originally posted on 7/17/2020 5:19:13 PM
Photo: Derek Perry. View full-sized image.
Sometimes they say “it is in the stars"… which is fitting for Orion, Kings Island’s massive new roller coaster, which had its debut delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic until the park's opening on July 2, 2020. Orion was operational and testing toward certification when the coronavirus essentially shut down the Mason, Ohio, park — along with everything — in the early spring. While the enthusiasm, excitement and some debate never waned during this waiting period, undoubtedly the park was disappointed not to be able to introduce Orion with all the fanfare and festivities that were originally planned.
When Orion was announced, it wasn't really a surprise. Cedar Fair seemed to be following suit of “big bookend” Bolliger & Mabillard coasters (a hyper, followed by a giga, a la Canada's Wonderland and Carowinds). The debate would be that Orion's lift hill would reach a height of “only” 287 feet but use the downward sloping terrain at that hill's base to create a drop of 300 feet, which raised the question of whether it is really a giga coaster?” If one applies the logic that Phantom’s Revenge is a hypercoaster because its 160-foot-tall hill drops 228 feet into a ravine, then Orion must be a giga. It is, however, the shortest in length of Cedar Fair’s former Paramount Park properties at 5,321 feet, the trade-off being that Orion really carries its speed for the entire duration of the ride. While the park’s Diamondback was built with floater airtime in mind, Orion was built for speed.
Photo: Jack Lathrop. View full-sized image.
Photo: Derek Perry. View full-sized image.
The momentum begins with an exquisite, very steep, long first drop reaching 91 mph. And it keeps going as the short, four-seat-across trains scream through Orion's course. On the out run, riders fly over peaks with the track tilted first to the left and then to the right while plunging downward into the turnaround. From there, Orion features a low-profile speed hill followed by a larger camelback hill that has a seemingly unnecessary trim brake on its upslope. This drops into an undulating helix-like element, which exits back down and through the lift hill perpendicularly into a left turn drop before rising onto the declining final brake run return to the station.
Reports are that Orion is a front-seat ride. While the back seats do get to feel the full first drop, the forces of positive and negative Gs during the rest of the ride are amplified in the front. The overall experience is fast and fun!
Photo: Alan Shick. View full-sized image.
Photo: Derek Perry. View full-sized image.
Photo: Doug Perry. View full-sized image.
Opening day saw the new social distancing guidelines in place, which included loading to only 50 percent capacity and six-foot separation in the queue line making for, at times, a three-hour wait. This gave guests time to take in Orion's queue, station and surroundings, which have a quasi-military/space theme suggesting an impending meteor shower, alien invasion or both. Kings Island once again contracted with IMAScore, as they did with Mystic Timbers, to create a soundtrack for the ride, which can best be described as an outer space tech club mix. Orion’s entrance and exit are located next to Flight of Fear, the park's alien-themed Premier Rides indoor linear induction motor launch coaster, completing this section now renamed Area 72 … a nod to the park’s 1972 opening.
Photo: Jack Lathrop. View full-sized image.
Photo: John Robinson. View full-sized image.
Photo: Alan Shick. View full-sized image.
Orion’s gain came at the loss of Firehawk, a Vekoma flying coaster. This was unfortunately followed by the removal of the park’s Arrow multilooper Vortex. Still, Orion is a great addition to Kings Island that will thrill guests for years to come and lead the way for more coaster innovations in the future!
— Alan Shick
Photo: John Robinson. View full-sized image.
Photo: Jack Lathrop. View full-sized image.
Photo: Derek Perry. View full-sized image.
Photo: John Robinson. View full-sized image.
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