Orion Reviews

[chad_1138]

Just rode.  Thank you sir, may I have another.

[FreedomPenguin]

Got my access pass, came back hour later and walked right on. I sat in very back, want to sit in front before I give my impression. 

[dbackdreams]

I wanna goooooooo

[Waltny]

On 7/3/2020 at 9:27 AM, RayFields said:

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

 

 

My son and I make an appearance in the Thrills United video around 13-14 mins. I dont think I quite articulated what I wanted to as we got put on the spot, so fire away at will.  We will be doing one of our own later today. 

[shadowscare]

My son and I rode it twice on Friday. Once in the very back and once in the very front. Based on those experiences I would say any seat is great, but if I had to chose only one, I give the edge to the back seat.

For all the talk about it being short, I dunno, to me it felt just right. I can't put my finger on it exactly... Maybe because it just flies through the course and you hit the brakes with a head of steam and it already hit every possible element you could put on a non-inverting B&M? And the best pop of air is the dip right before the brake run.

Great ride, great addition. But it's not my favorite ride in the park; that still goes to Mystic Timbers. I prefer the wild, out of control feeling over the graceful elements of a B&M mega coaster. But that's just me. And to the person who mentioned it's better than Steel Vengeance? No. Just... no.

So what's better, MF or Orion? Honestly, I don't know. They're both great in their own respects. Did anyone else think the drop on MF "feels" larger though? I don't know if it's the setting or the narrower track that plays tricks on my mind. Regardless, Orion's big, steep drop is a blast and my son likes Orion better than MF.

 

Anyway, it's a great ride and the GP and enthusiasts alike will eat it up. Very happy to have a season pass!

 

[BeastieFanatic]

is orion like other BM coasters where certain rows have larger seats?

[IceePirate]

28 minutes ago, BeastieFanatic said:

is orion like other BM coasters where certain rows have larger seats?

No, all seats are the same

[coaster sally]

No big boy seats

[VortexBFForever]

Rode in row 6 on the first train this morning and let me say...I cannot wait for my first chance to ride in row 8!  
 

[chad_1138]

45 minutes ago, VortexBFForever said:

Rode in row 6 on the first train this morning and let me say...I cannot wait for my first chance to ride in row 8!  
 

My wife, boys, and I had rows 7 and 8 this morning.   Whoa buddy!!!  That drop was great!!  
 

I have to stay that I enjoyed Orion more than Fury, not sure about Millennium Force.  Gonna take a few more rides to decide.

 

Honestly, I didn’t mind Orion being shorter than Fury.  I would rather a ride be shorter and snappier than longer and meandering.

 

 

[MIAParkman]

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. 

 

[coaster sally]

18 minutes ago, MIAParkman said:

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. 

 

The banked hill should have been an outerbank........

[MIAParkman]

3 minutes ago, coaster sally said:

The banked hill should have been an outerbank........

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

[Fishely]

The banked hill should have been an outerbank........

Can’t imagine b&m trying one of those on this scale, maybe a smaller one somewhere else in the layout.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dbackdreams]

16 minutes ago, coaster sally said:

The banked hill should have been an outerbank........

You never are happy are you lady Sally? Oroin look kewl so don't complain be happy

[1176Frankie]

9 hours ago, MIAParkman said:

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. 

 

OK review. I think you really need to ride it multiple times in different rows to make such quick judgements on the elements. You rode with only half a train and the elements especially the first wave turn would greatly benefit from a full train. For you to make a blanket statement like Diamondback is only a mid tier hyper as if it's a fact doesn't hold weight...For instance Airtime Thrills a popular Youtuber who has ridden quite a lot of coasters himself (over 400) has Diamondback as a top 10 coaster and is his #1 hyper after having ridden all of them in North America. He just happens to like the very unique airtime it gives. It's all one's opinion 

Like I said you need to ride multiple times in different rows before you come to such conclusions. Most of the non KI fanboys (KI not their home park) who've ridden the ride and given reviews feel the ride is indeed better than Leviathan (better layout, doesn't slow down) and some feel its even better than Fury (no dead spots) so don't think people are crazy or only KI fanboys for having such opinions

Good day

Edited July 5, 2020 by 1176Frankie
addition

[coaster sally]

Its all about engineering.  You could have done an outer bank with a little ejector.....

[DonHelbig]

1 hour ago, MIAParkman 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.

 

 

[SonofBaconator]

38 minutes ago, coaster sally said:

Its all about engineering.  You could have done an outer bank with a little ejector.....

Jeez, do you like anything at KI or do you just like to crap on everything about the park?

[silver2005]

Don performing a sweeping broadside with those shots fired. 

[presto123]

A giga is a giga is a giga. Like arguing over which supermodel is hotter. They are all hot. lol

[DeltaFlyer]

I listened to a ride op on WindSeeker drone on and on about how Orion is subpar and basically a hyper, only 287ft, etc. Getting a little old at this point. 

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

4 hours ago, MIAParkman said:

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. 

I like your review, however, you need to remember that people can have different opinions. Some people including me found it better than expected and I know some people who found it underwhelming. It's all the matter of opinion. Just because some people have a certain opinion on it doesn't mean everyone else has to have the same opinion. 

[IceePirate]

If anyone was curious btw, Orion max capacity is 55 trains/hour. We averaged about 30 today, but it felt like more when I was working, so the morning might've been a little slower. Overall, we didn't stack much, really just with cleaning or special circumstances from what I saw

[FUN&ONLY!]

3 minutes ago, IceePirate said:

If anyone was curious btw, Orion max capacity is 55 trains/hour. We averaged about 30 today, but it felt like more when I was working, so the morning might've been a little slower. Overall, we didn't stack much, really just with cleaning or special circumstances from what I saw

That really is not bad at all with COVID-19 restrictions. I know the park was probably going for Fury 325’s insane 30 second dispatches when opening, but that is not really possible with sanitization and other restrictions. By any chance, do you know why Orion’s queue was closed off early today? Will this be the policy going forward?

[JimParker85]

Had my first 3 rides on Orion today. First was just after open, back row. Trim crushed us on the big hill, but it was a great start overall. Second ride at 415pm was also back row, much better. Really impressed from start to finish. Final ride at about 830, front row. Fun, very fast. I do prefer Leviathan and certainly Fury's front row ride. I live about 90 minutes from Leviathan so we ride it a lot. Overall I think I rate Orion above Leviathan, but certainly not above Fury. Carowinds is still home to the King of the Gigas, but Orion is no slouch. Can't wait to (hopefully) get full train rides on it next year. The crew today was awesome, by the way. They were flying with dispatches on non-cleaning cycles, it was outstanding. Kudos to Don and the whole team for a great job with the entire ride experience. The theming is great, the coaster looks amazing and rides so well. Fantastic addition to the park IMO. 

[FUN&ONLY!]

3 minutes ago, JimParker85 said:

Had my first 3 rides on Orion today. First was just after open, back row. Trim crushed us on the big hill, but it was a great start overall. Second ride at 415pm was also back row, much better. Really impressed from start to finish. Final ride at about 830, front row. Fun, very fast. I do prefer Leviathan and certainly Fury's front row ride. I live about 90 minutes from Leviathan so we ride it a lot. Overall I think I rate Orion above Leviathan, but certainly not above Fury. Carowinds is still home to the King of the Gigas, but Orion is no slouch. Can't wait to (hopefully) get full train rides on it next year. The crew today was awesome, by the way. They were flying with dispatches on non-cleaning cycles, it was outstanding. Kudos to Don and the whole team for a great job with the entire ride experience. The theming is great, the coaster looks amazing and rides so well. Fantastic addition to the park IMO. 

This is so true. Orion is just pure fun, and it is definitely an elite coaster. It holds up on its own compared to other giga coasters, and it is a really solid ride. People who trash it can’t say the ride is bad, but they are just jealous that their home park doesn’t have something as good.

[SonofBaconator]

3 hours ago, DeltaFlyer said:

I listened to a ride op on WindSeeker drone on and on about how Orion is subpar and basically a hyper, only 287ft, etc. Getting a little old at this point. 

It baffles me how some employees blatantly criticize the company they work for while on the job. Most companies will fire employees if they talk ill about their company or product.

[IceePirate]

9 minutes ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

That really is not bad at all with COVID-19 restrictions. I know the park was probably going for Fury 325’s insane 30 second dispatches when opening, but that is not really possible with sanitization and other restrictions. By any chance, do you know why Orion’s queue was closed off early today? Will this be the policy going forward?

We closed it early so we could cycle people off for the fireworks at 9:45. The launching pad is very close to the turnaround. Since there aren't fireworks right now, should just be a 1 time thing

[Waltny]

This seems to be the active Orion thread, I shot the fireworks from the Area 72 plaza with Orion in the foreground... looked amazing and was LOUD(awesome)!