I was there opening day, Covid also was a big distraction back then. That being said, Orion is still a great coaster, Orion’s Belt might not be a fury clef, but is still fun. A night ride is awesome with the light package and dark areas in back
One of my favorite overall memories from Kings Island is riding diamondback during the 50th anniversary fireworks display. It was phenomenal and it is something that I still think about every time I visit the park.
Just found your channel. Kings Island is my home park. The Beast and I was born at the same time May 1979. It was my first “big coaster”. It was my daughter’s first big coaster. We are from West Virginia and Camden Park is actually our original home park. Grew up riding Screamin Demon at CP, Thunderbolt Express. I loved Son of Beast. Thro the years, I got to attend Vortex, Son of Beast, and Banshee first seasons and got to ride Vortex, King Cobra their last seasons. I got to take my family back on June 4&5. Before that, the last time I got to go to KI was 2019. From Sept to Nov when they topped it off to the completion of the track in Jan, I watched on live cam that coaster be built. Since it debuted, I have dreamed of riding it. So the build up to June 4&5, for me……..was sooooooo much anticipation. My walk to the queue. Standing in line. Boarding the train and snapping and locking in. The climb up that hill🤯 the first drop 🫠by the time I got to that break run………I was blown away. I sat there trying to comprehend what I had just experienced. I was extremely emotional. I cried my eyes out. I got back on, a walk on, and rode it again and cried my eyes out. Overwhelmed with the ride, my emotions………I LOVED ORION. My first and only Giga so I have nothing to compare it to but let’s throw Fury 325 out there. At those heights, 300, 325. 320, 310………..I highly doubt there is a feeling of much difference there. I imagine the drop on Orion and the drop on fury isn’t really all that different. At least, my opinion wud be, you can’t really feel a 10 ft difference with the climb up first hill or with their first drops. I wonder if anyone that does claim they can tell any difference between the first climb/drop? I can’t imagine you really can. Just my opinion. I really am hoping that we get an RMC for our next coaster. I think it wud be an amazing coaster to add to our awesome lineup we currently have but an RMC………….and it doesn’t have to be a recreation of any past coaster, just as long as it’s an RMC. I have never got to ride one yet. I’m a single mom, and have been for years and years, which is why it took me so long to get back there to ride Orion. I waited 4 LONG years to ride that coaster. It blew me away. It was like an out of body experience or possibly even spiritual I cud say. Idk how to describe it. It was phenomenal to say the least. I loved it. Definitely a new favorite. But being a single mom has just limited me with what I’m able to go do with my kids. My oldest daughter is 19 and my youngest is 15 months younger and will be 18 in Dec. my youngest was too scared to ride Orion. She rode Banshee and DB. Which I told her as far as intensity goes…….Banshee takes the cake out of the whole park. I told her, if you can ride Banshee/Diamondback then you can ride Orion but she cudnt bring herself to do it. Her sister only got one ride on it. She backed out two times then finally rode and absolutely LOVED it. Then she was sad she only got one ride. I only got 3, DB 4 rides, banshee 1, Beast 1, Racers 3, and Mystic 3 and that was 2 days in park. Which obviously wasn’t long enough. Hoping we can come for Haunt in Oct. I love your channel. I love how your both fans of KI and worked there in past. That is soooooo cool. Thank you the time and effort you put into your videos. I highly enjoy them. 🥰
I love the point that diamondbacks second half is sluggish like a lot of b + ms and it got me thinking about how this contrasts with orion being called too short
Nice video!! Orion is a Giga however Diamondback is a way better ride, more airtime, the views are incredible, i love the stadium style seating!! Keep up the great videos/podcasts!
Nobody was calling the High Roller in Vegas a super-mega-giga or whatever name would apply to a 1000 foot coaster, because everyone knows that to call it that would have been ridiculous. It was a tiny coaster which artificially got a lot of height because it was suspended off the side of a tall building. Deep down, everybody knows that it's the drop that really affects the ride experience, not the height - and the consensus on the High Roller proves it. Orion is a giga and IMO it's unreasonable to claim that it isn't unless you're also going to claim that high roller deserved its own special new classification (which of course it didn't)
I think the most important thing they shouldve done is NOT disclose the height lol Keep the focus on what's exciting. Falling 300 ft down. They didn't need to give the heights of all the hills 😅 Heck I still dont know how tall banshee's first loop is
I always felt like, who really cares? It doesn’t matter. I want a decent coaster, even if it’s shorter. No coasters drop has ever really given me that oh $#!t moment, until I rode Orion. That first drop is insane!
Just like we said, the statistics only matter on two days: the announcement and the opening days. Beyond that, if you don’t have a great ride you have nothing.
It is. And seems to last forever cuz it is so big. I love Orion. I think it’s a phenomenal coaster. Intense and fast and pure happiness. It’s like a serotonin boost. Lol
Come on now, Don. Arrow and CP coined the term hyper coaster. Also, according to B&M, all of their gigas are hypers. Sure, Intamin made the first giga, and strata, but it was good old Arrow that made the first hyper. Oh yeah, and Diamondback>Orion.
It’s not the end of the world, and it is not a very serious matter I understand, but it’s still is frustrating, that Kings Island invested as much money as they did into Orion, and they did so in a way where there is debate about whether or not the finished product is even a giga, and there Is a vast number of people who think diamondback is better. I just think that they should’ve done something a little more different to differentiate the experiences. More of a height difference, or more lower to the ground elements. I know they did more of a twister hyper with Orion, whereas diamondback is an out and back focused on airtime. Orion is like the raging bull of gigas. But fury does it better because of those low to the ground turns. I feel like Orion is a very accessible ride to the general public despite its height and speed because of it’s more drawn out elements, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not a puzzling design deliverable at the end of the day.
Michigans adventure hasn’t gotten a coaster sense 2008. Worlds of fun went from 2004 until 2021 and got a mini mystic timbers Vallyfair has not gotten a coaster since 2007 Michigans Adventure hasn’t gotten anything sense 2008 Dorney is getting their first original new coaster sense 2005 Kings Island gets one of the top 10 tallest and fastest coasters on the planet that’s 30 million bucks after getting mystic Timbers and Banshee with Diamondback in the same park and they expect people to feel like they got slighted? Hell Orions turnaround is taller than any coaster in Florida.
There was plenty of buzz surrounding the announcement, and the announcement itself was good, I was there at the Mystic Timbers announcement, and everyone was excited there as much as for Orion. I would have made Orion at least 300 ft tall, and have called it Polaris, I think that name stands out more than Orion. I like it better than Diamondback for its speed and hype you get when going up its first hill. When they announced it was just going to be the tallest ride in the park you could tell people were disappointed, but still glad we got it. It's a big, missed opportunity for sure.
I wish you would have had live rattlesnakes, that would have been sweet! I still want some kind of snake exhibit or maybe some stone snakes out in the line que.
I was there opening day, Covid also was a big distraction back then. That being said, Orion is still a great coaster, Orion’s Belt might not be a fury clef, but is still fun. A night ride is awesome with the light package and dark areas in back
One of my favorite overall memories from Kings Island is riding diamondback during the 50th anniversary fireworks display. It was phenomenal and it is something that I still think about every time I visit the park.
Just found your channel. Kings Island is my home park. The Beast and I was born at the same time May 1979. It was my first “big coaster”. It was my daughter’s first big coaster. We are from West Virginia and Camden Park is actually our original home park. Grew up riding Screamin Demon at CP, Thunderbolt Express. I loved Son of Beast. Thro the years, I got to attend Vortex, Son of Beast, and Banshee first seasons and got to ride Vortex, King Cobra their last seasons. I got to take my family back on June 4&5. Before that, the last time I got to go to KI was 2019. From Sept to Nov when they topped it off to the completion of the track in Jan, I watched on live cam that coaster be built. Since it debuted, I have dreamed of riding it. So the build up to June 4&5, for me……..was sooooooo much anticipation. My walk to the queue. Standing in line. Boarding the train and snapping and locking in. The climb up that hill🤯 the first drop 🫠by the time I got to that break run………I was blown away. I sat there trying to comprehend what I had just experienced. I was extremely emotional. I cried my eyes out. I got back on, a walk on, and rode it again and cried my eyes out. Overwhelmed with the ride, my emotions………I LOVED ORION. My first and only Giga so I have nothing to compare it to but let’s throw Fury 325 out there. At those heights, 300, 325. 320, 310………..I highly doubt there is a feeling of much difference there. I imagine the drop on Orion and the drop on fury isn’t really all that different. At least, my opinion wud be, you can’t really feel a 10 ft difference with the climb up first hill or with their first drops. I wonder if anyone that does claim they can tell any difference between the first climb/drop? I can’t imagine you really can. Just my opinion. I really am hoping that we get an RMC for our next coaster. I think it wud be an amazing coaster to add to our awesome lineup we currently have but an RMC………….and it doesn’t have to be a recreation of any past coaster, just as long as it’s an RMC. I have never got to ride one yet. I’m a single mom, and have been for years and years, which is why it took me so long to get back there to ride Orion. I waited 4 LONG years to ride that coaster. It blew me away. It was like an out of body experience or possibly even spiritual I cud say. Idk how to describe it. It was phenomenal to say the least. I loved it. Definitely a new favorite. But being a single mom has just limited me with what I’m able to go do with my kids. My oldest daughter is 19 and my youngest is 15 months younger and will be 18 in Dec. my youngest was too scared to ride Orion. She rode Banshee and DB. Which I told her as far as intensity goes…….Banshee takes the cake out of the whole park. I told her, if you can ride Banshee/Diamondback then you can ride Orion but she cudnt bring herself to do it. Her sister only got one ride on it. She backed out two times then finally rode and absolutely LOVED it. Then she was sad she only got one ride. I only got 3, DB 4 rides, banshee 1, Beast 1, Racers 3, and Mystic 3 and that was 2 days in park. Which obviously wasn’t long enough. Hoping we can come for Haunt in Oct. I love your channel. I love how your both fans of KI and worked there in past. That is soooooo cool. Thank you the time and effort you put into your videos. I highly enjoy them. 🥰
I love the point that diamondbacks second half is sluggish like a lot of b + ms and it got me thinking about how this contrasts with orion being called too short
Nice video!! Orion is a Giga however Diamondback is a way better ride, more airtime, the views are incredible, i love the stadium style seating!! Keep up the great videos/podcasts!
Nobody was calling the High Roller in Vegas a super-mega-giga or whatever name would apply to a 1000 foot coaster, because everyone knows that to call it that would have been ridiculous. It was a tiny coaster which artificially got a lot of height because it was suspended off the side of a tall building.
Deep down, everybody knows that it's the drop that really affects the ride experience, not the height - and the consensus on the High Roller proves it. Orion is a giga and IMO it's unreasonable to claim that it isn't unless you're also going to claim that high roller deserved its own special new classification (which of course it didn't)
I think the most important thing they shouldve done is NOT disclose the height lol
Keep the focus on what's exciting. Falling 300 ft down.
They didn't need to give the heights of all the hills 😅
Heck I still dont know how tall banshee's first loop is
In an ironic twist, Banshee’s first loop is a giga. 🤣😃🙃
I always felt like, who really cares? It doesn’t matter. I want a decent coaster, even if it’s shorter.
No coasters drop has ever really given me that oh $#!t moment, until I rode Orion. That first drop is insane!
Just like we said, the statistics only matter on two days: the announcement and the opening days. Beyond that, if you don’t have a great ride you have nothing.
It is. And seems to last forever cuz it is so big. I love Orion. I think it’s a phenomenal coaster. Intense and fast and pure happiness. It’s like a serotonin boost. Lol
The FoF exit was cool!
Come on now, Don. Arrow and CP coined the term hyper coaster. Also, according to B&M, all of their gigas are hypers. Sure, Intamin made the first giga, and strata, but it was good old Arrow that made the first hyper. Oh yeah, and
Diamondback>Orion.
I like diamond back much better than Orion. I love the all the air time on Diamondback and very much do not like all the positive G's on Orion.
It’s not the end of the world, and it is not a very serious matter I understand, but it’s still is frustrating, that Kings Island invested as much money as they did into Orion, and they did so in a way where there is debate about whether or not the finished product is even a giga, and there Is a vast number of people who think diamondback is better. I just think that they should’ve done something a little more different to differentiate the experiences. More of a height difference, or more lower to the ground elements. I know they did more of a twister hyper with Orion, whereas diamondback is an out and back focused on airtime. Orion is like the raging bull of gigas. But fury does it better because of those low to the ground turns. I feel like Orion is a very accessible ride to the general public despite its height and speed because of it’s more drawn out elements, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not a puzzling design deliverable at the end of the day.
Michigans adventure hasn’t gotten a coaster sense 2008. Worlds of fun went from 2004 until 2021 and got a mini mystic timbers
Vallyfair has not gotten a coaster since 2007
Michigans Adventure hasn’t gotten anything sense 2008
Dorney is getting their first original new coaster sense 2005
Kings Island gets one of the top 10 tallest and fastest coasters on the planet that’s 30 million bucks after getting mystic Timbers and Banshee with Diamondback in the same park and they expect people to feel like they got slighted? Hell Orions turnaround is taller than any coaster in Florida.
There was plenty of buzz surrounding the announcement, and the announcement itself was good, I was there at the Mystic Timbers announcement, and everyone was excited there as much as for Orion. I would have made Orion at least 300 ft tall, and have called it Polaris, I think that name stands out more than Orion. I like it better than Diamondback for its speed and hype you get when going up its first hill. When they announced it was just going to be the tallest ride in the park you could tell people were disappointed, but still glad we got it. It's a big, missed opportunity for sure.
I wish you would have had live rattlesnakes, that would have been sweet! I still want some kind of snake exhibit or maybe some stone snakes out in the line que.
I think a major talking point missed was the fact this coaster was never meant to be at Kings Island.
The ride is pretty boring. I prefer Diamondback