Kings Island announced in August that it is building behind the Coney Mall the park’s tallest, fastest and longest steel roller coaster. Named Orion, the B&M gigacoaster will anchor a new area of the park named Area 72 alongside Flight of Fear.
Orion will feature a 287 foot lift and 300 foot first drop. The coaster will reach a top speed of 91 miles per hour. Along its 5,321 feet of track, Orion will feature 8 hills including a turnaround that is 202 feet high. The attraction will operate three trains, and if the other B&M gigacoasters in the Cedar Fair chain (Fury 325 at Carowinds and Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland) are any example, the hourly capacity of this ride (estimated at 1650 riders per hour) should be excellent.
Land clearing for Orion began this sprint, and footers were poured during the summer months. Vertical construction has now started and soon we should be able to see the station and lift hill begin to take form. Kings Island is open through December this season and Orion is slated to open sometime around when the park opens next year in the spring.