Banshee media day at Kings Island

Must be intense. Looks like Josh passed out before completing his thought.

You what? YOU WHAT??? The suspense is killing me!

Totally agree about the 2nd half, and I was digging it. Thank goodness for that little trim brake. I liked the slow-mo roll at the end, especially in the left seat because it felt like the ride was trying to toss you out. I thought it was the best version of what it could be, and though it's a great ride and a perfect addition to KI, I didn't quite have that "knock your sox off" factor.

I have to agree with most this ride certainly was what they needed to start.

The first drop is steep as well as the lift hill. The first half is actually pretty standard but then once it gets into the ravine area or the back half the batwing element and zero g roll give it its bite.

The restraints are great, I don't think they were uncomfortable at all. A rider next to us got stapled in and he didn't seem to complain either.

I really like the feel of the theme. It is quite dark and the idea they are trying to use the line as part of the cemetery theme. With fog and that appropriately funny monument for son of beast.

Drop Tower would be better suited with a gothic theme. Then hopefully the park drops the Action Zone name.

I'm going to call this the best of the B&M inverts that I've been on. I haven't been on all of them in North America, but I think most of them. The radius of the pullouts is smaller and intense, the transitions are fast, and there really is no dead spot. I was getting gray outs on the upward helix to the barrel roll. It finishes as strong as it starts.

So even though it is one of the bigger inverts, it has a good "snappiness" to it? I was especially interested in hearing what people who are not fans of Alpengeist would say because of the "large invert" syndrome that many people say takes some of the force (and fun) out of this type of ride.

Did anyone get a pic of the SOB monument/eternal Flame (as I saw it called elsewhere?) Please post if so..I'd love to see it!

I totally understand the placement of the adjustable trim on the 2nd half of the course. I thought the 2nd half was pretty intense...and that's on a cool day in April. On a hot summer day it would be rough without some speed control.

It definitely feels different than other inverts. I have never ridden Alpengeist, and was surprised by how fast it feels between elements. Most of that is because the pacing on most B&M inverts feels pretty much the same.

I'm sure others may have a better picture, but this is something I quickly snapped while running through the line.

I wouldn't say it has snappiness, just that it goes from one vertical element to the next quickly, resulting in strong positive G's, especially in the back half. After the Immelmann, it goes right into the second vertical loop and then takes a sharp upward spiral that is much tighter than it has any reason to be (in a good way). This whole sequence features high, sustained positive G's.

I've yet to read a negative review of this coaster anywhere. Sounds like a home run for the park. Good for them--and good for me someday, if I ever get this vertigo down to where I can hit parks again.

Kings Island has a nice one, two punch with Diamondback and Banshee, which was long overdue for the park.

Compared to Alpengeist, Banshee starts strong and finishes strong, whereas Alpie starts slow, gets too intense and then wimps out after the mid course. The pacing on Banshee is near perfect and the back seat is pretty intense. I completely forgot about the lack of the dip that has been on pretty much all of the B&M inverts, instead Banshee rips right into the course without much of a chance to know you are about to drop. The restraints are a great upgrade as well. After Gatekeeper's media day my collar bones were sore, after Banshee that wasn't an issue at all. The vest restraints do not lock, only the lap bar does.

It's amazing. It's worth the wait! Have fun guys! I had an amazing time!

~Rob

The SOB monument has a flame on the top, which makes it even more awesome.

Yeah, it's not that it snaps around (think the cobra roll on Raptor), it's that the transitions are all very fast, and as I said earlier, the radii of the pull-outs seem very small given the speed. It's surprisingly compact for the size and speed. I found the G's on every low point to be pretty intense, and was surprised at how intense it stayed at the bottom of the pretzel of whatever you want to call it. That's probably the longest piece of straight track on the ride, and it just pulls your nuts through the seat. The upward helix after the second vertical loop consistently was giving me minor gray-outs, especially closer to the front.

The other thing that hasn't been talked about much is the new trains. I'm in some ways surprised that B&M decided to re-engineer these, because the existing model was a proven workhorse for decades, and I don't imagine they'll sell that many more of them because few parks don't already have one. They have more in common with the wing coasters than the existing inverts. Gone are the mechanical restraint release, with the powered hydraulic release replacing it. Instead of one column per seat, the two make visibility surprisingly better from any seat. And even with all of those fast transitions, you don't get the headbanging because your head isn't near a restraint. And yet, the hang time barrel roll keeps you pretty comfortable as you fall into the restraint.

I'm probably going to gush for awhile about this ride, because it really is brilliant. I expected familiar, but was completely blown away.

Sorry guys, just woke up from my grey out earlier. I can't stop thinking about how awesome this ride was today. Maybe it's due to the sun/wind burn that's making my face hurt, or maybe it's something else, but this is hands down my favorite invert.

And although the lap bar does tighten down a bit during the ride, it's not to the point if stapling, and I never felt uncomfortable or even really thought about the restraints. Hooray.

I rode in all the odd-numbered rows (just by chance), plus the back. They were all great, but the front won some points for views of the first drop and the dives. Inside vs. outside seats didn't seem to make much difference, except in the back row where the outer right seat was notably bumpy. My friend sitting next to me said his inside seat was fine.

The pacing works really well and it's very reridable. I love the whole second half and especially the slow roll. I only wish we could've gotten some dark rides early in the morning, but it took over an hour for us to get checked in, by which point the sun was coming up. And unfortunately we'll have to leave opening day before it gets dark. Ah well, it was a nice event nonetheless, and KI seriously has a winner here!

I am chartreuse with envy...

Here's a shot that gives you an idea of just how much of an elevation change happens from the from half to the back half of the ride. (full size photo)

This coaster would appear to be a much better use of the space (more or less) inhabited by SOB.

In fairness, a run-down drive-in theater that only showed the last few minutes of National Lampoon's Vacation over and over would be a better use of space than SOB.