VortexBFForever

^I second that. I've seen Vortex's spare parts inventory and it is well stocked of basically any train or track part. There's no way it could lack any spare parts anytime soon!

Yeah. I miss the Coney Mall arch and sign. The area has looked less Coney Mall-y since it disappeared a few seasons ago.

I had a rather strange dream which involved me being half awake at some point. It's hard to explain. I dreamed I was back at the helm at Vortex. Upon realizing my placement at the ride's most responsible position, I actually sit up in bed, half awake, and reach for my lamp switch, saying "Gates are closing, please stand clear" while doing so. Of course this turns on my lamp, which I quickly switch off as it's the middle of the night. I then try to look for another switch (which is nonexistent because I have only one switch by my bed) to lock the restraints, but of course I couldn't find it. Fearing the trains stacking and my fellow drivers coming to my post to yell at me thinking I should have not been drive trained, I struggled looking for that nonexistent switch for another minute before giving up and going back to sleep. Good thing I went back to sleep, because since I wasn't actually driving Vortex, I would have accomplished nothing looking for another light switch by my bedside that doesn't exist. -BFF, who knows just how seriously she does (and must) take her job driving her favorite ride, even in dreams.

I have had some riders at Vortex ask "Does this go upside down?" Is Vortex really not that showy enough? Did they NOT see or even notice those two massive vertical loops as they walked toward the entrance or even see the corkscrews and batwing from the queue line? And why else would the trains feature shoulder harnesses, a restraint commonly used on looping coasters?

I rode the Great Smoky Mountain Ferris Wheel during my Dollywood trip in June! The view was amazing, especially with the sun setting and the brightly lit park below. In my opinion the Wheel was worth the $14 for that ~ten-minute ride! I also love the fountain shows - they're so cool! The fountains and the Wheel are enough to get me back to The Island. I was definitely impressed on my first visit and it helped cap off a wonderful day that I had spent at Dollywood!!

My county fair (the Greene County Fair) opens next week. I'm still planning on riding the rides there as I always do, but this time I'm going to be extra careful... -BFF, whose county fair has not had such a ride incident (as far as she knows) and hopefully continues to go without one for years to come if not forever.

I had to wait no longer than five minutes today. I walked on to Invertigo, The Bat, Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, Vortex, and The Beast, riding each at least once all in the span of two hours. Now that's a great way to have fun after work!!

When I finished my shift, Vortex's wait was approaching 15-20 minutes. When we had two trains earlier today it peaked at 30. WindSeeker was a full cycle wait.

Glad everyone is okay, @Xdog42. Vortex hates high heat, especially if it's as hot as yesterday. I was told the heat index was 108 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of your half-ride. Glad you had a good experience, and I hope you can give Vortex another go soon! It was nice to meet you and I am very glad my crew treated you well!

I believe it was so that Drop Tower (then Drop Zone) would be (and could be marketed as) the tallest Kings Island attraction at 315 ft, because the Eiffel Tower was taller than that when it had the antenna but its removal shortened the Eiffel Tower's height to 314 ft making Drop Tower one foot taller.

As much as I want to write detailed reports about every day, I simply don't have the time because I work so much. But I will still make sure to include the highlights of my days at my #KIBestJob! Also, in time, I'll post reports about my adventures at the park as a guest. They're too much fun to not tell about! And I also really want to tell about when I got trained at Tower and Drop/Bat a couple of weeks ago! But for now I'll start with how my all-day went yesterday, as I have to catch some Z's in preparation for my Open tomorrow (and I actually have time to write about this as today was a day off). July 19: One of my fellow associates had his 18th birthday on the 18th, so he got drive trained at Vortex which was exciting (and in my opinion would be the best 18th birthday present ever!). I found it rather interesting that I spent only one hour at WindSeeker and the rest of the time at Vortex, but I liked it! My crew supervisors are making sure they rotate us through the positions we like, and apparently they like me working at Vortex (which makes sense because even amongst stress, I love working at Vortex, no surprise - especially at Unload and Dual!). I spent a total of one hour at Op-3, two hours at Separator, three hours at Unload and four hours at Dual throughout that day. Since I had gone a couple of days without working Dual recently, I guess yesterday made up for that! I also spent a total of four hours spieling. Good thing I am now quite comfortable with the mic, lol. Good night! Don't want to be too groggy to get to the park early for my Open tomorrow.

That's the complicated part. I noticed that the 633 Squadron Theme and the E.T. Theme play over top of each other as one track, and this happens three times - between Apollo 13 and Cody's Flight, between Harry's Wondrous World and Ride of the Valkyries, and between the Star Trek Main Title and The High and the Mighty. I have no idea why the two tracks play on top of each other, but that is what I always hear. But you are correct, @Rallyomalley. The E.T. theme does play. It's just overlapped with the 633 Squadron Theme for whatever reason.

I just identified another soundtrack! A two minute excerpt of "Cody's Flight," composed by Bruce Broughton for the 1990 movie The Rescuers Down Under, played when I took my 99th flight on July 18. Thanks to the Voice Memos and SoundHound apps on my phone, I finally know all of the soundtracks that play on WindSeeker! From 0:59 to 2:55 is the excerpt that plays on WindSeeker. Happy listening!

I'm 5'7" and you can say I'm one of the people who can handle it; I have never gotten a headache on Vortex. I must admit I have come close to getting a small headache some times, though, as some rides on it have rattled me more than others. I can't help but feel sorry for those who can't handle Vortex's wild ride as well. Vortex is definitely not for the faint of heart (or head, for that matter. ).

Last night while I was working I met a guest who had grown up riding Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain. He rode Vortex once (his first time!) and he told me (when he came around to ride again) that he liked it better than the hundreds of rides he's taken on Viper! He likes Vortex better because it offers better pacing and a smoother ride than Viper. That being said, if I ever get to ride Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain (which I REALLY REALLY hope becomes a reality), I probably shouldn't expect it to be as smooth as Vortex. I have heard this now from two people (the aforementioned guest, and one of my fellow crew members who also grew up in California - he says Vortex feels like Banshee compared to Viper. He's also ridden Demon at California's Great America 732 times. ). Long story short, be thankful we (still) have Vortex and that Kings Island takes great care of their Arrow Megalooper!

Well, light crowds on weekdays are not uncommon, especially if it is hot (since most go to the waterpark). In fact, on those days, most if not all the rides have very short/non-existent lines. Weekends are definitely busier by a long shot. And Haunt is going to be busy too, which is going to help us get to one million.

Especially during Haunt. Since one of the Haunt attractions is in the former Action Theater, WindSeeker and Vortex are very often packed because they are the closest rides. Plus, on any given day, the two rides' showy, "in your face" views and the fact they are clearly visible from almost anywhere in the park are one of their main draws. -BFF, whose crew firmly believes that Vortex is on track to give one million rides this season.

I had my first night rides on Backlot Stunt Coaster tonight! I took advantage of the nonexistent line and rode it three times. Then I went to The Beast but the thunderstorm beat me to what would have been my first night ride on The Beast since 2013. Oh well. But BLSC was fun! I always underestimate how intense it is for such a small coaster!

I'm heading to the Island as well, for sure! When I get there I'll start with Diamondback, and then head back to WindSeeker and Vortex. Even if a storm comes, hopefully I can reach all three of my milestones in due time!

If my dad lets me go to KI this afternoon/evening, I'm going to try to hit 400 on Vortex and 100 on Diamondback and WindSeeker! Hopefully the weather will cooperate enough for that to happen.

Just a day prior, on July 10, I got to test ride Shake, Rattle & Roll in a small thunderstorm. I got so wet but it was so much fun!!

Last week I met a guest who was convinced Kings Island had had an observation tower (the kind with a rotating cabin) at one point. Now when I think of it, maybe he was thinking of the late Space Spiral at Cedar Point. Maybe.

On Facebook and Instagram, when KI posts about Vortex, most of the comments are always negative, which irks me. Yes, there are people who don't like Vortex, but at work I have met many more who love it and call it one of their favorite rides, including kids in the 48" crowd as Vortex is the only looping coaster at KI that has a height requirement of 48". That being said, the positive view of Vortex is quite often underrepresented on social media...and Facebook is definitely no exception.

On WindSeeker this season, I noticed a new soundtrack that I had never heard prior to this year. I had heard it on occasion while working (often times it would end up being skipped because it either would not play automatically or we would mistake the track's quiet intro for the music not playing) but it seemed to elude me whenever I tried to record it (while there as a guest) and identify it...until today. On my 96th ride on WindSeeker, this "mystery soundtrack" played and I was able to audibly record the cycle (with my device safely zipped away in my waist pack, obviously) and use SoundHound to identify it (of course I waited until AFTER the ride finished to use my phone, of course ). Turns out, this track is called "Ollo," composed by Hans Zimmer for the movie Megamind. I have added it to my WindSeeker soundtrack playlist on YouTube. Ollo plays on the cycle after "Ride of the Valkyries." The track that 'Seeker plays starts at 0:53 and goes to the end. Happy listening and riding!

I took advantage of the rides during the 6:00 dinner hour (7:00 as well) and ended up catching the next Eiffel Tower elevator up just in time and waiting one cycle for Carousel, two cycles for Scrambler, a station wait at Vortex and a cycle wait at WindSeeker. With today's crowds I am so glad I spent the 5:00 hour watching Origins and Amazing Dobermans. Both shows were great, by the way.