Kings Island | Orion | B&M Giga Coaster
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vaugc002
Hyper Poster
I didn't want to be, but I'm actually quite impressed. The drop looks beautifully-profiled, some decent airtime moments and it's a fast ride even running slow. It's clearly short though. That's glaringly obvious, and probably stops it from ever being comparable to Fury 325 or Levi, but it looks very decent nonetheless. A nice addition.
Hutch
Strata Poster
About what I expected. It looks decent. The two airtime hills look great... rest isn't really doing it for me right now (except for maybe the first overbank, that does actually seem interesting). Guess it'll have more of a focus on positive g forces, which isn't a bad thing I suppose.
It does seem to have some pretty good speed going into the brake run lol.
It does seem to have some pretty good speed going into the brake run lol.
CrashCoaster
CF Legend
It honk it looks fine, but probably the weakest B&M giga. I'm definitely more excited for Candymonium. Probably one of the best park POVs I have ever seen of a coaster. I feel like the ride is disappointing as we kind of expected Fury 325 mark-2 and we didn't get it, but oh well.
I really wish other B&Ms had magnetic brakes all the way down the brake run, some B&Ms have quite aggressive friction brakes (looking at you Valravn).
I really wish other B&Ms had magnetic brakes all the way down the brake run, some B&Ms have quite aggressive friction brakes (looking at you Valravn).
VonRolland
Giga Poster
Try experiencing a block check on Oblivion, Practically stop on the first set of brakes absolutely Rip's you're face clean off, good cred tgo
Matt N
CF Legend
What is it that people seem to hate about Kings Island, out of interest? From what I’ve seen of it, I think it looks like a really nice park!
The coaster selection looks fantastic; as well as Orion, the park has Diamondback, which from POVs I think looks absolutely phenomenal! In the back row, it really looks to pull you over those hills and through that turnaround with some serious vigour, providing some wonderfully strong sustained airtime; if I were to ever ride it, it looks like a B&M hyper that could potentially top Mako for me! Mystic Timbers looks fantastic too; some great-looking pops of ejector airtime and a fast-paced layout really look like they make for a wonderful GCI! There’s also Banshee, which if it’s anything like other new B&Ms like Swarm should ride really well (it doesn’t have a pretzel loop, so that’s the first good sign for my enjoyment of it)! While I’m not sure if it looks like my sort of thing, The Beast gets very positive reviews from quite a few of its riders, especially its night ride! There’s also the solid support coasters; one I particularly like the look of is Flight of Fear, as I did really enjoy Rock’n’Rollercoaster at Hollywood Studios last year and it looks very similar in style!
The theming on some rides also looks nice, even if Kings Island as a whole does not necessarily look like an overtly themed park. Examples that come to mind include Adventure Express, Flight of Fear, Mystic Timbers, Orion and Banshee, and I’m sure there are some more that I missed! The park has a really nice looking forest location, and on the whole, I very much like what I see from pictures and videos, so I’m mystified as to why everyone who visits KI seems to be so underwhelmed by it!
I’d be really interested to know why opinions of the park are so low; is it something to do with it being overshadowed by Cedar Point in the same state as opposed to the actual quality of the park itself?
The coaster selection looks fantastic; as well as Orion, the park has Diamondback, which from POVs I think looks absolutely phenomenal! In the back row, it really looks to pull you over those hills and through that turnaround with some serious vigour, providing some wonderfully strong sustained airtime; if I were to ever ride it, it looks like a B&M hyper that could potentially top Mako for me! Mystic Timbers looks fantastic too; some great-looking pops of ejector airtime and a fast-paced layout really look like they make for a wonderful GCI! There’s also Banshee, which if it’s anything like other new B&Ms like Swarm should ride really well (it doesn’t have a pretzel loop, so that’s the first good sign for my enjoyment of it)! While I’m not sure if it looks like my sort of thing, The Beast gets very positive reviews from quite a few of its riders, especially its night ride! There’s also the solid support coasters; one I particularly like the look of is Flight of Fear, as I did really enjoy Rock’n’Rollercoaster at Hollywood Studios last year and it looks very similar in style!
The theming on some rides also looks nice, even if Kings Island as a whole does not necessarily look like an overtly themed park. Examples that come to mind include Adventure Express, Flight of Fear, Mystic Timbers, Orion and Banshee, and I’m sure there are some more that I missed! The park has a really nice looking forest location, and on the whole, I very much like what I see from pictures and videos, so I’m mystified as to why everyone who visits KI seems to be so underwhelmed by it!
I’d be really interested to know why opinions of the park are so low; is it something to do with it being overshadowed by Cedar Point in the same state as opposed to the actual quality of the park itself?
Hutch
Strata Poster
One would think that, but it's really not the case.
Mystic Timbers and Diamondback are great. Timbers is the best GCI I've ever done, and there's honestly not anything wrong with it. Diamondback is actually an okay B&M hyper coaster, but an okay B&M hyper is still a great ride imo. Just don't go in expecting Mako. Diamondback does indeed have great airtime but the smoothness is night and day compared to Mako.
Beyond those two coasters, everything else ranges from okay to horrible. And that's a big issue when you have over a dozen creds and only two of them are good. I'll give you my crash course opinion on the rest of them:
I used to really love Beast, hell it was in my Top 5 at one point. It is still a really fun night ride, but my last day ride on it was pretty bad. Super rough in some spots. Because of the inconsistency in how it rides, I don't really consider it a good coaster anymore.
Banshee is the next best thing they've got, which is unfortunate as it's the worst B&M invert. I've talked about it many times elsewhere, but basically it's pretty rattly and the inversions aren't that interesting.
Bat, Adventure Express, and Backlot Stunt Coaster are solid intermediate coasters. They're decent for what they are, but obviously not something you want to travel oversees for. Same deal with the kiddie creds in the Snoopy area.
Racer, Flight of Fear, and Invertigo are all varying levels of ass. Racer is pretty rough, Flight of Fear has gained a horrendous rattle, and I shouldn't have to explain Invertigo.
Now consider yourself doing the cred run at the park. With so many underwhelming rides, after some time it becomes a bit of a slog to get through.
Orion will probably be a Top 3 ride in the park. Look, regardless with how it stacks up with the rest of the gigas/hypers, it'll still be a good addition to the park and a fun ride. I just really hope they take care of it, because having a rattle as bad as Banshee/Diamondback at 90 mph does not sound good.
Wrapping this up with how Kings Island is as a whole, for me it's only really the coaster selection that puts a damper on things. The rest of it is great. It has a nice setting and some top notch staff. They do seem to be getting better with the rides too: they're investing in the park, and they've removed Firehawk and Vortex. I really hope they rip out Invertigo and FoF as well.
EthanCoaster
Mega Poster
CoasterCrazy
Giga Poster
Looking forward to getting some first-hand reviews of this soon. Looks like it'll deliver some fantastic positives, the drop looks immense and that speed hill is really impressive. Can't remember seeing anything quite like that on a sit-down B&M before. From its height and speed, this will no doubt be an amazing ride and a massive crowd-pleaser.
Like a lot of people on here, I can't help but feel it's a bit of a missed opportunity though. For a coaster of this scale, I think we rightly have higher standards as far as layouts are concerned. Rides like this will always have the potential to be world-beating, so it's disappointing to see the park not going the extra mile to take Orion to the next level after having spent so much already. If you're going to go big, do it properly - as soon as it opens, Orion will be compared with the best of the best.
I think a few minor tweaks would go a long way on this thing. For example, whist it's great to see B&M trying something new with the first element, it doesn't seem to have anything particular to write home about. Whilst disconcerting for sure, a wave turn of that size could've been an element for the ages. Again, the turnaround is quite bland. After the success of the "treble clef" turnaround featured on Fury 325 and the pop of airtime at the top, the trains surely enter this element the wrong way? Speaking of Fury, I'm also surprised there aren't any of those big, low, swooping turns on Orion. I really dig the next succession of elements, but again, the ending looks like it fails to deliver too - the fact the final drop doesn't even reach the ground seems like a waste.
Obviously it would be nice if the final brake run was less tall, but for the sake of capacity, it's much better than an MCBR in my view. When you consider that it's functionally identical to a mid-course but placed at the end of the layout to maintain the pacing, it starts to make sense. But given the relative lack of airtime hills in the rest of the layout, it's a shame it doesn't end with a punch - even a small helix would make a big difference!
Like a lot of people on here, I can't help but feel it's a bit of a missed opportunity though. For a coaster of this scale, I think we rightly have higher standards as far as layouts are concerned. Rides like this will always have the potential to be world-beating, so it's disappointing to see the park not going the extra mile to take Orion to the next level after having spent so much already. If you're going to go big, do it properly - as soon as it opens, Orion will be compared with the best of the best.
I think a few minor tweaks would go a long way on this thing. For example, whist it's great to see B&M trying something new with the first element, it doesn't seem to have anything particular to write home about. Whilst disconcerting for sure, a wave turn of that size could've been an element for the ages. Again, the turnaround is quite bland. After the success of the "treble clef" turnaround featured on Fury 325 and the pop of airtime at the top, the trains surely enter this element the wrong way? Speaking of Fury, I'm also surprised there aren't any of those big, low, swooping turns on Orion. I really dig the next succession of elements, but again, the ending looks like it fails to deliver too - the fact the final drop doesn't even reach the ground seems like a waste.
Obviously it would be nice if the final brake run was less tall, but for the sake of capacity, it's much better than an MCBR in my view. When you consider that it's functionally identical to a mid-course but placed at the end of the layout to maintain the pacing, it starts to make sense. But given the relative lack of airtime hills in the rest of the layout, it's a shame it doesn't end with a punch - even a small helix would make a big difference!
Matt N
CF Legend
Some of the more recent B&M hypers do feature speed hills; notable examples include rides like Shambhala & Mako. I think Leviathan might feature a similar hill, too, but don’t quote me on that.
CoasterCrazy
Giga Poster
I think it's both the angle and speed of the hill that makes it look so promising to me. Shambhala's speed hill is fast but very drawn out and whilst I haven't ridden Mako's yet, it's seems well-profiled, but pretty small in comparison. Orion's isn't so straight either. This looks like offers the best of both worlds and will provide a surprisingly intense and very long airtime moment, with a bit of a snap to it too! We'll have to see.
BansheeBerry
Roller Poster
I don’t see why’d they do that considering they just themed an entire new area of the park based on FoF’s theme. I think Orion may arguably provide the best overall ride experience for a giga when you factor in the theme and the on ride experience (Of Course if you don’t care about theming then Fury will still be better).
tomahawk
Strata Poster
BansheeBerry
Roller Poster
While it’s certainly not anywhere close to be being themed to the level of a Universal or Disney ride I do think the theming they have done is fine. I am hoping that the large metal hut is well themed on the inside. I think we can all agree even the slightest theming does improve the overall ride experience.
oriolat2
Giga Poster
Come on, kids, it's a Cedar Fair park we are talking about.
None of their coaster rides are properly themed. Sure some coasters have some props in the station, even some little effects like Banshee's scream at the top of the lift hill or Mystic Timbers' truck in the queue or even the shed (although poorly executed, it is an attempt at integrating a narrative into a coaster, but that is an exception).
CF parks have beautiful entrance signs for their attractions, a flashy light package but it feels pretty basic and generic. It's always the same: ride plaza (which normally has a photo op with the entrance sign and one of the ride's signature elements), field of switchbacks, large staircase to the station with different lanes and semi-covered ride station with a fixed cookie cutter structure (large bay area, unthemed loading gates, a manual bin for each train on the other side of the platform, control booth at the front of the station on the unload side, and a large ramp at the centre of the station building to clear the unloading area as fast as possible for optimal operation).
None of their coaster rides are properly themed. Sure some coasters have some props in the station, even some little effects like Banshee's scream at the top of the lift hill or Mystic Timbers' truck in the queue or even the shed (although poorly executed, it is an attempt at integrating a narrative into a coaster, but that is an exception).
CF parks have beautiful entrance signs for their attractions, a flashy light package but it feels pretty basic and generic. It's always the same: ride plaza (which normally has a photo op with the entrance sign and one of the ride's signature elements), field of switchbacks, large staircase to the station with different lanes and semi-covered ride station with a fixed cookie cutter structure (large bay area, unthemed loading gates, a manual bin for each train on the other side of the platform, control booth at the front of the station on the unload side, and a large ramp at the centre of the station building to clear the unloading area as fast as possible for optimal operation).
Catmaydo
Roller Poster
Leviathan does indeed have a little twisty speed hill after the first turnaround. In my opinion it's the second most fun part of that ride.
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