August 14: A Wonderful Day at the Island

[VortexBFForever]

We arrived at the park at about 9:40. It felt just like a morning in October - clear sky, cool temperature, everything! I almost started thinking it was October!

Like always, flashing our Platinum Passes was all we had to do to get into ERT. Once we entered, we went straight to Diamondback for the first time since June 25 for a long-awaited ride. It was only a two- or three-train wait for the back row. Not long before I got on, Vortex started to "wake up," a.k.a. begin testing. I checked my watch and it was already 9:50!

Nonetheless, it did not extinguish any anticipation I had for this upcoming Diamondback ride (especially with the back being my favorite place to ride). I boarded the Brown Train in Row 16, the very back. While going up, I looked out over the rest of the park that was waking up on this clear and absolutely beautiful Wednesday morning. Then I was pulled over the top, and sent flying down the drop! Quite exhilarating if you ask me I touched the water during the splashdown and it felt nice and cold...

It was 9:56 by the time I had exited this great hypercoaster. I skedaddled off to Coney Mall. The national anthem started playing when I was still about 35 feet away from the rope drop. I got there just in time!

Now after opening I usually go to Vortex first, but this morning I had decided to try something different: going to WindSeeker first and then going to Vortex. As a result, I gave up my "First Vortex Rider of the Day" title to another guest (someone younger than me!) who had apparently reached Vortex's line entrance before I did. And I do not regret this - the young(er) guest was pretty excited that he was the first rider in line for Vortex! I thought "Enjoy your ride, first riders..." as I kept walking to WindSeeker.

And that is how I ended up being the very first rider of the day on WindSeeker! I greeted the attendants with a "Good Morning!" and they cheerfully greeted me back. I was assigned to Seat 32, and after I was buckled in they waited a couple more minutes to see if any more riders would show up. But no more riders came! Before I knew it, they were checking the lapbars like rapid fire - and I was the only one on. Needless to say, I had the entire first cycle of the day on WindSeeker all to myself; which, to me, was pretty cool!

"Scan!" "Ready!" "All Clear!" The "

" theme started playing, and WindSeeker lifted off, taking its single rider on its excursion up to an elevation of 301 feet above the solid ground. The nice, cool wind blew in my face as it came to the summit, treating me to the 360-degree panorama of the surrounding park.

When the 'Seeker had safely landed me back on the ground, I heard "Welcome back, WindSeeker rider! How was your ride?" I cheered, saying it was great (which it truly was!). This was the very first time I've had WindSeeker all to myself!

After that awesome solo flight on WS, I headed to Vortex. Since they had just finished loading the train in the station (which turned out to be Train #2) I was the only one in the queue. Train #2 was dispatched, and Train #3 arrived. I boarded in the front seat, 1-1, and in a matter of minutes I was off on my first Vortex ride of the day.

This particular cycle was the first of an eight-ride marathon. The other 7 rides in the marathon, in order, were in the following rows: 7-1, 5-1, 2-2, 6-2, 6-2, 2-2, 6-1. All of the rides were fun – drops, inversions and all! If I had to choose a favorite out of the 8 consecutive cycles, I’d choose the ride in 7-1. That crazy ejector airtime on the first drop always makes me laugh!

After the 8^th ride, the line length had gotten to the point where there were no more empty rows. Since it was only about 10:50, I’d figure I’d go ride some other rides and then come back to Vortex later for a couple more.

I headed to X-Base. I originally planned to ride Flight of Fear, but once again its line was much longer than Firehawk’s. So I jumped into Firehawk’s line instead. After a 10-12 minute wait I went up to the station and was assigned to Row 2 on the Yellow Train. The ride was very fun like always. The loop is my favorite part!

After that nice flight we headed down to Action Zone. I wanted to ride Invertigo, but not unlike FoF its line was too long for my liking (I had less than an hour left before my mom wanted to leave) so I joined Delirium’s line instead. The wait was 20 minutes; I rode in Seat 33 for another fun-filled ride!

It was 12:10 by the time I arrived back at Coney Mall. It was then that I decided to take a spin on Monster before heading back to Vortex. After waiting a cycle, I rode in Seat 11. The ride was great; I loved it when the seat would suddenly go up into the air, giving me a small pop of negative G’s.

When I finally returned to Vortex, the line had grown quite a bit (it was a little outside the entrance), but to my delight the wait was only 9 minutes. I rode in 2-1 on Train #1, and yet again it was impressive. I always love the loops – there’s something about watching that track in front when I sit in/near the front of the train – it always excites me in a way that only an Arrow looper can…*sighs dreamily*

To take the day’s number of Vortex rides to 10, I waited another 8-9 minutes before boarding Train #3 in the front seat.

This particular cycle turned out to be one of the best Vortex rides I’ve ever had. On the first drop, I had my arms spread like wings, and it felt like I was flying - truly FLYING - down that 138 foot drop as the cool breeze blew in my face. I soared through the inversions with intensity and grace. While flying through the batwing I had my arms out for the picture. When Train #3 hit the brakes, I thought, “WOW!!!!!!” The other riders had a lot of fun as well, especially a couple of riders right behind me. We agreed together that this ride was really fun. I remember saying, “I was out of my SEAT!” because of that amazing hangtime that’s always present in the corkscrews! The ride was just downright awesome!

So for those who think Vortex should get new trains: Leave it be! After an incredible ride like I just had, Vortex is amazing just the way it is! :) <3

This trip was definitely one of the best August trips I’ve ever had. From being the only rider on WindSeeker to 10 great rides on Vortex (especially this last one!), it was awesome.

+Diamondback: 1

YTD: 5…

Total: 76

+WindSeeker: 1

YTD: 20

Total: 38

+Vortex: 10

YTD: 40

Total: 175

+Delirium: 1

YTD: 2

Total: 12

+Monster: 1

YTD: 3

Total: 3

I will add notes and pictures as soon as tomorrow because I have to go to bed soon so I can get up at 6:30 to go to school…

[CP&LERR Fan]

Nice trip report.

[fanofFirehawk]

Great report thanks for sharing.

[VortexBFForever]

Thanks! Here are some photos my mom took on 8/14 when I was on the rides:

^I love this photo! (I'm the one in the front seat!)

I'll be posting my photos soon as well. It'll take multiple posts to include all of them because I took 180+ pictures that day, just so you know.

[fanofFirehawk]

Great!

The Pictures are awesome.