MASON, Ohio — If you've visited Kings Island in the last three decades, chances are you've ridden "Vortex."
Now you can own your very own piece of the amusement park's one-time signature roller coaster.
Kings Island closed the ride at the end of last season after 33 years of thrills. Pieces of the coaster's track have now been sliced up and will be available for purchase starting this weekend.
The 1.5" slices, which are capped with decorative metal plates and placed on a display stand, go up for sale at the park's Emporium store on International Street. Park admission is required to purchase the item and each guest can buy up to two pieces.
The cost is $198.70 per item (a clever nod to the year "Vortex" opened for rides) and also includes a signed certificate of authenticity and limited-edition Vortex postcards.
Starting Oct. 5, any remaining track pieces will be available for purchase online.
An estimated 46 million people rode "Vortex" since it opened in 1987. At its debut, it was billed as "the tallest, full-circuit roller coaster with the highest drop in the world when it opened, and the first in the world to send riders upside down a total of six times," Kings Island said. Riders were dropped 138 feet at an angle of 55 degrees after a 148-foot high lift to the top of the ride's signature hill.
It also featured two vertical loops, a corkscrew, a "boomerang turn" and a 360-degree helix turn at the end. It reached a top speed of 55 miles per hour.
The last ride on "Vortex" took place on October 27 of last year.