Orion Coming to Kings Island in 2020

[befat]

It took me a minute to figure that out too, but KI tucked it into the ride stats.  See "height of hills."

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/explore/orion

[King Ding Dong]

6 minutes ago, Mystic1017 said:

He was talking about track length lol

No. Height.   It’s like the worlds smallest violin.  A true engineering marvel.  

[thatguyfromohio]

For the brake run, the reason it’s so long is, they don’t have a block section before the station like Diamondback does. Seen a few people mention that, and how high it was.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rallyomalley]

 

Not sure if this was posted.  This is the black shirt on a fat guy.

 

Edit : not gonna lie. Was hoping the stars would glow in the dark, but alas....no dice.

Edit 2:  so there's no confusion.  I am the fat guy.

[JubJester]

16 minutes ago, SOBwasaSOB said:

Nothing really stands out about this ride to me.  I was also hoping for low to the ground, tight twists and turns rather than more airtime.  Not really sure where the animosity came from, I'm glad people are happy about it.  Maybe my mind will change once I've ridden it.  Sorry I hurt your feelings.

How did you hurt my feelings lmao? I'm just saying don't throw dull statements out there. 

You and people who are in the dumps about this ride need to realize that KI's and Cedar Fair's management isn't going to make a big investment to please coaster enthusiasts. A group of people that make up a small portion of their market and visitors. This is going to stand out for the General Public, and that's what matters to them.

[KI Guy]

1 hour ago, KingsMills79 said:

Just curious, why does the ride stat on KI website say   "Length of First Drop: 447 feet"?

It's a goofy trick to try to make it seem taller. You don't  see anyone use drop LENGTH as a stat. 

You don't see The Beast bragging about its 500 ft LONG second drop!

It looks solid. I like the name Orion better than Polaris, but Shooting Star is better than either! 

If this coaster is 80% of what Fury 325 is they'll have a very good coaster. 

[Turtlepower]

10 minutes ago, Turtlepower said:

It's a giga.

Are there taller and faster out there? Yeah, but not by enough to really matter. It's tall and fast like it's supposed to be. It will probably be reliable and lines will be short. 1 out of 7 in the entire world, and it's right there at KI.

Just in terms of coasters, I'd take a park with Orion, Diamondback, Banshee, Beast, Mystic Timbers, and Flight of Fear over any east coast park not named Cedar Point. Add an RMC in 3-4 years and it's close.

And also, just speaking strictly coaster lineups, is anyone closer to boasting top 3 steel AND top 3 wooden at any one park?

[SOBwasaSOB]

I do understand that and I am not in the dumps at all.  I do not have to change what I desire based on what is good for the company.  I dont expect them to cater to my preferences at all, but I still have those preferences. 

[super7]

The layout and length are disappointing.  Something like Fury would have been much better.      Diamondback has a more interesting layout.     But at least it’s not a poorly designed Intamin.  

[New Horizons]

Here is to hoping the other half of Orion is in the shed!

 

all joking aside i am excited but not super impressed initially with the layout but it looks solid none the less.

[kissfan4]

It is, what it is. Just not sure why they didn't take the opportunity to build a world record. Even throwing another element in before the brake run.

[WoodVengeance]

Anybody else expecting Kings Island to change one of the webcams to face towards Coney Mall for construction? I could see Kings Island changing Mystic Timbers' webcam since that really only points towards the lift of MT.

[Rivertown Rider]

I am excited about Orion.  That helix at the end looks exceptional.  

I do like the name Area 72 and I am curious if we will see improvements to that area of the park that we haven't heard about.

[calakapepe]

1 hour ago, homestar92 said:

Orion has a longer drop than Millennium Force. Just because we have terrain that isn't completely flat and they were able to use the lay of the land to the ride's advantage doesn't mean they cheaped out. Drop height is infinitely more important than track height. If track height was the thing that made a ride great, The Beast would be laughably bad as it is never more than 30 or 40 feet off the ground besides the two lift hills.

 

I think it's the exact same drop length. 310ft height but 300ft drop. But I would bet we will have a better first drop than Millie. Slower at the top of the hill, but we get to be at that 70/80 ish degree descent for longer because of the tighter peak.. I hope anyways~

[IndyGuy4KI]

1 hour ago, jcovelli said:

This will make the experience on WindSeeker a bit different, seeing a coaster train fly past at 80+ mph at nearly the same height. 

I'm interested in getting a firework ride on Orion!

[KI Guy]

1 hour ago, jcovelli said:

I don't understand all this "giga" stuff. Technically there is no coaster classification called giga, it's just a random term that was created to describe something that didn't exist before. That means there is no correct answer to what a giga is or isn't.   

Because a term is  "new" (19 years old actually in this case)  doesn't mean it has no meaning. 

You would look at me pretty funny if I called a walkie talkie a  "smartphone" (also a newer word).

As far as the argument goes (and the park and most people won't care), if KI was my park I would not call it a Giga just to try to avoid any perception of dishonesty by the guests.

[RuthlessAirtime]

1 hour ago, presto123 said:

For my money, if a coaster has a 300 ft. drop, it's a giga. No doubt about it....

To play devils advocate, if a coaster was only 10 feet off the ground but followed a gently sloping hill downward until it had progressed 300ft down the vertical axis, would you call that a giga?

IMO height and drop have to be 300 or more for giga status. Sure you could have a coaster 100’ tall and dropping along terrain 300’ but it wouldn’t look like a giga, at least in the sense that most of us think of them.

[Patrickbateman86]

1 hour ago, jcovelli said:

The only thing I'm slightly disappointed about is that entrance sign just kind of tacked on to that concrete wall. But I do think the logo looks cool.

Where did you see that at? I was trying to get a look at the entry plaza but couldn't in the videos.

[KI Guy]

1 hour ago, Logan Goddard said:

@Notatroll!!! quick question do you consider Apollo chariot and Phantom's revenge hypers? Because if anything I think drop height matters way more then hill height because the drop determines speed.

I think the best way to label these might be a separate category or hyper with an asterisk. 

The problem with your line is thinking is that you don't get the sustained speed of the drops,  (I actually rode both and Phantom is one of my all-time favorites),  on those coasters.

Whatever speed you get through the use of terrain is scrubbed off when you return back to the height the lift started at.

Think of a 100 ft high coaster that goes into a 100 ft ravine. That's not as good as a 200 ft coaster because you'll only net 100 ft worth of speed from the drop.

[King Ding Dong]

10 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

I'm interested in getting a firework ride on Orion!

That would be cool but isn’t this kind of close to the launch site?

[spooky21]

I'm happy

[Mystic1017]

5 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said:

That would be cool but isn’t this kind of close to the launch site?

I was thinking the same thing considering they shut down the blue side (north side) of The Racer and The Beast for fireworks

[brent]

7 hours ago, jcovelli said:

Anyone notice the que.. looks like that hut is nothing more than a larger shaded roof,  which is fine with me. Next summer is supposed to be even hotter so, cover the whole thing while they're at it.

The whole thing is underwhelming to me. The teaser campaign felt more interesting than what it led to. I could care less about stats, but if you are only breaking your own in-park records, at least be innovative. It’s a taller Diamondback with less interesting seating. I’d rather not break world records, but give us a great theme, or something never seen before. TRTR certainly had issues, but that to me was a great example of taking something “typical” and using it in an innovative, immersive way to create an experience that was greater than the sum of its parts. This looks like a tarp shaded queue, an open air station and a nice, big ride. Seems like we got that many years ago with diamond back. I may be surprised. There may be more to the overall experience than what was “revealed”, I hope I eat my words, but so far...ehhhh ok. Nice I guess. 

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

I was so happy to be at the announcement! I'm also very glad I got to meet a good chunk of you and ride fof together! Sad the speculation is over, but I am super pumped for this monster! I am not complaining about the stats at all because stats don't always matter. Look at Maverick and Mystic Timbers. Those 2 coasters when announced got hated on, but blew people away when they opened! 

[SonofBaconator]

57 minutes ago, Rivertown Rider said:

I do like the name Area 72 and I am curious if we will see improvements to that area of the park that we haven't heard about.

I thought the same thing. I wouldn't be suprised if the FoF photo booth got overhauled or repurposed. I had a thought that Slingshot could move to Area 72 since it doesn't take up much space but I don't know where they'd put it.

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

Expectations are always high for a park like Kings Island, where the majority of new attractions are completely custom.  I just don't think it is realistic to expect that every time a new coaster or ride is built that it will be the "greatest every created" in its category. 

The comparison should probably not be against other similar B&M coasters, but instead against the Vekoma flying coaster that stood in the same place just 2 years earlier.  That is what the public will see, and is anything but "underwhelming".

[presto123]

 

[BringBackOurEagles]

Even shorter in height and length than you all predicted! But wow great job by you decoders. Very nearly exactly right. I was hoping for some surprises- Maybe a tunnel, or, I don’t know, the second half of the ride? Lol I’m kidding but dang that’s a short ride with a lonnnnng brake run haha. In fact, I would have rather ridden the ride you guys predicted, with slightly more impressive stats and an overbank but hey it’ll probably bring in the business they want so what do they care. I feel like they could have spent less money and built a different, much cooler, more interesting ride, but I guess they felt like doing the least to technically have a giga was more marketable. This ride misses the mark in almost every way for me, but hopefully people love it so CF continues spending money here! Well done KI team on the marketing! This rollout was a lot of fun! 

[riptombraider]

@collin.klopfstein I can’t help but feel like where the large hill is after the turn around would be a perfect spot for a loop (right after the small bunny hill)  Thanks for putting that thought in my head buddy lol 

[LuvingKI]

This ride is going to be awesome!!!! GO Kings Island! Keeping this park as one of the best