Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[Invertalon]

I don't think Cedar Point put out the ridership numbers for 2019 but given the 2018 numbers I pretty much guarantee that Magnum was in the top 3 (and in a less um... exciting Valravn year the top 4). It's not going anywhere.

 

One can dream.

 

So maybe it will sink instead!?

[bengalsguy]

some new footage if Orion testing has been posted by FYE coasters on facebook. Looks like it goes pretty quick through the layout

 

[RollerManic]

It might be short but things are looking up for the ride if it hauls through like that opening day.

[PKI Jizzman]

Beautiful shot of the park all snowy and some good looks at Orion, Vortex' removal, Beast, and more.

 

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[Nrthwnd]

^ Very nice.

[prozach626]

some new footage if Orion testing has been posted by FYE coasters on facebook. Looks like it goes pretty quick through the layout

 

 

There are other angles out there where you can see almost everything but the short speed/airtime hill. Even in the cold, Orion carries similar speed over the elements that Fury does. It's a short ride, but I think it will haul ass through the layout.

[KIEnthusiast]

Very cool aerial look: https://www.wlwt.com/article/aerial-video-shows-massive-scale-of-kings-islands-new-giga-coaster-orion/31227934

[prozach626]

The layout looks a lot more interesting from this view. The sideways airtime hill looks really interesting. The turn into the helix from the airtime hill looks like it's going to pull a lot of positive G's. I know I'm not the only one who spotted that trim on the final large airtime hill, but we all expected that. I was really starting to have my doubts. Now I'm a lot more interested. A lot of people have compared this to Leviathan. I looked at a similar aerial view of Leviathan and Orion seems to have more exciting elements and less straight pieces of track, hills or not.

[PKI Jizzman]

That headchopper under the first drop might be a highlight!

[drummermattk]

New content from Kings Island!!!! Drone footage of Orion (it is legal) of Orion's layout here :

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Official Park Blog Post

 

In other new's if some dont recall, Vortex's trains (and Firehawk's) trains where sent to sister park Carowinds. Firehawk last year and Vortex this year. Firehawk's became part donors to Nighthawk and well................................... Vortex's have replaced the Carolina Cyclone's trains (or some car's)

 

Source

 

If you go here, WCCB, A news station out of Charlotte with the series Wilson's World stopped by the park. Around the 7:50 mark of the video they show Cyclone's trains...................which in turn are Vortex trains.

[KIEnthusiast]

That new drone footage is great. It especially gives a wonderful look at the queue's progress, which is something the park really hasn't kept us updated on.

[drummermattk]

^agreed. One can only wonder what's in the grey building for the queue. I would think maybe a pre-show?

[JG-77]

I'm liking the music choice in the drone video!

[mikeykaise]

I'm just hoping, and maybe this is me being nit picky, that with Orion being built and Vortex being removed (which its amazing how much smaller that area between Wind Seeker and The Beast now looks without Vortex there) that it doesn't take away from the out in the woods all alone feel of The Beast. Trees with leaves will help but it looks like there'll be more exposed parts of Beast now.

[Fingers]

^agreed. One can only wonder what's in the grey building for the queue. I would think maybe a pre-show?

To me it looks like the building is for the ride exit, which means that it should be a gift shop.

[KIEnthusiast]

^agreed. One can only wonder what's in the grey building for the queue. I would think maybe a pre-show?

To me it looks like the building is for the ride exit, which means that it should be a gift shop.

The blueprints indicate that structure to be in the queue and both the regular and FastLane queues are routed through it. It's marked as "Quonset Hut" and "Prop Building" on the blueprints.

 

For reference, Orion's entrance is through Firehawk's ride photo booth. Orion's exit is through Firehawk's former entrance.

[Fingers]

You're right. I had forgot that the Firehawk queue appears to have been added as an extended Flight of Fear queue (That is correct, isn't it?). If I have that right did FOF actually need more queue?

[AmyUD06]

Flight of Fear's queue outside of the building is the same as it was the day it opened. The additional switchbacks that it once needed that have since been removed were inside the building, in the UFO room.

[bengalsguy]

Flight of Fear's queue outside of the building is the same as it was the day it opened. The additional switchbacks that it once needed that have since been removed were inside the building, in the UFO room.

 

You’re thinking of Kings Dominion. To be clear Kings Islands version still has all of its indoor switchbacks. This year they are removing the outdoor switchbacks and using that space for lockers. Flight of fear will still have it’s indoor que but will use firehawks old que as new outdoor que.

[prozach626]

 

Clearly Diamondback 2.0 or Leviathan.

[JJLehto]

Dont care what anyone says, looks cool and I'm excited to ride

[PKIDelirium]

Yeah, they've enclosed the sides of the FOF outdoor queue area instead of it just being open, and are apparently increasing the amount of space that was formerly switchbacks for additional locker area, so there's less lanes outside the main building than before. Firehawk's old maze has been altered and connected in so any excess queue for FOF doesn't spill out and congest the midway, because while it is somewhat uncommon for FOF to need much outdoor queue space, Orion being right there will certainly increase the ridership since it'll be exiting right by the FOF entrance, and it'll probably need that excess queue capacity for a while at least on the busy days.

 

Regarding the state of the Vortex plot, this recent drone video shows the rather trampled-looking empty terrain being fenced in.

 

They seem to want to basically bury Vortex at this point because the only mention since closing day was the addition of Vortex as a Nanocoaster Classic, and a limited commemorative ornament during WinterFest that used the same logo from the station banners and the Final Crew badges. They had said they might sell parts, like how they did the SOB track plaques and bolts, but nothing seems to have come from that. Maybe they think it would detract from promoting Orion or something.

[KIEnthusiast]

Kings Island isn't opening until mid-May at the earliest, so we will have to wait until then for Orion. Also, here is a cool video of Orion testing! The pacing looks outstanding. I love how the ride is really woven into Kings Island's terrain.

[teacherkim]

I heard about the mid-May open. Crud. I wonder what that means for Coasterstock which is on my son's birthday and is supposed to be his present.

[prozach626]

TBH, I wouldn't count on any opening date any park sets at this point. They're being optimistic, with reason. They don't want consumers to completely cancel their plans instead of settling with delaying them. I could be dead wrong, but these shelter-in-place orders are doing the same thing. If you say you're going to lock everything down for two months people are more likely to panic. At these this is my theory.

 

BUT, I was also dead wrong when I said this entire thing was an over exaggeration by the media, so who knows. (You can only cry wolf so many times before you get complacent and the wolf actually shows up.)