Orion Reviews

[SOBwasaSOB]

Invertigo and Banshee pull much more positive gs, in my experience at least.

[silver2005]

If I could describe this coaster in one word, its graceful.  It does have a few intense moments at the bottom of the first few drops as its doing pull outs at 90 mph, but for a larger portion of the ride, it was very smooth and graceful as it went element to element, and it still had a good sense of speed throughout.  The thing I like about the 2nd and 3rd hills is that they're steep enough to lose sight of the horizon, so when you do those flashy high banked turns that high, it really gives a good sense of disorientation and a sense of flying, which helps that its painted in that awesome shade of blue.  Add in some cool negative G shenanigans and you have 2 really solid hills following the first drop.  Has some decent pops of air on the camel backs, and a really good one on the hill after the helix.  The helix is pretty steady on the positive G's.  I was bordering on grey out, but not quite up to Banshee's curves.  It feels like a condensed version of Millennium Force. Very good coaster overall.  I'll be making up for my ride count of 2 next summer.  

[Driver8rws]

On 9/12/2020 at 9:32 PM, silver2005 said:

If I could describe this coaster in one word, its graceful.  

 

YES!!   That's the PERFECT word! 

I've been saying "too smooth" but I love smooth coasters. So that's not the right way to say it. 

GRACEFUL is perfect.

ORION IS TOO GRACEFUL!  That's it's problem.  No excitement, no thrill.

And the STRAIGHT part of the drop is too short. (bottom curve out of drop is too pronounced/long)

 

 

[coaster sally]

1 hour ago, Driver8rws said:

 

YES!!   That's the PERFECT word! 

I've been saying "too smooth" but I love smooth coasters. So that's not the right way to say it. 

GRACEFUL is perfect.

ORION IS TOO GRACEFUL!  That's it's problem.  No excitement, no thrill.

And the STRAIGHT part of the drop is too short. (bottom curve out of drop is too pronounced/long)

 

 

What giga has a tight pullout?  The bests is Skyrush but its a hyper.

[IBEW_Sparky]

2 hours ago, Driver8rws said:

 

YES!!   That's the PERFECT word! 

I've been saying "too smooth" but I love smooth coasters. So that's not the right way to say it. 

GRACEFUL is perfect.

ORION IS TOO GRACEFUL!  That's it's problem.  No excitement, no thrill.

And the STRAIGHT part of the drop is too short. (bottom curve out of drop is too pronounced/long)

 

 

That is a really good way of putting it, it actually lays out everything I think and feel about this ride, with the exception of the drop.  While I agree it would be an even better drop with a bit more vertical track (i.e another 20-25 feet of height) I enjoy the force of the curve out and it ranks 2nd of the 3 Ive ridden, with I305 has the best drop, and this edging out Millie's.  Otherwise, yes you hit it on the head with this.  Does it have speed?  Yeah.... its got speed.  Does it have a good drop and one Hellaciously cool airtime element the end?  Absolutely it does!!!   Whats in between those bookends, however, is just "there".  It doesn't do any one thing BADLY, and it does everything REALLY gracefully, but putting the whole package into play it becomes the roller coaster equivalent of a Bentley Continental GT (beautiful, refined, fast, but in the Supercar class sheerly due to pricepoint and manufacturer) and something the likes of I305 becomes the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ (hot and edgy, far from refined, ridiculously fast, way too extreme to be a daily driver but something that rocks your World when used sparingly).

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

I believe graceful is what this coaster was meant to be in the first place. A tall, fast, and graceful coaster that the GP will eat up. Not every coaster has to be Steel Vengeance or I-305. Remember enthusiasts make up a small percentage of attendance and revenue. 

[silver2005]

If you plug in Kings Island to Google Maps, its now updated up to this past off season.  It shows pretty well how they stored the track until it was ready to go together.  

[KIjames]

On 9/20/2020 at 12:59 PM, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

 

I believe graceful is what this coaster was meant to be in the first place. A tall, fast, and graceful coaster that the GP will eat up. Not every coaster has to be Steel Vengeance or I-305. Remember enthusiasts make up a small percentage of attendance and revenue

 

Agreed. But the GP loves intense coasters too. The GP would also love if Kings Island got something like Maverick at CP or Storm Runner at Hersheypark. 

 

But I still think Orion does what it was meant to do very well. My favorite ride in the park.

[RaiderLAS]

Rode it for my first and second time today. My first ride was in the middle of the train and although I enjoyed the first drop, I was a little disappointed with the rest of the layout. It wasn’t very forceful and I didn’t feel much airtime either. Now this was my first B&M giga, so I wasn’t sure what to think about the ride going into it. I think a lot of my disappointment may have been me setting too high of a “standard” for what I was expecting.

Now my second ride was in the very back and it was a totally different experience! Much more airtime and the first drop was absolutely amazing! This will definitely be my preferred place to ride.

Overall I think I still prefer Diamondback over Orion, but I’d really like to go try out Leviathan and Fury 325 to see how Orion compares before I make my final assessment of the ride. But for only having to wait about 20 mins for both rides it was definitely worth the wait, not sure if I’d want to wait over an hour for it though....


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[silver2005]

One thing I noticed was that Orion got better later in the day.  In the morning, it didn't feel quite as quick, but by the afternoon (on a rather hot day mind you for the day I went) it was a-flyin'.  MF and TTD have similar tendancies from my experience.  

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

Orion...3.8% better than Diamondback. 

[CoasterJack]

9 hours ago, Pagoda Gift Shop said:

Orion...3.8% better than Diamondback. 

All I can say is Orion didn't have the same effect Fury 325 had on Intimidator. Screw the slight roughness at the bottom of each airtime hill, nothing will be able to beat the floater airtime filled layout of Diamondback, or the splash down. At least for me personally, Orion was a great addition to the park and all, but it's still number 3 in the park for me.

[ZekTehKek]

It's been a while since I've been on here! 

Anyways, I rode Orion WAAAY back on July 8th, so it was still fairly new. I got 2 rides on it, one in row 7 and one in row 4, and I forget which one I preferred more. Besides that, I thought the ride was incredible! It's my 2nd favorite B&M behind Fury 325, and my #9 overall. I thought the "wave turn" was fantastic and gave such a great sensation of airtime, I thought the speed hill was FULL of sustained ejector, and I thought that, despite being trimmed, the floater hill was better than any hill on Intimidator at Carowinds. Orion also gave me a feeling that I've never experienced on any coaster ever, something about it really clicked with me and I don't know how to describe it. However, if there was one part that I was let down by, it was the helix; I didn't get any resemblance of a helix that would/could make me grey out. Other than that, it's a fantastic ride!!

In terms of how I'd rank it among the other gigas? Well, I've been able to ride all 5 North American gigas, and I find it so hard to say "oh it's my 3rd favorite of the gigas" because (for me) there's a HUGE gap in my preference of Leviathan and Orion. For me, Orion, Millennium Force, and Fury 325 are all inside of my top 10, yet Leviathan and I305 are considerably far away from it (I305 more-so than Levi). So I largely prefer it to Leviathan and I305, but I slightly prefer Millennium Force and Fury 325.

[Captain Nemo]

Here it is, my full review of Orion...

In what may be the most divisive roller coaster in the industry, since it's announcement Orion was split down the middle with the GP and enthusiasts that had excitement and dissatisfaction. Many aspects of the ride was critically dissected from it's theme, layout, height and overall experience. I made my own interpretations but knew when it came to my first ride I would clear those preconceived notions and go into the experience with an open mind. That being said on a cold windy day on its final operating day of its opening year of 2020 I finally was able to make that decision. I had the opportunity to ride twice, once in the front and the back. 

First off, big applause to the crew that did a fantastic job under the circumstances of the many operation changes in 2020. They still brought the great standards we have come to love with Cedar Fairs crew.

Starting the ride and moving Into the lift I began my initial thoughts. The height while riding definitely feels like a giga coaster providing amazing views. Seeing us raise higher and above WindSeeker was a great opportunity to see new perspectives; However, I found myself turning back to gaze at the park as the direction of the lift facing the back of the park didn't provide the views I had hoped. Cresting the top and going into the drop was by far the best moment in the ride creating quite possibly the best airtime moment in any of the coasters in the park and left me in an audible GASP and expletive words leaving my mouth it true shock (especially moreso in the back). The front seat unfortunately does not whip you over. The length of the drop itself though was short left me wanting more on such a tall coaster. It reminded me of Millennium Force where the long crest gave a better sensation of a longer, more intimidating drop. While I do love the whip into the steep drop, I ultimately felt the drop on Millennium Force was the experience I prefer. The transition into the wave turn and turnaround were... well... tame. Once again B&M had such speed to take advantage of and forces that could have been utilized but they came limited. The airtime coming out of the wave turn was nice but after experienced the tremendous drop it didn't fill that gap of continuing the momentum, instead leading into a rather forceless two following elements. The speed, while fast just did not feel like 90mph. I was noticing a rather familiar sence of speed when riding Diamondback. Going into the low airtime hill was just as I would hope. Full of great air. After riding Leviathan and loving the low to ground transitions the low airtime hill did not disappoint, but after two lackluster previous elements and a trimmed larger airtime hill where air on Diamondback provide more positive Gs, so much of the excitement had been lost. At this point in the ride I knew the ride experience was already nearing it's end but still had the unique helix and final turn. The helix is where that momentum in speed is all but lost, while still providing neg Gs, it was low. I did have a slight gray out However, the element felt that it could have used better banking and tighter turns to break the it's element into more than just a slightly banked turn. Thankfully the following final turn provided that great over bank I so wanted in the helix. Underwhelmed by the helix the final turn was a nice pop of air but the ride leading to that point had left a sour taste. 

In conclusion, Orion is a great roller coaster full of some amazing elements and an amazingly smooth rollercoaster, quite possibly one of the smoothest I've ever experienced. I only wish the layout had more thought involved. It's location and height had such a tremendous opportunity to truly create a custom layout that differentiates itself from the pack of other B&M gigas. Though I will say I do appreciate that Kings Island has finally got its giga even if it isn't the one that I had hoped for. 

Conclusion Orion is a great roller coaster line up to Kings Island. Regardless of the overall experience it cannot be disputed that it is a good ride.

 

[JCJTheHurricane]

On 11/7/2020 at 3:41 PM, Captain Nemo said:

The helix is where that momentum in speed is all but lost, while still providing neg Gs, it was low. I did have a slight gray out However, the element felt that it could have used better banking and tighter turns to break the it's element into more than just a slightly banked turn. Thankfully the following final turn provided that great over bank I so wanted in the helix. Underwhelmed by the helix the final turn was a nice pop of air but the ride leading to that point had left a sour taste. 

I enjoyed reading your review and I'm happy you were able to get in a ride! But the weather likely had some to do with that loss of momentum. That final day, the ride was moving a little slower, so it might not have done it justice.

[flightoffear1996]

I really liked the helix but I kind of wish it was broken up with some changes in direction.  It just a long time spent turning in one direction.  

[grsupercity]

I liked the que, I liked the color scheme and the theme. The ride was glass smooth and very rerideable. It easily in the top 3 best coasters in the park. The speed hill was great 

[IndyGuy4KI]

@DeltaFlyer has done a great job with the next KICentral video highlighting Orion. This includes ride stats, and other info.

 

[Rivertown Rider]

So out of curiosity how does it ride now that it is running with full trains?

[Buckeye Brad]

I scored 2 rides on Friday night…front seat and second from back.

In my opinion, these rides were slightly better than my 3 rides last year.

Can’t put my finger on any one aspect that was significantly different, just felt solid all the way through.

Also, the trim brake did not feel as strong.

The first drop is still magnificent. :^)

 

[Kodistict]

The line was three hours long when I rode, and the ride broke down halfway through due to technical difficulties. I don't know what they were, but they had to run the trains on half capacity. Despite that, the ride feels and rides smoother than I last remember it, especially through the valley of the first drop. This is just my theory, but maybe it's because the ground that Orion sits on has gotten more firm than last year when it first opened from ride cycles? I'm not completely sure so don't take my word for that.

[Rivertown Rider]

I got to ride it for the first time this year (after three rides last year).  It rides much better with a full train than it did last year.  Fury is still my favorite of the gigas, but I would encourage anybody who wrote it off last year to re-ride it.  

[coaster sally]

3 minutes ago, Rivertown Rider said:

I got to ride it for the first time this year (after three rides last year).  It rides much better with a full train than it did last year.  Fury is still my favorite of the gigas, but I would encourage anybody who wrote it off last year to re-ride it.  

I thought it ran better last year on a hot July day.  A full train last week was pretty sluggish @ night IMO.

 

People that say it's running better this year could be because it's early in the coaster season and things seem more thrilling, to each their own though.

[SnakePlissken]

I too think its running faster and with maybe more airtime than last year due to full trains but I may be crazy. I got 4 rides yesterday and one was back row. Rode it in the hot summer front and back and probably every other row.  Last summer I wasn't sure if it was better than Diamondback or best ride in the park and now I think maybe it is. Do I think it is better than Fury? No but I haven't rode that for 2 years and need to reride it to be sure. Did I think I was better than Millennium Force? Last summer no but now I am leaning toward yes. I know in my opinion Orion now beats MF in every row except maybe back row. For that I need to ride MF again in the back this year. I have not yet rode the other giga's yet so I can not compare Orion to those yet.

 

To Sally's point I started my season a bit early last month at Hershey and you don't see me sitting here saying Candymonium is better than Diamondback.

[Blue_Onion_Rings]

Took my first trip to Kings Island a few weeks back and really enjoyed it, really lucked out with the weather. I really love the atmosphere and more relaxed nature compared to my home park of Cedar Point. 

Orion is a incredibly fun and re-rideable roller coaster that certainly grew on me as I rode it more. The first drop is amazing and the speed and twisted airtime hills were awesome. My only critiques with the ride are that the first two elements ,while cool don’t do a whole lot considering the speed and momentum they had available. If the first element was more akin to a RMC wave turn, and the turn around was profiled to give similar positive, and negative G forces like Fury’s treble clef the ride would feel more complete.

I really love the redone area around Orion and Flight of Fear, very nice themeing and amazing soundtrack by Imascore. Looks to be much better than what X-base was. Orion in general is probably my favorite looking coaster, couldn’t keep my eyes off the darn thing the whole time I was there.

Considering the Lukewarm feelings surrounding this ride,I was waking in expecting a great but not blow my socks off amazing ride. I walked away with my expectations met and somewhat exceeded. I understand and agree with some of the criticisms, but in the end I think the best way to experience this ride is to appreciate it for what it is, rather than what it could have been.

I hope to be back there soon to enjoy Orion and the park more, especially at night.

[NegativeGs]

23 hours ago, Blue_Onion_Rings said:

Took my first trip to Kings Island a few weeks back and really enjoyed it, really lucked out with the weather. I really love the atmosphere and more relaxed nature compared to my home park of Cedar Point. 

Orion is a incredibly fun and re-rideable roller coaster that certainly grew on me as I rode it more. The first drop is amazing and the speed and twisted airtime hills were awesome. My only critiques with the ride are that the first two elements ,while cool don’t do a whole lot considering the speed and momentum they had available. If the first element was more akin to a RMC wave turn, and the turn around was profiled to give similar positive, and negative G forces like Fury’s treble clef the ride would feel more complete.

I really love the redone area around Orion and Flight of Fear, very nice themeing and amazing soundtrack by Imascore. Looks to be much better than what X-base was. Orion in general is probably my favorite looking coaster, couldn’t keep my eyes off the darn thing the whole time I was there.

Considering the Lukewarm feelings surrounding this ride,I was waking in expecting a great but not blow my socks off amazing ride. I walked away with my expectations met and somewhat exceeded. I understand and agree with some of the criticisms, but in the end I think the best way to experience this ride is to appreciate it for what it is, rather than what it could have been.

I hope to be back there soon to enjoy Orion and the park more, especially at night.

This year, I've been to KI 5 times and CP 3. CP is amazing and features an extreme collection of coasters. Although CP is the holy grail of CF, it has a price tag. In contrast, I agree that KI is more relaxed and would add KI is more accessible to visitors. I managed a front-row night ride on Orion last September, it was awesome. If you return to KI for a night ride on Orion, it is definitely worth the drive. While you're at the park, a night ride on The Beast is also a must. Nothing compares to it...

[IBEW_Sparky]

I came back in here to do a revision of the initial review I did last July 14th.  Anyone who has known me since I got here in 09 knows I am in no way afraid to call anyone on their BS regardless of who they are... some more than others... and that goes for myself as well.  I was at the park from 1040 until 2100 last night, and rode Orion 4 additional times.  Yesterdays and last evenings rides absolutely changed a lot of my thoughts on the ride.  The additional weight of operating with full trains has made an incredible difference as I am sure all have noticed, and the fact that the trim was just barely touching (thank you to the park for that) made Orions belt a great feeling helix with the now very noticeable increase in speed as the train traverses through it.  I was fortunate enough to get rides in rows 1 and 8 as well as rides in 4 and 5, and it's just a completely better ride now in all facets.  The two elements that I thought were the shining stars of the ride... the drop and the twisted hill prior to the rise into the brake run... still hold true, and I was correct when I said the airtime in that element would be absolutely mental with fully loaded trains and no trim!  This next part will mean jack-squat to people who aren't car enthusiasts or racers, I initially called it the Bentley GT of the "giga" category, in that the Bentley GT is called a supercar simply of its design and price point, but in some ways trying to fight above its weight class so to speak.  Now, I will most definitely put it in the McLaren 570 slot... not the end all but DEFINITELY worthy of the class.  We as racers say "If I do my job, and the car does its job, we've got this win".  Well, Im not at all afraid to say I mis-spoke last year, and that Orion most certainly "does its job" and does it darn well.  

[NegativeGs]

2 hours ago, IBEW_Sparky said:

I came back in here to do a revision of the initial review I did last July 14th.  Anyone who has known me since I got here in 09 knows I am in no way afraid to call anyone on their BS regardless of who they are... some more than others... and that goes for myself as well.  I was at the park from 1040 until 2100 last night, and rode Orion 4 additional times.  Yesterdays and last evenings rides absolutely changed a lot of my thoughts on the ride.  The additional weight of operating with full trains has made an incredible difference as I am sure all have noticed, and the fact that the trim was just barely touching (thank you to the park for that) made Orions belt a great feeling helix with the now very noticeable increase in speed as the train traverses through it.  I was fortunate enough to get rides in rows 1 and 8 as well as rides in 4 and 5, and it's just a completely better ride now in all facets.  The two elements that I thought were the shining stars of the ride... the drop and the twisted hill prior to the rise into the brake run... still hold true, and I was correct when I said the airtime in that element would be absolutely mental with fully loaded trains and no trim!  This next part will mean jack-squat to people who aren't car enthusiasts or racers, I initially called it the Bentley GT of the "giga" category, in that the Bentley GT is called a supercar simply of its design and price point, but in some ways trying to fight above its weight class so to speak.  Now, I will most definitely put it in the McLaren 570 slot... not the end all but DEFINITELY worthy of the class.  We as racers say "If I do my job, and the car does its job, we've got this win".  Well, Im not at all afraid to say I mis-spoke last year, and that Orion most certainly "does its job" and does it darn well.  

Great to hear the trim brake on the airtime hill is barely engaging. The trim brake was the only complaint I had about Orion. I hope to visit the park again soon to enjoy our improved Orion.

[IBEW_Sparky]

1 hour ago, NegativeGs said:

Great to hear the trim brake on the airtime hill is barely engaging. The trim brake was the only complaint I had about Orion. I hope to visit the park again soon to enjoy our improved Orion.

The nice thing is it wasnt an ERT fluke, it was consistent on all 4 of the rides I took.

[ThrillKingsFitzy]

I rode it about 5 days ago and the front is better than the back IMO. Great airtime down that first drop. Also great airtime on the speed hill, camelback, off axis hill, and transition into breaks. I greyed out on the helix. Overall, 10 out of 10. Fantastic ride, my number 2.