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Kings Island | Orion | B&M Giga Coaster

Hyde said:
Nothing really new to report, but photos from my visit to the park this weekend.

View attachment 6761
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Sorry for the potentially stupid question, but what does "fastest, tallest, longest" refer to? Fastest, tallest, longest in Kings Island? (Also, if so, longer than Beast???) I mean, apart from the fact that this won't win any records against any Giga in the world either way, Ohio alone is already bad enough territory for setting records like that.
 
Fluorineer said:
Sorry for the potentially stupid question, but what does "fastest, tallest, longest" refer to? Fastest, tallest, longest in Kings Island? (Also, if so, longer than Beast???) I mean, apart from the fact that this won't win any records against any Giga in the world either way, Ohio alone is already bad enough territory for setting records like that.
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I think (and happy to be corrected) that it's the tallest, fastest and longest STEEL coaster in the park.

However cool I think B&M Gigas are, and however fun I think this one is going to be, that's pretty ****ing tragic marketing.
 
That's actually hilarious.

But, I take back what I said,

Fluorineer said:
Ohio alone is already bad enough territory for setting records like that.
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I mean, they're spending around 25 million on this, right? Would one-upping Millennium Force really have been THAT much more expensive? Sure, maybe not the length-record, but 311 feet of height at least? I get that even then, TTD is still stealing the show to some degree, but now they are still spending a ton of money, while not having a whole lot to advertise with.

What were they afraid of? It's not like beating Millennium Force would hurt the reputation of it, it gets way too much praise already and will continue that way. Either way, despite the fact that a B&M giga would fit CP's line-up pretty well, now that Kings Island is getting it, the only Giga I see CP getting at this point is a T-Rex anyway, so it's not like they're leaving room for the sister park by making Orion as small as possible. It's the same reason why CP won't get a GCI anytime soon despite it's lack of a good wooden coaster (too bad Cedar Fair doesn't work with Intamin anymore), apples and oranges.

I get this kind of behaviour on a consumer level, choosing an overpriced category of product and then cheaping out on the specifications of it, but on a corporate level, that is exceptionally weird.
 
Fluorineer said:
I get this kind of behaviour on a consumer level, choosing an overpriced category of product and then cheaping out on the specifications of it, but on a corporate level, that is exceptionally weird.
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Honestly on a corporate level this makes quite reasonable sense. You have a taller giga on the other side of the state but a giga is still a giga (despite what enthusiats may or may not think). KI will be able to market this thing to the moon and back. Sure we'll know it's not as tall as Milf but to the average consumer Orion will be a ride like very few others that exist in the world. the stats are irrelvant other then the fact this qualifies as a giga. KI can market the **** out of this and despite what we all think. whether we consider it "cheaping out" really isn't relevant. I get people are dissapointed with Orion but can't we just take a step back and say "They're building another giga in the world, and that's a good thing" despite the stats or how it looks.
 
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Youngster Joey said:
the stats are irrelvant
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I get your argument from a more general perspective, but how is that the same company as Cedair Fair, when they have proven with several projects, how much stats mean to them? 2 of their last 3 gigas literally have their most meaningful stat as part of the name. Gatekeeper and Valravn are both coasters designs that care about record-breaking above all else, yet these are coasters that are insanely popular with the GP, while getting mixed reviews by enthusiasts.

I would even go the opposite route and argue that world records matter much more to the GP than they do to enthusiasts, I think the main difference here is though that most record-breaking rides are not something a somewhat significant group of people has been looking forward to for a long time. Building a 293-feet tall Giga almost feels like it's designed to take the piss with enthusiasts. Giga coasters are a somewhat soft spot for enthusiasts, while the likes of Valravn and Gatekeeper are not in that kind of position, and both Leviathan and Fury have not been anticipated for such a long time.

I just think this sort of perception-inversion (is that a word?), where enthusiats complain about stats while the GP couldn't care less, is very interesting to observe and talk about, and I'm sorry if it comes across as a general critique towards Orion. I think Orion will be a fantastic coaster, however even a fantastic coaster can have plenty of oddities that are worth discussing.
 
Hixee said:
I think (and happy to be corrected) that it's the tallest, fastest and longest STEEL coaster in the park.

However cool I think B&M Gigas are, and however fun I think this one is going to be, that's pretty ****ing tragic marketing.
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Have a Kings Island day!

As some have stated earlier in this thread, it seems as if the park is building a giga just to build a giga. From an enthusiasm standpoint, literally everything about the coaster seems uninspired, but to @Youngster Joey's point, the vast majority of visitors will eat it up because they haven't been to other parks in the chain and don't know that Fury and Intimidator exist.
 
To be honest, the vast majority of visitors would "eat it up" because it's a very tall new ride they haven't ridden before. They could have built an exact copy of Diamondback, and few would have noticed the similarity provided it was painted a little differently and given a different name. It's mainly us enthusiasts who would even know (never mind care about) that a similar, bigger coaster is found across the state.
 
Pokemaniac said:
They could have built an exact copy of Diamondback, and few would have noticed the similarity provided it was painted a little differently and given a different name. It's mainly us enthusiasts who would even know (never mind care about) that a similar, bigger coaster is found across the state.
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Can't agree with this more. Of my anecdotal circle of friends and acquaintances who live in the Cincinnati area and frequent Kings Island - not a single one drew the connection that Orion is built by the same manufacturer as Diamondback, and will provide a similar Hyper/Giga experience. All they recognized was the statline - 300 ft. - which they, also, did not connect immediately to how tall Millennium Force is.

It's a Giga for Giga's Sake.
 
So I’m here with my buddy Connor and we just got off our last ever ride on Vortex, but we’re also looking to the future since Orion is currently towering over the doomed Arrow looper and holy crap it’s massive! It’s visible from the park skyline and it’s about as tall as Banshee if viewed driving down 741 towards the park.

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It’s super visible now and it’s going to look even better once they top it off!

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It’s broken the treeline and it’s going to really pop nicely against those warm autumn colors during the fall season.

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It can be seen from quite a few places around the park and it isn’t even topped off yet.

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Watching it rise over Area 72 is amazing. It really dominates the sky overhead and directs sight lines down to where the station is going to be.

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And here we have the top of the extended spine, I noticed a little silver sliver at the top, not sure if it’s just something that got on it or they’re waiting to paint it or something.

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I can’t wait to get this shot next year!

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It’s making Racer look like a kiddie ride towering over it. The Coney midway will never look the same again.

This is it for what I can get until Winterfest but I’m loving how she’s turning out!


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Antinos said:
Have a Kings Island day!

As some have stated earlier in this thread, it seems as if the park is building a giga just to build a giga. From an enthusiasm standpoint, literally everything about the coaster seems uninspired, but to @Youngster Joey's point, the vast majority of visitors will eat it up because they haven't been to other parks in the chain and don't know that Fury and Intimidator exist.
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I'm pretty sure they know Fury exists due to the face that every person at KI wears the shirt.
 
It will be nice to see this added their skyline of coasters. For a while it was really only Diamondback, Banshee, and Invertigo (ugh) that stood out when approaching the park. They could use something a bit more dominating.


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Hutch said:
It will be nice to see this added their skyline of coasters. For a while it was really only Diamondback, Banshee, and Invertigo (ugh) that stood out when approaching the park. They could use something a bit more dominating.


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Windseeker, Drop Zone, and Vortex (RIP) also added some nice pep; but agree this thing will absolutely dominate. Even better, it will most likely be the first thing you spot driving to the park southbound along I-71, adding more to the visual dominance. I said it before, but the Racer should offer some really nice sight-lines, which I am excited for next year. In turn though, Beast will not be as isolated with the Orion turnaround right nearby.
 
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