Orion is a steel roller coaster located at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, Orion became the seventh giga coaster in the world when it opened to the public on July 2, 2020. Built for a price of $31 million, the coaster was the largest investment in the park's history.[1] The coaster stands 287 ft, features a 300 ft, and reaches a maximum speed of 91 mph. It is situated in the Area 72 section of the park on a site formerly occupied by Firehawk.
History
In early 2019, Kings Island submitted construction blueprints to the City of Mason for approval. Dennis Speigel, a former park executive who helped with the transition from Coney Island to Kings Island in the early 1970s,[2] speculated that the blueprints revealed a likely height estimate of at least 300 ft, qualifying it as a giga coaster. The plans were approved on April 24, 2019. Cedar Fair also applied for national trademarks for the names Orion and Polaris.[3]