My third stop on my week-long roller coaster road trip was another beloved Ohio amusement park, Kings Island. Join me as I share my first time experience in this beautiful park where I rode the Beast, Mystic Timbers, Orion, Diamondback, and more!
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My third stop on my week-long roller coaster road trip was another beloved Ohio amusement park, Kings Island. Join me as I share my first time experience in this beautiful park where I rode the Beast, Mystic Timbers, Orion, Diamondback, and more!
If you enjoyed this episode, please help me out by rating, sharing, and subscribing. You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @coasterredux.
Welcome to episode 6 of Coaster Redux. My name is Erik and I am a life-long roller coaster enthusiast, but up until lately, I’ve been kind of a lazy one. Through high school and college in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, I was a full on coaster nerd, then I entered the working world, and I went on a lengthy hiatus, only attending parks every few years. During the pandemic, I returned to following the amusement industry more closely through podcasts and social media. When the parks re-opened, I rode some of the new attractions that debuted in my home state of Florida, and my enthusiast flame is now fully re-ignited.
This motivated me to get outside my bubble and embark on a week long road trip to see how some of the most elite roller coasters in the country compare to my new top two: Velocicoaster at Islands of Adventure, and Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa. I’ve never done anything like this before, but it’s time to get back out there.
This is the story of my revived roller coaster fandom, and I’m loving being on the road visiting some new parks. I spent all day yesterday and a few hours this morning at Cedar Point, a park I so badly wanted to get back to after over 20 years since my first visit. What a treat it was to try out the five coaster that had since been added, and get back on some old favorites. Millennium Force, Maverick, and Steel Vengeance were all top shelf rides that I’ll never forget, but it’s time to forge ahead because I still have two more parks to check out over the next three days.
My next stop would be Kings Island, just a few hours down the road from Cedar Point. I would head straight to the park to get a few rides in since I would have to leave early afternoon tomorrow to make it to Dollywood on Friday. The park features a triple threat of wood coasters: The Beast, Mystic Timbers, and The Racer, as well as a hat trick of big B&M’s: Orion, Diamondback, and Banshee. I can’t wait to sample more of Ohio’s absolutely stacked coaster line up, so I hit the road and headed south.
I know as a roller coaster fan that one of my favorite parts of the hobby is getting the reaction of somebody coming off of a ride they’ve never ridden before. That’s what I want to share with you.
And with that, let’s dive into my first visit to Kings Island on Coaster Redux.
I left Cedar Point just after noon, and asked Google Maps to take me to Kings Island. I didn’t look at the route it picked for me. Just a few miles south of Sandusky, I found myself on a country road leading through huge open fields. I expected to pick up a highway any minute, but that didn’t happen. I was routed through heartland Ohio and the first half of the 3.5 hour drive would be on two lane roads through small rural towns. I love this about road trips. The feeling of being on my own time and knowing I would get where I was going eventually is a refreshing contrast to my daily battle with South Florida traffic.
It was Wednesday, the middle of my vacation, and this is the really great part of any trip because I had been away from work long enough not to have those lingering thoughts of what I had left behind, and wasn’t close enough to going back to start planning for my return. That’s freedom. My only mission in life in this moment was to get to Kings Island and ride some more new coasters. Mystic Timbers, the 2017 out and back terrain coaster from GCI was the one I was most looking forward to. So many enthusiasts gush about their rides, and I had only ridden two until this point: InvadR, a delightful, yet more family-friendly example at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and the disaster that was Gwazi before it was RMD’d. Then there’s Orion and Diamondback, their pair of B&M mega coasters. It would be interesting to compare these to their sisters at Carowinds. I was also intrigued by Banshee, the newest B&M invert in the US, and the longest in the world. And of course, there’s the most famous roller coaster at Kings Island, The Beast. The longest wood coaster in the world is the stuff of legend among enthusiasts.
I finally got on the highway as I approached Columbus, and after passing through the city, the skies darkened, winds increased, torrential rain fell, and traffic slowed to a crawl. I was honestly worried about tornadoes. I have never experienced such heavy wind and rain except on the ocean. My car was rocking side to side in the wind as I sat in gridlock.
Once the rain stopped, I found myself approaching the park. I glanced off in the distance, and another big blue lift hill was visible on the horizon.
I pulled into the parking lot, and opened the Kings Island app. Pretty much everything was closed. The rain had stopped, but there was still lightning in the area. Should I go into the park? Or just punt and head to my hotel. I decided to at least go into the park and walk around to get a feel for it even if the rides didn’t re-open. It was about 4:30 pm. The sky still looked threatening and I was the only idiot walking towards the gate.
The skyline of Kings Island makes a bold statement despite the dark grey sky. The lift hills of Orion and Diamondback flank the Eiffel Tower, and Banshee rises to the left. The Invertigo boomerang is in the foreground. The front gate building is decidedly dated, but after passing through, a blue and gold sign announcing the park’s 50th anniversary celebration welcomes me to the park. International Street is a breathtaking sight. It’s a wide walkway with European style buildings and a massive fountain at its center. The Eiffel Tower sits atop a hill at the end.
I turned left at the tower’s base and entered the Coney Mall section, a beautiful classic midway complete with games and restaurants. The Racer wood coaster is absolutely picturesque with fresh paint and a classic appeal. I passed beneath the Racer’s structure and entered Area 72. Themed to a military installation researching aliens, it’s home to Orion and Flight of Fear, a clone of the enclosed Premier launched coaster at Kings Dominion. It’s open despite the weather because the entire track is enclosed, but the wait is over an hour. No thanks.
I headed back to the main midway, past Backlot Stunt Coaster, another ride with a clone at Kings Dominion, and entered Rivertown. This is a beautifully themed western section, and is home to the other two of Kings Island’s major wood coasters: The Beast, and its new next door neighbor, Mystic Timbers. As I rounded the corner, the first drop of the Diamondback hyper towers over the pathway for a spectacular visual.
I then entered the Camp Snoopy children’s area and it’s charming and well done. I stopped to grab a 50th anniversary blue soft serve ice cream cone and completed my lap around the park by returning to International Street. What a great first impression. I knew Kings Island was really going all out for the anniversary and they did not disappoint. Everything within the park was immaculately clean. Paint was fresh everywhere. I looked over at Orion and saw trains cycling. That’s a good sign! Hopefully they’re going to re-open everything. Up until this afternoon, I had nothing short of perfect weather on my entire trip, and this rain event turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The park had largely cleared out because of the weather, and it looked like I would get some rides in with very minimal waits.
I made my way towards Orion and it was not open yet. Guests were crowding around the entrance to the queue in anticipation. I wanted to start my day on Mystic Timbers, so I hightailed it to the back of the park to hopefully be among the first in line.
Mystic Timbers is themed to the Miami River Lumber Company. The story goes that the company bought the land to harvest its timber, but a series of mysterious events caused them to shut down. The area’s theming is on par with Copperhead Strike. It looks great. As I approached, the ride was open and the first few trains with guests onboard climbed to the top of the lift and twisted down the first drop, ascended the second hill and disappeared into the woods. This is the only part of the ride that is visible from the midway. Like many roller coasters at Kings Island, the majority of its layout is located out in the woods far away from the rest of the park.
When Mystic Timbers was announced, the accompanying hashtag was, “What’s in the shed.” Guess I’m about to find out! Signs throughout the queue warn riders to keep away, and not to go in the shed. Apparently that’s where all the strange occurrences started. There is very little wait, and I sit in the back row for my first ride. I love GCI’s Millennium Flyer trains. They are very comfortable, and with each car only being a single row, they are perfectly suited to navigate the manufacturer’s notoriously twisty layouts.
Enthusiasts rave about this coaster, and I was psyched to be riding what many call the best GCI in the world. The train rolls out of the station and makes a quick S turn before engaging the lift. At the top, the chain slows for a second and we get one last warning………..Don’t go in the shed. Then it speeds back up and crests the first drop. Laterals are strong on this one as the ride turns left and heads back up hill to cross over the lift. Then, Mystic Timbers really gets a move on. There’s a pretty tall second drop then the ride enters what feels like a ravine and absolutely flies through a series of small hills with rapid changes in direction, often at the apex, delivering an out of control sensation like no other. The feeling is glorious! It combines airtime with simultaneous laterals, and the wood track has just enough shake rattle and roll to make it feel faster than it is. Kinda reminds me of the first half of Boulder Dash, but these combo elements are way more intense.
The covered turnaround throws you hard to the right, and there’s more of that GCI greatness on the return run. Before entering the brakes, you ascend sharply out of the ravine, and get hurdled hard to the right in an incredible lateral explosion of a finale. Mystic Timbers was great! I love the combination of vertical and lateral forces that are intertwined so beautifully. Still, I have two critiques. I had heard the term ejector airtime used to describe this ride, and that was overselling it. Secondly, the lap bars will come down a notch or two over the course of the ride, and by the end, mine was tighter on my legs than I would have liked.
The train rolls out of the brakes and up to the shed, and there’s another announcement, “Don’t go in the shed.” Then it starts to malfunction, and repeats go in the shed, go in the shed, go in the shed, and guess what? We’re going in the shed. So what’s in the shed? It’s hoaky, it’s cheesy, and it was my first time experiencing a recurring theme at Kings Island. Part of the shed plays up the park’s history and its other attractions, something the park does a lot of, especially in its 50th anniversary. I’m not going to give more away for those who haven’t gotten to ride this coaster, but I’ll take the shed any day over sitting on a holding brake in the hot sun. That Cedar Fair invested in this little bit of extra theming certainly adds to the allure of the ride. And hey, we’re still talking about the shed five years after it opened, so the gimmick worked.
I really liked Mystic Timbers, but I expected more in the airtime department. Maybe the torrential rain cooled the track and it was running slow? We’ll see, because I’ll be back later.
I headed back to Area 72 to check out Orion. This would be my fourth giga, and my third in four days. It’s also the baby of the family, being the newest, and statistically the smallest. Enthusiasts were pretty hard on Kings Island when it opened. Some said it’s not a true giga because it’s only 287 feet tall, although the drop is 300 feet due to terrain. I disagree. Others said the layout looks boring, and it’s too short. I was curious to try it out after my lackluster first impression of Fury 325, and some of the other B&M hypers.
The blue track work with white supports are visible from just about anywhere in the park. The layout is a simple out and back with a helix nicknamed Orion’s belt close to the station and lift hill. Seeing a coaster train rocketing through the massive elements is an impressive sight, regardless of the overall stats. Still, Orion looks great in the park, and the themed area is top notch for Cedar Fair.
You descend a set of stairs from the entrance building into a valley where the majority of the queue is located. There’s a second building with plenty of theming about the paranormal research going on in this area. Due to low crowd volume, the queue was not routed through the building, but I did poke my head in to check it out. There was a barrel of experimental material that was labeled, “Radium XL-200,” no doubt a nod to Magnum at Cedar Point. This is one of many Easter eggs in this area paying homage to Kings Island and Cedar Fair rides past and present.
The station and brake run have to be three stories above the main queue, and there is a lengthy stairwell to climb to enter the station. I couldn’t have waited more than ten minutes, and I was soon seated in the back row on one of Orion’s three sapphire trains with red lap bars. Like on Fury, we were directed to board and buckle our seatbelts, but not to lower the clamshell. Kings Island crews were hustling with the same vigor as my last two parks despite minimal crowds. The train glides out of the station, heads skyward, and I’m standing by for yet another giga drop. It’s amazing how much land the park has, and how the woods hide so many of the attractions. The Beast’s epic final helix is off to the right with the majority of its layout hidden by dense forest. The train crests the top, and freefalls like a meteorite reaching terminal velocity. Then it’s skyward again and into the wave turn. It’s a unique sideways sensation, but there’s not much to more say. There’s not really any airtime like RMC’s version of this element. Orion gracefully dives downward again and twists upward into its turnaround before returning to the ground for an elongated speed hill which delivers excellent flojector airtime. Next is a taller camelback with a trim, followed by an upward twist into Orion’s Belt. The helix is fun, and then unexpectedly, Orion’s final element is its best. The ride twists upward and rapidly snaps back to level flight before dropping again and rising into the brakes. The sensation is a miniature version of the similar snap into the descent on Fury’s treble clef, and I loved it!
So, Orion is great for what it is. It doesn’t have the length or variety of Fury, the intensity of Intimidator 305, or magic of Millennium Force, but it’s a fun roller coaster with some unique elements. The airtime the ride does have is as good as any giga. The drop feels exactly the same as Fury’s despite being 25 feet shorter. Would I have liked another element or two? Absolutely. But at the same time, the ride didn’t feel incomplete. My biggest lament is that Orion has just a hint of a rattle. It’s not bad, but it’s not as butter smooth as the likes of Mako. Still, I’m always happy to hop on a ride with a huge drop, some strong twists, and airtime, so color me an Orion fan. It’s an easily re-rideable roller coaster that has enough stellar moments to keep me coming back.
Next, I ventured over the Action Zone to check out Banshee. As I approached the queue, I noticed that the Bat suspended coaster was down. I wanted to ride that as well, and I hoped it would be open tomorrow. My goal for the remainder of the afternoon was to knock off the major credits so tomorrow would be more relaxed with my compressed schedule.
Banshee is the only B&M invert in the US with vest restraints, and layout is far from cookie cutter. It’s got no pre-drop flat section after the lift hill, and all the elements are big. I was psyched to try out this new school inverted coaster. The entrance is stunning. The Banshee sign stands in front of the ride’s vertical loop which is threaded by the lift hill. There are more Kings Island historical references in the queue. The ride’s location is known as Haunted Hill, and there are gravestones as you approach the station paying respect to past rides that occupied this land. The largest headstone is for Son of Beast, the wood hyper coaster with a steel vertical loop that debuted in 2000, and was plagued with numerous problems leading to its closure in 2009. A banshee is a female spirit that haunts the location of a former family member, and is known for her wail. This coaster is themed to a banshee heralding the defunct Son of Beast.
Again, there’s no line, and I’m in the cathedral themed station within minutes. I select the back row, lowered the vest restraint, and headed out to fly with the banshee as she mourned her lost kin. The lift hill is steep, and the view of the vertical loop wrapping around it is impressive. At the top of the lift, I’m flung downward in what seems like half an inversion. It’s steep, really fast, and it’s awesome. The positive G’s come on hard as the train reaches 68 mph at the bottom, as does the rattle. This is bad. Like really bad.
The ride pitches upward into an Immelman before shooting up into a vertical loop. Oh man, this thing is shaky, but Banshee doesn’t relent. She soars into the biggest zero-G roll I’ve ever seen. I think I might have gotten airtime on the back half. Then, it’s into the pretzel loop, a pair of inversions like Montu’s batwing, except it’s way bigger, and the entry and exit cross over one and other. Then Banshee hits a second vertical loop, and spirals upward and slows into an in-line twist. There’s great hangtime here, like nothing I’ve ever felt on a B&M. She then drops back down and into a tight helix with crushing positive G’s before entering the brakes.
Wow. Banshee might just have the best layout of any B&M invert I’ve ridden. It’s really unique, and super intense. Unfortunately, the rattle is a major detractor. I’ll try her again tomorrow to see if I just got a bad ride.
I left the Action Zone and started making my way towards the Beast, and as I passed through Coney Mall, I decided to walk onto the Racer for a quick ride. The charming dual track wood coaster opened with the park in 1972, and it received a lot of track work and paint for the 50th anniversary celebration. It was featured in a 1973 episode of the Brady Bunch bringing national attention to the coaster and newly opened park. Despite being a walk-on, it was running two trains on each side, and the ride was racing every cycle. It operates 3 bench PTC’s with ratcheting lapbars, and with only a few others joining me, I turned out of the station and headed up the lift.
I was on the red side and was pleased to see that the blue train was on the lift with us. The Racer is a fun classic with smooth track and floater airtime over its out and back layout. The coaster is lovingly maintained, and while my red train lost the race, this classic roller coaster was hugely enjoyable.
My next ride would be that legendary roller coaster that will forever be synonymous with Kings Island, The Beast. It was one of those rides that wowed me as a kid when I first watched America’s Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills. Featuring 7,361 feet of track, it remains the longest wood coaster in the world despite opening in 1979. It was imagined and built almost entirely by Kings Island employees. The station features impressive stats, such as how many millions of riders have ridden the coaster, and how many equivalent trips around the world the trains have made through its years.
The line was one of the slower moving ones of the day, and I was onboard in about 15 minutes. I’m sitting in the middle, and not on a wheel seat, ready to ride a piece of roller coaster history. Like the Racer, the Beast received a major overhaul for the 2022 season. The Gravity Group, another modern wood coaster manufacturer, was brought in to replace over 2000 feet of the ride’s track work in an effort to have it running like brand new for the park’s 50th. The Kings Island team also replaced a further 1000 feet of track. A result of this refurb is that the first drop is now steeper, and the ride is now two feet longer than before, breaking its own length record.
The train crests the lift hill and plummets into its first tunnel. It’s smooth and fun. Then the ride heads out into the woods. The look and feel of this terrain coaster cannot be properly depicted in any POV video. Some parts of the structure after the first drop are so mammoth, and it’s impressive how high up you are during the section between the first and second tunnels. The Beast meanders through the woods at a pretty good clip, except for the handful of times the trim brakes come on hard. I’m not sure if this is the same as past years. No doubt they’re trying to minimize wear and tear on the track, but it would have been nice to take some of these elements with more speed.
The train then careens into the second lift hill and there is another great view looking outward to the front of the park. The train then heads into its unusual banked but straight drop into the 540 degree helix. The laterals come on strong, and it’s into another tunnel before banking back upward for another half a turn. You hurdle past the lift hill where another train will be dropping for a cool dueling moment, and hit the final brakes.
So much respect to the Beast and to Kings Island for investing in keeping it up so well. This is no doubt a trans-generational roller coaster for families living in the area who can probably all tell a story about their rides on it over the years. It’s a long ride with a unique layout, and it’s an impressive feat of engineering. The park definitely swung for the fences when building it in 1979. It’s fun for sure, and I’m proud to join the millions of riders who can say they’ve conquered this timeless roller coaster.
I headed back to Mystic Timbers to grab a second ride, and this time I was placed in the second row. Hello ejector airtime! This is definitely a front row roller coaster. It has all the same great transitions, but the air time in the front of the train is spectacular! Now I get all the hype about this coaster. It’s short and sweet, and man, does it pack a punch!
My final ride for the evening would be on Diamondback. I had to wait about 20 minutes for it, and selected the back row. This ride features the same trains as Intimidator with staggered seating. The zero car on the train looks awesome with its snake eyes and fangs. With my clamshell in place, I headed out of the station and straight up the lift. The Beast rises to the left, and Mystic Timbers is to the right. The view ahead is the series of parabolic hills we’re about to experience. You really can’t see any of this ride’s layout from the midway. The train flies down its steep first drop, and in the valley, this B&M rattlesnake becomes true to its name. Yup, it’s got a rattle as well. Not as bad as Banshee’s, but it’s there. You turn slightly to the right and head into the first camelback and the airtime feels similar to its Carowinds sister. At the bottom, you turn left this time and soar through another great floater hill before a banked 180 degree turnaround. Next up is a trimmed airtime hill before banking into the midcourse. Diamondback concludes with another airtime hill, a helix above Rivertown’s midway, and a final drop into a splashdown over water.
My first ride on Diamondback was good, and as I disembarked, the line had practically vanished, so I jumped on again for a second ride. I don’t know what happened during those few minutes. Maybe my second ride was on a different train, but the airtime this time around was unbelievable! It bordered on ejector on every hill. The rattle was still there, but I barely noticed it as I was launched out of my seat on every hill. Diamondback certainly gets the edge over Intimidator for its superior airtime, layout, and placement in the woods. This is a phenomenal B&M hyper, and I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite between this and Mako.
Having ridden Kings Island’s best roller coasters, I decided to call it a day. I would be able to spend about four hours in the park tomorrow before leaving for Dollywood, and I felt good knowing I could take the park at a slow pace. I lament that I didn’t stick around for a night ride on the Beast, but it had been a long day, and like Carowinds, darkness would not fall over Mason until 9:30 pm, and it was time for me to check into my hotel.
I spent the night at the Delta Hotel in Sharonville, about 20 minutes from the park. This was more of a business convention hotel, and probably my nicest room of the trip, yet I was only staying one night. I ordered a pizza for delivery, and retired for the evening looking forward to more time at Kings Island the next day.
The morning greeted me with more perfect weather, and I packed my car and headed back to the park. My first ride of the day was, Invertigo, the Vekoma inverted Boomerang, and it was a pleasant surprise! It featured the same shoulder harnesses as your typical SLC, and I was dreading the anticipated head banging Vekomas are known for. I selected the back row, which faces forwards when going up the lift hill because the train has four riders situated back to back in rows of two on each car. This meant I would release from the top of the first drop going backwards before navigating the familiar cobra roll and vertical loop. I walked off Invertigo shocked and impressed. This ride was smooth and intense! I really liked it, and would take this model Vekoma and day over the standard Boomerang.
I walked across the Action Zone to take a ride on The Bat, the park’s Arrow suspended, which I hoped would be my second on this type after Iron Dragon at Cedar Point. It was not to be. The coaster had been closed last night, and I later learned that a wheel had fallen off the ride the day before. Fortunately there were no injuries, but The Bat would be closed for a few subsequent weeks for repair.
I then returned to Banshee for my second ride. I really hoped it would be like Diamondback and give me a better second ride, yet again I left this coaster disappointed. The rattle really kills this coaster for me. It would undoubtedly challenge Montu for my top inverted coaster if it ran smoothly because the layout is so good. I hope Kings Island will address this problem in the future.
I made my way back to Coney Mall to find the Racer was not yet operating. I wanted to ride this again, yet it did not open during my remaining time, so I passed beneath its structure and returned to Orion. I rode two more times that day and my opinion remains. I really like this roller coaster, and it fits in well with Kings Island’s other rides. It’s not my favorite giga, but it’s really hard to hate on a ride with a 300 foot drop and some great airtime moments.
I decided to skip both Flight of Fear and Backlot Stunt Coaster. Both had super long lines all day. With my short timeframe, riding these clones of coasters I had already ridden at Kings Dominion wasn’t worth the time for me just to get the credits.
I made my way to Rivertown for another ride on the Beast. This one had about a 30 minute wait, and about 15 minutes in, it too, went down for a mechanical problem. I guess my one ride on the Beast would have to do.
I enjoyed lunch at Hank’s Mexican Grill back over by Banshee. I got a burrito bowl, similar to Chipotle, and it was a fresh, flavorful meal that didn’t leave a brick in my stomach like your typical theme park fare.
I finished out the day with two more rides each on Diamondback and Mystic Timbers. Both of these rides are so much fun, and provide excellent airtime and visuals on journeys into the woods. Those woods really are a signature element for this park. So many of their rides start from the midway and then disappear from view into the thick Ohio forest. I really like that about Kings Island. So many people talk about Busch Gardens Williamsburg being the most beautiful amusement park in the country, but I think Kings Island could give them a run for their money. Everything here is meticulously maintained, and the landscape adds something special to so many attractions.
All told, I would leave Kings Island with a total of 17 rides. 4 each on Orion, Diamondback, and Mystic Timbers, 2 on Banshee, and one each on the Beast, Racer, and Invertigo. I accomplished my mission for the most part, but in hindsight, I wish I had more time here.
As I wrapped up my two half days at Kings Island, I left the park feeling like I had just joined a family of people who love this place. If I’m being honest, of the four parks on my trip, this was the one I was least excited about going in. There’s no number one E-ticket roller coaster here, but I think the sum of its parts make Kings Island one of my favorite parks of all time. As I record this months later, I find myself thinking back to my time at Kings Island more than any other park that week. There’s a certain magic about this place. As I wandered around taking it all in, they had so many references to the park’s history, and as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, they had interactive shows asking people about their favorite Kings Island memory, their first roller coaster, and their favorite park food.
Kings Island is more than just a regional amusement park like so many that are sprinkled throughout the country. It’s an institution where parents and children share unforgettable memories. If I was in charge of marketing for Cedar Fair, I would keep the America’s Roller Coast moniker for Cedar Point, and use “A place like no other” for Kings Island. It better fits the vibe at this beautiful park.
I left Kings Island at about 2:00 pm and settled in for the 4.5 hour drive to Pidgeon Forge, TN. Join me for the next episode from the Great Smoky Mountains, where I visit another of the most beautiful parks in the country, Dollywood. That’s next time on Coaster Redux.