we got the chance to meet them. Nonetheless, they were still in the same spot by the time we reached them, and we promptly struck up a conversation with them and how cool it was that members of the first and final crews were together. Of course we had to get a picture. The line kept moving, so our initial conversation had to be short. They told us that they would wait for us to come around through the queue entrance, as they wanted us to join them on their final ride. We were ecstatic at the thought of original and current Vortex crew members taking a final ride together! But first we had to wait for the line to take us all the way around back to the ID sign. Other enthusiasts/fans were in line around us which sparked even more conversations and reminiscing. We even watched a couple of NoLimits concept videos (of Arrow rides of course) together as the line entered the queue. A couple of them asked me what my count was up to. Numerous other guests in line were hyped and were sharing their excitement and appreciation for Vortex. As trains returned, some in line would shout "HOW WAS YOUR RIDE?" to the train and the riders cheered loudly in response. I heard one rider shout "Vortex FOREVER, BABY!" as his train rolled into the ready brakes. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Vortex was getting a lot of appreciation from the guests, making for a wholesome sendoff surrounded by loyal fans. Even with all of us here, we still made up just a mere fraction of over 46 million guests whose lives Vortex gripped in one way or another. In the meantime, we noticed the group of original crew members talking with a couple of security guards. We initially feared they would get kicked out of line, but we would later learn it was because some other guests were giving them trouble. By the time we reached them, two security guards now accompanied them, and now us as they included us in their group. They had gotten permission, and security clearance, to ensure they would be on the final public train. And since they invited us to join them...we would get to ride with them on that train. We were over the moon that we would be among the final public riders with the original crew! It felt like a dream, even though I knew and acknowledged that it was actually happening. This was real. While waiting for the rest of the line to pass, we asked about what it was like for them and what was similar and different in 1987 vs. today. Of course Vortex was brand new in 1987 (that was obvious) but also in 1987 the crew rotated every half hour (we rotate every hour), there was no dual dispatch (yet) and there was no exit gate (we'd get in serious trouble if we ever sent a train with the exit gate open today!). Vortex was its own crew, and it was not yet paired with a neighboring ride. The trains had no seatbelts at the time as well. Of course their favorite position was driving the ride, which is the same for us. Eventually, the queue began to clear, and soon the security guards began escorting us through the queue as we continued our conversations with them. They were really nice and willing to answer our bombardment of questions. We greatly enjoyed talking with each other and hearing how the same job changed so much over the years, and we especially enjoyed the simple fact that the first and final Vortex crews were meeting. Think a movie or TV crossover, but in real life. The station was emptying out, and we stayed in the switchback until the station was cleared. I felt a little bad for the guests who were wanting the last train but were told by security to board now or else not ride. Apparently it would be just us on the last train. Honestly I didn't care if anyone else was on our train, as long as it was the last. I took a moment to thank the security guards for their help in getting us on the final train, as surely it was not the easiest task for them to insist the guests ride now. As we continued to wait, the minutes seemed longer and the excitement seemed to increase exponentially. We were the last public riders, about to ride WITH THE ORIGINAL CREW. It felt so surreal, but still in the moment. Finally, we were let loose to pick our rows. Cheers erupted as we chose our seats. Train 2 was waiting for us. My friends headed for the back, but the original crew headed to the front. I had already planned to ride in the back for my final ride with the crew, so I joined the original crew, who boarded in 1-1, 2-1 and 2-2 and left 1-2 empty. I hopped into 1-2 for the momentous occasion. I looked around and saw numerous cameras pointed at us from the exit and Fast Lane bridge. Don was among the paparazzi. I was in awe of this beautiful moment, seated on the last public Vortex train surrounded by original crew members whom I thought I would never get the chance to meet, immortalized by the cameras capturing the moment that the last public riders would depart the station. I was absolutely star-struck. "Scan." The station went quiet. The floor operators' "Clear!" calls broke the quiet. The park's loudest lift was waiting to haul its next train up the 148-foot incline. "All Clear." At 7:48 p.m., Train 2 was dispatched, with original and final Vortex crew members aboard. Instantly cheers resounded from riders and spectators alike as gravity pulled us out of the station and onto the lift in normal fashion. The cheering faded into the distance and the Arrow anti-rollback ear candy took over. I took in the view of the ride and the park. As it was nearly 50 minutes after closing, the lights on top of the Eiffel Tower were already on. The other rides sat closed and dark, even The Beast. Vortex was now the only ride operating in the whole park. I took in every moment of the 56-second ascent and made sure I was there in the moment to enjoy the final public ride, as it would never happen again. We cheered again as Train 2 crested and soared into what was the world's tallest drop 32 years ago. I screamed "Bend it like an Arrow!" going into the drop. We cheered and screamed our way through the inversions, and I enjoyed the view of what would be my last ride ever in the front car. When we hit the safety brakes, our cheers resumed and were joined by numerous others watching along the queue in front of the entrance. We waved at each other as we once again had cameras pointed at us, and started chanting "Vortex! Vortex!" as Train 2 returned us to the station where we cheered all the way to the end. I thanked the original crew members for letting them join us as they headed out the exit first. My friends rejoined me as we followed them. A whole slew of people were waiting and gave us high fives as we walked out. I felt like we were celebrities for a moment. This was all a pleasant surprise to me. I expected some excitement with it but this still exceeded what I thought would happen. It felt so good to see all the appreciation everyone was showing to Vortex, and how hyped they were to witness the final public ride. I am humbled to have been able to join six original Vortex crew members on the final public ride; it was such a privilege and a moment I, my friends, and those crew members will never, ever forget. I am truly forever grateful. I shared hugs with my friends as our euphoria turned to raw emotion. We and the original crew members exchanged thanks for our riding together before they headed out. Several others were vlogging the moments as they unfolded, including our emotional hugs. I wasn't crying just yet, but my friends already were and I felt them. The exit cleared out, I got the on ride photos from our train, and joined the rest of my crew as they "closed" Vortex. I say "closed" because we still had one event left: the associate rides night. We walked back towards Troika where many fellow associates were lining up to get their last rides on Vortex. The rides night was supposed to start at 7:30 and go to 8:30, but obviously that had to change due to it taking nearly 50 minutes to cycle through the line at closing. At the top of the hour, Vortex reopened for the associates. We still had until only 8:30 to ride, but I was still able to get in two more rides before then. This time, the wait was a lot shorter and we were able to choose wherever we wanted, as opposed to earlier in the day where there was no preferred seating. It was nice waiting only five minutes once more. I rode Trains 2 and 3 once each, which ended up being my last rides ever on both of them, in 5-2 and 6-2 respectively. After those rides, I met up with my crew at the exit as we waited to board for our final ride. The anticipation returned. At 8:40 p.m., the line was cleared once again, and we headed through the exit into the station where Train 1 awaited us. The same train that took me on all but one of my milestone rides would now take me and my crew on my last ride ever. I kept saying "We're going, we're going..." as we walked in to pick our seats. My three supervisors got their picture taken in the last car and, knowing that 7-1 was my favorite seat, invited me to sit with them. The train had locked when I joined them, so I got to pedal the car one last time to release my restraint. I stepped aboard for the final time into 7-1. "Last ride, here we go!" I said, trying to fend off my disbelief. "This is it, Carolyn!" one of my sups said. This last ride would be my 1,221st complete ride, so I would be ending on a palindrome. After buckling my seatbelt and having my restraint checked for the final time, Train 1 was on its way, with the crew on board, at 8:41 p.m. We chanted, "Feel the Grip!" as we rolled out for our last ride ever. "This is so surreal," we mentioned as we began our final 56-second ascent. I then proceeded to say, "I can't believe it...it's time for a thank you speech," before I proceeded to yell, "Vortex, thank you for an amazing 12 years, including 3 years working here and 9 years riding! You helped me become the person I am today! I know but I can't believe that I'm on my last ride ever. I'll miss you so much!" as the anti-rollback rang out. "You guys ready?" my sups and crewmates shouted as we neared the top. "This is it!" as we crested. We screamed our way down the first drop as the ejector air sent me up against my restraint and put a good couple inches between me and my seat. "Here we go!" I screamed as we soared through the loops. We hollered our way through the corkscrews and whooped through the batwing (posing for our pictures on the way) before hauling up the helix and hitting the safety brakes hard with an abrupt stop. We sat there for a little bit as the areas and full timers were still boarding the train behind us (they were last train, we were second to last. It was the same with Firehawk last year.). Even if we were second to last train ever, we were the last riders ever on Train 1. My last ride on Vortex...was amazing. I know I say that for every ride, but this one was absolutely amazing. It was hauling, it was smooth, and it ran wonderfully to finish out its last operating day. There was nothing bad about this ride. I must add that Vortex had no downtime on this day, as it should be. I got emotional while waiting on the ready brakes and heading back into the station as we chanted "Vortex! Vortex! Vortex!" once again. As we disembarked, I hugged the headrest of my seat and said "Thank you" before walking out the exit for the last time (other than when we got our picture on the train after everyone else got off). Maintenance took over and began to transfer the trains off in preparation for their eventual removal from the track. They transferred Train 3 into the storage shed, got Train 1 onto the ready brakes...and cycled Train 2 one last time. For one more time we listened to the lift running, the anti-rollback, the warning siren, and the "ring ring" of the bell as the train crested, after which the lift went silent for the final time. We as a crew made our way to the ID sign for the picture together. As we reached the sign, Train 2 came to its final stop in the safety brakes...and Taps began to fill the air as it played over the lift speakers. We stood silent as Taps played on. The other rides stood silent, paying respect to their fallen neighbor. All of Kings Island went silent. The only other sound was the nearby traffic on I-71. Emotions finally broke as I silently said, "Goodbye, best friend..." with tears filling my eyes. We had just witnessed the end of an era. After getting one last group picture in front of the ID sign, it was time for us to go. It was hard to walk away from Vortex. I know I will see it again for now, albeit with no trains and likely no power, but the fact that it will never operate nor take anyone for a ride ever again hits hard. Vortex had a wonderful 33-season run at the park, and it got to end on a high note, giving its final rides while surrounded by loyal fans. It is now time for it to join Firehawk, Son of Beast, King Cobra and the ranks of defunct coasters in roller coaster heaven. Saying goodbye is never easy, but we have to anyway. At least my 12 years of memories with Vortex will help me feel a bit better, and will live on. Vortex may have lived only 33 seasons, but our memories of it still continue to live on in our hearts. As long as that's true, Vortex will not be completely gone. It will live on, in some way or another. Thank you, Vortex. Well done on your 33 seasons and 46 million rides. You will be deeply missed and fondly remembered. First Ride: July 23, 2010 Final Ride: October 27, 2019 +Vortex: 14 YTD: 536 Final total: 1221 1/3 +Linus' Launcher: 1 YTD: 3 Total: 6 +Boo Blasters: 1 YTD: 3 Total: 13 BONUS PIC: Brian Lamm got not only the aforementioned FYE Coasters group photo, but also this pic of Vortex where I happened to be in the second row (far side) of that train!

The inevitable day finally arrived. Before leaving the park at day's end, I would take my last ride ever on Vortex, 9.5 seasons after my first ride ever on July 23, 2010. Bittersweet as it would be, I knew I was not alone in the pain of enduring Vortex's inevitable goodbye, as I would see when I would be joined by friends and even family throughout the day as we shared final rides. Here is what perhaps the most memorable and bittersweet Closing Day would have in store. I had some housekeeping to accomplish first i.e. turning in my Rides uniforms and packing my things to move out of my dorm room after the day ended, so I arrived roughly 10 minutes after the park opened. I figured it would be busy yet I was still surprised to see a HUGE line for Fast Lane, probably due to many passholders waiting until this day to redeem their complimentary Fast Lane Plus. I don't even need to say where I headed first... ...during Vortex's last ERT ever. The station was already filled and the rest of the queue was rapidly filling. In fact, it was full after my first ride and the temporary queues were brought out once again. As for my last ever first ride of the day on Vortex, it was a great start to the day as always. Before I rode again, though, I headed back to the front of the park in hopes that the Fast Lane line had shortened. I was already considering buying Fast Lane since I knew it would be a lot more crowded than the previous night. My prediction was true, as the line was less than half of its previous length. Several minutes later, I headed back to Vortex with Fast Lane on my right wrist. I had decided to not renew my Platinum Pass this year, as I realized that I had used it only as an alternate means of admission for when I didn't have my associate ID on me. If I had renewed it, I would have done it just for the free Fast Lane Plus and Bring-A-Friend ticket, which by themselves cost less. So not only is Vortex retiring this year, but my Platinum Pass (and my digital camera, more on that later) are being retired as well. The Fast Lane line was at various lengths, but I did not have to wait for more than 10 minutes (yet). I didn't mind waiting though, as it meant plenty of time to snap pictures from various places. I also made sure to include my crewmates in a lot of them since they wanted me to take pictures. I rode Vortex three more times, and then I saw a group of KICers whom were among the first KIC friends I ever made (including @IndyGuy4KI). Of course we couldn't resist riding Vortex together one last time, so I joined them for my next ride. For one particular friend, this was our first time riding together in four years, so this ride was extra special for us. And we loved every moment of it. I couldn't find our on-ride photo (even after the trains after us had their pictures loaded) on the kiosk, so we got pictures of us in front of Vortex just in case. I'm glad we did, as I never got the on ride photo. But we'll remember our ride nonetheless. We soon parted ways, exchanging numbers so we could meet up later if desired. I saw a few more friends talking in front of the batwing. We took the next ~15 minutes just watching Vortex and reminiscing while a train roared by every few minutes. By this time, the cloud cover had started to clear and the sun came out for the rest of the day. Vortex will be the second-most-ridden defunct ride in park history, behind Enchanted Voyage. Two Arrows now top the list of most-ridden defunct rides. I got two more rides on Vortex before I once again headed back to the front of the park. This time, I was meeting up with my two brothers Joel and Jon, my nephew Ezra and niece Priya (Joel's two oldest kids), and Jon's girlfriend and her kids. Joel actually used to ride Vortex with his friends in the days before I visited, and he would later tell me it was one of his favorite rides as well. Since he had stopped going to Kings Island before I started riding Vortex, we had never shared a ride on it. For Ezra and Priya, this was their first trip ever to Kings Island. Ezra is just over 42" tall and Priya is just under 40", so of course neither of them were tall enough to ride Vortex. Ezra seemed really interested in riding Backlot Stunt Coaster, Dodgem, and Zephyr (all of which are 48" rides) and I told him that he wasn't tall enough for them now but someday he would be. We all headed back to Vortex so Joel and I could get our ride on it together. While Joel and I rode Vortex, everyone else headed to the Antique Autos, which would become Ezra and Priya's very first ride at Kings Island. To minimize the time spent apart from them, I had redeemed a front-of-the-line pass Pass Perk at Guest Services when I met everyone at the gate. During our shortened wait, we talked about each of our histories with Vortex and reminisced our own memories. We had more in common than I thought; he also prefers riding in the back seat, and like I said earlier it was one of his favorite rides as well. Best of all, both of us were really happy to share one ride together. We really enjoyed our ride together! It brought back memories for Joel and made new memories for me as we shared his last ride on Vortex. This was what I most wanted to happen before Vortex closed, so this ride was one of the most special ever. We waited for everyone else to finish their Antique Autos excursion, and then we started heading toward Planet Snoopy. Ezra and Priya enjoyed their first ride ever. While walking past Vortex, I felt happy that even though they would never get to experience Vortex, they would at least get to see it. By the time we reached Planet Snoopy, Ezra was wanting to try nearly every ride he saw. He and I rode Linus' Launcher together after waiting a cycle. Both of us like How to Train Your Dragon, so he was excited to "fly like Toothless!" Both of us had fun. He wanted to go again but I reminded him that there may be other rides he would like to try, although we could do Linus' Launcher again if he insisted. Joel and the others suggested we ride something we could all ride together, since they would leave at 5 and it was just before 4. We headed to Boo Blasters since it has no minimum height requirement (and it seats 5 to a car and there were 5 of us since Jon's girlfriend and her kids had to leave at 4). I did warn them that the line was likely very long but should move at a decent pace due to the continuous loading. Ezra didn't seem so sure at first about riding Boo Blasters because of its spooky theme, but felt like he could do it after some encouragement and basically telling him that it is basically a big game and we would all be riding and "defeating the bad guys" together. Charlie Brown's Wind Up caught his eye and he wanted to ride that as well, so we planned to do it after Boo Blasters. We ended up waiting roughly half an hour for Boo Blasters. Its queue was full, including all the switchbacks. Ezra and Priya were getting hungry as was the rest of us, but other than that they handled the wait fairly well. This was the longest I have ever waited for Boo Blasters, and I usually would not think of waiting that long for it. But this time I had a reason to. Eventually all five of us piled into a car and off we went. Ezra and I had one blaster, Joel and Priya had the second, and Jon had the third. Ezra got a little nervous at some parts and murmured "This is scary" but as long as the blaster was in his hand he bravely shot at the targets and said "We defeated the bad guys!" at the end. Walking out the exit, he exclaimed, "I'm not scared anymore!" I'm glad he liked the ride. It was a nice ride for all of us. Since we were hungry, we got some food. Specifically, we got both my and Joel's favorite sweet treat: blue ice cream! Jon didn't get anything, but Joel and I got waffle cones while Ezra and Priya split a dish. Both of them loved their first ever helping of blue ice cream while Joel and I enjoyed our waffle cones. While snapping this picture of my ice cream and what little of Vortex I could see from there, a train sped into the picture at the last second without my knowing of it coming! After we had all inhaled our blue ice cream (at least the kids did -- Joel and I were still finishing), we headed back to Charlie Brown's Wind Up. Both Ezra and Priya rode, and it was the first ride they themselves would ride together. Both of them really enjoyed the ride with their hands up. The op played Simon Says, one of which was to roar like a dinosaur. Ezra loves dinosaurs, so needless to say he roared the loudest of all the kids on the ride. Jon, Joel, and I loved watching them on the ride. I rode this ride on my first KI visit when I was still under 54", so this brought back even more memories. This brought Ezra and Priya's first KI trip to a close. I would say it was a success, as they enjoyed all four rides they rode and Joel and I enjoyed our ride together on Vortex. This definitely won't be the last time they come out to Kings Island, as long as I have comp tickets on hand. After they left, I headed straight back to Coney Mall. It was roughly 5:10 by the time I reached Vortex's batwing, where I saw a lot of other fellow enthusiasts and fans. I had forgotten that FYE Coasters had arranged a meetup and group photo in front of Vortex at 5:15. Since it was about that time when I returned, it was perfect timing. Brian Lamm captured the group photo: I know I had missed the KIC group photo but at least I made it to this one. Part of FYE's plan was to have a big group ride, but that would mean waiting in the huge line. Plus I had three other friends waiting to meet me for some rides together, so I headed off to get even more rides in. I returned to the Fast Line to find the longest FL line for Vortex that I had ever seen. It went back almost all the way the the gray gates where WindSeeker's evacuation device is stored. I considered getting a WindSeeker flight since its line was a lot shorter, but I was already with my friends who also had Fast Lane. We waited about 15-20 minutes before riding again. This was the case for our next ride as well. In line for our next ride, it was 6:00 and it started to hit me: It was last hour. The last hour ever that Vortex was open to the public. It was really happening. In just one hour, we were going to witness Vortex closing for the last time. Thoughts of this reality flurried through my mind as I continued to grab pictures, using my mom's camera and my phone. As for my own camera (which had taken a beating over the 7 years I had it) it suddenly rendered unable to take any pictures or videos, as the shutter button stopped working. That and the failing display confirmed that my Canon Powershot ELPH 110 HS had also reached the end of its service life, and the last picture it would ever take would be of Vortex. After our rides, we noticed a WCPO camera crew conducting interviews. I wanted one, but by the time I reached them it would already be time for them to pack up and move on. At least I got to talk to Don and Chad and tell them about when I hit 1200 the previous night and the day I rode it 93 times. Don told me good job for passing his count (still at 1,199). As I took more than 50 photo-per-post limit, there will be a part 2! How will VortexBFForever and Vortex spend their last moments together? Stay tuned...

Well...yesterday was fun. And bittersweet. So many things happened that number too many to list in a reply. A day like yesterday deserves a full-fledged photo trip report. And as mentioned earlier, yes, I did get to ride on the final public train with the original crew.

@IndyGuy4KI I have a whole bunch of photos that I took that I can contribute if you want! I took a lot yesterday.

I always hoped that when Vortex's time would come that they would do a send-off party similar to what Six Flags Great Adventure did for their Great American Scream Machine when it closed in 2010. But when it's nearly the end of the season with barely a month's notice, options are strictly limited...we'll see how Vortex is sent off in just a few weeks.

Don’t be surprised if you see me crying while at work. It’s already happened once. But even then I will keep smiling and having fun and making each last day count of the 12 years that Vortex has been a part of my life! I’m so glad that I took my 1,000th ride on August 2, especially since I originally planned to do it next year (on July 23, 2020, ten years after my first ride). I also broke the record for most rides in one day when I rode it 93 times on Friday, August 9. October 27 will quite possibly be one of the hardest days of my life. I know I will not be alone in the emotions of Vortex’s final ride. Vortex had a great 33 seasons and will definitely be missed. Losing an old friend is never easy. I don’t think I will ever be ready to say goodbye to Vortex, even though I knew I would have to at some point. Sigh...

I know a lot of people are waiting for my take on this...I'm so shocked. I knew I would have to say goodbye to Vortex at some point, yet this is still sooner than I expected. Vortex has a special place in my heart for more reasons than one, most notably it being my first job and my first looping coaster. Because of Vortex, inversions are my favorite element on any coaster. At this point, I don't care for Orion. I'm still glad we're getting it, but I'm purely devoting these next five weekends to enjoying Vortex while I still can, both as an associate and as a guest. -BFF, who will now start bringing a handful of tissues with her to Kings Island...

I love Gemini when it’s dueling, especially since the trains are close enough that you can high five rides on the other train! I like its dueling aspect better than Racer’s. Yes, the ride is jerky but it’s not the worst. I consider Gemini one of my favorite non-inverting Arrows.

It wasn’t me on that train this time...but I’m glad that one person had fun! And I am glad you and your friends had fun! And I agree about Vortex offering a smoother ride in the back. When I was working tonight, I rode with a little girl who wanted someone to ride with her (her dad and brother were riding in the row behind her), and we were in 6-1. We had a great, smooth ride (especially compared to my recent rides in/near the front) which we all loved! I still ride anywhere on the train but I make a beeline for the back (middle-to-back in general) anytime I want a particularly smooth(er) ride.

I have the amazing privilege of helping in the Spectacle of Color parade. I'm trained to direct (and soon drive) the floats, mainly the Venetian (with the big mask on the front; third-to-last in line) and Rio (with the parrot on the back; last in line) floats! I directed the Venetian float during the soft opening on Friday and crowd control for the France float on Saturday and I have had a blast so far! During the show stops, EVERYONE participates in the dancing, which I love because I love dancing. I guess, in other words, you have the chance to see ride ops dance (as all the parade float directors and drivers are ride ops!) in the parade as well. For someone whose "home" department is Rides, it's a special opportunity to help alongside the Entertainment department as the performers are literally right next to me, so I get to watch them and direct a float at the same time in addition to dancing during the show stops! I'm not scheduled to work every parade, but I'll be there often enough that chances of spotting me are good, like when @MDMC01 spotted me on Saturday! It's even more special seeing the guests' faces as we pass them. They definitely love it!

(Yes, there is a date stamp. Pretend it's not there. )

KMAA is paired with Shake Rattle & Roll for its crew (just like how WindSeeker and Vortex are paired for my crew). Prior to this year, Shake Rattle & Roll was paired with Backlot. Backlot is now its own crew.

All of what I have seen so far is definitely accurate! I'll contribute a couple of things: -Rides are machines; they break down. Other times we may have to close due to weather (high winds, thunderstorms). We can't control the weather or if/when any kind of downtime occurs, and the best we can do is just roll with it and know what to do when dealing with it. We never know exactly how long a downtime is, and we literally mean it when we say we're not sure how long it will be before we reopen! I had one day at WindSeeker when we closed due to a technical delay (not for high winds this time!), and I was telling the guests in line the usual "we're not sure how long this will last," "I can't say when we will reopen," those types of things. They understood, except for one who wasn't having it and gave me a hard time (to which I calmly responded) before she huffed out of line. I didn't think much of that ordeal until I was greeting at the entrance a few minutes later when a group of about 10 guests who were exiting the line started asking if I was okay and complimented me on how well I had handled that one guest. My heart felt so full thinking about how the other guests had pretty much stood up for me, as they knew I was just doing my job. I still appreciate them making sure I was okay afterward. This brings me to my second point: -Guest compliments! Not very many know this, but guests can go to Guest Services and leave written compliments for any associate whom they see going above and beyond or just doing a great job in general. I have received a few of these written compliments during the time I have worked at Kings Island so far, and it's always a pleasant surprise. I have also had guests compliment me verbally. When life as a ride op gets challenging and tiring, a compliment, whether written or verbal, goes a long way even if it's as simple as the "You look tired, but you're doing your job well!" compliment a guest told me a few days ago! ALSO, pertaining specifically to Vortex, as a Vortex ride op: Those of you who have ridden Vortex know that its restraints do not come up on their own and are heavy to lift. Anyone who sees this post who hasn't yet ridden Vortex: please know that all you need to do to open your restraint (should you find it down when you board) is to push down and pull up really hard! A lot of guests I see just give it a small tug and then stare at it (or even sit on the closed restraint), and then I have to help them. There's nothing wrong with that, but it helps us Vortex ops a lot when guests know the memo and pull their restraints hard enough to open them. Sometimes even when I'm there as a guest, I help guests in neighboring seats open their restraints if they appear to be struggling, as long as I'm back in my own seat in time to be checked! Capacity/efficiency is one of our big priorities, so anything that saves us time while also helping us do our job safely is greatly appreciated!

I have a spreadsheet too! Mine is titled "Amusement Park Data" because I use it to keep track of ride counts at not only Kings Island but other parks as well! I keep track of how many times I ride the rides each year since my first KI visit in 2007. In fact, back in 2010, I would make Top 10 lists of rides I've ridden the most after every visit, which was how I was able to keep track of my rides early on. I also have made a bar graph as a visual representation of how the years' counts add up from 2007 through the last completed season (2018), below which I have the most important feature: the date it was last updated. I added that in 2017 since I started going to the park nearly every day and I had nearly lost count way too many times. You will notice that I still have a number of Nickelodeon Universe ride names on my spreadsheet. Another notable observation is that since 2017 (my first season working at KI), one particular ride has triple-digit counts...

Today is by far the most crowded day I have seen this year. I worked all day today and for a lot of the day WindSeeker’s queue was full and Vortex’s queue was overflowing!

A layer of gray clouds covered the sky as the sun rose on the morning of Saturday, May 4, 2019. As park opening grew nearer, the rides came to life as they ran their startups, including the Arrow looper and Mondial WindSeeker that call Coney Mall's east end their home. When it came time for the morning test rides, one associate who volunteered to ride first stepped into the front row of the train parked in the station, and sat in the left seat. Soon after buckling her restraint, she and her train were sent out into the gentle drizzle that fell. As the ground grew farther away and the lift hill's summit grew closer, she realized just how special her ride would be, for this particular ride would send her ride count...into the 700's. That associate of whom I speak is myself, and the particular ride about which I speak is Vortex. At 10:00 a.m. on May 4, 2019, I not only test rode but also changed the hundreds digit in my ride count. I twirled through Vortex's six inversions for the 700th time, all with a 55 mph drizzle in my face and the temperature in the upper 50's. With this occasion came some notable differences in the way I celebrated: - No guests witnessed the occasion; only several of my crewmates did. My crewmate who was driving said "Enjoy your 700th ride!" as my train departed the station. - This was the first time I have taken a milestone ride on the anniversary of a previous milestone (I had taken my 500th ride one year prior, on May 4, 2018!). - This was my first milestone ride that was also a test ride. - We had started Vortex's startups a little later than usual, so I did not have time to get a picture of me holding my homemade sign (though I did get a picture of the sign afterward) while sitting on the train, because otherwise we would open late. The most notable change also happened because of this: - I took this ride in the front left seat...on Train 2, NOT Train 1. Shocker, I know. I took my 100th, 200th, 300th, 400th, 500th, and 600th complete rides on Vortex in the front left seat on Train 1, as well as my first test rides of 2017 and 2018. Since Train 2 was already in the station when it came time to test ride and we were short on time, I decided to be flexible and hop on Train 2 instead of waiting for Train 1 to come back around, for the sake of my crew and the ride opening on time. The funny thing was, I had said to myself a month or so prior to the season's start that I would be okay with taking my first Vortex test ride of 2019 on any train (not just 1 like the last two years), and that definitely applied to today, where Train 2 got the spotlight. I had also not planned for my 700th ride to be a test ride, as last Friday's 14-ride Vortex binge was an impromptu trip planned only hours in advance. Do I regret riding a different train? No. In fact, this works well in its own way. I had always considered Train 2 to be my "lucky train," as I would often end up on that train for who knows how many rides in a row (even spanning over multiple days!), without even planning it. The number 7 has always been my favorite and "lucky" number. It just so happened that by riding Train 2, my lucky number met my lucky train. Plus, this was my first ride where it was simultaneously a milestone and a test ride, so for me Train 2 will now have the title of "Milestone Train While Working" and Train 1 will still have the title of "Milestone Train" with it now applying to any milestone rides I take as a guest. This means I will now try to ride Train 2 when I happen to simultaneously test ride and reach a milestone, and still try to ride Train 1 when I reach a milestone as a guest. In the mid-morning drizzle of Saturday, May 4, 2019, I celebrated the same occasion differently. Much like how I still enjoyed my Opening Day visit without Vortex, I enjoyed my 700th complete Vortex spin on a different train. + Vortex: 1 YTD: 15 Total: 700 1/3 (P.S. I also got retrained to drive Vortex today! ) (P.P.S. May the Fourth be with you. )

As much as I love the look and feel of the classic Arrow trains, I would be all for the Vekoma MK-1212 trains. If Vortex ever received those trains, its already good ride experience could be even BETTER. Not to mention that many who are turned off by Vortex's jerkiness/roughness would perhaps be willing to give it another shot. I still think Vortex is great the way it is, but I'm not opposed to any improvements!

I have eaten there at the last two Winterfests and I have really enjoyed it. I’m so happy it’s reopening this summer and not just for Winterfest!

I rode Flume on Saturday. It wouldn’t make sense to close it for the season after only one weekend. I think it just needs to be updated from last season.

I thought yesterday was one of Invertigo's better days. I rode on the backwards-first end and had a great ride. Either way, it's pretty cool that we've inherited Stinger's train.

Let me start off by saying that those of you who know me well may perhaps wonder what I thought about last night and today being too cold for Vortex (and its Arrow coaster siblings) to operate, and being unable to ride them. Yes, it was not what I originally planned, especially with how much I had looked forward to this weekend and getting my long-awaited first rides of the season on my favorite ride, but that does not mean it was a bad weekend. I can wait two more weeks (next time I go back is May 3) to ride Vortex, and the prolonged wait will make that ride even more worth the 5.5-now-6-month wait! In the meantime, I knew today was a great day to let my other favorite rides (especially Invertigo, Diamondback, and Banshee) take the spotlight. For any ride that isn't Vortex, Adventure Express, or The Bat, the 5.5-month-wait would possibly end today. And for 15 different rides, it did. Last night was Preview Night, and also my first shift. Needless to say, it was less eventful than usual, as it was too cold to run Vortex and too windy to run WindSeeker. My crew helped out the Antique Autos crew by rotating out who would be "line control," which consisted of standing at the temporary queue entrance and making sure no one in line was "misbehaving." I spent one hour doing that and it went smoothly! Those brave souls in that line were willing to wait upwards of 30-40 minutes in the light rain and wind for the Antique Autos. Seems like they were truly missed! My guest relating skills were better retained than I had expected, and I enjoyed talking to the guests cheerfully all while hoping I would not turn into Mary Poppins and fly away by my umbrella in the strong wind. When I was at Vortex, I twice cleaned the train in the station (so now Train 3 is extra clean for next weekend! ), cleaned the station queue rails, and cleaned every one of WindSeeker's 64 seats (again, since we also did it on our training day). A few of my crewmates helped, so it didn't take very long. I also cleared countless fallen leaves (two inches deep in a few places!) out of Vortex's rock garden. The nice part of this shift-long downtime was that we all got to watch the fireworks together as a crew. I loved to find that The Greatest Show has returned until the new show debuts in May!! Today, I was off, so I decided to come as a guest. I already knew well in advance that Vortex wouldn't run today since the high temperature would be in only the mid- to high-40's (it has to be 50 in the spring). So I approached today as some sort of experiment to see how enjoying my other favorite rides (and then some) would still make for a great day at the park despite being unable to ride Vortex. I have had trips where an impromptu downtime situation left me without a Vortex ride, but today was different since I already knew Vortex was out of the question this time. Plus, I had for some time wanted to experience Opening Day as a guest, which I had done before on Opening Day 2013 albeit in the evening rather than in the morning/afternoon. I arrived at the security checkpoint and joined the line a few minutes past 9:00. The line/crowd was roughly ten people deep when I joined them. As the crowd multiplied in size and 9:30 got closer by the second, I noticed that the listed Early Rides on the displays were eventually changed from "Beast and Antique Autos" to just "Antique Autos." I was not planning on getting a Beast 40th anniversary shirt, but I still wondered how all that was going to work; it just so happened that opening Beast at 10:00 instead of 9:30 was one of those factors. At 9:30, the National Anthem played, and the Running/Jogging/Speedwalking Of The Bulls began. After passing through the Gold Pass entrance and flashing my Platinum Pass, all of us followed one specific route (as the other paths were blocked off) through Planet Snoopy, past Diamondback, and to The Beast as well as past Vortex to the Antique Autos. When I got as far as The Beast, I noticed that literally EVERYONE in front of me was heading to The Beast and joining the rapidly growing line in hopes of grabbing a coveted 40th anniversary T-shirt. I had already made up my mind to not get a shirt and to just head to the Antique Autos and get a ride or two in before the line got long, so I broke off from the crowd and kept walking into Coney Mall. I was the only one on the midway in front of Vortex when the Antique Autos came up in front of me, open and ready to go. I became the first public rider of the day on Kings Mills Antique Autos! I entered the temporary queue entrance, went right to the station, and boarded the first car in line for my first ride ever on an antique car ride at Kings Island. I had ridden (and enjoyed) the antique cars at Cedar Point and Darien Lake, and now I don't have to wait until I go back to either of those parks to ride antique cars again! I know, I love roller coasters and high thrill rides, but I enjoy rides like this too. After all, variety is the spice of life. A few other guests had began their own excursions by the time my First Ride of 2019 concluded. There was still no line, so I got right back in line and rode again for another tranquil three-minute drive. I noticed that WindSeeker was running its normal startups, as it was rather calm (as opposed to last night's winds) and decided that I could snag WindSeeker's first ride of the season after I finished riding the Autos. After my second ride, I still had time for a third. A small line had formed but it was no longer than a five minute wait, so I enjoyed a third drive around the track which finished right at park opening! And yes, I did end up being WindSeeker's first rider of the season! My first WindSeeker flight of 2019 was in Seat 17, to the tune of "See You Tomorrow" from How to Train Your Dragon (2010)! It was as fun as I remember, plus the added drizzle in my face. Knowing that "See You Tomorrow" played just two cycles before my favorite soundtrack, "Flying" from Peter Pan (2002), I hung around for a bit before rejoining the line and being assigned to Seat 61 (which, conveniently enough, is right by the hub's on-board speaker) for my second flight, which was also fun! It (literally) felt great to ride WindSeeker again. I decided I would hit some other rides and then come back later for more flights. I continued on to Backlot Stunt Coaster, as I was in the mood for riding any coaster at this point. Since it was early in the day (about 10:15-10:20) it was the best time to hit at least one of the lower-capacity rides. A line had already formed at Backlot but filled up no switchbacks, so I went for it. Ten minutes later, I was seated in the fourth row of the train for my ride, and it was fun! The launch was fun as always, as well as the rest of the ride. The fire effects (fully functional!) felt nice and warm on this cold day. Right after I exited Backlot, I saw Diamondback had begun to show signs of life (as it had not operated previous to this time). I really wanted to ride Diamondback today, so I walked over to Rivertown and joined the line outside the entrance. On the way, I passed Beast's line: I saw a sight that would make @King Ding Dong happy: And now, Diamondback's pre-opening line at the time I joined: It wasn't as bad as it looked. The line was already back to the Brewhouse entrance, but some guests left the line so I was halfway from the Brewhouse to the queue entrance by the time Diamondback opened. During my ~30 minute wait, I began hearing a familiar sound of rushing water. I glanced to the left and...Flume was running!!! In 45 degree weather!! I would later learn that it was also open last night. Even though Flume is also an Arrow ride, today was still warm enough for it to run; apparently its minimum operating temperature is lower than that of the Arrow coasters in the spring. Now, Flume was about to open, so I would still get an Arrow ride this weekend after all! Diamondback continued doing its thing... ...until finally it opened, just before 11:30! I was on Diamondback's fourth train of the day, in Row 14. I definitely missed flying down that first drop! It was drizzling slightly so it added to my already chilly ride. Flume had opened by the time I rode Diamondback, so...I headed there next. Yes, I know, I'm crazy! But this was my chance to ride Flume in 45 degree weather, and I did just that. I was wearing my rain jacket and I also had a rain poncho with me that I laid across my lap to minimize how much water would get on my jeans. I got splashed a little (it's a water ride, of course) but it was fine since I was the only one in my boat. I also kept my hat zippered away in one of my jacket's pockets for when I would get water on my head (the Snoopy fountain was on!) so my hat would still be warm and dry to cover my head afterwards. After my inaugural 45-degree Flume ride, I headed to Action Zone, as I was ready for an inversion fix and two of the park's four looping coasters call this section home. I wanted to ride Invertigo but it was closed at the moment, so I headed to Banshee, whose dive loop would become my first inversion of 2019. The line was on the stairs, so only a few minutes passed before I was seated in Row 8 on the Teal train. I remembered how much I loved the back on Banshee, as I was pulled through every element with great intensity. Banshee became my first looping coaster of 2019, and I loved going upside down again! I wanted to ride Invertigo as well, but it was closed at the time. I planned to come back and ride it later, as I still had several hours left. In the meantime, I saw that one of my favorite flat rides had no line... I was all for falling 267 feet at 65 mph in 45-degree weather in a light drizzle (which actually had stopped for a short time) so Drop Tower it was! That ride experience never gets old. I wanted to ride Delirium but it had gone down as well, so I rode Banshee again. The line was a little bit longer, but less than five minutes passed before I was once again on the Teal train, in the same seat as last time for another great ride! After my second Banshee ride, Delirium had reopened, so I hopped in line. I waited two cycles before boarding my other favorite flat ride, which like the others was something I had missed this past winter! That moment when you swing to the highest point and you float in your seat is always my favorite part of the ride. After I got off Delirium, I was actually feeling the slightest bit off (which I usually don't) and I realized that I had barely eaten or drank anything since right before I left home at 8:00 in the morning. Chicken Shack smelled good, but there was a decent line; I decided to just grab something on my way back to Coney Mall. It happened to be 12:58 so I took a slight detour to the Festhaus entrance in hopes of catching the Glockenspiel in action at the strike of one. Well, 1:00 came and went, with nothing happening. A few others who had gathered just to watch the Glockenspiel also wondered why nothing happened. The Glockenspiel characters look really nice though, and I am glad to see them refurbished! I can't complain that I didn't see them in action today, because we have the entire season to enjoy it. I went to International Street to one of my new favorite food places, the Wishbone Grill. I had gotten bacon-on-a-stick and a turkey leg from there during Winterfest last year, and both were pretty good. I especially enjoyed the bacon-on-a-stick, so that was on my mind when Wishbone Grill came into view. I originally thought of eating a proper meal (and I was actually on my way to Coney BBQ when I decided to see the Glockenspiel) but I decided that a snack would be enough to tide me over until dinner, so I made the healthy choice of getting...bacon-on-a-stick. There was no line when I was there, so I got my bacon-on-a-stick in no time after I had paid the few dollars it cost. And yes, it tasted SO GOOD. I can safely say I have found a new go-to salty/savory snack! The wind was starting to pick up, but WindSeeker was still going as strongly as when I rode it first after opening. Both sides of Racer were running with a walk-on wait, so I headed there just in time to walk onto Red, where I immediately boarded in 4-2 as my favorite row (5-2) was already occupied. The race went as usual, with Red starting out in the lead, a trim brake kicking in on Red's turnaround, and Blue finishing ahead. In fact, when we were sitting in the brakes, I heard another rider remark, "This is the first ride that we've ever lost," which is understandable because it's usually Red that finishes first. I rode again, but on Blue this time as I wanted to experience the results of the recent retracking. I noticed just how smoother the turnaround was, at least compared to the last time I rode Blue! I also noticed that there is no trim brake (or it was just turned off) on Blue's turnaround, which is why it finishes ahead of Red as long as Red's trim brake is on. Either way, both of my rides were really fun, not to mention complete with flying alongside the other train! I must mention that later I did see trains on Racer that appeared to be (near) perfectly synced on one particular cycle, so I still have my hopes up for a "synced" Racer ride, like a few Racer rides that I saw last year. Time for a few smaller rides! Scrambler came next. I waited one cycle before I rode. I loved being thrown to the side in my seat again! Next was Dodgem. One of my friends on the Monster-Scrambler-Dodgem crew was there and I knew she would love to see me (and she did) so I said hi to her on my way in while also getting to bump into complete strangers during the ride in true bumper car fashion. That's always a good time. I crossed the midway to X-Base to see how Flight of Fear's line was. I guessed it would be longer since it was indoors and away from the cold and drizzle...and I was right. In fact, the line was so long that one of the outdoor switchbacks was filled and overflowing out of the entrance. Upon seeing this, I immediately did a 180, walked back to Coney Mall, and rode Zephyr (which had no line -- just a partial cycle wait ). I had a nice flight on that, while also thinking about my rides on it during Winterfest (including the last week of 2017 when it was 9 degrees out -- that was crazy). It was cold enough to feel like Winterfest, and it basically felt like Winterfest but with more rides, fewer shows, and fewer lights. What an interesting in-between. Continuing my time with the smaller rides, I came back to where I started at the Antique Autos, which now had quite a line that justified my reasoning for making it my first ride if the day (and of the season). I was now up for taking a spin on Troika (Shake, Rattle & Roll) since I hadn't earlier. I rode Troika twice, and both times it was fun. Troika was my last ride of 2018, so my first rides of 2019 brought back some more Winterfest memories! The only differences between Winterfest and today were: fewer lights (the ride's lights were on though), it was daytime, the Autos were completed and open, WindSeeker was up, and Vortex had trains. I had already ridden WindSeeker twice, but since I won't be back there again until May 3, I wanted to take a third spin on it. I would later learn that it was a good thing I decided to ride it again when I did. I was assigned to Seat 32. The soundtrack that played was "This is Berk," also from How to Train Your Dragon (2010)! The soundtrack happened to fit perfectly with the interesting ride it would accompany. And by interesting, I mean the winds suddenly picking up to 30-35 mph gusts when the hub wasn't even halfway up! The drizzle had returned which only added to the crazy ride. 99% of the flight consisted of my gondola either speeding up or slowing down while closely encountering neighboring gondolas, and I would not only enjoy the foggy view but also glance around at the other gondolas swinging wildly. The riders in one gondola on the other side of the hub were able to reach the empty gondola in front of them with their feet when it swung close enough. That's how windy it was! Even with all the craziness, the cycle still went normally, and the hub returned safely to its ground-level home position in its normal fashion. WindSeeker had decided to literally kick its wind-seeking up several notches. It definitely lived up to its name on this cycle! This flight was even windier than my already-crazy-windy flight ft. 25 mph winds on last year's Opening Day, but THIS flight EASILY took the cake as my windiest, and therefore craziest, WindSeeker flight to date! Now I can say that I have ridden WindSeeker in 30+ mph winds!! I suspected the ride would go down for wind after this cycle, but I hopped in line again in case the next cycle (which would play the aforementioned "Flying") still went. I was assigned to Seat 12 and was heading in when my crew announced that the ride was going down for high winds, justifying my suspicions. I wasn't opposed to it, as the ride was not only fun but COLD, and I already had my "put the Wind in WindSeeker" ride for today! I said my "see you in two weeks" to WindSeeker and Vortex and headed back over to Rivertown. Diamondback's line wasn't too bad (looked to be around 30 minutes) but I had only an hour left before I had to leave. So...I rode Flume again. Don't worry, I got only a small splash and I was adequately prepared, so I still had a good time riding a log flume in 45 degree weather! The fountains seem a bit "empty" without the pedestals, but I still think they look neat. Surely I'll get used to it... While on my way back into Action Zone, I noticed Invertigo was open! As much as Banshee really helped my inversion fix, I also wanted a ride or two on Invertigo. It (as well as Banshee) is another of my favorite rides, after all. There was a small line, in which I waited only about 10-15 minutes. I always love standing right under the loop and just watching the ride in general. Right away, I noticed the train looked very different. On the other side (the side closest to the exit) I noticed outlines of what must have been decals...did this train belong to the late Stinger at Dorney Park? If so, I was not only riding our Invertigo, but also a part of Stinger! How cool. The ride felt about the same (fairly smooth, if not a teeny bit bumpy, as any Vekoma tends to be) if not a little quieter when the train would release form the top of the spike. Whether anything changed about the ride or not, I still think it's cool to be riding on Stinger's train (especially since I still have never been to Dorney Park)! I wanted to ride a second time, but the line was a little longer than when I waited, so I decided to wait until next time to ride Invertigo again. At least I rode it! At this point, I had about half an hour left. I had ridden pretty much everything I wanted (and could) so I figured I could do a mini-marathon on Banshee, especially since the line had diminished to a station wait! Plus I can never have too many inversions. I ended up riding Banshee three more times, as well as getting to see a few of my friends on the Banshee crew. The first of these three rides was in 8-4 on the Blue train. Still fun as always for a back seat ride including my two previous rides earlier in the afternoon. I decided to change things up a little and ride in the middle of the train, particularly 4-4 on Blue. What I got was a rougher ride, probably the roughest ride I have had on Banshee. Still fun, but it rattled me enough that I actually had a small headache afterward (my needing to drink a bit more water probably had something to do with it) and wasn't as smooth as my rides on Teal and even my previous ride on the same train. I told my Banshee crew friends about this and they said that Blue does tend to be rough (as does Teal - some days it's rougher) and Purple gives the smoothest ride. On a side note, we have that same kind of thing with Vortex's trains. Train 3 tends to give the smoothest ride (as my smoothest rides ever on Vortex have been on that train), while 1 and 2 are either smoother or rougher than the other which varies by the day. In fact, one day last year, I had a smoother ride in 7-1 on Train 2 than on 5-1 on Train 1! Interesting how this works, especially since a five-year-old B&M invert and a 32-year-old Arrow looper have the same thing going on. But I digress. I got back in line for my last ride, and made sure I rode on Purple this time. I rode in 6-4. This ride was MUCH smoother than Blue and a little smoother than Teal, and it was a great way to end my first guest visit of the season! Now for the million-dollar question: Did I still have a good day without Vortex? I would say, yes. I got a total of 25 rides on 15 different rides in the 6.5 hours I was in the park, and seeing how I enjoy and appreciate my other favorite rides (and then some) was a great way to use the extra time. Yes, I still greatly missed riding Vortex, but I'll get to ride it in two more weeks after my finals. More importantly, today (and yesterday) epitomized that I can still have fun even if my favorite ride isn't operational for that day. I still got to be there, and that's what mattered this weekend. Banshee and Invertigo did a good job "filling the gap" and delivered on my inversion fix, and the other rides I rode delivered sufficient thrills and fun times, making my prolonged wait to get back on Vortex a whole lot easier. This opening weekend was still so much fun, and I am thankful that my alternate plans worked! + Kings Mills Antique Autos: 3 + WindSeeker: 3 Total: 154 + Backlot Stunt Coaster: 1 Total: 9 + Diamondback: 1 Total: 119 + Flume: 2 Total: 24 + Banshee: 5 Total: 35 + Drop Tower: 1 Total: 37 + Delirium: 1 Total: 31 + Red Racer: 1 Total: 27 + Blue Racer: 1 Total: 9 + Scrambler: 1 Total: 31 + Dodgem: 1 Total: 14 + Zephyr: 1 Total: 39 + Troika: 2 Total: 51 + Invertigo: 1 Total: 32

Ha ha, very funny.