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We did not mention all the statistics during the announcement because statistics are not what make a roller coaster great; it's the ride experience it delivers that makes it great.

Well its been a fun one.. So long Starting to Decode 2014!

You know what world records are good for? Listing on a sign outside of the ride entrance. That's about it. I'd take a good ride experience over over-hyped statistics any day.

This was the best coaster reveal I've ever seen! Hands Down the marketing department at KI did one hell of a job! Also the T-shirt I bought tonight is pretty darn cool! Who's ready for April. Oh and I brought my box of Kleenex to the announcement... No one seemed to need them.

A well thought out, perfect addition for Kings Island. A diversion from the Son of Beast days. Not a single record JUST for the sake of records, but instead a ride where thrills, not records, are paramount. A truly magical addition--safe, reliable, high quality, high capacity ride that wisely uses the terrain and fills a hole in the park's ride line-up. Very pleased I am. And happy to watch Matt Ouimet and the Kings Island team put a new fun stamp on the Mason park.

Really?

Kings Island, Ohio – The longest inverted steel roller coaster in the world, “Banshee,” will make its debut at Kings Island in April of 2014. The first female-inspired thrill ride at a Cedar Fair Entertainment Company amusement park, Banshee will send riders screaming through 4,124.1 feet of track and seven mind-bending inversions at speeds up to 68 miles per hour during the 2-minute, 40-second ride. Built over hilly terrain and incorporating the most exciting features of the very best inverted roller coasters in the world, Banshee will feature several unique elements that distinguish the ride from others. he ride begins with a lift taking riders up to the maximum height of 167 feet. After plunging down 150 feet, riders will go through a dive loop, followed by a vertical loop, zero gravity roller, two batwing inversions, a second vertical loop and a 170-foot long heartline finale. Two of the most unique features about Banshee are the massive size of every loop, and unlike other roller coasters, the top speed isn’t reached until halfway through the ride’s course. Since Banshee’s lift hill is on a higher elevation of terrain than the other side of the ride that goes down into a valley, the total elevation change is 208 feet from the highest point at the top of the lift hill to the lowest point, which is the bottom of the batwing between loops four and five. Passengers will be seated in cars four across. A total of three trains, each containing eight cars, will enable Banshee to accommodate approximately 1,650 riders per hour. “Banshee reflects our commitment to providing the best in world-class thrills and value for our guests and is an investment in the Ohio tourism industry,” Kings Island’s vice-president and general manager Greg Scheid said. “People from around the world will plan a visit to Ohio next summer specifically to experience this ride." Banshee will be the 15th roller coaster at Kings Island, which is home to some of the top-ranked roller coasters in annual industry and enthusiast polls including The Beast and Diamondback, and represents the biggest new product investment in the park’s 41-year history at $24 million. Banshee was designed by Bolliger and Mabillard of Monthey, Switzerland, one of the premier leaders in roller coaster development. Since 1990, B&M have designed a number of ground-breaking and critically acclaimed roller coasters. In fact, B&M features 14 of the top 25 roller coasters on the Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards Top Steel Roller Coasters list for 2012, five of which are listed in the top 10. They have more top-ranked steel roller coasters than any other ride manufacturer on the list. B&M roller coasters are renowned for their smooth ride, comfortable seats and restraints, reliability, low maintenance, impeccable safety record and ride capacity. As of 2013, B&M has more than 85 roller coasters operating worldwide, including Diamondback at Kings Island and this year’s sensation, Gatekeeper at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The construction of Banshee is currently underway in the Action Zone area of Kings Island. Park visitors can see the ride being built from the ground up with great aerial views and photo opportunities available from the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower on International Street. Those who cannot wait until 2014 may take a virtual ride on Banshee at visitkingsisland.com/Banshee. Visitors to visitkingsisland.com/Banshee may also access exclusive Banshee updates, virtual videos and renderings, ride statistics and more.

Part 2 Adventure Expresses tunnel. The footers were very close to AE. And ladies and gentleman, that concludes the tour. It only lasted about 10 minutes, but it was so cool to just be right next to the footers and everything. That valley in person is just so big. When we got back to normal Action Zone, fog was starting, giving everything a Haunt like atmosphere. We then met up with a few other people at the Hank’s Bier garden, including Diamondbacker and Homestar92? I believe it may have been Homestar who kept complaing he had a thing called “work”, and couldn’t win a tweetup. So, we sat and chatted for a while, and eventually, the garbage can was moved and Adventure Express was open, so we went to AE. It was a station wait, and a fun ride! After this we talked, and it started raining again. We soon decided to head to Flight Deck. The ride went down for weather and/or maintenance, not sure which, while we were in line. But we decided to stay out of the rain in Flight Decks station. After around 30 minutes or so, the coaster reopened. So we had a KIC train. When we arrived back to the station, there was nobody in line, so EVERYBODY on the train rerode. 2 fun rides on Flight Deck! When we got off, I my mom rejoined. And this was the site of Action Zone. It felt just like Haunt. The group decided on one last ride before the announcement, and it was The Beast. There was one switchback open and the wait was about half an hour. It was a fun Semi-Night ride on The legendary Beast! I, Duncan and Matthew got some more food and then headed to the VIP seats. I ended up sitting with important KIC people like I believe Ryan and Dane. There was a scream about every 5 minutes that burned your ears off, and then Don would tell us how much more time was left. Soon, it was officially time. Don came up to the stage and soon, Mr. Greg Schied came up to the stage. He talked about the past. 2007:Firehawk. 2009:Diamondback 2010:Planet Snoopy. 2011:WindSeeker, Dinos, and Pavers. 2012:Soak City. And now… the largest investment in Kings Islands history, at $24 Million. A teaser video played on the screen. It was good ole’ Son of Beast. And then.. He collapsed to the ground. Blue supports than raised from the ground. There was purple track. It was the longest, at 4,124 feet, invert in the world! At a speed of 68 M.P.H! Including 7 inversions! It was… It was… Banshee Yep. It indeed was Banshee. After this Greg talked some more about the ride, showed us a POV, a night POV, and a Birdseye view. It was a huge build up, and it looks like a great coaster. My only disappointment is was just what we expected. It’s called Banshee, and the blueprints were right. Banshee t-shirts immediately went on sale at On-Location. I soon found Matthew, Jonathan, and Duncan once again having some more food. I got a prime rib sandwich. Mmmm. With the dinner money I saved, I got a Banshee T-Shirt, as well as Jonathan and Duncan. The rain then started once again, and it stormed on our way home. What an incredible day. A couple notes: *Banshee looks awesome. Can’t wait. *Oddly enough, the $150 price tag on those V.I.P. passes was reasonable. *Many rides closed and opened throughout the day due to rain. Drop Tower was closed for a while in the morning. Thanks for reading!

Well, this truck is on its way to the construction site of the world's largest, animatronic facepalm...

Check out my tribute to Kings Island's upcoming attraction!

And let vertical construction begin...

I loved it when Greg said "Time to let the cat out of the bag... or The Bat out of the cave..." and the crowd was like, "Awww, man?" And then the video with the crumbling SOB (wherever did they get that concept? ) and the blue columns came bursting out of the ground, followed by teaser bird's eyes with the superlatives, each greeted by loud applause, then finally, the new logo, met with the kind of roar you hear at Paul Brown Stadium after a TD... against the Steelers! Oh, man, this adrenaline is going to take awhile to settle down, which is a good thing; because I'm looking forward to the next rush of it next spring! Excellent, KI! Most excellent!

My wife's favorite ride in Ohio is Raptor, she hears the announcement and looks at me and says " Sweet, no need to travel to CP anymore!" I reply, " That's true! ..Wait... What??????

I tried telling my friend how cool the coaster was and he doesn't care. This is why I love my KIC family.

I really hope Halloween instrumental type music is played while waiting in line. I do NOT want to hear Uncle Cracker while waiting in line for a ride called Banshee.

Lol most of these comments are from the same 5 or 6 ppl who wont quit whining. Maybe I'll mail them boxes of Kleenex.

Perspective Undependable = SBNO for half a season while costly kinks and wear are ironed out along hard-to-reach sections of the structure of a ride. Dependable = simple, low-cost repairs built into the design, allowing for 20-minute delays here and there.

I was there tonight. I don't know what was more ear piercing- the constant Banshee wails, or the screaming coaster enthusiasts.

I didn't go to the reveal, but from everything I saw on the local TV stations, heard on the radio, and saw on the YouTube channel- this reveal was executed pretty close to world class. From the images posted, it appears this will be pretty well themed too.... hoping that they have the fog element for the coaster. This doesn't fit too well with an "Action Zone" theme or "October Fest"... so maybe "The Bat" persona will travel to the sister coaster to the north and retheme flight deck and birth a whole new area of the park. I know the KI staff read these forums, so a well-deserved congratulations on a marketing campaign pretty well thought to this point.

Last night at the announcement, Greg Scheid was just starting his speech by going through the investments that CF has made since they took ownership of the park. Some idiot teenage kid behind me and to my right decided to heckle him by yelling "We don't need the backstory!" I just turned around, looked him in the eye and said "Seriously?" Grow up and show some respect! And the same goes to those who booed when Mr. Scheid started talking about Dinosaurs Alive. I get that you may not like it, but it's a capital investment that is a nice family attraction. Sorry that DA didn't satisfy your constant need for a newer taller faster coaster every year, but the park needs to be diverse and have things that will draw in a variety of people, not just coaster crazies. There are more appropriate places to express your displeasure than at a press conference/ride announcement with members of the media present. Isn't that what Al Gore invented the internets for?

Here's the shirt! I have to say this is the coolest logo of any Cedar Fair ride so far!

This comment wins the award for most ridiculous comment I've ever seen. "Just another piece of crap that will probably be torn down within a few years. Why is it Cedar Point keeps all of their rides and Kings Islands' constantly tearing down and rebuilding? Oh I know.. it's because we always get the generic rides!!"

The fact that we here at KIC decoded everything made the announcement that much more exciting to me IMO

I know, I'm so annoyed at the people on Facebook! It's like they can't appreciate the fact that we're getting a $24 million ride that is going to be a blast.

It's so nice to come on here and see everyone happy and appreciative of Banshee! Last night I couldn't help but squeal with glee when they announced we were getting a B&M invert! However, I got on Facebook this morning, and so many comments about Banshee were negative, comparing KI to CP and saying nobody would be satisfied unless we got a "record breaker," or "something taller and faster than Diamondback." It's like nobody can appreciate that we are getting a $24 million ride that is going to be a blast regardless of how tall and fast it is. Last night was also my first "unveiling" event and I can definitely say it was some of the most fun I've had at the park!

Cheers to everyone for some great decoding fun!!!!! And for the non drinkers....

So on the "About the Designer" page. It is written: B&M roller coasters are renowned for their smooth ride, comfortable seats and restraints, reliability, low maintenance, impeccable safety record and ride capacity. If this does not confirm why you have not seen or probably won't see a Intamin in the park anytime soon, I don't know what will!

So, my mom took me to Kings Island for the big 2014 announcement. Since my sister didn’t want to go, (YES) we were able to get there at about 8:40. The reason things are more enjoyable without my sister is that she will be very cranky if: A. The line for a ride contains more than 2 people, or B. It is over 65 degrees. My stomach was still hurting when I woke up, and I was not sure why. I thought it was just a stomach ache, but I had it over a day… So, yeah, we got to the park around 8:40 and headed to the entrance. Jordan Lucas greeted us around the entrance plaza. We waited at the entrance and the next people to show up were Oldiesman, Kat, and somebody else who is not a forum member. We said hello and waited for more people to show up. The next person was BeastForever. Then Silver2005 showed up. Next was Malem, who handed out guessing nametags. Here was my guess. And my moms guess… Yup, a Premier Winged Giga Coaster. Next was jcgoble3, and finally Fire-Beast-of-Fear. So we chatted for a little, and soon the park opened for ERT. Our first stop was Diamondback, which was a walk on. As usual, it was a nice, fun ride. We finally decided to head to The Beast, which was a walk on. And a great ride on the World’s Longest wooden roller coaster! It was now a few minutes till the park opened, and we went to the great Backlot Stunt Coaster. Backlot was a walk on, and a nice, fun, ride! The park was now open and we headed to Flight of Fear. Luckily there was still no line, so it was a walk on. It was a bit darker than normal, and a fun ride! We decided to go next door to Firehawk. It was a fun ride on the only Vekoma Flyer in Ohio! Jonathan/jcgoble3 had 2 Buy 1 Get one Skyflyer tickets. So, he got 2 tickets, and me and Matthew/malem got 1 for only $2.50 each. We passed this on the way. And a peek through the fence showed us… And the lights by the gravestones. So, we bought our Skyflyer tickets and went on the ride. The rest of the group went onto Flight Deck. After about 15 minutes, Matthew and Jonathan got on. It was Matthews first time. Jonathan pulled the rip cord and they flew down. After their ride, Matthew said the first drop was “interesting”, but he enjoyed the ride. Jonathan stayed on, because he bought 2 tickets, and next up was me. We went up, I heard “3, 2, 1, fly.” And then we were falling towards the ground. Still the best ride in the park. Our group was waiting for us, so we rejoined them and headed for Delirium. Delirium’s wait was 10 minutes, and a fun ride. It was a different way to check out construction. My mom then left because she isn’t very good with a whole day at Kings Island. Next we went to Flight Deck. It had a 10 minute line. Fun coaster as usual. We headed out next to Skyflyer and took a little break. Soon we decided to head to Adventure Express next. Adventure Expresses line was about 10 minutes. Another fun ride! Now, it was time for lunch. Everyone got different stuff but we all met in the Festhaus. I still was not very hungry, so I just got some watermelon at the Coca-Cola Marketplace. And unlike everything else, I didn’t have to wait in line. So I soon met some others in the Festhaus and had some watermelon. We met up with the rest of the group at another table, which now included NoChickens and Mrs.NoChickens. After lunch, we went onto the Blue Racer, which was a walk on, and a fun ride. We now headed to the other side of Coney to ride Vortex. Vortex had a 10 minute wait. I was forced to ride in 5-2, and my ears hurt a bit after the ride. But it wasn’t that bad. We were walking down Coney Mall, heading for the 2 o’clock Ed Alonzo show, and we heard a severe weather message come over the intercom. We all safely got to Ed Alonzo’s Physco Circus of Magic and Mayhem 2. Unfortunately, my favorite trick was still left out. But it was still a nice show. It was still raining, so we headed over to Boo Blasters. Boo Blasters had a full queue. I chatted with Duncan/FireBeastofFear in the 20 minute line. I racked up 960 points, Jonathan got 1380 points to become a Master Blaster, and Duncan got 0000 points, because his gun didn’t work. (Or maybe he’s just that bad! ) Then BeastForever had to leave, but would return later. Everyone now wanted to ride White Water Canyon, so I out my stuff in a plastic bag and prepared. After the long walk, the wait was about 10 minutes. I got wet, but it could have been a lot worse. Then, somebody in our group (Kat maybe?) saw a tweet by Don saying there would be a Tweetup in the 4 o’clock hour for your chance to win VIP Seating! It was about 3:30 now. A few people wasted quarters to get people wet, but it was fun to watch. We decided to take a ride on Woodstock Express, because it’s line was short. It was a fun ride. Love it. For the next 20minutes, we updated our phones every 10 seconds, while walking towards Action Zone, because that would probably be the most likely place he would be. We stood around Action Zone, updating phones. Soon, Kat read with excitement that Don tweeted “I am in Action Zone. The first 8 followers to show me this tweet on the device win VIP seating for tonight’s announcement.” Thank goodness my mom let me borrow her phone. I was behind, but I followed the dashing group to Don. I showed him a tweet, and was presented with a Media Pass! Woo hoo! A $150 value! That solved what dinner was. In addition, Jonathan, Matthew, Duncan, and Kat also received the passes. This was a site I do not see very often. A few minutes later, Don tweeted “That took less than one minute to have our winners”. We then took a spin on Zephyr, which was a walk on. Nice, relaxing ride. But it wasn’t tall enough. So we went to WindSeeker! WindSeeker’s wait was about 5 minutes, and a nice ride, and a great view. When we got down, we met thedevariouseffect at the bottom of the tower. We then all headed to Hanks to meet up with I believe No. Chickens and Mrs. No Chickens. 1lilybug also stopped by real quick. After this some of us headed for Drop Tower. After waiting about 15 minutes, and being close to getting on, the ride closed for another storm. “YES” said Duncan, happily. We were kind of hungry, so we stopped by Stunt Crew Grill for some free food. They had a fancy buffet set up. I probably only knew what about half the stuff that was up there was. Prime rib was good. There was also very little people there. There was I, Jonathan, Duncan, and Matthew. Ryan/Boddah1994 was also inside. He wondered how we got the VIP passes… So, after eating the fanciest Amusement Park food ever, we headed back outside, and Drop Tower looked really intimidating with its background. We then went to the Festhaus to chat with a few people. Soon, it was time for our construction tour. So, we met with Don and then headed behind the fence. So, now I will make you all jealous and show you construction photos up close. My foot on a footer. And I am touching the footer. The valley is HUGE. At this point, Don told us the new attraction will take up 13 acres. I've posted too many images so part 2 should be up shortly

The Gatekeeper restraints are being improved. You haven't ridden with the Banshee restraints, either. There is no reason to be Mr. Negativity. Give the ride a chance. Then decide.

I couldn't care less what Bob Avery thinks or says. I find him very annoying!

So, I excitedly reported to a friend at work about the new Banshee. I spouted off specs and superlatives like the proud KICer that I am, heralding this magnificent, new attraction that will make us all proud, and will surely bring much good to my favorite park ever. What does the guy do? I mean, of the billion possible combinations of words this guy could have pieced together into an intelligent response to my well-articulated pitch, what do you suppose he chose to say? "Well, what do you think of Cedar Point? Have you been up there at all?" rrrRRAAAaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!

Could not agree more Don! It sure looks like Kings Island is going to have a winner here and you guys did an awesome job last night with the announcement! Even though I could not be there, I did watch the webstream and am not sure how you will be able to top that announcement the next time you have one! Kudos!

A bit off-topic here, but did anyone else notice that last night we shattered the record for most people online at once? Last night there were 1,755 people (members and guests) online at 10:23pm, more than tripling the previous record of 500-something (I believe it was 514, but I'm not positive).

The amount of complaining on KI's Facebook is ridiculous. "Just a pink and blue Raptor" "Kings Island continues to suck" "Zzzz I want speed! We need something like Top Thrill Dragster!" "Why'd they tear down Son of Beast for something like this?!"

That mad rush to the gift shop after the announcement was insane though. I think I was almost trampled quite a few times. I did manage to purchase a Black Banshee T-shirt though. If you guys want a picture of it let me know and I'll post it.

Banshee, Banshee, your beauty engulfs me. Round and round we go, my beautiful Banshee. I'm head over heels, I'm so in love with you And feel like I'm weightless if you'll tell me, "I do." You form circles around me and roll in a line through my heart. For we will forever unite, and till death shall we part. Your cheeks glow of purple, and your nails are painted tardis blue. I'm forever in love, with Banshee, with you. I cannot explain the euphoria I feel. I still cannot believe that your existence is so real. For months I have waited for this day to come When you'd finally reveal yourself to me, the waiting is done. As we spin around into one final spiral I soon discover your existence has gone viral. And with one final kiss, and a wave goodbye, You slowly glide away into the fog filled Kings Island sky. (I'm so pathetic )

WHERE'S YOUR GREEN INTAMIN TRACK NOW?

This looks incredible! Those inversions are going to leave me breathless. Not too comfortable yet with the color scheme, but that will come in time. Wow!!!! Also, that teaser with SOB crumbling was epic.

Very impressed and before tonight I really did not understand the night time reveal. I wish I could have been there in person, but after watching it on the live stream it looked awesome and the night reveal was very appropriate!

In the teaser video the tomb stones are labeled Bat, King Cobra, Screamin Demon, and Son of Beast...

Hopefully, the entrance gate will resemble that of the teaser video...an old cemetery gate propped open for guest to walk through, with the queue line surrounded by tombstones of old rides. That'd be awesome.

Yesterday's Tweetup prize was the best ever. Just saying.

Rather than jump in last night I wanted to digest what I saw regarding Banshee. I am amazed at how well KI executed the teaser campaign, created a rock concert like announcement event, and delivered with a very impressive ride like Banshee. Well done and I am still in some what awe in how amazing the build up was, the respect shown to this site, and the amount of fun and enthusiasm they had during the process. On to Banshee... Banshee This addition is amazing and I'm not even talking about the ride experience. This ride will drastically change the Action Zone. The paint scheme screams notice me, the ride roars like a Banshee, and the new Entry Plaza and Midway elements are going to be a spectacle for non riders. Son of Beast seemed almost hidden in the Action Zone, it had no real presence or interaction with the midway, but seemed somewhat tucked away in the corner of the Action Zone. There was a big lift hill and that was it. Banshee screams at guests to ride it. Diving drop towards the midway, dive loop at the entry plaza and then vertical loop encircling the lift. Awesome Eye Candy. The ride itself looks very nice. I think the pacing is what will make this ride, like The Beast it will continue to pick up speed as the ride goes on. Which should make for an intense ride. The pacing of the inversions and diversity of inversions is great. The fact it uses a Dive Loop instead of Immelman is a bonus in my book as is the 2nd Vertical Loop (it may be the most forceful element at 60+ miles per hour). The size of the inversions is going to be staggering. I picture the lift hill loop being as awe inspiring as that of Kumba's. Also the Batwing has a different setup than most. Montu enters and exits the same direction and most Batwings are a combination half corckscrew half loop, while Banshee enters with a Dive Loop followed by an Immelman and heads off in a new direction right in to the 2nd Vertical Loop. The forces through this inversion combination should be great. Last thought on the layout is the Carousel at the end. Coming out of the InLine Twist and then entering the Carousel at the top and picking up speed as it traverses the element. Rather than burning speed off before the brake run Banshee should pick up speed in to the break. Think if Diamondback entered its Carousel at the top rather than at the bottom, more force. Overall Banshee is going to be a signature addition to park, appeal to the masses, and may be one of the if not best Inverts B&M has ever done. Send in the Cranes

If you want the "annocment" to be more exciting, don't decode beforehand and be surprised.

Yep, I'm sure all the Cedar Point fans are saying, "Darn! KI is getting tombstones! And here we are stuck with MF, TTD, Maverick and Magnum!"

KI architecture at its finest

It's official, all the coasters in Action Zone hang

I'm sorry, Greg and Don, but The Beast will always be the best night ride

Did anyone else notice when Greg mentioned WindSeeker and Dinosaurs Alive, everyone got all quiet?