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Vortex needs...


kjkjkj
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ok i think we all agree that lap bars would be nice..though the ride is fine in its current condition.. but do we have to repeat this same discussion every month? dry.gif the ride will probably be gone in a few years anyway (hopeing not.. but no one can deny its years are numbered)

It has had its Hayday but now it is getting outdated anbd they will eventually take it out.

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Well, I like The Vortex just the way it is. And other people must as well, as it still has a line on most days. Although when it doesn`t it is because it is one of the highest capacity coasters in the park! As the old saying goes, if it ain`t broke, don`t fix it. The same applies to The Vortex. If it has run all these years, pleasing millions of guests, why change it?

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Vortex is meticulously maintained, and still attracts "oohs and aaaaahs" from guests. It also still attracts many riders. So it still has plenty of life left in it. Take a look at Loch Ness Monster at BGW.... it's ben operating nearly 30 years and is still going strong.

Arrow multiloopers are notoriously rough... and Vortex can be included in that list. They often get labelled as headbangers because of the horsecollars that box one's head as you are shuffled through the journey.

However, it's obvious that the cause of the roughness felt on Arrow loopers is three fold:

First, the trains wheels reside on the inside of the track. This causes a shuffling of the cars chassis between the two abrupt stopping points. On coasters (such as B&M's) where the wheels reside on the outside of the track, there is significantly less shuffling of the chassis.

Second, there is often not enough transition time between elements. In order to squeeze in as many loops and inversions as possible, Ron Toomer and fellow Arrow Designers used quick and terribly abrupt transitions in between inversions/elements. On Vortex, the worst transition is no doubt the drop into the corkscrews. These quick pace/directional trasitions give the body significantly less time to brace/prepare/adjust.

Third, Arrows trains situate the passengers lower in the car in order to try and place the mid point of the body as close to the center axis as possible. In theory, this seems right, but it has a flawed effect. It brings the head/neck closer to the axis point where the side to side motion is much more abrupt and jerky.

You see, on coasters where the passengers ride well above or below the track, there seems to be much less stress on the neck/head. That's because it places the mid/upper torso region in the most jarring positions. The restraints are tighter in those areas, thus there is less movement of the rider within the seat.

I think of it like a metronome. You know.... those tick-tock machines used by pianists to keep time? If you think of your body as that "hand" on the metronome, then you'll see that the closer your head is to the pivot point, then the more jarring it can be. However the farthur away the head is brought from the pivot point, the more sweeping and less voilent the motion becomes. It becomes more of a side to side sway while the upper body takes the brunt of the force.

Add in horsecollars, which either hit the crown, ears, chin, neck or shoulders of the riders (depending upon their upper body length) and you can end up with a terribly uncomfortable boxing match of a ride.

I like Vortex, and think it has the best air time on any Arrow looper. However I ride it very infrequently... especially now that I am older and my body cannot take loop after loop like it once could. But IMO Vortex is by far smoother than many of the other Arrow loopers that exist.

For those that have ridden the likes of the former Steel Phantom at Kennywood, or Shockwave at SFGAM, or Anaconda at PKD, etc, you know what I am talking about. On the flip side, Dollywood's Tenessee Tornado is likely the smoothest Arrow multilooper ever built. Most likely due to the overly sized elements and better transition time between them.

Shaggy

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  • 5 weeks later...

Ive actually gotten to ride The Vortex many times over the past 10 years or so.. i wouldnt say that i dont like the ride.. cause it really is unique.. but i do believe PKI could do a better job in renovating it.. to appease the riders today..

To start out.. i looked for a new way to use some land for The Vortex.. i often found myself looking at the lake area just beyond the Vortexs hill.. my opinion would be to make the vertical hill taller by maybe 40 or 50 feet.. and then have a quick steep drop giving the effect that the ride will be almost "falling" into the lake..

Now that the vertical hill is taller, more speed can be produced, which in turn.. means more inversions, bunny hills, and a longer, smoother track..

I know that The Vortex is going nowhere, its NOT sinking.lol.. and im just going to appreciate it for however long it is around.. unlike some people here wink.gif

-Cougarman4907

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first off... don't think anything is wrong with Vortex. new lap bars would completely change the ride though and make it seem "new" even though nothing has changed. And I'm not joking with this (in regards to my multiple new Beastie names posts)- but they could put new trains, new color scheme, new name, new feel for minimal investment and place more people in the lines for a while. The Vortex wait has been at the 15-30 minute mark for YEARS.... usually never more or less.... and I have never been there a time where it has been broke down.

Anyone with knowlege on the subject... how much would new trains cost?... are we talking 10's of thousands as opposed to millions for a new?

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I think Vortex's life is coming to an end within the next few years also. I mean they dont even make coasters like that anymore and that is a great amount of space for a great new ride. If they did take out Vortex we all know they would put something in even better. I would hope for something like Kumba at Bush Gardens. I know we all love that ride and would miss it so much but everything has to come to an end sometime or another.

----Jennifer sad.gif

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