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No such thing as an established coaster enthusiast. Everyone has an opinion, and they're all slightly different. Lay off. No need to blindly follow your coaster enthusiast idols.

Just got home from the park. We drove 6 hours round trip just to ride this and here is my review as what you would call a GP rider. First, a little background. I am a former MX and FMX rider/racer and I am a one park wonder for the most part. Kings Island is my home park and has been since around 1980. I have been to Holiday World a few times as well but mostly for the water park. I also went to Cedar Point in 1997 but remember almost nothing of the place. Till now, Diamondback and Son of Beast were the two largest coasters I had ever ridden. For Orion, I absolutely loved it! That first drop is simply incredible and unlike anything I have experienced before. When I was watching the wave turn before riding I thought it was going to be awkward and to high before the twist started but that was not the case. I was on the second row (my girls were on the front row) and felt perfect. I am not a big enough roller coaster follower to know the correct terminology but the rest was the best I had ridden myself. If I was to make a complaint, I wish it could have been another 5 to 10 seconds longer. I suspect that if it was, it would have lost to much speed and made it feel off from the rest of the ride. I am looking forward to going back and riding the back row. The Beast will ALWAYS be my number 1 ride of all times because of many things but I have a new number 2. Diamondback and Banshee will now be tied for 3 and 4.

Thanks for taking into account the fact you have no idea who I am and what I do and where I’ve been (not to mention who I work for ) AND how many times I have been on the ride. If you knew you would probably change your tune just a little bit. You can have any opinion you wish but I’m certain your definition of “more established” would absolutely need to be adjusted. You have every right to enjoy Orion but it’s important to realize that not everyone has the same opinion and for you to claim one persons option of something is any less valid than anyone else’s puts nobody but YOU in a negative light. I’m so happy you enjoy Orion so much! Nobody is trying to take that from you or lessen the enjoyment you get out of it! It’s a very cool, very fun ride and many people worked very hard to make it happen...it just doesn't crack my *Personal* top 20. Cheers!

Orion, for me, is a "wish list" ride. I hoped for some time that Kings Island would eventually get a B&M giga (since I have still never ridden Fury or Leviathan) so our getting Orion is literally a wish come true! When I rode today, I waited 2 hr 15 min with the line beginning just outside the ride entrance/old Firehawk exit. After so much time waiting to ride Orion and imagining it, my actual riding it feels like a dream. I'm fully in the moment and I know it's actually happening, yet at the same time I feel like I am quietly and smoothly flying through a dream. I rode in row 4 on the far right, and I happened to look straight down during the turnaround, which had a super cool view! The speed hill is my favorite element, with the wave turn and last hill close seconds. I can safely say that the speed hill gives AT LEAST the same amount of airtime that Vortex's first drop gave to anyone who rode in 7-1. On the wave turn I pulled my feet up and tapped my toes, which was something I always did in Vortex's corkscrews just for the fun of it. Orion means so much to me already. It became a light at the end of the tunnel in my still-ongoing dealing with losing Vortex, especially since Orion is the ride which I hoped Kings Island would get. Seeing the empty hole in the back of Coney Mall saddens me a good bit, but once I get whisked into that 300-foot drop, I am reminded that I will be okay and more great things are still to come.

I know none of you care because allegedly some sort of rock crashed into the former X Base area, but in keeping with our love for everything new inside the world of Kings Island, as originally reported by the official Kings Island Twitter a few months ago, a new food item was added to the Brewhouse. First, let me tell you about our experience at the Brewhouse today. My girlfriend and I had just gotten off Orion as a first ride of the day and season after just under a two hour wait. We were tired, dehydrated, hot, and cranky. We needed replenishment. We agreed on the Brewhouse "if the line isn't crazy." Walking that direction, the line was out the door. Of course, social distancing gives lines the illusion that they're much longer than they were, so we decided to wait for a few minutes to see how long it was actually taking. In a move that actually hasn't been surprising over the past season and a half, it was well thought out, organized, and the employees presented themselves as competent and knowledgeable about the new procedures. There was a gentleman at the entrance that gave you a number and explained how the table seating works now. Long story short, they seat you once you order rather than you picking your own seats. Okay, cool. We ordered our food (Pub Burger all the way! Girlfriend got the BBLT.). Then we decided to splurge for the new Spinach and Artichoke Dip. Now, we've all been to Applebees. That sort of appetizer is something that's hard to screw up, but also hard to make notable. Of course, when you have an actual executive chef on the case, it's hard to sell them on the idea of a milky queso and little flakes of greens floating in it. Oh yeah. This was wild ride of taste. I'm not food critic, in fact I don't really have the economy of language to properly describe a dining experience like the professionals do, but what I will say is that the dip was absolutely amazing. It was thick and had a warm, chunky vibe to it. The chips are seasoned in some sort of salt based mix. As with all hand made foods, some had more seasoning than others. The more seasoning you had on a particular chip, the more you could taste how the saltiness of the chips complemented that warm, smooth taste of the dip and vice versa. Gosh, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! Pro tip: the dip also works beautifully paired with the tater tots that come with most meals. The spinach and artichoke dip is found in the Brewhouse. It is NOT on the meal plan and retails for about $8 as of the time of this writing. It's been a long offseason. Treat yourselves.

The answer to the age 20-49 age group probably involves the things you both mention. It may involve greater numbers of tests in that group as a result of needing to be cleared for work. It may just be a reversion to the mean from earlier numbers where older populations initially had a higher proportion of the positive tests. It will be interesting to see what information comes out about this later on. The age 20-49 positive test numbers increase also likely explains why the mortality rate continues to come down despite the higher numbers of positive COVID tests. That group simply isn't being affected by the virus the same way that older populations are. Their hospitalization numbers back that up. One of the things that you don't hear about is that the overall infection mortality rate is very close to coming back down below the epidemic threshold from the CDC (if the numbers drop again next week it will be below that level). Also, a quote from the CDC: The fact that we're not hearing this information is really troubling. It's sad that so many people now only see each other as walking biohazards. When was the last time you saw a person smile at you in public? There has to be a point at which rational, sound, data-driven decisions have to start being made.

Huh. I wonder where they get that idea from.

@RayFields I understand respecting a certain channels opinion, especially if you share the same opinion when you ride it. Respectively, everyone is not going to share the same opinion as a particular coaster channel either. If everyone had the same opinion there would be no reason for this thread. I could say my thoughts and everyone would just agree. I personally like seeing why a person did not like a ride and see if I feel the same. If someone says they didn't like the Helix for a particular reason, I will focus on that area when I ride and see if I agree or disagree with their assessment. Reading other people's opinions is a way to expand your own.

^The governor has the authority to require a county to wear a face mask. I think he has been so beat down and took so much grief when he first made masks mandatory and then rescinded the following day that he is afraid to go that route now. Maybe this new rating system will be his way to be able to justify masks in the future? If not, I do not know what value his new tracking system has to try to slow the spread, other than to maybe help cities in deciding to make masks mandatory. He mentioned the new system, but didn't mention any actions (or hint at any either) that would occur as communities moved into different levels. After his explanation of the new rating system, I was expecting him to announce mandatory masks for Franklin County and maybe Hamilton County and he didn't. A reporter asked him at what level would he make masks mandatory or would he consider shutting places down again and he didn't give a direct answer. It appears he is putting too much confidence in variations of what he likes to say - "I am counting on Ohioans to do the right thing". Unfortunately, until it is mandatory, putting together maps showing hotspots and making a recommendation that people wear masks will not put a mask on a large portion of the population. Personally I have seen mask usage drop every time I am out in public. I am sure most of you have witnessed the same thing.

I have uploaded the over 200 photos of Orion taken yesterday. The Orion Page has a lot to show at this point: https://kicentral.com/rides/orion/ Enjoy!

hearing about "someone" buying Kings Island when i was 6 (5 years after it actually happened lol) and thinking that "someone" was some rich guy that who was gonna keep the park to himself. i remember looking at SOB and thinking "that means i wont get to ride that ever!". i was right, but for the wrong reasons Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

I guess they could slow the lift speed and add more break to give you more ride time...

Alright @standbyme, here ya go! More here: https://kicentral.com/photos/viking-fury

I promise he had no trouble breathing. He was the type of person who just enjoys being a jerk to people he doesn’t know.

Just saw a 40 year old “man” yelling at high school age workers, for like ten minutes, in The Beast line when they told him to put on his mask. Security came eventually, I’m not sure if they escorted him out in the end. Hopefully they did.

The point I think that's being made now, is they tried. The governments of the states tried to open things back up, and trusted everyone to be adults about everything. Some chose to be adults about everything, and decided it was best to take precautions to be safe, most didn't, and we saw a huge spike in cases and hospitalizations. Adults can't be trusted to behave as adults, so now the back tracking and mandating is happening. This could have been far more simple and smoother if there wasn't a movement to do everything possible to try to get sick, and the general lack of care about what's really going on. (Just so no one has the ability to say "I don't think people are actually doing everything possible to try to get sick, see this article... https://abcnews.go.com/US/alabama-students-throwing-covid-parties-infected-officials/story?id=71552514 ) Honestly, when you compare the US to other countries, we should all be embarrassed by what has happened here. We were given the guidelines to combat this, and far too many have decided they just don't care. Now here we are.

And yet hospital systems in Phoenix, Houston and Miami are being overrun. We overtax the health care system and thousands more die from ailments they can't get treated for, that they would've normally survived. Or you have a hospital that can't spare the resources to try and save the life of the 80 year old grandfather, who wouldn't have gotten the virus if his younger grandson had been more responsible. Why is it that certain demographics don't matter? Because it inconveniences others? That's not acceptable.

The Beast IS the best roller coaster in Ohio....or anywhere for that matter. (my opinion and opinions are subjective!)

What I meant is riders that have a larger coaster count and who obviously exhibit more broad mindedness and intelligence are those whose opinions I naturally favor. Just like if I'm looking to buy a new sports car I'll listen to the professional drivers who know how to utilize all the performance of the car than a novice/intermediate driver who is narrowing in on perceived faults that arise due to his lack of skill ( not being able to counter slight understeer, not shifting or getting on the brakes at the right time, etc)

At my nearby Wal-Mart, virtually no one except the employees and a handful of customers were wearing them when I went in this week. It's like people think if they ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist, it will all just go away.

Wow. Most people from what I've read have said the ride is REALLY good. Maybe because you only rode it once and with the heat and the long lines due to the Corona precautions it affected your feelings. Those who rode multiple times on July 1st with the shorter lines seem to have nothing but good things to say. GP to Enthusiast who has ridden it multiple times (Youtuber with 50.000 subs) considers it a Next Generation B&M and he even likes it better than Fury325 and feels that it's MUCH better than Millenium Force Here are his quotes -- So cool! For you, what makes Orion better than Fury? "So fast paced, takes every element so fast! There are no "dead zones" on the ride at all, every element does something good! -- I'll be there Saturday, and Sunday. Idk if this will be better than MF. From the POVs, I don't think it will be.I'll be there Saturday, and Sunday. Idk if this will be better than MF. From the POVs, I don't think it will be. "Its miles better than MF" Other enthusiasts with over 500 credits are saying it's there 2nd favorite B&M behind only Fury and were visibly shocked and surprised at how good the ride was (we're talking guys who have ridden Steel Vengeance, El Toro, i305, Fury325 etc. hundreds and hundreds of times mind you) Sorry but I take these more established coaster enthusiasts opinions in much higher regard than yours Here are a couple links

If they would have done it 3 months ago, we wouldn't be doing it in July, but ya know, muh rights.... Frankly, Holcomb needs to say statewide, but he's too scared to. His last address, he talked about it, and basically said, in not so many words, "I'm scared I won't get re-elected if I don't give in to the cry babies." Man, the pterodactyl screams heard round where I work yesterday when it was announced were deafening. I'm one of about 3 people working here that actually wears something. Mine is a neck gaiter, so it's not the top notch of protection, but way better than nothing, and super comfortable vs other forms. I have to wear it at the climbing gym, and it isn't a big deal to do it while I'm exercising, so, ya know, sitting at your desk isn't going to kill you.

I live in Marion County in Indiana. Starting July 9th we have a mask mandate here. I'm interested to see if that sticks or not. With seeing this, I'm afraid it wont.

That is the funniest thing I have heard around here in a long time!

LOL. Welp...it's a really big Internet! This is a Kings Island forum, not a Coaster Sally forum.

I am getting tired hearing about Indiana personally.

That so bad like wear maks!!!! And King's island put more sand hanit out I don't want virus!!!!!!(+

as the day has progressed a lot more people are not wearing their mask properly or just not wearing it at all. I also wish the park refilled the sanitizer stations, I’d say more then half of the stations I’ve tried to use are out. Still having a great time though!

That's horrible, everyone knows the expectations walking in. If the guy has the ability to be yelling it's definitely not a "I need to catch my breath" type situation. Either way it's uncalled for.

Thanks for the info on the Orion queue tickets. Will be interesting to see how the park communicates this to everyone. Unfortunately, seems like KI was not prepared for the crowd congesting the rest of the park before the actual queue even after all the discussions in the threads about having the need for a paper ticketing queue system or virtual queue line on the app like Universal.

I love Daimonbdack but I gonna love oroin to. You always mean about King's island why do like even go there. Go somewhere you happy dad said life too short to be mad and some word I can't spell so I sound it out sin a cull. He said that means anger tuned inside

Sitting outside of Orion now. My wife is in line for it - they've moved to a ticketed system. They're giving out tickets with hour blocks on them at the entrance to Area 72 - get a ticket, come back at your designated time. First tickets are between 11-12...but the ride ops were letting people line up for the 11:00 time as early as 10:35. Nobody realized this, so my wife is one of the first in line.

I took some video of the line: There were references to The Bat, Vortex, Skylab. Zodiac, Shooting Star, Tomb Raider, Firehawk, Magnum, Racer, and more.

I should probably add to this that I also have anxiety inducing claustrophobia and was very worried that a mask would end up triggering me going into a psycho spiral, so for the longest time, I did everything possible to not wear one. After my first night at the climbing gym it took me about 20 minutes to get over the stress it caused, and since then, I haven't had an issue.

DeWine needs to grow a pair. Look, overall both he and Amy Acton have done a good job of trying to contain the virus, doing their best to find a happy medium in the face of some brutual and unfair attacks and criticism. But when he rescinded the mask order after one day because it, and I quote, "offended some Ohio residents" I was dumbfounded. A pandemic that has killed thousands and has had a crippling effect on the economy and mental health doesn't care about anyone's feelings or their misconstrued interpretation of "freedom" or "tyranny". It's well past time for them to put on their big boy/girl pants and swap out their tin foil hats for a mask.

This video has some tidbits that even I missed.

The world would be a lot nicer if more people felt that way.

The GiGa I am on in the moment I am on it.

Bob Joiner from Sterling Heights, MI has graciously allowed KICentral access to his awesome collection of park pictures dating from 1972 through 1992. Bob passed his love and passion for Kings Island to his family with these wonder Kings Island trips. Bob's son Jeff Joiner is also a Kings Island fan and loves visiting parks as well. As Jeff had his own family of 2 girls and a boy, he also has made this tradition with his family who are now Kings Island fans as well. Their family have been to almost 100 parks in 8 countries. His son Logan runs the YouTube Channel Koaster Kids and Thrills United. Logan is already apart of KI history as well, as he spoke at Coasterstock in 2017. KICentral wants to thank Bob for sharing his wonderful collection of over 300 pictures with us. We also want to thank Jeff for getting them uploaded and shared to KIC and other Kings Island Enthusiast platforms. I think you will find that Bob's collection is an awesome representation of park history. Here is Bob and Vicki Joiner in front of the original Bat in 1981.

I know this is more sad than funny, but I literally laughed out loud reading this!

Awesome photos. The quality on some of the older ones is impressive. I especially enjoyed seeing The Bat. Watching the development of the park over the years, through this lens, is really cool. I do wish there was something to be done about the number of trees and foliage lost.

Parts of the park lack a lot of vegetation such as trees that give it a barren appearance.

Are there limits to riding it? What is the average wait time? I'm going tomorrow and want to know what to expect.

In two weeks I coming to King's island on July 18th. Orion looks awesome. However I'm sad that Vortex is gone. But I will be riding Orion. As well as Banshee

I personally enjoy MF much much more as an overall experience. Orion might have a slight edge coaster wise but MF has the lake, the sweeping curves and the rampant all over Cedar Point feeling. For the fifty seconds of coaster tho Orion packs a couple more thrills.

We stopped by at 4pm today. (Managed to snag a couple of spots this morning.) Temp checks were a breeze, no issues at all and the staff seemed energetic and happy. I think a lot of people had went home - Orion had a wait to its entrance, and nearly everything else was a walk-on. Did Banshee/Diamondback/Beast, grabbed some LaRosa's (we pulled the trigger on the meal plan) and left. Relaxing at the hotel, and going back tomorrow for Orion/a few others/lunch and ice cream. And honestly - I felt safer at the park today than a trip to the grocery store.

I just got off Orion about thirty minutes ago. Waited about 3 1/2 hours. It’s a decent super short ride with some good speed but it definitely ranks for me below Fury, Leviathan, I 305 and to an extent I still prefer Diamondbacks over all ride experience. It’s Still a good addition to the park and the GP seemed to enjoy it. I personally wouldn’t wait more than 45 minutes to ride it again but it will make the lines shorter for the other coasters in the park. One major note, however. The park has social distancing markers all through the queue...which is good...HOWEVER they have every queue lane open meaning even if you and your party are obeying social distancing in front and behind you it is IMPOSSIBLE to stay more than 6 feet away from the people to either side of you. At times with people leaning over or sitting on the queue rails the other guests come within inches of you. This totally defeats the purpose of even trying to social distance. May as well not even bother. People did seem pretty good about masks. But BOY HOWDY were some guests mad when there wasn’t any place to get water. It’s all a learning curve.

This is bad for your health.

Almost 1 out of 100 people die in car crashes on their way to the park??

Hear hear! I said it before, I'll say it again - these are rare gems. Bob is to be commended for taking them, as is Jeff for Sharing. Thanks for posting them here at KIC as well.