I was surprised to see Vortex shut down today, Tuesday July 5. There was a mention elsewhere but no dedicated thread. Here's what I heard:

> On Saturday Vortex is running

> Lift chain suddenly makes a terrible sound. It's busted, and busted bad.

> Everyone STOP. There's a train fully on the first lift near the bottom, and one stopped at the slow part before the corkscrews. That's where they sit right now.

> From Windsinker, you can look down and see giant pieces of chain laid out next to the lift

> oh yes, those people on the train before the corkscrews definitely did have to be evacuated

> employees aren't supposed to comment on this stuff so don't ask

Hopefully this kind of post is OK on here. Is the Rollercoaster Chain Store stocking Vortex chains? Is the KI machine shop at work making replacement links? Some insider info would be great!

i've heard that it should be up and running by the end of next week.

also, the area that you referred to as 'the slow part before the corkscrews' is the mid-course brake run, it's there to do just as you have seen, prevent the train from entering the next block section if the train before it is still in it. i haven't been to the park in a while, but is the third train sitting on the final brake run, or is it pulled off into the maintenance shed?

> Lift chain suddenly makes a terrible sound. It's busted, and busted bad.

Busted bad?

Is there a busted good or busted mediocre?

(BTW- I'm just playing! )

S&S still makes parts for Arrow coasters.

Seems like the third train was in the station, not in the parking area to the side. Maybe Beast and Adventure Express jinxed me, but I could have sworn Vortex had two lifts. Nope.

I'd think if a chain link broke on one side (ya know, the "weakest link") then the unbroken side would bend, dragging the broken side against the walls of its trough. That would make quite a noise.

But, interesting to see it's the chain and not the motor. I always wondered if that lift was under-powered because it took so long for the speed to settle to a constant.

It certainly made a LOUD sound.

It certainly made a LOUD sound.

if i were a bettin person, i'd say that KI has replacement chain parts on site. As bad as it might have sounded, I'm sure this is somewhat common... that's why you hear that repetitive "click" on the lift hills... in the event the chains fail.... you don't go rolling back into the station.

It certainly made a LOUD sound.

So loud, it apparently echoed!

Tb, who just can't help it.

if i were a bettin person, i'd say that KI has replacement chain parts on site.

I was thinking the same thing especially since many Arrow coasters using like parts (chains, lifts, wheels etc. may be swapped out between Vortex & AE or even CS & Magnum @ CP)

Or perhaps the parts are not on hand because they were recently replaced prior to the park opening.

Hopefully it'll be running by the 17th it's one of my favorites.

This really isn't a huge deal. The chain broke, the riders were safely evacuated and now a new one will be installed. It happens.

Some things never CHANGe. It even happens to B and M's, sometimes on opening day!

Some things never CHANGe. It even happens to B and M's, sometimes on opening day!

and I'm sure depending on which B&M it occurs on- one could have a massive BM...

Seems like the third train was in the station, not in the parking area to the side.

It looks to me like the 3rd train didn't actually make it all the way into the station. Part of it is sticking out. So, I guess the ones that didn't get all the way back into

the station were also evacted. I would have loved to have been on the train that got stopped in the mid-course block and got to walk down the steps! I've been stopped there

maybe 3 or 4 times in the 24 year history of that ride, but never long enough to get to walk down!

Maybe KI will decide to remove Vortex and relocate Mantis to its location.

Maybe KI will decide to remove Vortex and relocate Mantis to its location.

That is such an atrocious thing to say....

Just Kidding

"conked" is such a funny verb to use. "Vortex is currently conked out due to mechanical reasons. We are not sure when it will reopen."

I'm sure this was caused by the increased stress on the chain as the lift hill continued sinking

They were working all day on cobbling together the lift chain yesterday.

Maybe KI will decide to remove Vortex and relocate Mantis to its location.

I'd rather there be nothing there than have to fill that spot with Mantis.

"conked" is such a funny verb to use. "Vortex is currently conked out due to mechanical reasons. We are not sure when it will reopen."

It's one of my favorite fun verbs, and it makes its own onomatopoeia!

Just think of all the times you rode Vortex and paused at the exit to figure out when WindSeeker would open. Now you ride WindSeeker to see the progress on repairing Vortex.

FYI I'm a mechanical engineer with a background in controls. Although I'm not in the amusement business this stuff piques my interest. Engineering and controls is 98% of a roller coaster and the rest is fresh paint. Whenever someone dumbs it down "durrr, ride's broke, come back later" it's just going to lead to more questions. Plus in the course of quizzing the workers I learned what a 2-7 radio code is.

Maybe KI will decide to remove Vortex and relocate Mantis to its location.

Talk about going from the frying pan into the fryer! I'm not a huge fan of Vortex, but it's way better than Mantis! I do ride Vortex at least every 3rd visit to KI, but Mantis I think I ride that every 3rd YEAR! It hurts me way more. And besides, Vortex is Ron Toomer's best looper!

And to think, all this happened because it is sinking.....

I guess people just dont understand.

Sigh. This is worse than a chain letter.

We are a strange lot of people, but that's ok. Hehehe....

I told my husband what happened, his response was the same as mine... "Man, wish I had been on when that happened."

Why is being evacuated from a ride so enticing?

Maybe KI will decide to remove Vortex and relocate Mantis to its location.

I'd rather there be nothing there than have to fill that spot with Mantis.

You said it! I couldn't agree more!

An upstanding duo of posts!

I can tell this is not going to be a popular post, but here goes anyway:

Frankly, I prefer Mantis over Vortex. I don't know what you guys are talking about.

There, I said it. Flame away.

There, I said it. Flame away.

Go take a look at the "The Beast is Rough" thread - what that shows is that one constant among park/coaster enthusiasts is disagreement on what is good/bad/ugly. Sure, there are some that are more universally loved or hated, but I don't think I've ever heard a unanimous opinion.

Also recognize that your opinion may be based upon a past memory and is likely to change over the years. For example - I'd gladly ride Woodstock Express over Adventure Express and I prefer to ride Vortex over Flight of Fear. Many on this board would disagree - that's life. And by the way, I like Mantis as well