Vortex

Entrance sign

***Vortex*** was a steel coaster located in the Coney Mall section of Kings Island. It opened on April 11, 1987 as a replacement for *The Bat*. Recognized for its navy blue and orange paint structure, *Vortex* was among the most popular coasters in the park for several years. On September 27, 2019, Kings Island officials announced that the coaster would close at the conclusion of the 2019 season after thirty-two years in operation

## History

At the end of Kings Island's 1983 season, Arrow Dynamic's *The Bat* was temporarily closed after numerous technical difficulties in hopes of a possible refurbishment. However, the closure was later made permanent following the 1984 season when it was decided that fixing the coaster would be too costly. *The Bat* had only operated for less than three seasons, making it one of the shortest lifespans for any ride at the park, and would later be demolished during the 1985 season. Despite the shortcomings that led to an early demise for *The Bat*, Arrow Dynamics was consulted once more to create a replacement coaster during the winter of 1986. On April 11, 1987, *Vortex* opened to the public, using the same queue building and loading station as *The Bat*. The new coaster proved to be a huge success compared to it predecessor, and even held the record for the most inversions on a coaster for a short period after opening *Vortex* also saw Kings Island's attendance numbers go above three million for the first time in the park's history. After thirty-three years in operation and over forty million rides given, park officials announced on September 27, 2019 that *Vortex* would be closed at the conclusion of 2019's Halloween Haunt event. A replacement attraction, if any is currently being considered, has yet to be announced, right now the whole ride area has been cleared and a wooden fence is surrounding the former ride area.

## Theme and Ride Layout

### Theme

Initially, one would assume that the ride is themed to a tornado, considering the name and the loading station resembling a classic style architecture. However, this is not made clear, as many logos of the ride feature the track being grabbed by a metal arm. It's not clear what the arm is supposed to represent. With this being said, it's also possible that the ride has no theme and is just named after the various twists and turns of the coaster.

### Ride Experience

The ride would exit the loading station and turned right to ascend the lift hill. It's worth noting that the lift hill was not as steep as most lift hills at the park. When the cars reached the top of the lift hill, they would perform a U-Turn to the right, before going down the first hill. The cars would then go through multiple inversions and loops, one of which had a camera placed nearby for on-ride photos right next to the walkway near the *3-Point Challenge* game, before passing *Shake, Rattle, and Roll* and returning to the loading station.

## Trivia

* *Vortex* was repainted at least twice during its lifespan. Once in 2001, and again only moments before opening for the 2009 season.
* The on ride photo camera was reused on *Flight of Fear* in 2020.
* The lift chain was reused on *Adventure Express* in 2020.
* In the years leading up to its closure, many guests commented that *Vortex* was one of the most intense rides in the park, and that it shakes a lot more than the wooden coasters in the park. It was speculated that it would close when the park teased one of their coasters closing in 2018, due to the teaser stating "The wind is eerily calm," possibly as a reference to the actual weather formation the ride's name is based on.
	+ The coaster that actually closed that year was *Firehawk*, and *Orion* opened in its place in 2020. However, *Vortex* was later confirmed to be closing at the conclusion of the 2019 season, approximately a year after *Firehawk* closed.
* *Vortex* celebrated its thirtieth birthday in 2017. A banner to commemorate this achievement was hung at the loading station next to the storage crates for guests' bags during the 2017 season.
* After Vortex's closure, the trains were reused on Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds to open in the Spring of 2021.