Kings Island | Orion | B&M Giga Coaster
- Thread starter Pear
- Start date
I was able to swing by the park for a cold opening day over the weekend, and was sure to make it up the Eiffel Tower for a gander of construction progress.
To specifically call out more key progress I was able to spot throughout the day:
No teasers posted, and everything is pretty standard construction affair. Will be interested how things progress!
To specifically call out more key progress I was able to spot throughout the day:
- Firehawk trains are, ironically, still on site.
- A new warehouse is being built at the end of the access path behind old Firehawk site. An immediate theory is if Kings Island were planning to build over the clearing behind Racer that is currently used for the Field of Screams haunt maze, this new warehouse could be a new haunt for this year or next. TL DR: THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY A NEW BUILDING FOR A NEW ATTRACTION
- Yes there is tree clearing on the old Dinosaur's Alive plot, which would have been an easy immediate step to make way for removing and clearing the old animatronics.
- Not Pictured: new access road that is being built underneath Beast's first and second turn. Kings Island has a pretty elaborate web of back access roads, so maybe plays in to the notion of having a larger attraction taking Firehawk's spot in the back of the park? TBD.
No teasers posted, and everything is pretty standard construction affair. Will be interested how things progress!
TLARides
Hyper Poster
The park wouldn't tease anything this early into the season. I would imagine that they'd tease it about halfway and announce when school starts. Get all the kids talking, kid tells friend who tells his friend and pretty soon all of Cincinnati knows about [insert attraction here].
Free publicity at it's best.
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Don't worry - I have had multiple Cincy friends ask me about "Beash Unleashed" already.
To also cast my lot into #TeamGiga, curious @tomahawk as to why you'd be adament Kings Island is not getting one? Suffice it to say, there isn't strong evidence to the contrary. And, frankly, of the three Paramount B&M Hypers built - Diamondback remains the outlier for not having a giga counterpart.
It'd be a smart play for Kings Island, and a great value add to Cedar Fair's third most attended seasonal park (which also has seen the largest attendance growth across the chain as of 2017). And yes, you can build it bigger than MF - that ship sailed when they built Fury 325.
roomraider
Best Topic Starter
For me the interesting thing about that track at the B&M plant is that the labels are MCR and MCT which means there is an MCS planned for somewhere.
So it sounds like theres at least 2 more B&M Megas coming after the Hershey one.
This isn't 100% guaranteed as there are examples of where there are letters missing in the B&M code system. SC-S and SC-T (between Hair Raiser (SC-R) and Universal Beijing Hulk (SC-U)) haven't shown up yet and WI-K and WI-L (Between Wanda Wuxi (WI-J) and Huayi Brothers (WI-M)) are also missing. Which are either due to projects that got canned at a late stage or projects that simply haven't happened yet. But there is a good chance there are 3 coming in the next few years. Whether or not any of these are for PKI I am staying well away from
So it sounds like theres at least 2 more B&M Megas coming after the Hershey one.
This isn't 100% guaranteed as there are examples of where there are letters missing in the B&M code system. SC-S and SC-T (between Hair Raiser (SC-R) and Universal Beijing Hulk (SC-U)) haven't shown up yet and WI-K and WI-L (Between Wanda Wuxi (WI-J) and Huayi Brothers (WI-M)) are also missing. Which are either due to projects that got canned at a late stage or projects that simply haven't happened yet. But there is a good chance there are 3 coming in the next few years. Whether or not any of these are for PKI I am staying well away from
TLARides
Hyper Poster
Don't tell me that people are actually going for that BS that Channel 5 publicised... I'd like to think that people in my city aren't really that stupid.Don't worry - I have had multiple Cincy friends ask me about "Beash Unleashed" already.
To also cast my lot into #TeamGiga, curious @tomahawk as to why you'd be adament Kings Island is not getting one? Suffice it to say, there isn't strong evidence to the contrary. And, frankly, of the three Paramount B&M Hypers built - Diamondback remains the outlier for not having a giga counterpart.
It'd be a smart play for Kings Island, and a great value add to Cedar Fair's third most attended seasonal park (which also has seen the largest attendance growth across the chain as of 2017). And yes, you can build it bigger than MF - that ship sailed when they built Fury 325.
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I mean, how many years did Marvin Lewis stay as head coach for the Bengals?
Matt N
CF Legend
I'd say that a giga next year is fairly likely for Kings Island; as @Hyde said above, Diamondback is the only B&M hyper in one of the ex-Paramount parks to not have a giga counterpart, so I'd say that makes Kings Island a strong candidate for a B&M giga. Cedar Fair seem to be the only chain buying B&M gigas (or proper gigas full stop as of late), so unless another park from another chain has made a sudden move to buy a giga coaster, then I'm not really sure what park could be getting one besides Kings Island. A giga has been rumoured for this park for years, so I certainly wouldn't be surprised if one came. What makes some of you think that one isn't coming, out of interest?
Having said that, I could also potentially see a substantial RMC of some sort coming to Kings Island after all of that "Number 5 is Alive" teasing and the other Son of Beast-related stuff that Kings Island has been pumping out. Cedar Fair has also quite recently begun their relationship with RMC, and I'd say we've definitely seen a higher frequency of RMCs around Cedar Fair lately than we have B&M hypers/gigas, so I wouldn't be too surprised if a substantial RMC came Kings Island's way in 2020, either. However, I'd say this is less likely than a giga from my perspective, as Kings Island's last coaster was Mystic Timbers (a woodie) in 2017, and most of RMC's major products utilise wood in some way, so I'm not sure whether non-enthusiasts would initially differentiate an RMC IBox or Topper Track coaster from Mystic Timbers. If they went with a Raptor or TRex, however, it would be a different story...
Another one that Cedar Fair has recently bought that I could potentially see is a Mack launch coaster, but I'm not sure if they'd buy one for Kings Island before seeing how successful Copperhead Strike turns out to be.
On a different note, very good to hear that 2 more B&M hypers are potentially coming after the Hershey hyper! They're a great ride type and I'd love to see more of them!
Having said that, I could also potentially see a substantial RMC of some sort coming to Kings Island after all of that "Number 5 is Alive" teasing and the other Son of Beast-related stuff that Kings Island has been pumping out. Cedar Fair has also quite recently begun their relationship with RMC, and I'd say we've definitely seen a higher frequency of RMCs around Cedar Fair lately than we have B&M hypers/gigas, so I wouldn't be too surprised if a substantial RMC came Kings Island's way in 2020, either. However, I'd say this is less likely than a giga from my perspective, as Kings Island's last coaster was Mystic Timbers (a woodie) in 2017, and most of RMC's major products utilise wood in some way, so I'm not sure whether non-enthusiasts would initially differentiate an RMC IBox or Topper Track coaster from Mystic Timbers. If they went with a Raptor or TRex, however, it would be a different story...
Another one that Cedar Fair has recently bought that I could potentially see is a Mack launch coaster, but I'm not sure if they'd buy one for Kings Island before seeing how successful Copperhead Strike turns out to be.
On a different note, very good to hear that 2 more B&M hypers are potentially coming after the Hershey hyper! They're a great ride type and I'd love to see more of them!
CrashCoaster
CF Legend
The question is though, where is that unpainted track going then, if it isn't going to Kings Island? I could easily see it going to China, but otherwise? Perhaps CGA?
Matt N
CF Legend
Could Dollywood be a potential option, after the hyper seen in that survey and Pete Owens talking about how he wanted a Fury-esque ride at Dollywood?
TLARides
Hyper Poster
Dollywood's not big enough for a giga. I think the Nat. Park Service would have a fit if they tried to expand out a little more.
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Hutch
Strata Poster
But they built Mystic Timbers anyway after already having three woodies (4 if you count Racer twice). That won't be a problem if they want an RMC (although that's not happening any time soon).
I'm assuming you haven't been to Dollywood or seen photos of the expansion? They've basically doubled the size of the park (at least it seems that way). They could easily put whatever they want in there (although with the rumors a mega coaster is more likely).
tomahawk
Strata Poster
Yeah, Dollywood could build a giga and nobody would give a ****. They have plenty of room and can use the terrain to easily hit 300 without being a sore thumb.
Matt, the KI **** last year was literally ride ops/enthusiasts trolling. That isn't anything to go by. At all.
Just because you think a ride would fill a parks lineup, doesn't mean it is going to happen. By that logic, SFMM would have a giga, Cedar Point would have a 4D and a flyer, and the list goes on and on and on.
CGA cancelled their hyper coaster, and they were a former Paramount park, so who is to say the Giga wasn't placed on hold. Then, everyone was convinced CW was gonna get a flyer named Ziz, and we got Canuck Mc**** instead. Enthusiasts act like they know what is happening, but truthfully haven't a clue.
Am I being a bit over aggressive on the anti? Of course. Yet when you have numb nuts acting like fan made NL2 creations are accurate, and a piece of unpainted track that could go to any hundred Chinese parks demanding it is for KI, the fatigue is extremely ****ing real.
I would be happy if it were a Giga, as it's a park I still need a crap ton of creds at, but regardless of what it is, I'm gonna ride it.
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Matt, the KI **** last year was literally ride ops/enthusiasts trolling. That isn't anything to go by. At all.
Just because you think a ride would fill a parks lineup, doesn't mean it is going to happen. By that logic, SFMM would have a giga, Cedar Point would have a 4D and a flyer, and the list goes on and on and on.
CGA cancelled their hyper coaster, and they were a former Paramount park, so who is to say the Giga wasn't placed on hold. Then, everyone was convinced CW was gonna get a flyer named Ziz, and we got Canuck Mc**** instead. Enthusiasts act like they know what is happening, but truthfully haven't a clue.
Am I being a bit over aggressive on the anti? Of course. Yet when you have numb nuts acting like fan made NL2 creations are accurate, and a piece of unpainted track that could go to any hundred Chinese parks demanding it is for KI, the fatigue is extremely ****ing real.
I would be happy if it were a Giga, as it's a park I still need a crap ton of creds at, but regardless of what it is, I'm gonna ride it.
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Antinos
Slut for Spinners
As @tomahawk pointed out, I can also say on good authority that ride-operators were behind the "5 is alive" teasing. Regarding the hyper/giga pairing - humans look for patterns and trends because they're easy to understand...just because we may identify a potential trend does not mean it will come to fruition. Regarding the park getting an RMC...it's just not going to happen. Kings Island has had an ongoing relationship with GCI to maintain their wooden coasters for quite a few years now, and it's something that certainly was a driver behind the park choosing to build Mystic Timbers. RMC had been on the scene for quite some time already when KI decided to build their 2017 attraction, and Cedar Point was already planning Steel Vengeance with them at that time as well. Kings Island had a golden opportunity to build an RMC and they declined. Given the park's clear desire to preserve and maintain their classic woodies, we almost certainly will not see them ever get converted. KI fanboys' only hopes are for a steel...but considering that there are only two in the world and are the prototype model, they might be waiting a minute for the park to build one.
Dollywood is definitely more than big enough to fit a giga coaster, and they own quite a bit more land than you'd think.
The permit was cancelled, but whether the project was or not remains a mystery.
TLARides
Hyper Poster
Dollywood must be bigger than I remember it being, then.
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Don't forget that the size of the 'current' park isn't even close to all the land that they own. The Wildwood Grove expansion is a totally new area of park being carved into the land the park previously wasn't really using.
Snoo
The Legend
And that area is enormous as well. You don't really get the sense of how big it is until you are there. It's about the size of their current kiddy area by Lightning Rod, in a sense doubling the area of child based attractions.
TLARides
Hyper Poster
Last I went, they had just opened FireChaser (or was it Wild Eagle?), and even then I don't think I saw the whole park (I think most of the time I spent watching the train they have).
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Snoo
The Legend
Aaron Smith
Mega Poster
Agree with @Snoo. The area for Wildwood Grove is massive. The park itself is just so much fun. I can't wait to go back.