Overview
Thrill-seekers will experience a new level of excitement when they visit Kings Island in 2020. Joining the world-class line-up of roller coasters at the park is Orion®, one of only seven giga coasters in the world, a class of roller coasters having a height or drop of 300-399 feet.
Riders on Orion will plummet down an exhilarating 300-foot first drop, sending them on a high-speed journey over seven more hills and 5,321 feet of track at speeds up to 91 mph on Kings Island’s tallest, fastest and longest steel roller coaster.
Themed to the park’s new Area 72, formerly known as X-Base, the ride features the latest prototype vehicle developed by the Project X initiative. Scientists are racing against time to develop new technology capable of weaving transport vehicles through a coming meteor storm and traveling to a new planet within the Orion constellation. For the program to be successful, it need a volunteers to help with testing.
Orion will be the tallest and fastest roller coaster at Kings Island, and the longest steel roller coaster at 5,321 feet. Orion was exclusively designed for Kings Island by Switzerland-based Bolliger & Mabillard, which also designed the park’s popular Banshee and Diamondback roller coasters.
The cost to build Orion? About what it took to build the entire park in 1972.
Are you ready to “volunteer to help with testing”?
Track Layout
Credit: Kings Island
Videos
Orion Front Seat POV
Orion Front Seat POV
Photos
Orion’s Ride Information & Stats |
|
|---|---|
| Ride Manufacturer: | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Type / Model: | Steel / Giga Coaster |
| Duration: | 3 Minutes |
| Trains: | 3 trains with 8 cars. Riders are seated 4 across in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train |
| Capacity: | 1,650 riders per hour |
| Minimum Height Requirement: | 54 inches |
| Track Length: | 5,321 feet |
| Height of First Drop: | 300 feet |
| Length of First Drop: | 447 feet |
| Total Number of Hills: | 8 |
| Height of Hills: | 287 feet, 174 feet, 202 feet, 56 feet, 147 feet, 125 feet, 90 feet, 83 feet |
| Top Speed: | 91 MPH |
Conclusion
Finally the coaster enthusiasts and Kings Island fans can put this rumor to rest as it’s now coming to Kings Island. I’m exciting with the new addition and tied in with the infamous Flight of Fear. With me living in Florida, I prob won’t be able to ride it next year but I will look forward to my trip to Ohio in January for vacation while visit friends and family with a stop at Kings Island from a far to look at the landscape of Kings Island with Orion in the background.
Now since it’s a few inches shorts from being classified as a Giga since its not 300-399 feet tall coasters, I’m still calling it a Giga coaster. Look at the first drop, 300 feet, being longer than the lift hill, diving into the beautiful lands and trees at Kings Island. It’s going to be a fun coaster for the park. Kings Island is my forever home park since I grew with that park for a long time and I’m excited to see how Area 72 will unfold. Stay tuned for more update about Kings Island and Orion.
Learn more about Orion, visit Kings Island.
