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Giga unconfirmed. That basically rests the case that this is indeed NOT a Giga.

I think that's supposed to be 9.1 MPH.

I just hope they dont whack down the trees inside of the turn around after the first drop. Kings Islands tree cover gets more sparse each year and those trees will make The Beast more exposed if they are destroyed.

I'd also like to think the way the supports are put in place is more to do with the structural integrity rather than head chopper effects. In any case, head choppers are vastly more effective with wooden supports than the more typical modern steel supports, IMO, unless you have a really compact course like Flight of Fear.

I would suggest calling the park and they can direct you to the correct person. I give this advice as I once contacted Cedar Point and was able to order a Rougarou shirt over the phone and have it shipped to me. The lesson learned that day was: you'll never know if you don't ask!

The animation may not accurately to depict the depth and may use a different field of view. In 2008 this very same site was talking about what we would think was going to be a head chopper moment on Diamondback based off the animation and in reality did not turn out to be as much of the moment we had been expecting.

From the webcam it actually looks like they are already heading back up on the turnaround hill. It is crazy to see once you are done with one element you are literally going into the next should make for some fun transitions.

I cant wait to see the headchopper piece sitting in there, Nobody talked about. Dont know why KI isnt marketing that as an element. Cant wait to see the clearance.

I think so. It's a good thing too, with the wind here today. They would probably struggle if they were still working up high.

Its now dipped below the trees. I also like how the early morning sun really rims out the track and gives some dimension to it. I also wanted to mention that coming over from Kings Mills you can see this hill now and the lift is majestic from that angle. Also, when coming back from Columbus yesterday at exit 28, you can also see this clear as day and it towers over the park.

Let's be honest, that queue house is probably going to be salvaged as a haunted house. It'll be the "new" haunted attraction one year, be staffed really well the first two weekends, and then will fall apart after all the temporary decorations and "theming" fail to hold up.

I'm moving and have a ton of boxes for sale if anyone wants a model of Disaster Transport

That Son of Beast model looks awesome! I am a huge Vortex fan but that model looks like poop to be honest.

I am extremely excited to officially announce Kings Island: A Ride Through Time, authored by yours truly! This will be the first book ever written about the history of Kings Island! It will be released in early May 2020 by Theme Park Press to coincide with the opening of Orion and will feature exclusive interviews with the executives that have shaped the park through the years. I am very excited to share this news with you all, and to keep you updated through this process. I really can’t wait to share this book with the public next year!

Herschend Family Entertainment planning a new resort hotel near the existing DreamMore Resort. Local station WATE reports some salient facts: https://www.wate.com/news/local-news/plans-hint-at-dollywood-addition/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_WATE_6_On_Your_Side We can extrapolate from the WATE report and reach a few likely conclusions amd educated guesses as to the scope and direction of this project: This will be the long delayed follow-up to the DreamMore Resort. One clue is the street name leading to this area--Dollywood Resorts Way. Resorts, plural. Not singular. This Resort will be of similar size to the DreamMore which hosts 300 plus rooms and suites. Parking for 100 employees suggests a total workforce similar to DreamMore. Dollywood has experienced a bit of a rough patch in opening and operating the DreamMore. A management company, Gemstone Hotels & Resorts, opened the property and immediately was challenged by tough labor force issues. Wages offered for many key positions were far below par for similar positioned upscale hotels. Virtually the entire housekeeping staff has walked off, reportedly, on more than one occasion. Guest rooms are small, furnishings and design are at least a decade behind modern benchmarks, and food and beverage operations consistently have received poor reviews. In this challenging climate further Resort openings were delayed. Now catch-up time seems to have arrived. Perhaps the new offering will improve the collection of accomodations. Generally theme park resorts opt for a "good, better, best" strategy to capture the low, middle, high rate categories. Thus it is likely this hotel will be positioned as more, or less, luxurious than the DreamMore. Being located literally on higher ground we can bet it will be a more upscale property. Views and elevated location likely will comand higher rates. The 100 employee parking spots also offers clues to the level of service and luxury. Three star hotels generally employ eight staff per every ten guest rooms. Four star properties employ twelve staff per ten rooms. Thus employment would run 248 to 372 people. Divide the 100 employee parking spots across three shifts and we can guess employment at approximately 250 to 275 total workforce. About a three star plus property. Look for Dollywood parent company Herschend Family Entertainment to learn from mistakes in the design of DreamMore in areas such as furnishings, guest room size, handicap accessibality, guest room amenities, internet connectivity, improved corridor and public space ambience, and more efficient guest baggage handling and bell hop services. Or so it would seem.

That’s not a lot of space. Either way, it’s going to be an awesome effect.

I don’t know how it wouldn’t be pronounced. The amount of space between the ground and the track above it right there is less than 10 feet I’d say. It’s definitely going to have that headchopper feeling.

I think objectively Orion's should be more pronounced, but it may or may not have much impact while riding. Fury's headchopper during the helix almost makes the helix worthwhile.

I think those are just supports that are laying in the ground until they need to be put up. They’re not actually supporting the ride

Has any one noticed these supports near the drop? Could they possibly be for the bank into the brakes?

Don't know when they started doing it, but it looks like the wood platform under the lift is being removed.

You definitely could if you have longer arms, and it could potentially be very painful.

You can definitely touch the top of the tunnel on The Beast, but I am sure that this has been designed so you can't hit your hands on it.

It's going to be wild going down that first drop with it being so low to the ground like that!

My bday is March 12th. I cant remember the exact date but Banshee was so close to running the first time on my birthday, Every year I hope something has its first run on my bday. I REALLLLYYY want Orion to test March 12. First test. March 12.

Yes. Yes. I understand it is safe. It’s just me that hates that feeling. I put my hands down on The Beast for the tunnels. I know they would never hit anything but i am taller so that feeling that i am going to hit something does not sit well. I am sure that section is much bigger than the pictures make it out to be. @Waltny again thank you for the awesome pictures. That is definitely the best angle for the second hill.

^^ Clearance testing in simulation and in physical form is carried out on newly built coasters. Rest assured you can keep your hands up for the whole ride without issue.

Nice timeline. The only thing i think is off is the testing. I will have to look back at old articles but I thought KI mentioned test running was going to happen in February. Also I agree with the head chopper. I don’t understand how that is going to fit in there. Every picture angle so far has made that section feel very tight. Definitely going to want to keep the hands down on that section.

Okay the only thing I can think about is how amazing the head chop is going to be when the train fits under that small gap. Like wow, it's a lot tighter than I was expecting the area to be and that's without the track taking up much of the space.

A lot of it has to do with the mechanics of the ride. Most often, the rides require electrical rooms for the control systems, as well as compressors to run all the brakes, and the pneumatic gates in the station. These often end up being located below the station.

Hey y'all! Its prediction time!! I have put together when I believe each element should be completed by. I based my predictions off of the completion and testing dates of previous KI coasters! Don't judge me, this is only predictions and just for fun...unless I get them right! Here we go! (Refer to the picture for when I think the elements will be completed by) Last piece to be installed on January 23rd, or the 27th Testing will start a month to a month and a half after the last piece is installed! (March 4th - 16th, 2020) Opening Day: April 18th, 2020 Orion will hit 1,000,000 riders in late May to early June

Call me crazy but I don't see an outer-bank here, just an inner...

That is beautiful! However, it seems to be darker blue than when I saw it in person Saturday. It looked turquoise/aqua from a distance (which I really liked), so maybe it's actual color starts to show the closer you get to it (or maybe I'm mis-remembering ). Either way, I'll have to re-examine it next Friday...

The park added this photo on IG earlier.

I really want to make some music puns with all these treble clef references, but I feel they'd go over most members' heads... Though, a treble clef element would really put the 'G' in G-forces. Waiting for someone to potentially get it now.... silver2005, being cryptic.

No one really knows. KI has not mentioned anything about the hills. Some think the second hill is a wave turn, others think it is a Stengel dive, others overbanked hill. I do not think the turn around is a treble clef but it’s hard to tell until it is built. I have noticed you can not go by the animation of the ride. Or maybe I am the only one that sees slight differences already between the animation and the actually ride.

Man this is looking great! Can't wait to see the turn around go up and head back!

Another piece going in now. This piece is going to be STEEP.

Does anyone think that the spine should have been a separate/different color like Fury 325? I think that should be a signature on B&M Giga's to separate them from the Hypers etc.

Nope, it's still there. You can just barely see it because of the angle of the sun. It's very dim, so it might actually be in the shadow of the track.

It appears they are removing the temporary side supports on the main drop now. I dont see one of them unless it is just the sun.

Jonah ,Yes they can. They are doing it on candymonium.

It's really hard to see, but they are installing or just installed the next track of the wave turn. Nice Definitely installed the peak of the wave turn and a big section going down. It looks really steep!

Took a few pics at Winterfest last night with night sight on the Pixel 4. Did not really see anything as far as demo yet.

Oh do I have the coaster for you!!! It's called Great Pumpkin Coaster, located in Planet Snoopy. It goes around not 2 but 3 times. I don't see your dream happening. Try Tornado at Stricker's Grove for a double ride. I got one on the LROTN back in August.

yea my bad guys I was in a rush and didn’t cite the source. I’ll do it next time.

It's IAAPA, duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Question: can we have a source? I can tell you those aren’t his pictures.

Ignore him, it’s the same troll who’s been illegally recording POVs.