Vortex is a

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. It officially opened during the 1991 season. As with other suspended roller coasters, Vortex's trains swing under the track. On Vortex, riders are taken up through the top of the mountain and dropped at high speeds. At some points in the ride, the trains swing just above a river running through the middle of the park, giving riders the illusion that the train will touch the water. It is the fastest roller coaster of its kind in the world, together with

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Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a amusement park located in Valencia, California, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newha ...

, both with top speeds of . It is also the tallest currently operating suspended coaster in the world, reaching a height of . It is considered to be a terrain coaster due to the influences of the ride track by the mountain and the river.

Ride experience

Like other suspended roller coasters, the ride's trains are able to swing side to side. The train climbs the lift hill immediately after departing the loading station. The lift takes riders up to the top of Wonder Mountain. Upon cresting the lift, the train slowly turns to the right adding to the suspense of the upcoming drop. After passing beneath

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's double-inverting top hat, the train then quickly dives off the side of the mountain, passing under the track of Wonder Mountain's Guardian and AlpenFury's zero-g roll. The train then sweeps to the right and climbs up the "fan-turn" element of the ride that flies over guests on the midway. The track then sweeps back down over the grass and above the river, swooping left and right at . The train dives into a downward helix, which swings only a few feet above the surface of the water and wraps around Yukon Striker's first drop. Upon returning to the station, the train swoops left and right a few times more until it charges into the brake run. The immense swinging force as the train enters the brake run causes the cars to swing even after the train stops moving. The ride then turns right back into the station.

Similar rides

The Bat (formerly Top Gun & Flight Deck) was built in 1993 at Wonderland's sister park

Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Islan ...

. It has a near identical layout to Vortex, but there are notable differences. They include speed and height variances and the addition of another car to each train, allowing for 28 passengers per train as opposed to 24.

References

External links

* * {{Canada's Wonderland Roller coasters introduced in 1991 Roller coasters in Ontario Roller coasters operated by Six Flags 1991 establishments in Ontario