Vortex Removal Updates

[KIghostguy]

2 hours ago, kirbias1 said:

Sad how Cedar Fair is getting rid of history. Should have at least kept the station. I think it added so much more aesthetically to that area, too. Vortex and Bat were firsts of their kind as well and they have now gotten rid of all traces of both. Funny how they keep Corkscrew and Gemini open up north though. When they opened they were firsts as well. Hmmmmm..... 

Obliterating the station is sad, but I wouldn’t really say there is a systematic removal of the park’s history going on. Have we forgotten last season already?

[CoastersRZ]

As the park has stated, The Vortex reached the end of its service life.  The stresses on the ride, because of its height and speed are more than what is found on rides like Corkscrew.  The station likely had to go as any other ride they put in there would likely need a different station set up anyway.  The building was nearly 40 years old.  Time moves on. 

Kings Island in twenty years will be different than what it is today.  Just like Kings Island in 2000 was much different than it is today.  Remember, twenty years ago, the park didn`t have a single B&M coaster!  Now we are about to have three!  Not to mention the GCI coaster.

[Shawn Meyer]

In my opinion, they are removing the station and ride because they have plans that involve not only widening the midway, but also for adding a new ride/roller coaster in a year or two. Just my opinion here, but they will probably put in a new roller coaster and we'll all be shocked when it debuts.

[CoastersRZ]

I doubt that we will see a new roller coaster in 2021, on the heels of Orion.  I would look for something smaller in scale for 2021, like a flat ride, Planet Snoopy or water park addition.

[RandyV]

3 hours ago, kirbias1 said:

Sad how Cedar Fair is getting rid of history. Should have at least kept the station. I think it added so much more aesthetically to that area, too. Vortex and Bat were firsts of their kind as well and they have now gotten rid of all traces of both. Funny how they keep Corkscrew and Gemini open up north though. When they opened they were firsts as well. Hmmmmm..... 

Time marches on and nothing lasts forever.  Every park, every where has to remove and update rides for various reasons.

Vortex held its records for height and inversions for a single year but it was far from the first of its kind, unless you were talking about its sheer size.   Vortex's layout, I think we would all agree, was one of a kind and it was one of the best looking Arrow's ever produced. 

Like many Arrow designs, it took elements from past rides, re-arranged them and, in that era, moved them higher off the ground in order to capture records.   Vortex started it, followed by Shockwave, at SFGAm (and GASM @ SFGAdv and Viper @ SFMM).  One more inversion, a higher first drop and three loops higher off the ground and that's about it.  

This is probably what will doom the bigger customer Arrows in the long run.  Vortex and it successors use the exact same designs (track, trains, etc.) as the original corkscrew welded together in 1975 and I suspect they were just never engineered for those kinds of stresses and the design was never really updated to accommodate it. 

Think about that for a minute.  Vortex, with a 148' first drop, six inversions and top speed of 55 was executed using the the same basic design as the first Corkscrew built 12 years earlier with a 65' first drop and a top speed of 46 MPH.  I know - there were some minor changes made (wheel size on the trains) but Vortex was a far more complex machine.

Everyone knows the original Bat was a mechanical nightmare with inherent structural design flaws that would have required major, major rework to save.  If the original Bat had survived for 10 or 15 year I think we could be more upset about it being removed (similar to BBW @ BGW).

CP's Corkscrew and Gemini, compared to Vortex, are far less forceful machines.

[King Ding Dong]

With the station removal my money is even more on Monster Jam going there for 2020.  

Edit:  Whats with all the sad faces?  Granted Monster Jam is sort of lame and capacity is low but it will be gone before the season is over.

[Shawn Meyer]

^ Good point there King Ding Dong. I should have mentioned that I think a new roller coaster will make it's debut in 2022 in the spot of Vortex.

[Outdoor Man]

I could see 2020 having the area mostly just cleared.  2021 having the elements of what the pedestrian traffic flow will be and maybe a flat as well as future expansion infastructure.  Then, 2022 introducing 'next.'

A watchful eye at iaapa a few months ago may have spotted CF folks at the Jack Rouse booth.  Not saying that happened... This was the first year in the last 4 I didn't go.  But they design environments and I'm thinking that footprint will become an environment.

[Oldschool75]

As is Anaconda at Kings Dominion.....

Not for long. Ride it while you can.


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[TheRickster]

The cameras not running could be requested by the contractors as well. 

 

They could have trade secrets to their methods, they could not want footage out there if something were to happen etc. There is a wide open list of reasons the park may have decided to turn the camera off, or that it be requested to be off.

[flightoffear1996]

8 hours ago, Shawn Meyer said:

In my opinion, they are removing the station and ride because they have plans that involve not only widening the midway, but also for adding a new ride/roller coaster in a year or two. Just my opinion here, but they will probably put in a new roller coaster and we'll all be shocked when it debuts.

Never thought about them making the midway wider.  Wonder why if thats the reason they weren't worried about the cars cutting into the midway path?

[silver2005]

On the whole viewing of Vortex's demo thing- lest we forget the primary focus of the camera was Diamondback.  Let's be honest, the view of Vortex, sans the 2nd hill area, was pretty poor.  Most GP (you know, the park's main demographic focus) only know it as the Diamondback cam and probably didn't think twice about it slightly having Vortex in frame.  

As for the whole 'CF is removing too much history' spiel based on them tearing down Vortex's station, parks saving ride parts for display are extremely rare and while there are a few examples of new rides using old stations (Vortex using original Bat's, El Toro using Viper's, Maverick's queue reusing the WWL station, KK reusing Greezed Lightning's station for Lightning Run), those are also quite rare. 

You can't blame the park for things that you didn't like the outcome of.  That's just people not actually being prepared for other outcomes.  

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

2 hours ago, silver2005 said:

On the whole viewing of Vortex's demo thing- lest we forget the primary focus of the camera was Diamondback.  Let's be honest, the view of Vortex, sans the 2nd hill area, was pretty poor.  Most GP (you know, the park's main demographic focus) only know it as the Diamondback cam and probably didn't think twice about it slightly having Vortex in frame.  

As for the whole 'CF is removing too much history' spiel based on them tearing down Vortex's station, parks saving ride parts for display are extremely rare and while there are a few examples of new rides using old stations (Vortex using original Bat's, El Toro using Viper's, Maverick's queue reusing the WWL station, KK reusing Greezed Lightning's station for Lightning Run), those are also quite rare. 

You can't blame the park for things that you didn't like the outcome of.  That's just people not actually being prepared for other outcomes.  

The primary factor is that most people don't care about an old station. We're the outliers. Vortex's throughput no doubt suffered due to the station's design in some way. They probably want to build something that abides by modern standards that eats people more safely and efficiently.

[Delirium13]

Sad to the see the station go because it was iconic and a remnant of the days that station weren't just rectangle warehouses with a few theming elements on them. But at the end of the day, without anything big on tap for that location another 3 years or so at least, it's for the best. The park has enough empty former ride buildings as is, we didn't need another.

[disco2000]

On 1/25/2020 at 2:06 PM, King Ding Dong said:

With the station removal my money is even more on Monster Jam going there for 2020.  

Edit:  Whats with all the sad faces?  Granted Monster Jam is sort of lame and capacity is low but it will be gone before the season is over.

And when the Jam comes to KI we can read FB posts about how people cannot believe they tore down Vortex for Monster Trucks

[Joshua]

3 hours ago, Delirium13 said:

The park has enough empty former ride buildings as is, we didn't need another.

I would've made an exception in this case, as its Victorian aesthetic is almost perfect for a permanent Haunt attraction. But that plot is bound to be used for something down the road, so they would've most likely demolished it anyway.

[Delirium13]

4 hours ago, Joshua said:

I would've made an exception in this case, as its Victorian aesthetic is almost perfect for a permanent Haunt attraction. But that plot is bound to be used for something down the road, so they would've most likely demolished it anyway.

I don't disagree at all  with what you're saying, but unfortunately we just have too many others in the park that would've cheapened keeping The Vortex station in my opinion. So if not for all the others I would've been more in favor of keeping it.

[purdude86]

On 1/25/2020 at 1:27 PM, Shawn Meyer said:

In my opinion, they are removing the station and ride because they have plans that involve not only widening the midway, but also for adding a new ride/roller coaster in a year or two. Just my opinion here, but they will probably put in a new roller coaster and we'll all be shocked when it debuts.

Hate to see the station go as it looked great and was kind of iconic for that area of the park. However it's removal would allow for the much needed expanding of the midway in that spot. It already felt congested enough with the exit path for WindSeeker and Vortex there. If they ever do anything with the old action theatre it will really need more room for people to get through, as well as just visibility for the attraction.

If we get another coaster in that same area I hope they try to emulate the look of the former station with the new one.

[calakapepe]

On 1/25/2020 at 7:19 PM, Oldschool75 said:

Not for long. Ride it while you can.


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Or don't :p

--

I like BoddaH1994's postulation of our new GM wanting a better feel. I think that is probable. Vortex's station would definitely be noticed being next to antique cars, and WindSeeker. It makes sense to not want to have a vacant station in the midway, especially when it's an older building.

[Klabergian Empire]

Lets take one last look at the park map with Vortex on it.   (credit: Kings Island park map)

 

[Benjamin22]

^Interesting how Shake, Rattle & Roll colors hasn’t been changed to red on that map. 

[Klabergian Empire]

1 hour ago, Ben43065 said:

^Interesting how Shake, Rattle & Roll colors hasn’t been changed to red on that map. 

Thanks for pointing it out. I literally did not notice that until you said something.

[Waltny]

The lift hill, bank into the loops and loops can still be seen from Kings Island Dr and I71. She has survived another day...

[ldiesman]

Once the equipment was available they moved fast to remove the station and track from The Bat wing to the bottom of the lift. Now they appear to have stalled? After how Firehawk and SOB came down I didn't expect this to last more than a few days. Have they maybe moved their focus to the path work before turning back to tearing the rest out or could there be something else in the works?

Personally, I think it is what they have implied and Vortex is coming all the way down, I just really enjoy the speculation of "what if".

[Outdoor Man]

The sections to come down are the tallest and most complicated.  Much like the Son of Beast i could see sections of the lift hill sectioned and brought down separately.

[Browntggrr]

29 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:

By very, very initial, then yes. But initial discussions for a GCI wooden coaster began in 2015. Initial discussions for a B&M invert began in 2012, etc. There is a difference between the five year plan and "actual" planning for a project.

Think of it as parents planning for their childrens' college education.  Initial planning starts with starting a college savings account when the child is very young, but the details as to what college/ major come at a much later date.

[Oldschool75]

I do believe from what I ca n see the loop closest to the station is now gone. 

[Outdoor Man]

maybe O'Rourke will release images of the demo later a la Son of Beast.

[Benjamin22]

I think I can still see both of the loops in that photograph.

[Waltny]

32 minutes ago, Ben43065 said:

I think I can still see both of the loops in that photograph.

They were both up as of 330 today