Skibum

I would appreciate adding back the effects on the second lift hill of AE. My personal "wish" would be (as someone stated a page ago) that a fully enclosed quick drop and/or helix would follow the second lift hill and then into the brake run. I get that the second lift's main purpose is to raise the train back up to the station level after dipping down into that valley-ish area. However, not much else needs to change. I like the red lighting that is in the mid-course tunnel and that could be implemented in the first tunnel. I enjoy riding this coaster although I have shifted to the center of the train to eliminate some wear/tear on my neck. RE: Backlot Stunt Coaster: I know this is off-topic but...I wish that they would plant some trees around it and eliminate the concrete aesthetic. Fully enclose what was meant to be the staircase (I think) just prior to the mid-course launch. I don't mind the scene with the helicopter except that it is rather ugly. Plus, that burst of heat off the flames is a bit rough when it is 95 degrees outside. Is this coaster part of Coney Island or Rivertown? Pick one (probably Coney) and then theme it that way. Have some flashbacks to the old Antique Cars by making part of the ride go through a covered bridge. I wouldn't really change the trip through the tunnel but maybe add some very low lighting.

Kings Island also utilizes the park's terrain really well. Obviously, The Beast comes to mind but Banshee uses the terrain when it drops out of the first heartline roll. Those aren't elements but they also give the rides some different experiences.

This looks like a nausea inducing experience. I do well on forward facing coasters and can handle inversions but the spinning element does not seem like a experience. Apologies if I have stated this before but I don't want a coaster that is just inversion heavy. One of Maverick's best attributes is that the inversions are secondary to the actual ride. Sweeping and/or overbanked curves and nice drops and bits of airtime are more preferable in my opinion.

I realize that Steel Vengeance is still a recent ride opening but I would think that an RMC would be a little more cost efficient. While it would be ground up, I would think that an RMC costing around $15M would be a pretty efficient usage of that space where Vortex sat. Zadra supposedly was $16.5M to build. Steel Vengeance and Iron Gwazi were about half that much but they had an existing coaster superstructure to utilize (at least, to some extent). Plus, it would have a longer ride time than a dive coaster with many different elements available (standard coasters to inversions).

Wow, I rode Banshee for the first time this year and was shocked at how rough and shaky the ride was. Honestly, I thought that maybe I had misremembered the ride last year and admittedly am a year older. However, reading these posts, I feel better. It was a very rough ride today. Orion felt smooth but I did notice a little side-to-side shuffling that could become unpleasant in a few years. For the record, I was in the back row on Banshee as well but I typically bounce between front and back row rides on this coaster on any given visit.

Agree completely. Orion will chew through people, have a good line, and provide good rides to a lot of people. Plus, it will help balance the park a little bit away from The Beast/Mystic/Diamondback triangle. Plus, the area looks nice and has a better feel to it than when Firehawk was there. So, it's a winner for the park in a whole bunch of ways. My review was probably more the vantage point of someone who has been on a fair number of different coasters and likes when coasters feel different from each other. Again, your points are completely valid. No argument.

Finally rode it today. Definitely felt too short. I was in the back but did not experience any major g-forces, even in the upward helix. The ride was smooth and fast but it really just felt like a slightly higher and shorter version of Diamondback, without the major airtime. I love Diamondback's second hill, where it curves at the bottom and I feel the speed more noticeably. Orion never had that kind of moment. The one area that I enjoyed was the sideways banked (wave turn?) second hill as that felt funny, in a good way. I enjoyed Millennium Force far more and I haven't been on any of B&M's other giga coasters to have a comparison. Again, enjoyable but not actually a must-ride for me going forward. Further, this does support my belief that it is probably time for Kings Island to bring in a different coaster manufacturer for their next ride. The operations were running smooth as well, after a brief delay to start the day. It was nice just to walk into the park and see the familiar sights of summer.

Mantis always killed my lower legs but I managed to set the seat appropriately. I suppose that it was because of the g's involved but it was worse on the incline loop but still bad on the standard vertical loop. I have wanted to ride the coaster since its conversion to a floorless to find out if it was a better overall ride. I really don't want another stand-up coaster at Kings Island. I prefer inverted, floorless, and more standard sit-down coasters.

I am not entirely certain where the Banshee rattle is but are the same forces (positive G's or whatever) involved as to where it happens on Diamondback? The bottom of the drop out of the hammer turn is painful for me. I typically ride the back row but I now ride middle to front of the train where the rattle isn't as impactful. Strangely, I don't notice on any other area of Diamondback but that one point. I have referred to it as a more of a quick jackhammer. It is good for a flash headache, though. Regarding Vortex, the ride quality went downhill probably in the early 2000's (prior to 2009). It just grew much rougher on some of the transitions, the turn into the brake run, and then the drop out of the brakes and into the corkscrews. It was like owning a car that used to be smooth but whose shocks had completely given out. Vortex used to be smooth (like most newer steel coasters) and it went downhill once it was approaching 20 years old.

I am very envious of your 2020 Ride Count. Mine would read Hulk: 20, Hagrids: 1, and 7 Dwarves Mine Train: 3. I think that is it. Stupid COVID virus. I am waiting to see if KI posts the August calendar soon so that I can sign up for a day. Then, I can give my own Orion reviews although I figure that my reviews will be positive as it's a 300 foot drop and goes 92 mph. How can I not like that?

If we go beyond ten years, both Top Thrill Dragster and Xcelerator also had injuries caused by the launch cable snapping. Hagrids has issues but I think that has to do more with the fact that it uses a high number of launches plus the show scenes. Thus far, B&M does not appear to have any although it could be that they just haven't been publicized. Intamin seems to push the envelope to obtain more intense rides. Then, they go a little too far and things like removing Maverick's heartline roll plus all the other issues crop up. With that said, I think that Intamin is figuring out how to dial it back a little, which is why they seem to have dropped the hydraulic launch systems. Still, even with new ride hiccups, B&M is as about as good as they come for reliability.

Well, a fence never tried to beat the daylights out of me from my recall. Regarding the fence's look, I guess it depends on what they build behind the fence. I would definitely appreciate an offering from Mack (ex. Blue Fire) or an Intamin Blitz/Megalite.

At the risk of being stoned, I won't miss Vortex. It used to be a nice coaster but the coaster had turned into a head banger and that snap curve into the brake run before the corkscrew was nasty. There was a reason why the coaster was usually a walk-on. Also, the lift hill seemed tall but the first drop seemed far less than 138 feet. I wouldn't complain if they put in a launched multi-looper but do hope that they have a lift hill design. Maybe talk to RMC about a T-Rex to get the single rail with capacity. I rode it in 1987 and I rode it last year and it was showing its age. Or I was. Or both of us were.

I wish that they would bring back the Banshee webcam although I also wish that it was directed at Orion.

Plus, you could use the force to make people wear masks themselves.

My wife is unsure if she will go to Kings Island this year or not. Enquirer.com is reporting that a petition has started to remove the mandate of masks at Kings Island. I understand that masks will not be comfortable but, if that is what is required to go Kings Island this summer, I'll endure it easily. Wearing masks has helped and continues to help. No, it isn't perfect but it does assist with preventing the spread of the disease. I think that I'm going to go with a combo of neck gaiter and mask. I think that the gaiter would be cooler for wearing while walking around and the mask will stay on better while riding. Watched TimTracker on Youtube and his neck gaiter wasn't very reliable on Mako, the tallest, fastest, meanest, bitieist,and longest roller coaster in Orlando (some of these are no longer true). The paper mask held up much better.

I would like to see an Intamin Blitz, like Taron, or a Megalite in Vortex's plot. My big thing is that I don't want them to go for the inversion record. Vortex was okay but it just wasn't very imaginative. Banshee's inversions feed into each other and also utilizes the uneven terrain to really give the coaster a speed burst after the first heartline roll.

I would not consider Flight of Fear a dark ride. It is just an enclosed roller coaster. Disney does not consider Space Mountain or Rock-n-Roller Coaster to be dark rides. However, that is quibbling about non-critical details. I would really like to see a boat ride come back like the Enchanted Voyage. They could do it to the Peanuts IP and use Sally Dark Ride animatronics plus a Mack flume. Just a small drop, ala Pirates of the Caribbean, but not for thrills. Another idea would be using a fantasy setting with dragons or other projection-styled creatures. They could rip out Amazon Falls and Invertigo and put the ride building in that space. Then, the Action Zone could be rethemed to a fantasy area with Banshee, maybe retheme The Bat (not necessary), and retheme Delirium.

I rode the Wildcat at Cedar Point but not the Jumbo Jet. These rides are vicious. I walked off counting myself fortunate to be walking after having my knees continuously walloped and my neck yanked. From what I can tell, the Wildcat had a very similar layout to the Beetle.

He's a lawyer at heart. They never make the point immediately. TWO WEEKS. At last. Let's hope that continues.

Per the Cedar Fair Executive VP: On its busiest days, with perhaps 50,000 guests in attendance, Cedar Point might operate at 90% of total capacity, he said. Average daily attendance, however, is about 50% of that, he said. https://www.cleveland.com/business/2020/05/cedar-fair-considering-capacity-limits-virtual-queuing-in-reopening-of-cedar-point-other-parks.html

They might also use the crane to pull the envelope test car up and over the first hill.

While I wish that that Orion construction camera was still running, I guess that it will be rather boring from this point forward. Regarding testing, I would think that they have to: 1. Install the lift hill chain and motor. 2. Finish installing the brake systems, including any trims. 3. Get the station up and running, including drive tires or whatever will be needed to propel the stopped trains. 4. Do a proper clearance run with one car and the projected clearance envelope. 5. Landscaping, finish the queue, and who knows what else. Not being privy to what all has occurred, I'm not sure where they are on the above steps.

I remember being irked that they replaced the original Enchanted Voyage with the Smurfs. Seriously aggravated. To this day, I still have a deep seated wish that they would bring it back. I was also irked when they replaced the Phantom Theater. I miss being asked, "What are you looking at?" Must be something about that particular location. If I like the ride that is there, they take it out. While I understand why people want to see the topping off, I just can't too excited about not seeing it via webcam. They still have a long way to go. I'm sure that they will have several pictures on the Blog. I still can't ride it yet but, come April or May, I'll be geared up.

Though more elements are being added, I think that dive coasters are still mostly one-trick ponies. I would expect/prefer something that is more like Copperhead Strike at Carowinds. Cedar Point doesn't have anything too similar (Maverick is close) and that type of coaster would fit into that space very well. I would be on board with an Intamin blitz coaster as well, maybe with a top hat to provide a nice addition to the skyline. The next best thing would be a new ground-up RMC woodie. Doesn't have to go for height records but that type of wood coaster would look great back there. I might steer away from B&M's for the next couple coasters. I love their rides but manufacturers like Gerstlauer and Mack should be used to provide some different rides. A ride like Taron would be great as well.