Banshee at Kings Island doesn’t pause at the top of the lift hill. The train crests 167 feet and immediately pitches into a 150-foot, steeply banked dive loop, with inversions starting before riders have time to brace. What follows is 2 minutes and 40 seconds of continuous, back-to-back inversion intensity across 4,124 feet of steel track, the longest inverted coaster layout ever built.
Designed by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard and opened on April 18, 2014, Banshee was the single biggest ride investment in Kings Island’s history at the time, costing $24 million. Before you ride, here’s the exact height requirement, every inversion in order, and every number you need to know.
Quick Answer
Banshee is a Bolliger & Mabillard inverted roller coaster at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Riders must be between 52 and 78 inches tall to ride, the coaster has seven inversions, it stands 167 feet at its peak, and it opened to the public on April 18, 2014.
Banshee’s Height Requirement: How Tall You Have to Be
To ride Banshee at Kings Island, you must be at least 52 inches tall (4 feet 4 inches). There’s also a maximum: riders taller than 78 inches (6 feet 6 inches) are turned away. That upper limit is unusual — most Kings Island coasters only enforce a minimum — and it’s what makes Banshee one of the stricter height windows in the park.
The minimum protects smaller riders, who need enough body size for the over-the-shoulder restraints to lock down securely through seven inversions. The maximum exists for the opposite reason: on an inverted coaster, where the train hangs below the track and your legs dangle free, very tall riders can run out of clearance in the shoulder and leg area as the train banks and rolls, so the restraint won’t close safely above 78 inches. Kings Island staff measure riders at the entrance if there’s any doubt, and since ride requirements are occasionally adjusted, the official Kings Island Banshee page is the source to check before a visit.
How Tall Is Banshee?
Banshee’s lift hill and first drop peak at 167 feet, measured from the ground up. That makes it taller than most B&M inverted coasters, though noticeably shorter than Kings Island’s other flagship, Orion, a giga coaster that climbs past 300 feet.
On an inverted coaster, height matters less for the view than for the drop it sets up: the entire 150-foot descent happens with your feet dangling free below the track, since Banshee’s train hangs from the rail rather than riding on top of it. That single design detail is why Banshee’s 167-foot stat feels more intense in person than the number alone suggests.
How Many Inversions Does Banshee Have?
Banshee has seven inversions, delivered in a fixed order within seconds of leaving the station. First comes a dive loop directly off the 150-foot drop, a sideways-sweeping inversion rather than a straight vertical loop. Second is a full vertical loop that wraps around the base of the lift hill structure. Third is a zero-G roll, a barrel-roll element that produces a floating sensation while riders are fully upside down.
Fourth and fifth come from a single element called a pretzel knot, a rare B&M configuration that threads two inversions through a valley dip in the layout — it’s also where the train hits its top speed. Sixth is a second vertical loop, and the sequence closes with an inline twist as the seventh and final inversion before the brake run.
When Did Banshee Open?
Banshee opened to the public on April 18, 2014, after construction that made it the single biggest ride investment in Kings Island’s history at the time, at roughly $24 million. It replaced the former Son of Beast site and the Thunder Alley go-kart attraction, and it was built specifically to set a world record: at 4,124 feet of track, it remains the longest inverted roller coaster on the planet more than a decade later.
In its debut year, Banshee placed second for Best New Ride/Attraction in the 2014 Golden Ticket Awards from Amusement Today, narrowly behind Flying Turns at Knoebels Amusement Resort — a strong showing that cemented Banshee as one of the most talked-about coaster openings of the 2010s.
The First Drop: What Makes This Roller Coaster Drop Different
Banshee’s first drop is defined by what it withholds: a moment to prepare. Most roller coaster drops on traditional sit-down coasters are a straight vertical plunge that lets riders brace before the next element arrives. Banshee’s 150-foot drop is different on two counts. First, it’s banked into a curve rather than falling straight down, so the train is already rotating as it descends. Second, that curve flows directly into the ride’s first inversion, the dive loop, before the train has finished accelerating.
On an inverted coaster, where your feet hang free below the track, hitting an inversion mid-drop compounds the falling sensation with a rotating one, which is why reviewers consistently describe Banshee’s opening as more forceful than a typical B&M invert.
Why Banshee Hits Top Speed Mid-Ride
Most coasters reach their top speed at the bottom of the first drop, the most direct conversion of elevation into velocity. Banshee is an exception: its peak speed of 68 mph occurs roughly midway through the layout, at the lowest point of the pretzel knot element, not right after the opening descent.
The reason is terrain. Kings Island built Banshee into a hillside, routing the back half of the course into a valley that sits well below the lift hill’s starting elevation, so the total elevation change across the ride — roughly 208 feet from the highest to the lowest point — exceeds the 150-foot first drop alone. Riders spend much of the middle of the ride still gaining speed, not losing it.
Stats at a Glance
Park: Kings Island, Mason, Ohio | Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard | Type: Steel inverted coaster | Opened: April 18, 2014 | Height: 167 feet | First drop: 150 feet | Top speed: 68 mph | Track length: 4,124 feet (world’s longest inverted coaster) | Inversions: 7 | Ride duration: 2 minutes, 40 seconds | Minimum height: 52 inches | Maximum height: 78 inches | Trains: 3 trains, 8 cars each | Hourly capacity: approximately 1,650 riders | Cost at opening: $24 million.
Banshee height requirement and inversions FAQs
How tall do you have to be to ride Banshee at Kings Island?
You must be at least 52 inches (4 feet 4 inches) tall to ride Banshee. There’s also a maximum height of 78 inches (6 feet 6 inches) — riders taller than that cannot ride because the over-the-shoulder restraints won’t close safely.
What is Banshee’s exact height?
Banshee’s lift hill and first drop peak at 167 feet, measured from the ground to the top of the structure.
How many inversions does Banshee have?
Banshee has seven inversions: a dive loop, a vertical loop, a zero-G roll, a two-part pretzel knot (which counts as two inversions), a second vertical loop, and an inline twist.
When did Banshee open at Kings Island?
Banshee opened to the public on April 18, 2014. It replaced the former Son of Beast coaster site and cost roughly $24 million, the biggest ride investment in Kings Island’s history at the time.
Is there a maximum height limit to ride Banshee?
Yes. Riders taller than 78 inches (6 feet 6 inches) cannot ride Banshee, since taller riders can run out of clearance in the leg and shoulder area during the coaster’s inversions, preventing the restraint from locking safely.
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