I was wondering, Vortex replaced The Bat back all that time ago. Are there still any lasting memories of The Bat? Any little reminders that it is still there? i was really intrested when i found out that there used to be a different coaster there and im curious!

There's old Bat footers scattered all over the place under Vortex. Also, it uses the original station as well.

Yeah if you look Real Closely to The Vortex Train Shelter doors while your waiting inside The Vortex car for the other Train to leave the station you can see The Bat Logo but it has been painted over i found that out a couple of years ago ...but you have to look real hard to see it

Quote: Scooby Doo

Yeah if you look Real Closely to The Vortex Train Shelter doors while your waiting inside The Vortex car for the other Train to leave the station you can see The Bat Logo but it has been painted over

I think that you can also see where The Bat's track went through the storage doors.

If you look towards the top of the doors, you can see what looks like a half moon cut-out of the doors where the track used to enter.

Does anyone know if The Bat was suspended like Top Gun, or was

it a suspended, floorless coaster with no inversions.

It had a floor like Top Gun.

Oops...i was mistaken.~~ If you wanna know what I said look at AZ Kinda Guys quote....oops...

Edited January 1, 197056 yr by stephenmayes

im a youngin and i know that The Bat was a coaster like top gun that crashed and killed people...but when did this happen?? how many people were killed?

Steve

The Bat never crashed and killed anybody. Hell, it never crashed either. The Bat was taken out strictly for maintenance reasons.

Steve

The Bat never crashed and killed anybody. Hell, it never crashed either. The Bat was taken out strictly for maintenance reasons.

Yup, thats the main reason most rides are taken out.

From my understanding, there were two major design flaws that shortened this coaster's life.

1. There was a severe lack of banking in the turns, putting stress on the track and vehicles.

2. Unlike Top Gun, the brake fins were below the cars, but the wheels were (obviously) above the cars. This somehow "torqued" the wheel assemblies. (not sure if torque is the right word, but gives the right idea.)

I know of a site dedicated to The Bat, I'll look for it. I was only ten when I rode this ride, but I still remember it scaring the crap out of me.....

Does anyone know if The Bat was suspended like Top Gun, or was

it a suspended, floorless coaster with no inversions.

The Bat was the original Arrow Dynamics Suspended Coaster. The problem was that it was such an extreme ride that it often had maintence problems. This is why it was removed (a la King Cobra). Top Gun is the last Arrow Suspended Coaster, the type of ride is still basically the same as The Bat.

Below is a link that touches briefy on The Bat's history, and shows a few pics....This isn't the sight I was thinking of, but still pretty good.

http://www.coasterglobe.com/features/lostlegends-thebat/

Wow I love how everytime a thread mentions The Bat, it goes into why it was removed and we always get a total of different answers.

Vortex uses some of The Bat's footers, if you look some of the supports for Vortex are bent funny to take advantage of the old footers. And if you look at the rafters in the station there is a half circle cut-out from the suspended track.

Edited January 1, 197056 yr by derbeast

Like what was said above, The Bat's station is used for Vortex's station. The old que area for The Bat is under where Vortex que area is. Theres no que rails but that was a que area.

Im glad that this has gotten cleared up for me. The funny thing was that I actually talked to my mom about this ride this morning. I was too youg to remember it being there but she said that it had a massive accident. Im glad to hear that there was nothing of the sort that happend....

Sorry for my mistake!

Have a great night!

Like what was said above, The Bat's station is used for Vortex's station. The old que area for The Bat is under where Vortex que area is. Theres no que rails but that was a que area.

I've heard that so many times, and I still can't figure out where that stupid queue was! I've looked at every picture I could find, and I still can't figure out how the line used to be orientated. There are old concrete sidewalk slabs next to Vortex's station, but I can't figure our how a queue would have been placed in there. Can anyone provide any pictures that show how the queue used to be situated?

What year was The Bat taken down? What was the last year that it

operated?

you wouldnt be able to see the que from standing in line, you would have to go downstairs and then see it.

The Bat operated from 1981 to 1983 i think. it stood the whole 1984 season but they never used it. 1985 was when it was removed.

So the old queue was under the current station?

Yes Current station

Okay, so if the queue went under the current station ( meaning it went under the station when it housed The Bat ) where did the queue come back up and into the station?

Im not sure, my guess is another stairwell. But I'm not sure. But I know that was a que, not just because of the stories, but because I've been down there and I have seen the holes in the concrete where the rails were. Its pretty neat.

There's a stairwell that you walk past in The Vortex line, and also one on the opposite side of the station, or in the back (I don't recall exactly). Seems pretty self explanitory to me.

I rode The Bat in the early 80's...only once, because it was down every other trip to KI during its brief life. I was in 7th or 8th grade at the time, and even on a Tuesday in early June the line was still over an hour.

I can't remember exactly how the queue was configured, but it was the same structure used by Vortex. The building was painted and "themed" (somewhat) as a haunted house. (If you look at Vortex's station now, you can kind of see how with the right paint and accessories, the haunted house look was achieved.) I remember the ride being extremely intense...very wild swinging and seemed very fast. Much more so than Top Gun, even. The limited banking of the track, caused the cars to swing wildly (pretty much parallel with the ground at some points), but has already been mentioned here--was also the cause of the maintenance problems that caused its removal.

The first time I rode Iron Dragon at CP a few years after The Bat closed, I was shocked at how crappy it was compared to its prototype. (Of course, I think the same thing about "Iron Draggin'" compared to Top Gun too! <G>)

Joel

Also, some of the stairs on the lift hill are the same

Top Gun is the last Arrow Suspended Coaster

I'm guessing you mean Top Gun was the last one that was built. There are, in fact, other Arrow suspendeds around, such as: Ninja at Magic Mountain, Iron Dragon at Cedar Point, Vortex at Canada's Wonderland, and Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

If you wanna see some Pictures of The Bat just go to www.RCDB.com do a search to find it just type in The Bat or Bat enjoy

Now those are some COOL pictures!~!

Yea, I go to rcdb whenever I need a picture of a coaster. I sware they have pictures of almost every coaster!