Orion IMO is the most underrated coaster in Ohio. After 7 rides on it yesterday, I came to this conclusion. It doesn’t have a ton of elements, but the ones it has are perfectly executed. Specifically one of the best hits of floater I have ever experienced!
I rode it yesterday for the first time, and I completely agree with you. For how fast it was, this was the smoothest ride by far at kings island (diamond back is 2nd). Every single turn, twist, or hill was just pure joy. It felt like you were just gliding through the air. And it made my belly drop countless times. Even the shorter hills got me! The speed and smoothness of the ride were out of this world!
I think the reason why people complain about Orion is the the KI Giga was such a hyped up concept for so long. It was expected to blow Fury out of the water. When it was announced, people were quite disappointed. But still, KI got their Giga, people need to stop tearing this ride apart. Orion (Onion 287) is still fun to make fun of though, coming from a person with Six Flags St Louis as their home park.
It annoys me that everyone calls Orion a “budget” coaster. I get that many felt underwhelmed by its layout, but Orion literally cost the same $30 million as Fury with 1,300 feet less track.
Yeah, I agree. No coaster is going to be Fury 325, let's face it. From the position that Carowinds was in with trying to tap into a new market with their growing demographic, that made sense. Kings Island doesn't need to make this super long. It's a giga coaster, and it looks very fun. That's all I care about a roller coaster. I'm an enthusiast who just wants to enjoy the ride for what it is. I don't like comparing roller coasters to each other, since they're all different. Just take Orion for what it is, and enjoy the ride. It did kind of annoy me for people to compare this to Fury 325 or any other giga coaster. Not all giga coasters need to be the same. It's meant to draw in crowds, and that's all it needs to do. Like people need to stop complaining about that, the long B&M brake run, like come on. B&M knows more about building a roller coaster and knows more about them than we do, so let's not complain about that.
lmao thats what happens when you set your expectations too high. I set them too low and was blown away. Best ride at kings island and 4th favorite overall.
I think Orion has been an amazing addition to Kings Island! The more I ride it, the more I fall in love with it. Every ride gets better for me! I even got the opportunity to ride in the front seat for the first time and it was absolutely fantastic! I honestly don't understand why this coaster would be getting any hate. This is a spectacular coaster and I think it fits Kings Island really well. Kings Island is my home park and I'm so thankful they added Orion to the park. We also can't really compare it to Diamondback. Orion is a giga and Diamondback is a hyper, although they look similar, they produce very different ride experiences. Hypers like Diamondback is focused more on airtime, while gigas are focused more on speed, height and unique/special elements. While I do slightly prefer Diamondback due to the airtime hills, I absolutely adore Orion as well! Easily my second favorite coaster at Kings Island!
I think you really hit the nail on the head when you combined missed opportunity of terrain interaction and low to the ground elements. Separately those are worthy critiques but they have a compounding effect together. That’s a great example of the kind of analysis I watch this channel for.
Also have to remember that he hasn't ridden this with a full train. That extra weight will cause the coaster to run much faster thru the elements and especially that 1st wave turn really needs that full mass (another 2000+ lbs) to really get that airtime that the designers intended for that element. Don't think Kings Island is built on soft ground (Florida has much softer earth and some of their B&M's are glossy smooth) but I think the cause of the rattle on Banshee lies elsewhere (some say it's because the vests suction you in so tightly against the seat you feel every imperfection along the track especially in the back rows) Funny but I know people who have ridden Banshee hundreds and hundreds of times and never noticed the slightest rattle or any roughness. Guess it just depends on your standards
@@joewilson5286 You're only half right unfortunately. A full train will have more mass and therefore more inertia, meaning it is not as susceptible to drag of friction. That means over the course of the ride, it will keep the speed better. That does not mean though that it will be noticeably faster from the get-go and at the top of the first element. You will notice it more and more towards the end of the ride though.
I rode it twice opening day and was underwhelmed both rides, but it was as smooth as a mint coaster should be. No roughness experienced other than 7 instances of downtime during my waits.
Have ridden it four times, definitely a little shaky but it is TOTALLY tolerable, it’s just something you notice, doesn’t take away from the ride experience at all
Orion is easily the best ride at Kings Island. I felt it blew Diamondback out of the water and made it pointless to me. The only I didn’t like about is that it’s the same manufacturer and the similarities between them. I like the Magnum, Millennium combo much more because they are completely different. I felt Orion ruined Diamondback because you instantly noticed the difference.
I disagree! Diamondback just gives you the dose of pure airtime! Orion gives you a better mix of elements! I’m not complaining to have these lovely B&M’s in my backyard. Two is better than one!
Plus I’d take Diamondback over magnum any day IMO (magnum has a lot of charm though with its Jankiness) and I personally like Orion slightly more than Millie
@@sedricgranger I thought Diamondback was better then Orion. The airtime on diamondback is some of the best out there, especially compared to my local park's hyper, Raging Bull.
Yeah but you'd only have to go deeper to hit rock or soil with good bearing capacity to lay the footers. Banshees rattle is accentuated by very tight restraints and Diamondback/Orions rattle is nitpicking
@@Neglected-Nostalgia only at the bottom of the first drop. The rest of the ride was fine when I rode it last August. Rougarou had a slight rattle.Valravn was fine and Raptor was fine
I share many of the same thoughts. Few disagreements though for me. Here's my thoughts: 1. Seatbelts don't bother me a lot. 2. Although the wave turn is a little forceless and gives no airtime, I think it's a fun speed element none the less! 3. First ride, I thought it sucked in the back row because the first half was lame. By ride 3, I sat in the middle and in between and I had a few 1st half grey out moments. 2nd half I appreciated more and more because of that insane airtime. And the second half is actually better to me as every ride the trims hit different. 3 hit harder than 2 on the same day! I love Orion but Fury wins for duration! As for the rattles, I believe it is actually the wheel quality!
CrashCoaster no it ain’t rough at all! Kings island is my home park and it’s not rough. It has some bad days but majority of the time it’s just fine. I’d say it’s much smoother than Raptor at cedar point for reference
Kings island is my home park and I've noticed recently that Banshee consistently gives me headaches (not to mention the restraints are uncomfortable on your hips). It shakes so much now...if it has "bad days" then every time I go to Kings Island must be a bad day for Banshee lol. It still has some great moments though, the first drop and the slow roll at the end keep me coming back
Well next season when social distancing hopefully subsides, I believe the experience will be much stronger since the trains will have more people. More people means more weight, more weight means better speed, better speed means better pacing and better pacing leads to a more intense and awesome ride.
Henry yur boi Jones yep, only 2 riders can sit in a given row at most. So the train only is running at half capacity (16 riders) at most (instead of 32)
In fairness SFMM has one of the best coasters I've ridden...I mean ya got a ride that is 2 RMCs for the price of one! I agree enthusiasts are often ridiculous...I've gotten so much crap for loving Millennium Force bc to many its basically hot garbage covered in pee lol but idk this ride looks just OK. Bigger and cost isnt always better. Twisted Colossus tbh seems way better
I got my first ride on this today and thought it was great. While it doesn’t stand up to some of the more elite gigas I think it should be appreciated for what it does well. The speed hill, helix, and last banked airtime hill are all super fun moments. That’s not to mention the theming and overall atmosphere of Area 72, as well as how great the ride looks in the skyline. I understand why many people are underwhelmed by the length and some elements, but I am definitely pumped to have this thing just 20 minutes from my house. Definitely a great addition to my home park. Great video as always
Everytime i hear someone say something bad about a coaster this size or something so spectecular i feel so weird, cause in the netherlands you don't have rides like this and even a b&m hyper would probably be top 5 in the Netherlands. So not seeing this coaster getting a 10/10 makes me wonder what is bad about a coaster like this.
It's not that it's bad, it's just that it doesn't tick all the boxes most coaster enthusiasts use for "this is the best coaster ever." This kind of ride as is designed for a more wide-spread appeal to the general public.
It just feels like a taller diamondback almost if it stayed low to the ground i would liked a lot more but it's not bad it's my second favorite in the park probably
Since Kings Island is my home park and so sentimental to me as well as this being my first year I’m old enough to buy my own season pass and go to the park when I want as an official adult, this coaster is my dream! I’ve been waiting for a gig a for the park I love so dearly for so long and this is everything I could’ve asked for! These are critics, so they are supposed to find some things the ride can do better for our entertainment, but ,at the end of the day, all I care is if the roller coaster is fun and enjoyable. If it’s fun and enjoyable then it’s going to be great in my book!
This is a very good ride. A lot of coaster enthusiasts compare this to another similar coaster Fury 325, and see if it reaches the bar that was set with that coaster, and end up getting disappointed. Almost every theme park would love to have a ride like this. It is a very good coaster (right now toss up with Diamondback for best KI coaster), though if it just had one or two more elements, making it a tad longer, it would be even better.
B&M the only manufacturer that can build a 300ft high and 5300 ft long coaster that doesn't get preferred to a 98ft wooden coaster that cost half the money.
I remember a couple years back I was riding Diamondback and at the top of the hill my seat unclicked one notch and loosened up. I was holding on and felt it pop up right as we went over the hill. Never been more scared. So yes, clamshell seats do need seatbelts.
My Father is a Mechanical Engineer, and I asked him why the larger rides at the park vibrate. He said that the soil in southern Ohio is very soft, which causes the foundations of the roller coasters to shift. This in turn, causes the supports and groundwork to be out of place. He also said that the reason why you especially feel it on the B&M's is because of how much heavier their track design is compared to other manufactures.
I went to kings island on June 6th, They are doing a system we’re they give you a ticket for a time period, during that time period you give your card to the people at front, and your able to ride, You can only ride it once per day unless the lines are short at the end of the day, then you can get more rides. I am a subscriber to your Chanel and also coaster studios
As a Kings Island home park person who went to it 20 times I agree with Themeparkworldwide in saying Diamondback is so rough it doesn't even feel like a B&m but does still have good airtime. Banshee is definetly not smooth but its my most marathoned ride at Ki throughout all of my visits but its still currently my fav ride there pending riding Orion
IKR its possible Taylor may have different definitions of smoothness than the rest of us. rides that I think are rough like Kumba and Kracken he thinks are smooth, and some coasters that I think are smooth like Diamondback and Banchee he thinks is rough. I guess coasters experiences are subjective.
Banshee? glass smooth? no... ive ridden several inverts and most are glass smooth like Raptor, Banshee has had a bad rattle from the day it opened and has only gotten worse every year I come back to ride it (still a great ride but smooth? No, it may be the roughest B&M invert out there)
I rode Diamondback & Banshee last year, and both were very rattly. Diamondback was so bad, I got a bad headache every time. Some people either don't feel the rattle, or it doesn't give them a headache. I wish I were one of those people.
8 is tough for a giga for an enthusiast. So much potential, I feel like a giga has to be at least a 9. At the end of the day though, it’s about the GP, and they will eat this up and give it a 10/10
If you go into a ride with an overly analytical mind then your views will be clouded. Orion's a great fun giga coaster similar to the one's built before it with it's own unique layout. Some wanted a record breaker which would probably be too intense for the general populace. Note how the lines for i305 are usually quite short due to the rides excessive intensity. Cedar Fair learned it's lesson and went with B&M for it's last 3 Giga's after i305...they want people to actually ride the ride and the name of the game is to make money
This coaster had soo much potential. It had enough speed for some awesome turns, loops, ext. All that speed just to have a rough brake check into the station. At least just 1 large loop would have bled some speed before the brake check and would have been an awesome feature to a gig coaster
Most, if not all, larger B&M hyper models have a larger box beam to support the lift hill. They go up and then down with the track, separating when the drop starts to level out. What you saw was that larger box beam on the first drop of leviathan.
Ride operators were the very best. One excellent crew of people. I was impressed. Between dealing with COVID-19 and ensuring good ride capacity, this group deserves some credit. I was there this past weekend and wanted to give them a shout-out.
Such a fun ride! We saved this ride for last, however, we didn’t want to ride it for the first time at night. But time got ahead of us, and we rode at night, in the rain, in the VERY back. I do not regret it. The experience was out of this world. I really felt like I was riding a nebula lol
I’ve been thinking that KI’s ground could be the cause for the B&Ms rattling but have never heard anyone else mention it, so it’s nice to hear someone else mention it!
@@ArrowThrills It's because of the fact that if you don't have stronger ground and soil, the footers can shake and vibrate due to the forces of the trains cycling the track. It's more noticeable when the ground changes overtime. So the track is not the problem, but the footers that bring that vibration from the ground, up to the supports, and to the trains, which cause that vibration.
@@TonyKimtheamusementparkfan This is possible since Ohio does have nice fertile soil but eventually you'd get deep enough to hit rock or soil with good bearing capacity. You would hope that the engineers wouldn't short change on the foundation in this manner but maybe they feel Good enough is good enough. Either way if that is the problem the fix would be fairly easy and cheap to remedy. Maybe it just needs to get really bad before the problem is addressed
I do agree with you! I only rode it once, but I loved it right away. I was distracted, however by having to hold my sunglasses on my face because it was at the point in the day where the sun was blazing and just starting to go down. Super fun and can’t wait to ride it again!
I'd say that Cedar Fair as a whole has an amazing grasp on theming their amusement parks, but I don't think that KI is their best park to show off that side of them (Even though Area 72 is one of my favorite areas in any amusement park, ever)
unpopular opinion but I just wanna put it out there that the turn around is possibly my favorite part of this ride. I've ridden it 12 times so far and absolutely love it! It has a weird effect where if u sit in the back row on the right side, it gives an almost upside-down effect which is amazing! On top of that, u can really feel the drop on the turnaround too, its a whipping feeling that is just amazing. Totally respect your opinion, I just wanted to say that I personally love it and that's why.
Especially when they're B&M coasters that shouldn't do that. But I guess Kings Island's soil is not very good for some reason.... :( The B&Ms at my home park, Canada's Wonderland are very smooth (well Behemoth does have a bit of a rattle, but that doesn't bother me). Leviathan and Yukon Striker are glass smooth tho.
@@TonyKimtheamusementparkfan Yes, Leviathan & YS are so smooth. I was so impressed by that last year. After riding Fury & Valravn, both great but still extremely rattly, I was not expecting Leviathan & YS to be so smooth.
I’m curious if the wave turn will be better when they are able to run a full train (32 people). They are only loading half trains as of now for distancing
The ride is great. It is different from other coasters. I been to Cedar Point almost every year for a long time. I think Orion has it's own characteristics. I wouldn't want it to be like any other ride. It fits in great with what the park already has in context. Who knows what Cedar Fair will put in there next. They have tons of land to grow.
That helix is crazy depending on the speed of the train and time of day and ill add im wondering if the trim on the air time hill before has something to do with how fast you fly through the helix.
i was there for 2 days. i had not rode a coaster for 25 years. and i had only done that one day in my life. i went last weekend. this was my first ride in 25. i am a old dude. it was so fun. scary climb. i was like oh my god but i rode tons at kings island. i will be editing videos of the haunts and the roller coasters. the bmx show. i will be editing 2 weeks and putting out i bet 12 videos on kings island. what a epic ride. this coaster was so awesome. i loved mystic timbers and diamond back a lot also. so fun. your video is epic man. and i just subbed to you also
It's very interesting seeing all the reviews. You're the first I've seen say it's got that shimmy. Most have said its glass smooth or has a slight rattle in the middle of the train. Also an 8 is the lowest I've seen by far. Maybe your expectations hampered this. I'm not saying it's perfect but I dont think it's as low as you rated it. Also saying banshee is rough is a new one for me. My family and I ridden it several times over many years it's never been rough. Diamondback has always been pretty smooth for me with a slight rattle at times but nothing crazy.
I disagree 😂 now the bat is super smooth but our B&M’s aren’t even that rough 🤦🏾♂️ I feel the whole coaster community has a bad perception of kings island’s B&M! Even if they have some shakiness the smoothness is no worse than a 7/10 on the smoothness scale
When I road Orion it felt pretty smooth to me, but maybe I'm less sensitive to those sorts of things. I really enjoyed Orion, and I can't wait to get back to King's Island to ride it again.
The question is, what will Vortex be replaced with next as it's just weird to not see the classic Arrow Looper there now. Orion can still smash the area former
I personally feel King’s island deserves a ground up hyper hybrid, but it seems like cedar fair wants a dive at all their major parks. I’m guessing an infinity dive for 2023
Would you rank any of the B&M hypers above Orion (e.g. Shambhala or Mako, which you’ve previously cited as some of your favourite B&M hypers), or do you prefer the giga-style experience Orion provides?
I haven’t ridden yet but you’ve pretty much summed up my thoughts based on POV’s, which usually aren’t always good indicators. But when you’ve ridden over 150 coasters, and many B&M’s, you can gauge what the experience will be like since many, if not most of their elements are cookie cutter. B&M is great for chain parks because they are extremely reliable, they’re people esters and they aren’t scary to the GP. And that translates into revenue because let’s face it, most parks and coasters do not cater to the enthusiast. There’s a lot more of them than there are of us. As you said, they have tons of land to use and had the opportunity to go huge. But from a dollars and cents view, it doesn’t make sense to do that.
I think Steel Dragon 2000 would rank lower than Orion, because in his Steel Dragon 2000 review, Taylor said that the layout felt more like a hyper than a giga coaster!
Finally! Have been waiting for this video for weeks. I love Orion, especially in the back, and am so glad you finally posted a review video. I got 3 rides btw.
Good review. I went opening day and could only manage to get one ride. After waiting four hours I ate and rode a few other things and by the time I got off Mystic Timbers it was 7. I will definitely be back this year though I believe, mainly for more rides on this. For that single ride I was assigned to the front and I was impressed. Definitely way better than what I could've hoped for. I'm a Diamondback fanboy but I think I may slightly prefer this to Diamondback.
Someone 234 yeah helix around the drop would’ve been pretty dope! That is a great idea! I do like the view or Orion’s Belt though from the area 72. It’s cool looking
When I was a kid walking into flight of fear looking over that flying saucer spaceship was enough for me to question my decision to get on that ride. It was pretty scary for a kid. Flight of Fear....or for the OG’s, The Outer Limits is one of the best coasters at KI.
I could see the theory regarding the land being valid. I live about 5 miles from KI. When I built my backyard deck, I had to rent a full-size auger to dig 6 ft post holes - SIX FEET - and it was STILL a struggle. I can't even imagine how deep you have to go to put in a 300ft support post. But, yeah, our land is absolute garbage. You hit clay 6 inches down. Thanks ancient glaciers.....
I just marathoned this ride 15 times today and I'm a firm believer in tbe front seat. I did notice a bit of vibration but it's not something that's distracting or negative for me at all. It's still glass smooth.i thought it was forceful and engaging and I really enjoyed it.
This ride is easily the best in the park, remember that we are not mechanics and we cannot complain about the price tag because we dont have 30 mil laying around
This seems to be a very polarizing coaster. Everyone seems to either really like it or just think it’s meh. Interesting, I’ll see what I think when I give it a ride soon.
Im a coaster lover myself. Ive been on 1000s and visited multiple states strictly for their coasters like cedar point and stuff. One thing i never understand is the term "graying out"..? Do i just handle G forces well or something because i never felt this or im just not noticing it?
Banshee isn't rough and I did not feel the slightest rattle on orion. Kings island is my home park as well and everytime someone says banshee is rough I just scratch my head. Also when he said Orion had a rattle I rolled my eyes
Wesley Michael me too. Now everyone I’m the coaster community is going to say that King’s islands B&M’s are rough thanks to this review. Taylor has a big influence on the community as a whole so some of his opinions are easily adopted so now people are going to look at our B&M’s as rough when in reality none of them are even close to being rough
Same, the first ride broke my heart. I was in the middle, felt that awful vibration and just felt shortchanged. After having several more rides on Orion and getting the front seat experience, I love it to death. The last banked hill absolutely blew me away and everyone I've talked to was extremely surprised by that nice little element. It's the ride experience plus the fantastic theming, its great.
Good review Taylor! I am interested in getting out to Kings Island like whenever I can to ride Orion and the other coasters there. Funny, I didn't know that the KI B&M coasters all have this rattle/vibration to them. I didn't know that the ground which Kings Islands sits upon was not too strong or solid. Hopefully this won't bother me too much. Hopefully the KI B&M rattle isn't as bad as the rattle on Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point.
I totally agree that the first time I rode this coaster I was a bit disappointed, but we came back at the end of the day for another ride just to see if we felt differently and we totally did. I'm not sure if it was because I had never ridden it and did not know what to expect, but the second ride was MUCH more enjoyable and overall a better experience.
The tallest roller coaster in my state is 221 feet tall and you're complaining about the 2nd giga to go to Ohio. Honestly, chill, the roller coaster is a fine addition to a amazing park.
Candymonium has trims on the hill after the turn around. There is also a seat belt. After my first ride on it, I liked it but after 3 rides I enjoyed it more.
We’ve ride it 2 times. My wife liked the back and I liked the front. I personally think it’s a great coaster. Not necessarily all time great but still a great coaster. Your also right. It has the KI giggles.
@@tiedough7481 I thought you were joking because I highly doubt he will do a review of this. He only does reviews for Thrill coasters and sometimes family coasters, not junior or kiddie ones.
Max Hagenauer great pumpkin is in my top 10. I haven’t ridden it but I have dreamed about it so much to the point where I know the ride experience. It’s up there with medusa at sfdk.
@@tiedough7481 That's fine if it's in your top 10, but it's still a kiddie coaster and I hate to brake it to you but as I said, Coaster Studios doesn't review kiddie coasters, but if it's one of your favorite coasters then that's fine. Everyone has there own opinions. (:
I agree I was there yesterday we rode it 6 times that last turn airtime hill is the best but I like diamond back more only because of the air time it just feels so much better