Discussing Land and Space in and around Vortex

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Made another blitz concept. Ik it's getting tiring for some of you, but I just can't stop making these as they are fun to imagine. Trust me, I'll start making coaster concepts other than Intamin blitzes soon! This one I spent a lot of time trying to do theming details for what I'm going for. The queue starts in the arcade building that would be gutted out for this and snakes up to the station going down into the valley like other concepts I've made. The exit is on the side of Beast's station and I tried my best to draw western style fencing and a photo booth and if you look closely I tried my best to draw those hanging Lanterns that you see in Cracker Barrel. In my vision, the coaster would use those style of lanterns in the station. I even put water with a fountain near the stairs to the station. Also in my vision, but I didn't put in because it would've looked messy is the hill going down by the station would have rockwork on it maybe even a small waterfall. Remember, this is just my idea. I have no inside information whatsoever on what the park may be planning. This is just my imagination. The name of this coaster is Stallion

 

 

[IndyGuy4KI]

Please don't stop. I love seeing them!

[Born_in_'72]

Don't stop.  They are all very interesting, and the attention to detail on this one was outstanding!

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

This time I made a Mack launch concept for the plot. I have it themed basically after the Miami River Brewhouse and I have the station basically themed to a Brewing house (ie Sonder Brewing) basically the backstory is similar to Copperhead Strike with the moonshine, but this time it is themed around Lager and how something happened in the brewhouse causing the brewhouse to be abandoned (kinda like Mystic/Twisted Timbers story line. I also relocated the gliders to where Vortex's station was to give Coney Mall a ride there and renamed it Flying Eagles to pay homage to the original ride. Not in this picture, but like in my Rivertown concept in that thread, a new building would go where the basketball game and the current pathway to backlot currently stand and a new path to Backlot would go by Jukebox and the basketball game would be relocated to Action Zone or where the ladder game is by Hanks. The plot where Gliders sits now would be the new home of Linus Launcher and the flume would be readded to Rivertown and a new stage would go where Linus is currently. This is just a concept and I don't speak for the company in any way and have no inside information. 

 

[IndyGuy4KI]

I love the backstory of matching it with the brewhouse. 

[BeeastFarmer]

10 hours ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

I love the backstory of matching it with the brewhouse. 

The Brewhouse will morph into something else when craft brewery fad ends.  I like the idea too, but it's better to use timeless theming than today's fads.

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

On 1/8/2022 at 9:28 PM, BeeastFarmer said:

The Brewhouse will morph into something else when craft brewery fad ends.  I like the idea too, but it's better to use timeless theming than today's fads.

I wasn't aware booze was a fad.

[BeeastFarmer]

6 minutes ago, CorkscrewMcPuke said:

I wasn't aware booze was a fad.

Booze isn't.  Craft brewing is.  

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

5 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Booze isn't.  Craft brewing is.  

And moonshine?

[MDMC01]

7 minutes ago, CorkscrewMcPuke said:

And moonshine?

Did someone say... moonshine? Dangolshoot! You know, there was a great show at the park this past year that mentioned [Coca-Cola Freestyle!].

-MDMC, an avid fan of Busker Jam

[BeeastFarmer]

14 minutes ago, CorkscrewMcPuke said:

And moonshine?

Moonshine is booze.  The OP was talking about theming the story to the MRB.  This eatery will be rethemed eventually, so to me, why theme a ride to it?  And if you are theming with something that goes into RT, it just comes across as odd.  But then again, in a sister park, you had an avalance next to a volcano, with a wrecked space ship and nascar race nearby, followed by a giant snake and a hollywood movie set, all in a jungle area.

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

21 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Moonshine is booze.  The OP was talking about theming the story to the MRB.  This eatery will be rethemed eventually, so to me, why theme a ride to it?  And if you are theming with something that goes into RT, it just comes across as odd.  But then again, in a sister park, you had an avalance next to a volcano, with a wrecked space ship and nascar race nearby, followed by a giant snake and a hollywood movie set, all in a jungle area.

And if I'm not mistaken, moonshine's peak was during prohibition, which is obviously long gone at this point. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure moonshine is still quite prolific in old school rural/country theming. Things may pass their prime, but they seldomly go away.

[BB1]

If I can be perfectly honest here, I would find it hard to believe that KI would annex this area for RT. It already is a pretty lopsided part of the park in terms of coasters and for them to add another filler/new thrill coaster to it would completely screw up the feel of the park in my opinion. I think in all honesty, they should keep the Coney Mall theming, focus on the classic feel that they want in that part of the park and work with it.

There's no doubt in my mind that they could work on creating a new experience with a company like Vekoma to create a coaster at least similar in thrills to Vortex. They have the make up, they have the technology, build something better with modern technology. Which mind you, I would love to see The Vortex name or at least some form of weather phenomena used for the name as I think it worked really well with the park.

I would not advocate for a B&M Dive however. In my opinion it's way too compact, which defeats the idea of a Dive.....unless you make it go under the walk way and finally get rid of the eye sore that is the 3 Point Shoot Out aka the headache that took out our treasured and priceless Flyers. That would be a beautiful view to see and would definitely put the park back on the map for having revolutionary concepts mixed with park theming. (And totally not due to the fact that I hate the basketball games and the pop music they play that gives me headaches)

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Made a Mack Xtreme spinner concept. Basically took some time to make a station basically replicating Time Traveler's station where it is 3 levels and has two queue house levels. Basically the queue for this ride would start in the current Arcade building which would be used for overflow queue and it would then snake out to the first level queue house and would basically become like Time Traveler's queue. The queue house would also have nice theming (not quite Time Traveler level, but more like Copperhead Strike/Orion level. The name for this coaster is Tumbleweed which basically goes along with the country/western theming of Rivertown and the spinning cars. Tumbleweed's layout basically combines Time Traveler and Ride to Happiness. Remember, just a concept. Nothing is confirmed by the park and I have no inside information whatsoever. 

 

[brenthodge]

Rivertown is not really tumbleweed western. It really should be more “Midwest frontier” it’s supposed to be the early EARLY days of Cincinnati area. They’ve prettty much abandoned that sadly to the point that it’s “vaguely western”. I long thought white water can you should be more themed to the Miami River. Even a recreated Peters Cartridge Factory that causes the explosions on the River. The shot tower would be perfect for the lookouts and a factory setting would make the wave maker and other equipment not seem so random as it could all be themed to  the factory. I’d hate for all of rivertown to be “abandoned industry” but it honestly makes the most sense if they aren’t going to do “period”. Urban exploration and extreme nature sports (rock climbing, par core, off roading) are a big deal, so I wish they would lean into that. 

[Coasterteam]

I always imagined having some sort of steel coaster interacting with Beast back in the woods of the park, could make The Vortex plot of land not really just a coaster, but an extension of the park down to that level (or raise it up). Having another coaster that is alongside the front of the trees that goes into the woods.

Would be so much fun to see that interaction on a whole new level. Introduces some new land to the park, new restaurants or flat rides would be awesome down there too. 

Will draw up an example later today. 

[cdubbs727]

I know it's likely inevitable that another coaster will go in the former Vortex spot, but I'd love to see KI think outside the box and really make that area into a special investment. I'm not saying a big roller coaster wouldn't look good there (Vortex was one of the most photogenic coasters in the park) or wouldn't be fun. But I kind of like having that stretch of land reserved for something unique and exciting. Ideally, I'd love to see if they could create some sort of themed mini-area there, but I'm sure space and infrastructure would be an issue (I would love it if CF found some less-expensive bit of IP to make a themed area to, but that's probably a loooong way off). 

What I'd love is a giant themed water ride. Maybe a larger resurrection of the Keelboats, with trees, indoor features, a great view and a good drop. Make use of The Crypt building if you can. Roller coasters are great, but the older I get, the more I appreciate a really imaginative approach to these areas. 

[purdude86]

With the size of the land I think they could do a lot with that area than just another coaster. If they put something more compact like a Gerstlauer infinity than it would leave a bunch of space. I think an infinity coaster would look amazing on the edge of the plot next to the Coney Midway. Looking at the land compared to Hangtime at Knott's, a coaster like this would only take up about 1/3-1/2 the land available depending on how big they want to make it. 

[beastfan11]

1 hour ago, cdubbs727 said:

I know it's likely inevitable that another coaster will go in the former Vortex spot, but I'd love to see KI think outside the box and really make that area into a special investment. I'm not saying a big roller coaster wouldn't look good there (Vortex was one of the most photogenic coasters in the park) or wouldn't be fun. But I kind of like having that stretch of land reserved for something unique and exciting. Ideally, I'd love to see if they could create some sort of themed mini-area there, but I'm sure space and infrastructure would be an issue (I would love it if CF found some less-expensive bit of IP to make a themed area to, but that's probably a loooong way off). 

What I'd love is a giant themed water ride. Maybe a larger resurrection of the Keelboats, with trees, indoor features, a great view and a good drop. Make use of The Crypt building if you can. Roller coasters are great, but the older I get, the more I appreciate a really imaginative approach to these areas. 

Couldn’t agree with this more. They really need to do something special with that space. I’d be excited at the idea of some type of water attraction. 

[brenthodge]

4 hours ago, beastfan11 said:

Couldn’t agree with this more. They really need to do something special with that space. I’d be excited at the idea of some type of water attraction. 

Great idea. Maybe use the idea of using the crypt building for queue, then have it somehow cross over The Beast into the area where Vortex was for its splashdown, then cross back over to unload. 

[KIEagle33]

^^ I too agree with this statement. It would be really nice to see KI take a break from a large coaster, yet still give the ride the hype and publicity of a new large coaster. Maybe remove Congo Falls in the coming seasons. However it would be sad to see it go since it has been here for so long.

[MrSourNinja]

On 2/1/2022 at 1:35 PM, KIEagle33 said:

^^ I too agree with this statement. It would be really nice to see KI take a break from a large coaster, yet still give the ride the hype and publicity of a new large coaster. Maybe remove Congo Falls in the coming seasons. However it would be sad to see it go since it has been here for so long.

Problem is, a ride that isn't a coaster just cannot generate the hype and publicity that is so easy with one. I cannot think of a recent ride that has had anywhere near as much hype as a "simple" coaster like even ice breaker.

[beastfan11]

10 hours ago, MrSourNinja said:

Problem is, a ride that isn't a coaster just cannot generate the hype and publicity that is so easy with one. I cannot think of a recent ride that has had anywhere near as much hype as a "simple" coaster like even ice breaker.

This is just my opinion (and in no way directed at you), but I feel like the only people who would be unrealistically upset would be the mega-entitled coaster fanboy/girl community. The marketing and hype can be as much or as little as the park’s marketing department wants there to be. 
 

The hype for the original Tomb Raider was insane. I was like, 9 and I remember it to this day. The mystery of the ride was pushed and the overall experience (at the time) was satisfying and exciting. And that wasn’t a coaster.  It was still hyped as something of a similar caliber. 

[purdude86]

Ideally I would love to see them make the path there between Coney Mall and Rivertown a buffer zone with rides that kind of fit both. As mentioned above they could add a Gerstlauer infinity coaster alongside the Coney Midway that uses about 1/3-1/2 of the plot of land and leave the other half or so closer to Rivertown open. Would then love to see BLSC have it's theming taken out and landscaping added and the tunnel given a wooden beam/mine(?) type aesthetic and then change the cars to something like Pony Express. A simple white Steeplechase theme with horses going around would fit in well with both Coney Mall and Rivertown. Then add in a new large scale flume ride on the remaining Vortex plot that is similar to Kenton's Cove with raised areas winding through trees, but maybe add in a second drop in the middle too with a section along the water level. This would be another attraction that would fit both themes well and would make a nice transition between the two areas along that path.

[FUN&ONLY!]

I love the idea of putting in different attractions, but there is something special about seeing a massive coaster dominate the pathway between Coney Mall and Rivertown. Vortex’s placement was visually stunning. That being said, I would like some attention given to the area if a new coaster (or anything) is put there. It would be nice if the Sprite Three-Point Challenge was removed and Backlot Stunt Coaster was freshened up (a re-theming would be ideal). I also assume when Vortex is replaced that Diamondback will receive a re-paint and maybe some love given to the arcade in Rivertown as well. I think something like a log flume would be ideal where Tomb Raider building is, but that is just my opinion.

[purdude86]

3 hours ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

I love the idea of putting in different attractions, but there is something special about seeing a massive coaster dominate the pathway between Coney Mall and Rivertown. Vortex’s placement was visually stunning. That being said, I would like some attention given to the area if a new coaster (or anything) is put there. It would be nice if the Sprite Three-Point Challenge was removed and Backlot Stunt Coaster was freshened up (a re-theming would be ideal). I also assume when Vortex is replaced that Diamondback will receive a re-paint and maybe some love given to the arcade in Rivertown as well. I think something like a log flume would be ideal where Tomb Raider building is, but that is just my opinion.

That's why I initially liked the idea of something like a dive coaster going there. It would give a grand coaster similar to Vortex for the plot and provide great views on the turnaround at the top of the lift and the hold for the drop if it faced out to the park. could than have it soar back up by the midway with the usual dive loop to recapture some of the batwing element from Vortex. However I feel the land would better be utilized with multiple rides and still providing a large coaster for the area that can offer numerous inversion like Vortex if they did my above idea or something similar.

[MDMC01]

14 hours ago, beastfan11 said:

This is just my opinion (and in no way directed at you), but I feel like the only people who would be unrealistically upset would be the mega-entitled coaster fanboy/girl community. The marketing and hype can be as much or as little as the park’s marketing department wants there to be. 
 

The hype for the original Tomb Raider was insane. I was like, 9 and I remember it to this day. The mystery of the ride was pushed and the overall experience (at the time) was satisfying and exciting. And that wasn’t a coaster.  It was still hyped as something of a similar caliber. 

Agreed. I remember going into the building for my first ride and being nervous as I still didn't know exactly what it was. The sliding door that separated the line and the ride (combined with the darkness) did a great job of hiding what was on the other side. IIRC, all you could hear were screams.

-MDMC, whose memory is a little foggy...

[brenthodge]

3 hours ago, MDMC01 said:

Agreed. I remember going into the building for my first ride and being nervous as I still didn't know exactly what it was. The sliding door that separated the line and the ride (combined with the darkness) did a great job of hiding what on the other side. IIRC, all you could hear were screams.

-MDMC, whose memory is a little foggy...

It was brilliant marketing and a true testament to the power of theming and theatricality to raise the overall experience. At its heart, it was a basic carnival ride that they figured out could be used to tell a narrative. It’s what Disney used to do best… start with a story and figure out what could be used to tell it. To say only a coaster can drive attendance is a lazy approach. The other way takes a lot more thought and design though. 

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Made another blitz concept. What I did is basically use Vortex's old station as inspiration and basically redesigned it in a more modern way that would fit the Fast Lane and regular queue. The switchbacks would be under the station and on the station platform level as well as to the right of the station near the tophat. Basically this blitz combines elements from Ispeed, Maverick, Taiga, and Velocicoaster into one. It also features 6 inversions so would help fill the inversion void left by Firehawk and Vortex. One of the inversions is a dive loop where the batwing was for that upclose moment from the midway. The theme would basically combine the carnival/old timey of coney mall and the country of Rivertown. The station basically resembles a horse race stadium which would honestly fit in either area as you have horse races at County Fairs and stuff. I give you Stallion! 

 

[KIEagle33]

I really like that design and the name of the coaster. The only problem would be the horse race theme, it might be a bit controversial with all the horse race tracks closing across the country. However I like it though.