One Year Since Orion

RollrCoastrCrazy said:

The only coaster I can think of that feels as half-length as Orion is Goliath at SFGAM, but at least that has the RMC intensity for that short length.

Great America Goliath is another that was built on a “budget” just to get certain stats. That coaster should have definitely made another trip 0r 2 around the layout (like Balder).

All of Six Flags RMCs are budget coasters except Texas Giant. They reduced the track length on all the rest. So their ground up RMC did the same.

TimChat2 said:

I agree that the theming and vibe around the ride is probably the best thing about Orion, which isn't something I might have said about a Cedar Fair attraction in the past. The music really sets the tone.

Since the Ouimet days CF has done a great job with theming new rides at the Taft parks Their newest installations at those parks live up to the original theming at those parks and even more

Are you saying New Texas Giant’s track length isn’t shorter than the original? It is.

I haven't ridden Orion – stupid COVID – but I just watched a POV which spans 50 seconds from top of lift to brakes.

For comparison, Diamondback is about 70 seconds.

Based on that I have to concur with the people who say it's too short.

I know how they can make it longer: trims.

They could slow the lift, too. Build that anticipation for 3 or 4 minutes. I bet no one would complain then.

super7* said:

All of Six Flags RMCs are budget coasters except Texas Giant. They reduced the track length on all the rest.

And yet Budget Rattler still manages to be one of my favorite coasters ever!

I was at KI the last two weekends. I really like Orion. It grows on you. It is definitely too short though. I do not like how close it comes to my baby, The Beast. It's almost sacrilegious.

Kings Island is calling Orion a giga coaster. I recall that KI said Orion was 299 when it was announced, but now they are claiming it is 300.

The ride had so much potential. A buddy of mine told me that the reason Orion didn't turn out to be taller is because Cedar Fair favors CP, and wanted to keep the title of the tallest non-launched coaster in the state with Millennium Force. I don't know how true it is, but it makes sense.

I disagree with you all about the theme. From what I gathered, a meteor is going to impact the earth, so they need test subjects to ride a roller coaster that will take them to another planet? I like that they tried to make the setting similar to Flight of Fear, but FoF has a completely different story, about aliens and a hidden spacecraft... They don't mesh well together.

Mystic Timbers has an amazing theme, even though the finale is anticlimactic and disappointing. So it seems to me that they begin with a good idea, and then as they move forward with the design or a ride, the theme gets bogged down and lost.

They did an outstanding job in every way with Banshee's theme. They need to figure out what they did right with that ride and keep it in mind for the next big coaster.

I think designing a roller coaster around a record that 99.9% of people don't care about and which could easily be taken next summer is pretty short sighted. If it's true, it's a dumb decision.

MF's height record lasted less than 3 months.

And as far as "in the state" records, RCDB has MF and Orion's drop listed at 300 feet each.

While I haven't been on Orion yet, the POV looks to me like I will really enjoy it. And if it lasts 10 seconds shorter than comparable coasters, well: https://coasterbuzz.com/Forums/Topic/ride-tolerance-decreasing-with...nyone-else

There's a new book out on Kings Island and they quoted some Cedar Fair folks about the Orion project, and how it started at CGA as a hyper. I got the impression that Orion wasn't taller/faster/longer because the project ran over budget having initially started as a hyper in California.

But then you try to marry those statements up with other commentaries on investor calls about how there is less of an emphasis on "big steel", and the conclusion is that they were left with some tough options on how to proceed with the project. Either cancel it completely and lose what was spent already, or move it to another park and work the ride down into a limited budget that still makes sense at another park. While they had always wanted a Giga at KI, it would appear that they felt there was no further return on the additional X million dollars to have Orion be at the same scale (or larger) than Fury. Maybe they learned an ROI lesson with Fury compared to Leviathan. I certainly think was the last traditional Giga that will be built in the US for quite some time.

LostKause said:

The ride had so much potential. A buddy of mine told me that the reason Orion didn't turn out to be taller is because Cedar Fair favors CP, and wanted to keep the title of the tallest non-launched coaster in the state with Millennium Force. I don't know how true it is, but it makes sense.

Well that is why they closed Geauga Lake.

I wish there was a Haha! reaction on CoasterBuzz.

That was a really good point though. Cedar Fair rumors and park gossip still runs rampant.

Orion is really fun. It's a great addition to the park. It just doesn't feel like a complete coaster to me. I still prefer Diamondback.

Fun said:

While they had always wanted a Giga at KI, it would appear that they felt there was no further return on the additional X million dollars to have Orion be at the same scale (or larger) than Fury.

Orion *is* a Giga. It has a 300 foot drop and if they don't advertise it that way then that's on them. No one makes fun of Phantoms Revenge for only being 160 feet tall.

I do all the time. <Nelson from the Simpson’s laugh>

I need to give it another chance but i was disappointed. A 7/10 kind of ride. Enjoyed Diamondback more

But it looks great, the area is nice and its a crowd eater

I still enjoy Adventure Express more than Diamondback. What does that make me?

Someone who might need to join my Dragon Wagon enthusiast group.

Adventure Express > RRR?

The 90 minute waits for Cedar Point drink plan refills from Opening Weekend > Rip Ride Rockit