MASON, OH (WCMH) — After 33 seasons, Kings Island has decided to retire the Vortex roller coaster.
Since it opened in April of 1987, the Vortex has been one of Kings Island’s most popular roller coasters.
But all good things must come to an end, and according to Kings Island, the ride has reached the end of its service life.
The Vortex was designed exclusively for Kings Island by Arrow Dynamics and its features had never been incorporated into one steel coaster before, including:
- a 148-foot high lift and drop of 138 feet at a 55-degree angle
- two vertical loops
- one corkscrew
- one boomerang turn
- a 360-degree helix turn at the end
- a top speed of 55 mph
The Vortex was the first roller coaster in the world to send riders through six inversions on a continuous circuit. Overall, riders have been flipped upside down more than 275,000,000 times while riding Vortex.
Final rides on Vortex will begin Friday when Kings Island’s Halloween Haunt opens at 6pm. The last day to ride the Vortex will take place October 27.