MIAParkman

Really cool that someone tracked G forces on Orion. I did it for Leviathan (just to compare), strongest positive G's I got was 4.5Gs, strongest negative G's was -0.8G's (speed hill). I was sitting in the far left seat, row 2 when I took it. I did not do this for Fury 325 sadly.

Balls to the wall intensity with the high speed, low to the ground turns, which are snappy and provide airtime, hive dive, and 3 strong airtime hills. Drop is fantastic, overbanked turn is enjoyable but I prefer Levi's since it's tighter.

I will say that Leviathan from 2019-onwards is much better than Leviathan 2012-2018. If the improvements weren't made (more weight to cars, mixed of soft/hard wheels = faster, more intense ride) and the second trim doesn't hit hard anymore, so now you get strong floater on that second hill, I would rank Orion over it. Because of these improvements though, I rank it higher than Orion. Levi definitely has more airtime and a much stronger first half, the second half is okay, although I do like the high speed turn over the main entrance and the second airtime hill actually does something now. With that said, I prefer the B&M Giga's over MF and I305, they're all world class rides, smooth, fun, reliable. I do think Levi is the most underrated of the 3 B&M Giga's, which makes sense since it is in Canada, which means a lot of coater enthusiasts don't travel there and rely on POV videos from years ago or morning test runs. People say it has pacing issues but it's slightly longer in length than Orion and has a shorter ride length, which means no pacing issues lol. Anyways, Orion is a great ride. Fury and Levi are in my top 10, Orion is probs top 15? Outside the drop, it has 3 standout moments with the airtime hills and the cool banked turn (even though you don't get airtime on it). Levi has 5 (first half + second airtime hill) and Fury is... Fury. Nonetheless, still a world class ride. And if people trash on it and legitimately hate on it, they're jealous, salty or hardcore Intamin fanboys who compare B&M to a middle aged man.

Oh if that was the chosen element... man, with those speeds and clamshell restraints

Well, after a long absence from here, I can say that I got to ride Orion! It was my 260th coaster ridden and it was a good choice. I went with a group of friends, including some who were there during the first riders event. I will give my review, element by element and my/friends thoughts on the ride. I got to ride it 4x, 2 in the back and 2x front. (3x left edge, 1x right edge) 1. Drop: Like every B&M giga, fantastic drop that felt like it went on forever. I must say though, the drop does not look like 85 degrees, looks more like 80 or so. 2. Banked turn: People call this a "wave turn" and well... it's not. It is a fun element but as expected, no sideways airtime at all. I did like that leaning/hanging feeling but I did not float out of my seat. 3. Turn around: No, this is not a reverse treble clef. You do get a ever so slight float out of your seat, but it's not super noticeable. Forces are okay but again nothing special. 4. Speed-hill: What a beaut. it gives strong flojector airtime, but not as strong as Leviathan's speed hill. I love how sustained it is though and is the highlight of the ride. 5. Airtime hill: Again, good and mildly strong airtime, but F*** that trim hit hard as hell on our rides. 6. Helix: Forceful at first, then meh. I like the headchoper at the end though. 7. Final turn: I was expecting a pop of air from the transition and I was right on this, it's like a smaller treble clef of Fury 325, great airtime. 8. Break run: Small pop of air, as expected into the brake run. Overall thoughts: Orion is a world class coaster, period. People who say it's trash are jealous. With that said, no it is not better than Fury 325, SteVe or even Leviathan. I know K.I fanboys like to hype things up (no offense) but to say it's better than Fury 325, steVe, or Leviathan is a stretch. I do prefer it over MF though. But coming off the ride and hearing people say that was pretty hilarious not gonna lie. I understand it's all hype but man, it reminds me of when Diamondback opened and it was "ejector on every hill, best coaster on earth" and it was a middle tier hyper. Anyways, I like the pacing, it's about 1 second longer than Levi (with the recent modifications, Levi is running much faster) and again, solid ride. Other thoughts: I was disappointed with the banked turn, even though I knew there wouldn't be airtime on it, just so much potential wasted there. Had it been in a straight line, there would have been airtime for sure. The speed hill was my highlight, although Leviathan gets an edge on it for stronger airtime + how you're also out of your seat while turning vs just straight. Airtime hill was great as well, but that trim hit way too hard. But if there's one thing I learned about B&M giga's. by next year the trim won't be as harsh. My friends thoughts: I was in a group of 6, but we split up in groups of 3. Others got more rides than me as well. They all agreed Orion is a fun world class coaster but in terms of the B&M giga's, Fury and Levi are better. One of my friends said Levi and Orion are a 1A/1B type ranking, others (including me) have a solid 1-2-3. Final score: I'd give Orion 8/10. Solid coaster, great fit for the park.

So I watched the POV about 20 times so far and here is my analysis.... although I think Leviathan and Fury will be better, Orion will still be a top 20-25 coaster worldwide. It is short, and the only standout elements to me (outside the drop) are the first turn and that speed hill. Of course, real life POV's and actually riding it will ultimately decide this. I still think it's lacking another element or two and that break-run is even larger than Leviathan's... sigh.. but hey, still gonna be a kick ass ride.

I wanted to post this here to give people insight on what to expect on a Giga years after it opens. Skip to 12:14 for the Leviathan POV, it's running much faster than usual. I'm also posting this so it gives you an idea on the speed of the first overbank on this ride (Which is about 16ft taller, which shouldn't make a difference) and also the last cammelback on Levi is about 10-15ft shorter than this one, with trim on and while going about 60-63mph, so I'm expecting the KI Giga to go into it slightly faster but have the same speed accounting for the trim. And the ending for both coasters seem to be the same except with the KI Giga having a steeper banking.

I dig it, first overbank is a little slower than I thought, same with the turnaround but it still looks fun. The high point of the ride is the speed hill and cammelback and if they are as fast as they are in this POV, then it would provide the strongest airtime on a B&M hyper/Giga model. The overbaked helix and the overbanked turn look alright and then that's it. I also find the apex of the last hill into the breakrun looks a little too steep. In the end, I still think that Levi and Fury will be better but this is a strong ride regardless and noone should complain about it.

Yup, the first three elements are strong and will be intense, and if the speed hill has a tight apex like that, it will probably be the strongest ejector airtime hill B&M has ever created. After that, the next three elements look alright and hopefully it's taken at a fast clip. This ride also takes the record away from Leviathan for longest breakrun too :p

I know that, I was just saying I hope it's trimmed lightly or else it'll ruin all the momentum like older B&M's with trims.

If it's anything close to Leviathan, the park has a real winner. That ride is the most underrated Giga out there and showed that B&M was finally willing to push their limits (after strong convincing haha). Considering Levi still reaches nearly 60mph when reaching the 2nd cammelback hill, I'm sure this will do the exact same. Let's just hope the trim on the large hill is light, cause if it's on like normal B&M trims, the ending will be meh.

I don't think it'll have 7 airtime moments, that's nearly as much as Diamondback. Also, I'd love to see the speed hill have -1.1G's but knowing B&M, it won't be that intense, it'll probably be strong floater especially since this one is higher and will be taken at a slower clip than Levi unless it's a tight apex. Other than that, looks like a very solid ride, I'd still rank Levi and Fury higher since they have more elements but this will be the best Giga in the state and it should easily be a top 15-20 coaster worldwide.

Leviathan has a lift hill of 306ft and a drop of 306ft. The only reason why it has that small trench (which is not 5ft below grade) was to fit the tunnel and that's where the old bus stop was for the city. I was, and still grateful to be involved with Leviathan and can confirm that it's 306ft. Edit: Also, the picture is misleading as well, that small hill is only next to Dragon Fire and then flattens out to normal grade all over the park (I.E, the parking lot) thus, Levi is 306ft.

I mean, -0.3G is found on most hypers already (or at least a range of +0.1 to -0.3). Levi has roughly -0.5G on the speed hill and -0.1 to -0.3 on the camelbacks, and hits the breakrun around ~50mph. I wouldn't say it has better pacing than Levi, especially since it really only loses its momentum at the very end. This may seem better paced, but keep in mind that it has two tall elements right after the drop compared to the others, so it will lose a ton of momentum. So I have a feeling that after the speed hill on this, it'll just be the standard speed you find on other B&Ms. The only way to find out is when it's announced and see the animations, banking, pacing and of course, riding it. And just like most coasters, it always runs faster than what the animation shows so anything is possible.

If the ride is exactly like this, it'll for sure be cool and has a good 3-4 first elements and will be a world-class ride. Other than that though, Fury and Levi still look better.