What is the most popular ride at Kings Island?

[italianchef]

What is the most popular ride at Kings Island? Does anyone know?

[BeeastFarmer]

Over time, Id say The Beast. 

[BoddaH1994]

Most ridden ride? The Racer, followed by the train. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

16 hours ago, italianchef said:

What is the most popular ride at Kings Island? Does anyone know?

That is a trick question. Popular may not be the most ridden as @BoddaH1994 has mentioned. Can you clarify what you mean by most popular?

[Tim S]

Asking which ride gets the most riders per day? Does KI publish those kinds of stats?

[disco2000]

21 minutes ago, Tim S said:

Asking which ride gets the most riders per day? Does KI publish those kinds of stats?

They do not publish those.  Every once in a while you will see them post a yearly total, but I think it has been several years since they have done that.

 

[IndyGuy4KI]

7 hours ago, Tim S said:

Asking which ride gets the most riders per day? Does KI publish those kinds of stats?

If you go to the rides page on KIC, I have the numbers using the latest numbers published under each ride, Most were updates up through the 2019 season. Now keep in mind Orion, Banshee and Diamondback have the highest capacity per hour. So they get the highest number per season. 

Lifetime of the park most rides given  is Train, Racer, and I think Beast is third. I hope this helps answer your questions.

[silver2005]

In terms of what average people talk about and praise, I'd say its the B&M trio and Beast.  I do think MT has a low key popularity with people thinking since its not very big that its not good only to walk off the ride surprised.   I think Racer will come around slowly since it does have the reputation among locals of being rough for so long and many just haven't ridden it post-retrack.  

I've actually heard a surprising number or normal guests actually like Diamondback over Orion.  

[beastfan11]

16 hours ago, silver2005 said:

I've actually heard a surprising number or normal guests actually like Diamondback over Orion.  

I don’t think I’ve ever been normal, but I do prefer Diamondback. 

[disco2000]

It is not a surprising that folks rank Diamondback over Orion.  Almost everyone I know says that.  In addition many think Orion is 4th just at KI behind The Beast, Diamondback, and Mystic Timbers.

Further, Orion is consistently ranked the bottom North America giga by many polls...

Heck, even the Golden Ticket awards ranks Diamondback at #17 ahead of Orion at #20 (last place giga).

 

[Tr0y]

1 hour ago, disco2000 said:

It is not a surprising that folks rank Diamondback over Orion.  Almost everyone I know says that.  In addition many think Orion is 4th just at KI behind The Beast, Diamondback, and Mystic Timbers.

Further, Orion is consistently ranked the bottom North America giga by many polls...

Heck, even the Golden Ticket awards ranks Diamondback at #17 ahead of Orion at #20 (last place giga).

 

It’s always nice to see your $30 million dollar investment get outperformed by the cheaper ones. On the bright side we get to claim our “Giga” doesn’t reach a height of 300 feet like the rest of them.

The Orion woes can probably be listed to the beating the dead horse thread.

[SonofBaconator]

@Tr0y I don’t think the criticism is necessary. Overall I think people prefer “less speedy” rides. From lift hill to hitting the break run, Diamondback gives about 20 seconds of more ride time vs Orion:

Orion is a great ride and I’m happy we have it. Many enthusiasts consider Diamondback to be one of the best if not the best hyper coasters of all time so it doesn’t surprise me that people make that their preferred coaster.
 

 

[LuvingKI]

25 minutes ago, SonofBaconator said:

@Tr0y I don’t think the criticism is necessary. Overall I think people prefer “less speedy” rides. From lift hill to hitting the break run, Diamondback gives about 20 seconds of more ride time vs Orion:

Orion is a great ride and I’m happy we have it. Many enthusiasts consider Diamondback to be one of the best if not the best hyper coasters of all time so it doesn’t surprise me that people make that their preferred coaster.
 

 

I'm here at Cedar Point and I'd honestly rather have DB or Orion over MF.

So I'm with you on that, the seats on both of them you could take a nap in their so comfy. 

[Tr0y]

9 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

@Tr0y I don’t think the criticism is necessary. Overall I think people prefer “less speedy” rides. From lift hill to hitting the break run, Diamondback gives about 20 seconds of more ride time vs Orion:

Orion is a great ride and I’m happy we have it. Many enthusiasts consider Diamondback to be one of the best if not the best hyper coasters of all time so it doesn’t surprise me that people make that their preferred coaster.
 

 

But that’s the thing you just mentioned. I’m not disputing the fact that Orion is fun, it’s just overall lacking. The short height isn’t even made up for in ride duration or length.

[johnjniehaus]

I think The Beast (after re-tracking) is still one of our most popular rides that people travel to the park to ride. Some people may come to ride Mystic Timbers or Orion but those are probably the biggest rides with drawing power. Nobody plans a trip to Kings Island from out of town to ride Dback, Flight of Fear, Banshee, The Racer, or The Bat which are all top tier rides at the park as well (at least in my experience with out of towners I've talked to. 

 

As for the Orion VS Dback debate I personally think Orion is a good ride and it's far superior to Firehawk (which is what it more or less replaced). However, Orion has a few elements that don't do anything for me including the wave turn (top of second hill) and the "belt" section (helix). The ride also just feels short and while any row delivers good airtime, the back rows of Diamondback are better than any row on Orion. Diamondback is longer in ride time and provided you are in the back always delivers great airtime over every hill. Diamondback is my personal favorite coaster out of approx 170 credits. 

Now I personally LOVE millennium force and Magnum XL 200. They are my #2 and #3 right behind Dback. These two coasters are a perfect example of what makes a good hyper/giga combo. Magnum is an airtime machine and milli is all about the positive Gs and speed. Two vastly different rides unlike Orion and Dback which are too similar in my opinion. The contrast of Milli and Magnum at KI would be Dback and Beast to me. Dback has the airtime like Magnum and beast is a coaster built for speed much like milli. Did I forget to mention beast is my #4 of all time? (Sure I'm a little biased towards Ohio I think)

[Jonsir]

I love Vortex it has gotten bumpy over the years but it's still really fun a lot of people que for it and its my favorite coaster of all time.

[DoomPlague]

I like Orion more and more as I ride. If anything its just smooth and consistent. I do prefer DB but Orion is obviously smoother, it has a better drop and the speed hill and that airtime hill at the turn before the brake are probably better than any singular element on DB. It's also a more consistent ride than Millennium Force which usually gives me no airtime (when you do get a good ride, its certainly great).

I have no idea what ride is "most popular" with guests. Obviously old-timer KI fans (no offense) mostly love The Beast but I find myself having to defend it to everyone else myself. The ride that most consistently gets attention from younger enthusiasts seems to be Mystic Timbers, which many consider the best GCI or close to it (its also my favorite at the park). Some love Diamondback but others consider it a lower tier B&M hyper. I usually see it ranked in the middle of the gigas now that people are getting over the initial disappointment. But all of this is from thoosies and not the general public.

[NegativeGs]

So far during 2022 and 2023, I rode Orion 29 times and Diamondback 20 times. This year, I've preferred Diamondback over Orion - its back-row airtime ride is hard to beat. If you enjoy Diamondback, but haven't yet ventured to that back seat, you really should. Added bonus, to experience Diamondback's hidden water-ride element, be sure to stick your arm out sideways during the splash down.

[WoodVengeance]

8 hours ago, Jonsir said:

I love Vortex it has gotten bumpy over the years but it's still really fun a lot of people que for it and its my favorite coaster of all time.

[Tr0y]

15 hours ago, NegativeGs said:

So far during 2022 and 2023, I rode Orion 29 times and Diamondback 20 times. This year, I've preferred Diamondback over Orion - its back-row airtime ride is hard to beat. If you enjoy Diamondback, but haven't yet ventured to that back seat, you really should. Added bonus, to experience Diamondback's hidden water-ride element, be sure to stick your arm out sideways during the splash down.

Just to piggy back off the very back giving the best ride. If you hold your hands up and your feet up, you’ll get a lot more air time.

[YuYuYuuki]

The Beast was a CLASSIC!!! I read the book based on it by R.L. Stine!

[3dgyrat]

On 6/5/2023 at 2:14 PM, Tr0y said:

Just to piggy back off the very back giving the best ride. If you hold your hands up and your feet up, you’ll get a lot more air time.

ive done that on orion once. not sure if id do it again tho lol. legit felt myself come out of the seat over the drop hill and thought i was gonna die (not really but it was actually terrifying)

[3dgyrat]

21 hours ago, YuYuYuuki said:

The Beast was a CLASSIC!!! I read the book based on it by R.L. Stine!

i completely forgot about the book. i thought that was some weird dream i had, but just looked it up and its legit lol. theres actually 2 books. 

[YuYuYuuki]

31 minutes ago, 3dgyrat said:

i completely forgot about the book. i thought that was some weird dream i had, but just looked it up and its legit lol. theres actually 2 books. 

I read both!

[Joe 1970]

I love The Racer. It's been around for as long as i remember. And I've been around a little while. Always end that ride smiling. 

[kingsislandfan1972]

Most popular ride? In my opinion it's The Beast and that is usually the coaster that has the longest line, besides what can beat a night ride on The Beast? 

[OverlandTaxis30]

On 1/20/2024 at 2:42 PM, Joe 1970 said:

I love The Racer. It's been around for as long as i remember. And I've been around a little while. Always end that ride smiling. 

It’s a KI original. Opened with the park in 1972.

[SonofBaconator]

The Racer helped get KI started: The Beast helped KI grow

[3dgyrat]

On 6/3/2023 at 4:57 PM, SonofBaconator said:

@Tr0y I don’t think the criticism is necessary. Overall I think people prefer “less speedy” rides. From lift hill to hitting the break run, Diamondback gives about 20 seconds of more ride time vs Orion:

Orion is a great ride and I’m happy we have it. Many enthusiasts consider Diamondback to be one of the best if not the best hyper coasters of all time so it doesn’t surprise me that people make that their preferred coaster.
 

 

I personally prefer Orion over Diamondback because it doesnt bother my head so much. For some reason when I ride Diamondback, i'm not sure if its just going slightly faster or slightly steeper on the first drop, but it puts a lot of pressure to my head and is very uncomfortable, using making me motion sick. i dont have this issue on orion, but im not sure what the difference maker is. Diamondback isn't a bad ride at all, I just have a better time with Orion cause it doen't cause the head pressure. 

[kingsislandfan1972]

For me, I think The Beast is the most popular ride, with the longest wait times (especially at night), anybody who visits Kings Island always has at least one ride on the legendary wooden coaster!