May 4: Same Occasion, Different Celebration

[VortexBFForever]

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. )
 

[flightoffear1996]

Congrats!  I have no idea how much I have ridden The Vortex over the years but its one of my favorites and my wife doesn't like it so I have to ride it by my-self all the time.  Again congrats on this!  

[silver2005]

How does the 1/3rd factor in?

[flightoffear1996]

5 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

How does the 1/3rd factor in?

Mayeb it broken down on the lift ?

[PKIVortex]

Mayeb it broken down on the lift ?

She got evacuated from the top of the lift last summer.

 

I wish I known how many Vortex rides I've taken, has to be in the thousands.

 

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