VortexBFForever

I was at Media Day too! I got to be interviewed, rode Banshee eight times, stayed on Delirium for three cycles straight (they weren't assigning seats so I didn't need to go back around!) and marathoned The Bat for 17 rides including staying on 15 straight times (still my record for most rerides in a row - not even Vortex beat that!). Also free food was a thing that day. Free Chicken Shack and Banshee Twist ice cream for the win. @faeriewench even got a picture of me on The Bat during my marathon.

I believe WindSeeker opened on June 21, 2011. Pertaining to the topic: Happy birthday Banshee and Diamondback!

The day was September 18, 2012. Just over one month after joining KIC and making clear her fascination for a certain Arrow, a young(er) VortexBFForever found herself in a dilemma as her laptop kept failing to boot. The hard drive had failed, rendering everything on it inaccessible by traditional means. Among the casualties were documentation of several epic amusement park adventures from the just-passed spring and summer, including her first (and still only) trip to Kings Island's sister park, Kings Dominion. None of the pictures and videos were backed up, so VortexBFForever attempted to grasp the new reality of her dozens of photos and videos she had lost in an instant...or so she thought. Fast forward to April 7, 2020. Different laptop, new recovery software with a 96% success rate, a 2.5"-SATA-to-USB adapter, and the same failed hard drive all joined forces for a momentous event. For the first time in over seven years, most of these 2012 park photos and videos saw the light and were "rescued", and they are now in several safer locations for posterity. Those from Kings Dominion will now appear here as part of VortexBFForever's 3,000th contribution to the Kings Island Central community. Now, let us travel back in time to Tuesday, April 10, 2012, via my best first-person recollection skills and my successfully recovered photos. After a 6.5-hour drive on April 9 came the day for which I eagerly waited since the idea was first conceived. Kings Dominion had a spot on my list of parks to visit ever since my thrill-seeking side was born two years prior, thanks to a certain B&M hyper and Arrow looper at our beloved home park. I had also developed a fascination for Kings Island's past rides and hoped to experience something like the late King Cobra, which made Shockwave a priority during my visit. Kings Dominion is also home to Anaconda, another Arrow looper, which also topped my must-ride list. Say what you want about these two rides, as it won't stop me from appreciating them. Those who know me well know that I have a soft spot for rides with generally mixed/controversial opinions. Mom and I departed our room at Hampton Inn Charlottesville to start our fun day. We spent the morning at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and then drove another 90 minutes east to Kings Dominion. Unlike Kings Island, Kings Dominion is difficult (if possible at all) to see from Interstate 95, and that makes for a "wow" effect of the entire park's skyline appearing at once while pulling into the parking lot! The first thing I noticed while walking into the park was the instrumental music playing on International Street. I was so used to hearing pop on I-Street (thanks KI) that it took me a little bit to get used to the instrumental music. But once I did, it seemed to fit the area better than pop music would (and that would be further confirmed in 2017 when instrumental music would return to our I-Street!). I will say early on that I did not cover much of the park, as it closed at 6 that day and we had arrived at 2, if not a little later. Reriding my highest priority rides took priority later in the afternoon, so numerous other rides remain yet to be experienced. Fortunately, the rides I did get to ride include two steel coasters that had since gone the way of Firehawk and Vortex. Also, dispatch times were not the best, which further diminished time for the other rides. Consider this trip an example of quality over quantity, as I did enjoy what I got to do. Either way, a whole slew of rides await my first ride on them should I return hopefully soon enough. Taking in my first impressions of the park, I took the first left turn to what would be my first ride I have ever ridden at Kings Dominion. Seeing Dominator's station wait only increased my excitement to ride it. Dominator turned out to be the second former Geauga Lake ride I have ridden, with Firehawk the obvious first. Walking into Dominator is a treat as I'm surrounded by inversions in a moment's time. I rode in the front row on the right. The time from my boarding to my train's dispatch was around four minutes, but that was quickly forgotten once I was on my way. Moments later, my train whisked down its 148-foot drop from its 157-foot-tall summit at 65 mph and twirled through its five inversions. I know from experience that Dominator is a great thrill-seeking start to a Kings Dominion visit, especially my first! I continued past the rides of KidzVille and eventually I started hearing drums, as if I was walking into the jungle. That's when I knew I had entered Congo. Anaconda calls this section home, so it was my next destination. Just before entering the queue, I watched the train on the lift hill reach its 128-foot peak, plunge down the 144-foot first drop and disappear into the underwater tunnel...with no splash. This day was particularly windy, with gusts in excess of 25-30 mph. Thanks to the wind, Anaconda's splash effect and Volcano's flame effect were turned off, and Drop Tower and WindSeeker were closed. I headed into Anaconda's queue as the train finished its four-inversion run shortly before the other train began to ascend the lift. Like Dominator, Anaconda also had a station wait so I waited only 5ish minutes. Unfortunately, the slow dispatches I saw at Dominator were consistent across the park, as I would see similar times at the other coasters. I felt that if dispatches were quicker, the lines would be even shorter. They were already short to begin with, so I can't complain. I did not let the slow dispatch times stop me from having fun! I queued for the front seat. I had a tradition of sitting in the front left seat for my first ride on any Arrow looper, as that was where I sat on my first ride on Vortex on July 23, 2010. I would sit in that seat for my first rides on Viper at Darien Lake (July 25, 2011), Corkscrew at Cedar Point (August 4, 2011), Anaconda (today, April 10, 2012), and later Loch Ness Monster (June 26, 2012) and Tennessee Tornado (April 3, 2013), and I still plan to do that on any and all future Arrow looper first rides. Just before 3pm, I took my first ride on Anaconda! As I heard the "All Clear" over the speaker and felt my train start to move, I kept repeating to myself that I was finally riding Anaconda after waiting two years for this moment! The lift hill ascent wasn't much different from Vortex, other than the obviously different view and location. Anaconda has no pre-drop; the train careens right into the drop at the mercy of gravity, enabling the 50mph top speed to be obtained sooner. Not even a minute passed before I saw the massive drop in front of me, where I plunged 144ft into Lake Charles and up just as quickly into the loop and sidewinder before hitting the midcourse brakes. I do agree about the middle "figure-8" section being lackluster, but the corkscrews made up for the second half. Like Vortex, the corkscrews are navigated at a slower speed which means hang time! Anaconda's corkscrews have an advantage with their being over the water. If you guessed that I hopped right back in line and rode again...ding ding ding! It was common of me on my earlier theme park visits to reride a priority ride a handful of times before moving on, which I have since changed as I found myself running out of time for other rides (and this trip was the epitome of that ). For future visits, I would find it beneficial to hit at least all the major coasters and then return to any priority rides/favorites to reride them in the remaining time, and that strategy has proved superior. Second ride in the second car, namely 2-1! I must have first arrived during a small influx as the line had shortened now. From this ride on it was a walk-on/stay-on. After another fun ride through and over Lake Charles, I heard the magic words "If you wish to ride again, please choose an empty row..." I immediately hopped out of 2-1 and headed back to claim 7-1. I really looked forward to experiencing that first drop in that seat! (that's me with my arms up!) Anaconda in 7-1 did not disappoint, at least on the first drop. I got pulled up and over the top of the lift into the drop, and the loop and sidewinder were fairly intense. It was that ride that determined that Anaconda had my favorite first drop, at least on an Arrow. That title has since been challenged, but if I return sometime in hopefully the near future, I can see if that is still true. Three rides on Anaconda sufficed for now, so I headed into The Grove in pursuit of another priority ride: Shockwave was a must for me only because I was interested in experiencing any idea of what King Cobra was like. I understand that many say that King Cobra was superior, and I believe that is true even though I cannot speak from experience. I wanted to ride Shockwave anyway since it was the closest I could ever get to it. Like Anaconda, I waited two years for the moment I would step aboard Shockwave for the first time. (peep Triple Spin and Rebel Yell in the background) The 95ft lift climb was (and still is) by far the slowest lift hill I've ridden, and I heard that is typical for a Togo. At least there was a great view. From the first turn onward, I was pleasantly surprised by the abundance of airtime. Each hilltop lifted me off the train's floor, from the first drop to the bunny hops. The circular loop proved quite intense, and remains the most intense loop I've ridden as it is still the only circular loop I have experienced. I found Shockwave fun, especially compared to Mantis (which I rode the summer before) which I thought was just okay. I walked around again to ride a second time, and upon my train's return the queue for the second row was empty, so I rerode in that row. My three rides on Shockwave on this day would be the only three rides I got before its closing three years later on August 9, 2015. Next was Wave Swinger. Yes, we have a ride like it, but I couldn't resist. I don't remember much about this ride (I forgot I even rode it until I found my hand-written Kings Dominion ride log) but I know I had fun on it. Since the Carousel was nearby, Mom and I rode that next since it was more her speed. She doesn't ride big roller coasters (but rather takes pictures of my riding them) but she'll ride select smaller rides including carousels, antique cars, teacups, and occasionally Scrambler. As I previously mentioned. WindSeeker and Drop Tower remained closed the entire day due to the high winds. Otherwise, this WindSeeker would have been the third of its kind that I would ride. As of this writing I still have ridden only Kings Island's and Cedar Point's WindSeekers. After briefly lamenting my inability to obtain my third WindSeeker credit, Mom and I enjoyed the view from Americana, another ride that called Geauga Lake home. It may not have taken us nearly as high as WindSeeker or Drop Tower, but it would have to suffice. Plus, it was one of only a few chances per year that I could ride a Ferris wheel (the other chances being Cedar Point trips and when the county fair is in town). Americana gave a pleasant ride with yet another great view. I headed back to Congo, as only one hour remained until park closing and there were rides in a certain X-Base-esque area that I wanted to hit before I ran out of time. Of course I had to get another ride while on the way... ...as I enjoyed another spin on Anaconda before checking out three of its neighbors. My target ride was Intimidator 305, conveniently next to which stood Flight of Fear. I ended up riding Flight of Fear first and had fun tricking myself into thinking I was at Kings Island (which is surprisingly easy on a cloned indoor ride!). As Silly Bandz were still a thing, I was wearing a few glow-in-the-dark Silly Bandz and looking at them sometime during the ride. I finally arrived at Intimidator 305 and joined its short line, a station wait and then some. Soon I was seated and secured in a new Intamin shoulder restraint, ready to ascend 305 feet before racing down a 300-foot drop and reaching 90 mph. (peek-a-boo Anaconda!) "Gentlemen! START YOUR ENGINES!" It took only a few moments to ascend the fastest lift in the park (its and Shockwave's lifts are night-and-day different!) and before I knew it, I was staring right at the ground. The drop was fun and I joined the ranks of riders who greyed out on the turn at the bottom. Once the next hill restored the blood flow to my head, I tried to keep my hands raised through the brief pops of airtime resulting from the rapid directional changes. To put it simply, Intimidator 305 remains the most intense roller coaster I have ever ridden. And yes, I had fun. Mom was convinced I had "met my match." I believe her. The last of the trio brought me into a mountain and into a 20-minute line for the ride believed to be Kings Dominion's signature coaster. I was ready to have a blast on Volcano: The Blast Coaster. If memory serves me right, I was seated in row 3. The first launch started the adrenaline surge as my train swooped around the turn and back into the mountain, where I felt the second launch kick in. The next thing I kicked would be the clear blue sky as we shot straight up through the mountain's peak at 70mph and rolled out at 155ft above ground. Each of the three heartline rolls brought considerable hangtime, and I was all for it. All too soon, the train rocketed back into the mountain for the final time and hit the brakes. My only ride on Volcano was literally a blast. I loved it and it would become my favorite along with Anaconda and Shockwave. 6:00 was now mere minutes away, and what better ride for this up-and-coming Arrow nerd to end the day on than... ...Anaconda, of course! If memory serves me right, I rode second-to-last train of the day. As I snaked down 144ft, through the tunnel, and through the loop, sidewinder and corkscrews for my last time, the setting sun made an orange glow that covered the park, as it happened to be golden hour. What a great (and beautiful!) last ride of the day on Anaconda, and a good way to tide me over for the month and six days between now and my first 2012 visit to Kings Island. After saying bye to Anaconda for hopefully not the final time, it was time for us to head out as Kings Dominion was now closed. I took in International Street a good long last time. Peek-a-boo WindSeeker. Bye, Kings Dominion. Until next time, which is who-knows-how-many-years from now (hopefully not more than eight ). +Dominator: 1 +Anaconda: 5 +Shockwave: 3 +Wave Swinger: 1 +Carousel: 1 +Americana: 1 +Flight of Fear: 1 +Intimidator 305: 1 +Volcano: 1 Thank you for coming along with me on this throwback. As you return to the present, please remember to cherish your past memories, enjoy the present moment, and look forward to what future adventures have in store. Who knows how many more wild amusement park trips will transpire in VortexBFF's next 3,000 posts...

^I call it the felc elbert. ("treble clef" backwards)

I had a dream a few bights ago where I was riding The Bat, but each of the train's cars could spin freely (e.g. a spinning coaster or spinning wild mouse) and the layout was Vortex's. In other words: Riding Vortex on The Bat's train while being able to free-spin. What if this actually becomes a thing someday? I know at one time Arrow experimented with inversions on their suspended model.

Troika and Zephyr were my favorite rides in 2008 and early 2009. I still remember my first rides on them on June 30 and July 4, 2008! I especially loved watching a certain one of Troika's neighbors , and being able to do that while riding made it even better.

Because I can. And also because today is Vortex's 33rd anniversary.

I applied. Should Defunctland create any more Kings Island episodes, I have countless Firehawk and Vortex photos to add to the mix!

Last fall, a friend and I decided on the nickname of Oreo. We got the idea while riding Vortex, so I am definitely sticking with it.

King Cobra was before my time (or at least before I was big enough to ride anything), but I did get to ride Shockwave at Kings Dominion in 2012 and I loved it. It's still my favorite standup. I understand why many loved King Cobra - especially since some consider Shockwave to be inferior (and I enjoyed that!).

Riding around the sunset before riding into it.

The sunset seemed to envelop Vortex from my view in the massive Closing Day line at 7:00.

Polar Vortex returns. December 15, 2019.

Orion and Vortex will share the same opening/anniversary date! April 11 will also be Vortex’s 33rd anniversary.

[insert cliche "where do I begin" response here] 2019 was an extraordinary end to a decade, an era, and arguably the best chapter of my whole life. I rode Vortex a whopping 536 times in 2019, including six milestones. Compare that to 2018 when I rode *only* 192 1/3 times and 2017 when I rode just 176 times. My third and final season as a WindSeeker/Vortex ride op was amazing as I got to live my teenage dream of driving Vortex for one more season, and of course test ride countless times. I ended up breaking two records - highest documented ride total on Vortex at 1221 1/3 (emphasis on documented as I know people have ridden it many times more but didn't keep count) and highest single day ride count on Vortex (93 rides on August 9, 2019, up from the previous record of 66). It's pretty cool when considering the ride held two world records when it first opened, and it closed with me holding two records of my own! I'm so blessed to be able to say I was one of Vortex's final riders, on both the last public train with the original crew and second-to-last train EVER alongside my crewmates (go give my Closing Day TR a read if you haven't already!)! At the same time, many things began, from my 5-year-old nephew's and 3-year-old niece's first visit ever to Kings Island, to the start of my current job in Tech Services -- a major step closer to my next "dream job" of working in Rides Maintenance -- which was not easy to attain. To cap it all off, I and several dozen fellow fans were standing right next to Vortex when the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve. We watched the fireworks and said one last goodbye to Vortex as part of our saying hello to a new year. I hope I remember 2019 for as long as I possibly can. -BFF, who did her absolute best to condense this into a short-and-sweet tip-of-the-iceberg post instead of a novel. You're welcome.

When I have to be at work at 7am (the only shift I work on non-operating days goes from 7am-3:30pm).

This was my first NYE at Kings Island; however, I was not on I-Street when the clock struck midnight. 2020 began with me and a bunch of other people watching the fireworks from in front of Vortex. We celebrated the New Year while saying one last goodbye. Definitely a unique New Year's celebration and literally once-in-a-lifetime. This is without a doubt my favorite NYE and one I'll never forget.

December 17 happened to be a day I was off work, so of course I had to spend it...at Winterfest as a guest. In 30 degree weather. Fun, I know. I reached out to several of my friends to find out if they too were planning to attend Winterfest the same night. Three of them said they were coming. Perfect! I already could tell that this night was going to be fun. As much as I like going by myself, planning out how I spend the evening gets challenging when the park is open only five hours and time to see a favorite ride dwindles by the day. Since I had friends coming, I no longer needed to stress over planning beause now I could play it by ear and make plans based off on what they want to do. And no matter how those plans would go, memories would be made that we would all love. I arrived at the park at about 4:45 to find a nearly deserted International Street. We would later learn that the park would look like this for the entire evening. It was a Tuesday night, it was cold, and some schools were still in session this week. I milled about International Street before joining the waiting group at the rope just before 5:00. What ensued was the calmest, most orderly running of the bulls I had ever seen. In fact, no one was running at all so it was more like Walking/Speedwalking of the Bulls. If every rope drop was like this, it'd be a lot less stressful for sure! I hit Mystic Timbers first just in case it got more busy later. I rode three times, with bats twice and snakes once. One of my rides was in the front seat and it was (literally) cool to see snow on the track as I flew past White Water Canyon and the train tracks. It was about 5:30 after my third ride and I hoped to be on Troika at just the right time to see the Eiffel Tower tree light up as I was riding it. I sang along to "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" as I skipped past Vortex. However, Troika was down...but the Antique Autos were not. So I hopped on them instead. Even though it was nearly 5:30, I was their first rider of the evening and had the entire track all to myself. I had just crossed the bridge and rounded the turn to where I had a clear view of the tree as the countdown flashed and it lit! Kings Mills Antique Autos is officially the first ride from where I counted down and watched the park lighting ceremony! Upon returning, I saw two other guests in the queue who happened to be two of the three friends I would see tonight. They were about to ride and I had just gotten off, but I was able to join them and ride again. Essentially, I got a reride on the Antique Autos. Fittingly enough, we ended up in car 1, the one with Vortex (VRT-X87) on its license plate! This was my first time riding Antique Autos as a passenger, so I had to get used to not driving. My double ride on Kings Island's current newest ride was fun. I must mention that many of my Vortex crewmates are still here working Winterfest. Most of them work at either Antiques/Troika or Coney Flats (Carousel/Scrambler/Dodgem/Zephyr), though a couple are also at Skate Rental. Seeing them every time I pass or ride the Coney Mall rides is always a highlight. The first ride we rode together was the train. We sat toward the front so we could be closer to the steam which in turn would feel warmer. We sang along to every song! Mystic's line was still nonexistent, so we rode it a couple of times together. Got more bats and snakes. All of us were hungry, so we decided on dinner at Coney BBQ. I had not eaten there all season so I was excited. I remembered people saying great things about the rotisserie chicken, so I tried it this time. I liked it! It was tender, had just enough seasoning to add to the flavor, and it was filling (which was a given since it was half a chicken!). I missed eating at one of my favorite in-park food locations (and I don't eat there often because it's expensive) but eating there again with several friends made it more worth the $12 I paid for the yummy rotisserie chicken, brussel sprouts, and of course the free hush puppy. I had never thought that brussel sprouts were a food option at Kings Island, let alone any amusement park, but I am glad to be wrong and actually eat healthy here! During our meal, we discovered that the horse carriage rides were having a special where it was $10 per ride instead of the usual $40. Since five of us (me, my three friends, and one other friend who happened to be here as well) were present, we had an ideal opportunity to ride the horse carriage together while being easier on our wallets since $10 for five of us means $2 for each of us. It would be my first time riding the carriage, which was something I hoped to do but wanted to do with other people to make the price more worth it. The carriage ride was nice and a unique way to see Coney Mall. I would say it is worth the $10, especially if you're with friends. Next came the main reason I wanted to see if my friends are coming. If you read my Closing Day trip report, you may recall reading about a "support group meeting" we conducted during the last hour of operation. The three friends with me were also there that day, plus one more who couldn't make it tonight. Two of the three friends were also on the last public train with me and the original Vortex crew (and of course were recalling that night as we walked by). As a refresher, the "support group meeting" I speak of is just an informal getting together by Vortex's support that touches the midway. On Closing Day, we were there taking pictures by it just like how any group of friends would get a group picture (and yes, Vortex is included as a "friend."). We agreed that we should conduct another such meeting during Winterfest, and since most of us were together again, tonight was the perfect night for the Winterfest edition. After more reminiscing and friend group pictures that included our favorite Arrow looper, we rode Troika now that it was back up. In the queue line, I showed them a friend I had made the previous day: I kid you not: I had enough free time during my previous shift to build a little snowman at Vortex. I decided to build it by Troika's queue to see if many guests would notice it. In the picture it's slumped forward a bit due to the previous day's rain, wind and sun, but on my next shift I touched it up so that it once again stands tall, much like the ride behind it. I can now check "build a snowman by Vortex" off my Winterfest 2019 bucket list! We ended up getting Troika all to ourselves. During our earlier picture-taking we were making remarks about how loud Troika's riders were screaming...and now we one-upped them. There may have been only three of us on the ride (one friend didn't ride), but we sounded as loud as a full cycle. I'm surprised my throat didn't give out. My ride op friends who were running the ride played trivia with us and interacted with us as if there were more than three of us on the ride. Another fun time! Earlier, I had suggested that we try the blue hot chocolate. Thanks to my consulting the 2019 Winterfest Experience Guide a few weeks back, I knew that Graeter's isn't the only location selling blue hot chocolate. Blue hot chocolate is also offered at the funnel cake stand in Rivertown, which is where we headed. We each got a blue hot chocolate (and we all LOVED it!) and shared a funnel cake. Sugar high impending... We sat by Vortex and continued to sip our blue hot chocolate, which was another item to check off my aforementioned bucket list. After we were mostly finished (and to keep moving since it was getting pretty cold) two of us went to ride Scrambler while the other two would meet us back at Antiques. By this time, the sugar kicked in and so we were definitely excited to ride Scrambler! I can say with complete confidence that I have never laughed so hard during a ride. The only other experience that comes close is from July of 2013 when I rode Vortex right after drinking a souvenir cup full of root beer, which had me laughing from the first drop all the way to the safety brakes. We met back up and rode Antiques again. This time, each of us had our own car for another nice drive around the track. Next, we rode Zephyr, as no other riders were there and I wanted to give my ride op friends something to do. This became our third (and my fourth) zen ride of the evening and it was COLD! Dare I say it felt as cold as I remember my 9-degree ride in 2017! Since we were somewhat crazy (and still feeling the rush from our sugar-filled desserts) we rode again! Both times were fun, though we did end up ducking into the arcade to warm up. Closing time was drawing near, and we wanted to get another ride on Mystic, so we took off skipping (literally SKIPPING). It's amazing what sugar can do. The Mistletones had just started performing since it was 9:30, so we stopped to watch (and sometimes dance to) them. It was fun for all of us. When they finished, we headed back to Mystic for our last ride of the night. Since there was no line, they had closed off the regular queue and were letting people in through the single rider line to minimize the time spent walking to the station. Still no tree ending, but still a fun, face-freezing ride nonetheless. What a fun five hours on one of my favorite off days! Taking advantage of no crowds with friends is always fun. +Mystic Timbers: 6 YTD: 23 Total: 53 +Kings Mills Antique Autos: 3 YTD/Total: 17 +Train: 1 YTD: 12 Total: 60 +Troika: 2 YTD: 18 Total: 67 +Scrambler: 1 YTD: 8 Total: 38 +Zephyr: 2 YTD: 13 Total: 51

To answer the question asked in the title, yes...in 15 years!

I LOVE THEM!!!!!! After hearing those sounds every day for three summers, next season will be so weird without them...but I’m thankful that they have been immortalized.

When I would ride Vortex in the back, I often allowed a few inches of space between me and my restraint, which would cause me to almost stand up on the first drop! Other times I would tuck my knees up and "cannonball" down the drop. Vortex's first drop definitely had the strongest ejector air of all of Kings Island's coasters. The only other ride to even come close is Diamondback, and hopefully Orion. I hope I never forget that feeling of flying out of your seat on Vortex's first drop.

It goes without saying, but I don't think I'll be ready either for what's coming...I bet seeing Vortex come down will feel as surreal as my final ride. But for now, as long as Winterfest goes on, I'm enjoying it still being there and not focusing on its impending doom while I (and we) still can.

Looking forward to it! I hope that sometime in the future I’ll eventually have time to build a working Vortex model.

I. SO. RELATE. TO. THIS. You described exactly how I feel about Vortex. Even after riding other greats like Steel Vengeance, Vortex stayed my #1 as well, and it too helped me overcome a lot. Thank you so much for sharing!

Now that we have just lost it, Vortex. Also backwards Racer, as I had one opportunity to ride it and I was too scared.