Next Steelie to Fall

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

So this year we've seen the demise of the beloved Vortex after 33 seasons. We know that wooden coasters are known for their potentially indefinite lifespan, but given the age of many steel coasters in the park, it can be expected that at least a portion of them will follow suit with the late Arrow looper. Which of these do you all think are most likely to get the axe in the coming decade? What are your feelings about your predictions?

[WoodVengeance]

I could see it being Invertigo or The Bat. Invertigo is an inverted boomerang model, which has been getting removed from other parks in recent years. (I believe Invertigo at Kings Island is the last inverted boomerang model still operating that isn't a giant model) Same situation with The Bat, however, that coaster sits on a very good spot in the park for expansion. It could go either way in my opinion. I think the other coasters in this poll are safe for now.

[WindingSon]

15 minutes ago, WoodVengeance said:

I could see it being Invertigo or The Bat. Invertigo is an inverted boomerang model, which has been getting removed from other parks in recent years. (I believe Invertigo at Kings Island is the last inverted boomerang model still operating that isn't a giant model) Same situation with The Bat, however, that coaster sits on a very good spot in the park for expansion. It could go either way in my opinion. I think the other coasters in this poll are safe for now.

Invertigo is the last (non-giant) Inverted Boomerang model in operation in North America. A few are still in operation elsewhere in the world.

[Fishleehooker]

I definitely hope its not Adventure Express! It's a great night ride and a great kids ride. The line at night is laughably long so it helps a ton during Haunt. I think its a great night ride and one of the better mine rides around.  Invertigo is OK. The Bat isn't great but isn't bad. I would like to see it go if and when they another big(ish) coaster near Banshee which kinda sits by itself.  The only thing really going for Invertigo is its a relatively small ride. But I would take that out along with the water ride next to it and put a coaster along that edge.  

 

Flight of Fear shouldn't even be considered. Its a great ride, if a little ugly on the exterior.  Backlot Stunt Coaster is a good ride too. Don't get rid of it...if anything move it if possible. But I enjoy that one. Its a little unsightly, but the fire on it works great during haunt! And its just fun with a lot of laughter throughout the ride.

[flightoffear1996]

I thought invertago would have went before Vortex. 

[cdubbs727]

Invertigo for the reasons stated above, also because, from just a subjective point of view, I don't think it's a good ride. I've always felt it looked cheap and tossed into a corner of the park; it looks like something you'd find at a budget Six Flags park, not a high-quality amusement park. Also, if you lose that and Congo Falls (and maybe Timberwolf?) you have room to really do some expansion to the front of the park or overhaul Action Zone. 

Flight of Fear is still a fun coaster. No reason to lose it. 

The Bat isn't a great coaster, but I do think it's one of the better coasters of its type; it's very photogenic and some of the twists and turns are good fun. 

Adventure Express, Flying Ace and Backlot Stunt Coaster are fun themed, family coasters. They're essential for kids who are aging out of Planet Snoopy and considering tackling the bigger rides. The park has a good balance of big thrill rides and family thrills and needs to maintain that. 

[Klabergian Empire]

Personally, I think Backlot Stunt Coaster is the next to go because it sits on prime land for new rides (maily flat rides) and the theming isn't strong and that it doesn't really go with Rivertown and Coney Mall.

[fyrfyter]

I think the next to go is The Bat. In 2023 it will be 30 years old. With the space it occupies and remnant SoB space, prime area for redevelopment. 
 

Invertigo and BLST just don’t occupy much space. Not much to be gained by removing either of them. You would have to remove or change so much more to make either one feasible for redevelopment.

[Pepsi]

Invertigo. I've never ridden it once and have no interest in riding it. It is kind of fun to see when you first arrive at the park though.

[silver2005]

I think it'll be Invertigo, not over any dislike of the ride, but the fact its running on a train with more mileage than the original train it was using and the fact its only 1 of 2 Vekoma Invertigo models still in operation.  

[Kingsislandfanboy2017]

Flight of Fear has gotten rough lately.  I rode it two years ago and that coaster beat me up like a bad stepchild. However I got stuck on Invertigo for 20 minutes before I was pulled off the ride. I will never ride Flight of Fear or Invertigo again 

[Benjamin22]

If it’s another Arrow I’m going to be extremely disappointed. Invertigo has my vote.

[OLFOF96]

18 hours ago, Kingsislandfanboy2017 said:

Flight of Fear has gotten rough lately.  I rode it two years ago and that coaster beat me up like a bad stepchild. However I got stuck on Invertigo for 20 minutes before I was pulled off the ride. I will never ride Flight of Fear or Invertigo again 

I believe Flight of Fear's roughness comes from the trains and therefore would be a much cheaper fix than track replacement.

I don't see FOF going away anytime soon due to the fact that it is indoors and is not exposed to the elements. Invertigo is out in the elements and we have already seen the removal of boomerangs in recent years due to maintenance/ low ridership. I think it is safe to say that Invertigo is pretty low on the GP's favorite rides list and therefore would be on the chopping block before a ride such as BLSC.

[JonahWilliamson]

Wing coaster where Vortex is. Make a keyhole above the walkway and take the layout to BLSC land have a little wing spaghetti bowl on that land then spread out like GateKeeper across Vortex land.

 

[flightoffear1996]

Im not a huge fan of the wing coasters. I have been on all of them in North America. I think whatever that goes in that spot it should stay classic. Maybe a classic B&M sitdown coaster. 

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

22 hours ago, Kingsislandfanboy2017 said:

Flight of Fear has gotten rough lately.  I rode it two years ago and that coaster beat me up like a bad stepchild. However I got stuck on Invertigo for 20 minutes before I was pulled off the ride. I will never ride Flight of Fear or Invertigo again 

Rough coasters are the best ones. I love being manhandled on rides.

[purdude86]

I think Invertigo or The Bat. Both styles seem to be on the way out and getting removed. Invertigo offers more readily usable land and has poor capacity so could see it going first, especially if paired with WWC it would open a large plot of land to expand and revamp Action Zone.

Bat's age could see it removed though too. Not many old suspended coasters left, but not sure what the maintenance of ours is like. The biggest thing for it would be that the land it uses wouldn't be the easiest to work with

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

48 minutes ago, purdude86 said:

I think Invertigo or The Bat. Both styles seem to be on the way out and getting removed. Invertigo offers more readily usable land and has poor capacity so could see it going first, especially if paired with WWC it would open a large plot of land to expand and revamp Action Zone.

Bat's age could see it removed though too. Not many old suspended coasters left, but not sure what the maintenance of ours is like. The biggest thing for it would be that the land it uses wouldn't be the easiest to work with

The Bat's age is definitely a major factor in its removal. Despite very high reliability, it is going to eventually suffer from the exact same problems Vortex is in time. Truthfully, seeing the classic Arrow suspended coasters go is more heartbreaking than anything else. Talk about a unique experience.

[BeastForever]

*Somewhat big post*

 

So I think what's worth noting here (as it is in all discussions regarding ride removal) is that whether something is a "bad" or "good" ride doesn't hold much relevance so long as guests are still riding it - that is, enough guests to justify the operating cost (which can vary greatly depending on what type of ride it is.

There is a reason why so many SLCs are still operating. Sure, they may be terrible rides. But so long as people, out of their own free active will, are choosing to ride them despite them being such "bad" rides, then they shall remain open.

Unless tthat is, the ride is giving riders such bad experiences that its putting the park at literal liable risk (Son of Beast). But otherwise, no, getting a headache from riding Vortex or Invertigo is not putting anyone in imminent danger.

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On the other hand, however, a ride being "good" does not automatically save it from the chopping block, such as Firehawk. If not enough peeps are riding due to low capacity combined with too high of an operating cost (cost/per rider), then it has a viable case for removal.

I'm afraid Flight of Fear might fall into that realm. The consensus is that its still a very good ride, but its ridership most obviously suffers from low throughput, and with it being launched I can imagine the operating cost is at least somewhat greater than the average chain lift coaster.

But reasuringly, none of its sister rides in KD's FOF, Joker's Jinx, Poltergeist, and Crazy Cobra (overseas) have closed yet, which I think can be considered a good sign. And I think the fact of it being indoors certainly may help in extending its longevity

The only high-profile Premier to have a service life much shorter than expected would be the Chiller, but even that I'm willing to dismiss for being the one-off protoype model it was.

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As for The Bat? Yes, I do wonder how long it has until unrepairable metal fatigue sets in (which I believe will be reason when it finally goes, after all its ridership is still very good due to great throughput)

For reference, these are the five remaining Arrow Suspendeds:

And these are the defunct ones:

I think it would be relevant to look the reason of closing for each defunct Arrow Suspended.

Original Bat - Thats obvious. Prototype, too many design flaws etc., you know the story....

XLR-8 - The park it was in went under so don't know how much longer it would have lasted after that.

Big Bad Wolf - While they certainly buffed out all the major errors associated with the 1981 Bat, on their 2nd/3rd go it at. I think this still suffered a little from an overly intense/ambitious design. It had trims going down both drops, and even then it looks as if they put a significant amount of stress on the structure

Eagle Fortess - its said here that a reason was never explicitly stated by the park, but I would imagine it nearing the end of its service life, paired with being placed on such an adverse terrain, the park saw it not worth operating.

Hayabusa - similiar situation. No statement from the park, except it was closed after an incident in 2005, never to re-open.

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Having said all that, the fact that Iron Dragon is six years older than The Bat and still running is good news. But at the same time, just like with Corkscrew, the ride is significantly tamer and not on as big a scale as its counterpart at KI, which might make major repairs less difficult/costly for Iron Dragon.

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[Benjamin22]

I personally believe Iron dragon will eventually close to support the other 2 Arrow suspend coasters in the chain. Canada’s wonderland maintenance team sounds very committed to supporting Vortex and I can only hope KI’s feels the same way.

[SnakePlissken]

The Bat is sitting on prime land and there is still unused Son of Beast land beside it. Add the hilly terrain because Kings Island loves using that to design a coaster around and its perfect. That said I hate Invertigo and would rather see it replaced but in order to do so you have to likely remove Congo Falls which in my opinion is no loss either.

[Number5IsAlive]

Outer Limits and Face Off wouldn't really be missed. Face Off ain't bad except for the loop though.

The ride that was Italian Job needs a retheme. Something not desolate.

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

20 hours ago, Number5IsAlive said:

Outer Limits and Face Off wouldn't really be missed. Face Off ain't bad except for the loop though.

The ride that was Italian Job needs a retheme. Something not desolate.

You are sorely mistaken about Flight of Fear.

[Klabergian Empire]

I don't see FoF being removed anytime soon since I would imagine that ridership will increase because of Orion.

[snoopymama17]

I’m scared to ride The Bat anymore. I loved it many years ago, but I recently had a dream that it flung me off the ride lol. I’m probably just a wuss, but i wouldn’t even ride it again if I knew it’d be my last chance. I would love to see something take its place, but I’d like to be patient and wait for something that can compete with Orion!

[ki95]

It would make sense for KI to get rid of BSC next so they can use that strip of land for expansion to either Rivertown or Coney Mall.

[MDMC01]

On 11/1/2019 at 11:24 AM, OLFOF96 said:

I believe Flight of Fear's roughness comes from the trains and therefore would be a much cheaper fix than track replacement.

THIS!

Also, would it help for FOF’s launch to be revamped, like what happened with Pskye Underground (flywheel launch was replaced with a more modern system), or would the trains just need some reworking? I would love to see FOF yet some TLC, especially in light of Orion opening up next year. It’s a cool ride, but it is aggressively rough at times (and I don’t mean the good kind of aggressive, like Maverick or Rougarou).

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

On 11/11/2019 at 10:37 AM, snoopymama17 said:

I’m scared to ride The Bat anymore. I loved it many years ago, but I recently had a dream that it flung me off the ride lol. I’m probably just a wuss, but i wouldn’t even ride it again if I knew it’d be my last chance. I would love to see something take its place, but I’d like to be patient and wait for something that can compete with Orion!

It's a very safe ride. By the time it rolled around, Arrow Dynamics had perfected that model line.

[DJSkyFoxx]

I hate saying it, because I know I’m probably one of the few people who actually likes Invertigo, but I see it being the next one out. It seems CF is killing off Vekoma from its parks. That alone makes me very sad as I am a fan of their designs. Granted their older stuff is pretty rough, I appreciate their innovation and the fact that they made their product attainable even to the smallest parks. Now it seems they have gone back to the drawing board and really made their image more upscaled. But long story short, I fear Vekoma as a whole is a dying breed in the US aside from Disney still using them for new installations.


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