Vortex was a steel looping roller coaster that operated at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, from 1987 until 2019. Built by Arrow Dynamics for roughly $4 million, it opened on April 11, 1987, on the same plot of land once occupied by the original suspended coaster The Bat, even reusing that ride’s former station and queue line.
Upon debut, Vortex made history as the tallest full-circuit roller coaster in the world at 148 feet, and it became the first coaster anywhere to feature six inversions in a single circuit. Those records stood for barely a year before Six Flags Great America’s Shockwave surpassed them in 1988, but Vortex remained one of Kings Island’s most beloved attractions for over three decades, carrying more than 46 million riders before its 2019 retirement and 2020 demolition.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Kings Island
- Manufacturer: Arrow Dynamics
- Opened: April 11, 1987
- Closed: October 27, 2019
- Height: 148 feet
- Top Speed: 55 mph
- Length: 3,800 feet
- Inversions: 6 (two loops, double corkscrew, batwing)
The Ride Experience
Riders climbed a chain lift hill before plunging into a 138-foot first drop, launching into a circuit that packed six inversions into 3,800 feet of track: two vertical loops, a double corkscrew, and a batwing element. Three trains, each with seven cars seating riders two-across, kept the line moving at an hourly capacity of about 1,600 guests during the roughly two-and-a-half-minute ride.
The layout’s tight, interlocking inversions made Vortex feel more aggressive than its modest 55 mph top speed suggested, a hallmark of Arrow Dynamics’ looping coaster designs from that era. Its steel structure, built with an estimated 750 tons of steel, towered over the surrounding park skyline and became a visual landmark of Kings Island for over 30 years.
Legacy and Closure
Vortex’s 1987 debut helped push Kings Island’s annual attendance past 3 million visitors for the first time, and the coaster went on to accommodate more than 46 million rides over its lifetime, making it one of the most-ridden attractions in the park’s history. Kings Island announced in September 2019 that Vortex would be retired at the conclusion of that season.
The coaster gave its final rides on October 27, 2019, and was demolished and scrapped during the winter of 2020. Its trains were later repurposed for use on Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds, extending a small piece of Vortex’s legacy to a sister Cedar Fair park.
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Vortex Photo Archive: 2000 to 2006
These are original ThrillZing photos of Vortex taken on visits between August 2000 and August 2006, restored and upscaled from the original camera files. They show the Arrow Dynamics looper in its Paramount-era paint, with the lit marquee, the twin vertical loops, the double corkscrew and the layout seen from the Eiffel Tower. Vortex closed after the 2019 season. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
Vortex FAQs
Why did Vortex close?
Kings Island retired Vortex after the 2019 season as part of the park’s ongoing turnover of aging attractions; the ride was demolished in winter 2020 to make way for future development.
What records did Vortex hold?
When it opened in 1987, Vortex was the tallest full-circuit roller coaster in the world at 148 feet and the first coaster anywhere to feature six inversions.
Who manufactured Vortex?
Vortex was designed and built by Arrow Dynamics, a pioneering coaster manufacturer known for early looping and suspended coaster designs, at a cost of about $4 million.
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Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rollercoasterphilosophy/ / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.