teenageninja

I'm not necessarily complaining, I'm commenting on what was said before. Rivertown would be beautiful without that structure in it, especially when all it houses is a mediocre Haunt maze. Based on what the concept drawings for TR:TR were, it wouldn't be as much as an eyesore, but it stands out like a sore thumb. Doesn't ruin my experience for what it's worth, just a point.

I deleted the photo out of the quote for cleanliness, hopefully you don't mind. I would be very surprised if KI wasn't using Vortex's station for a Haunt next year. It's big enough and I think there is potential that they could have an indoor and outdoor portion in that area, with it being so large.

Not good enough to warrant what the building looks like. Flight of Fear is ugly too.

To everyone complaining about Orion not looking much taller than Diamondback, what did you think? Orion is the shortest Giga, of course it's not going to look as imposing as Fury compared to Intimidator. Fury is 93 feet taller than Intimidator and Orion is only 57 feet taller than Diamondback. It's a significant difference. Does it really matter? No, it's going to look big and imposing in the Skyline and it's going to be a totally different ride than DB. Also, when I drove by this morning, it looked like they may have been installing the head chopper track, it was hard to tell.

Sure. I enjoyed Tomb Raider: The Ride and The Crypt. I thought they were both entertaining rides and generally rode them everytime I was at the park. When I saw what the park delivered vs. the storyboards/ concept photos I was sorely disappointed that the lush jungle you were supposed to walk into was just a brown ugly building that was built in an area where there were a lot of great trees. Now it's an eyesore that you can see throughout the park.

First Firehawk, then Vortex, now the webcams, what's next? The Fountain? Oh wait.

Tower update. The tower uplighting was on this morning as well as the eyes on the top of the tower. The spotlights weren't on.

That's a lot of stress on the breakers, so unlikely. I do think it's funny when I go by every morning, there are 4 bright spot lights on the top of the tower, plus the "eyes" are on. Might be a different power circuit from the uplighting and webcams, but I would think they would want all of the power off, but I'm just an armchair construction individual.

The coasters have a camera on the top of the lift hill, it's a final check to ensure guest safety. The resolution is not great, and if I recall they are black and white as well on Vortex.

T Bone is in the parking lot

O'Ryan is looking pretty good.

Sorry guys, got tied up in something after work last night.

If no one does it by 4:30ish, I'll swing by.

Can confirm. Just drove by at lunch as well.

Really surprised they let John walk around with his hardhat on backwards, they aren't certified by OSHA to be worn backwards.

Lil Bill's Giga Coaster was not worth giving up two coasters, especially one being Vortex.

Oh man, this is rich. After all the complains about Orion...

It's kind of funny, of all the rides Kings Island have removed in my lifetime (and I'm sure I'm missing a few) very few have been replaced with something better: Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal - TR:TR/The Crypt - Madame Fatale's Haunt King Cobra - Delirium Flying Eagles and Antique Cars x 2 - Backlot Stunt Coaster Skylab - Games Flight Commander - Removed, then planned Drop Tower, then Eurobungie, then eventually Antique Autos Son of Beast - Banshee (I would call this a big positive) Firehawk - Orion (Should be a big upgrade) Vortex - The jury is still out.

There is absolutely no way that an amusement park is running a ride without wiring schematics available. If something were to happen that is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Brake fatigue doesn't seem realistic to me. If anything, I could see it being a concern over the braking system being a normally open system as opposed to a normally closed system. Essentially, most rides use pneumatics to open the brakes up to allow the train to flow, while Vortex uses pneumatic pressure to close the brakes. That could be a big concern for a chain who has had some bumps in the past couple years. If the park was THAT concerned about using the brake run closest to Troika, they could go 2 train operation and use the brakes prior to the corkscrews.

I would bet money that KI will have a Haunt in that station next year, if they don't tear it out.

I'm kind of torn, because I think the park could have handled it better. I thought the timing was poor, overnight on a Friday morning. A month before it's due to be removed. I can't say for sure ridership has declined. It seems like a lot of people complain about the roughness, so it's a possibility. I'll always have a soft spot for Vortex, it was the first coaster I ever worked at, at the park. It was the first ride I was a Supervisor at. I would argue all day that it has the best drop in the park. It's an iconic coaster that deserved a better send off. I'm torn, because on one hand I would like to make a trip to say goodbye and ride one last time, on the other hand, I am considering not getting a pass for next season now. We'll see what decision I end up making, but Vortex will always have a dear spot in my heart. I just hope that the space is utilized correctly.

My assumption is that they installed the lift section, so they don't have to as tightly navigate, now they will work on the brake run while they wait on the big crane to arrive.

Trackwork probably won't be done until February.

The scare zones don't generally have a wait, they are just paths you walk through. They may be more or less crowded based on how busy the park is. Lines for the mazes depend on the day. If you go on a Friday, they are generally much shorter. The outdoor mazes have longer lines, almost always. Depends on how busy the park is.