Standing in line for Orion, the first thing that hits you is the scale. Kings Island’s giga coaster climbs 287 feet into the Ohio sky — and from the crest of that lift hill, you can see the entire park spread out below before the train tips over the edge and falls 300 feet in under two seconds.
Orion opened on July 2, 2020, as the seventh giga coaster in the world and the single largest investment in Kings Island’s history at roughly $31 million. Built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard and themed around a sci-fi escape to the Orion constellation, it instantly became the defining landmark of the park’s skyline.
Quick Answer
Orion’s lift hill climbs 287 feet via a chain lift, then tips into a 300-foot first drop angled at 85 degrees that sends the train to 91 mph. The drop exceeds the lift height because the valley at the bottom is excavated below the surrounding terrain — the design detail that earns Orion its giga coaster classification.
Stats at a Glance
Park: Kings Island, Mason, Ohio, in the Area 72 section. Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), Switzerland. Opened: July 2, 2020 (soft opening July 1). Cost: approximately $31 million — the largest single investment in Kings Island’s history at the time.
Lift hill height: 287 feet. First drop: 300 feet at 85 degrees. Top speed: 91 mph. Track length: 5,321 feet. Ride duration: approximately 3 minutes. Total hills: 8. Inversions: 0. Train configuration: 3 trains, 8 cars each, 4 riders across — 32 riders per train. Height requirement: 54 inches. Hourly capacity: approximately 1,650 riders.
The 287-Foot Chain Lift Climb
From the moment the train engages the lift chain, the ascent is steady and deliberate. B&M chain lifts are designed to build anticipation rather than rush it — the climb takes roughly 30 to 40 seconds. That is long enough to take in sweeping views of the park, the surrounding Mason, Ohio landscape, and on clear days, the Cincinnati skyline to the south. The chain is a continuous loop of interlocked metal links running in a trough beneath the track; a catch dog on the train’s undercarriage grabs the chain and is pulled upward until the train reaches the crest.
At 287 feet, you are at the highest vantage point in the park. You can spot the Eiffel Tower replica, the outlines of The Beast winding through the trees, and the full footprint of Kings Island laid out below. Then the front of the train tips past the crest, and everything changes.
Chain Lift, Not Cable: Getting the Record Straight
Some sources — including earlier versions of this article — describe Orion as using a cable lift. That is incorrect. Orion uses a traditional chain lift, which is standard across B&M’s entire coaster lineup. Cable lifts, which replace the metal chain with a lighter wire rope, are primarily found on Intamin coasters such as Millennium Force at Cedar Point and Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion. The practical differences are real: cable systems run faster and handle steeper inclines, while chain lifts provide a smooth, controlled ascent that B&M builds into their large-scale designs.
The chain lift on Orion is purpose-built for this 287-foot climb. There is no engineering reason to use a cable system at this angle and height — the chain does the job as intended, and the slower, deliberate pace is part of the experience B&M designed.
The First Drop: 300 Feet, 85 Degrees, 91 MPH
Orion’s first drop is where the engineering gets interesting. Although the lift hill is 287 feet tall, the drop measures 300 feet — those additional 13 feet come from the valley at the bottom being excavated below the surrounding terrain. The train does not simply fall to ground level; it plunges into a low point carved into the earth, and it is those extra feet that push Orion into giga coaster territory.
The drop angle is 85 degrees — five degrees short of vertical. At that pitch, riders in the front row experience significant ejector airtime over the crest before the train rockets through the valley, reaching 91 mph at the bottom. The overbanked turn that immediately follows hits with substantial positive g-forces, providing a sharp contrast to the weightlessness of the plunge itself.
The Rest of the Layout
After the first drop, Orion delivers seven more hills across 5,321 feet of track. The design prioritizes sustained speed and airtime rather than complexity — there are zero inversions. Standout moments include a pair of sweeping overbanked turns, a high-speed run along the rear perimeter of the park that keeps the train moving deep into the back half of the ride, and a sequence of camelback hills that produce consistent out-of-seat float. Total ride time is approximately three minutes.
Trains seat 32 riders each across eight cars with four-across open seating, and Kings Island can run up to three trains simultaneously. At full throughput, Orion cycles approximately 1,650 riders per hour — strong capacity for a coaster of this scale.
What Makes Orion a Giga Coaster
A giga coaster is defined by a drop between 300 and 399 feet. Orion qualifies because its first drop is exactly 300 feet — even though the lift hill stands only 287 feet. It is the drop measurement, not the structure height, that places a coaster in the giga class. When Orion opened in July 2020, it was the seventh giga coaster in the world.
Notable giga coasters include Millennium Force (Cedar Point, 2000), Intimidator 305 (Kings Dominion, 2010), Leviathan (Canada’s Wonderland, 2012), and Fury 325 (Carowinds, 2015). Among B&M-built giga coasters specifically, Orion is the third. It is worth noting that B&M internally classifies Orion under their Hyper Coaster model designation, but Kings Island markets it as a giga coaster, and by the widely accepted industry definition — a 300-foot drop — it qualifies.
Area 72: The Setting Around the Climb
Orion anchors Area 72, Kings Island’s sci-fi themed land built on the site formerly occupied by Firehawk and Dinosaurs Alive!. The area is designed as a classified government research compound, and Orion’s storyline frames riders as participants in Project X — technology being tested to propel humans through a meteor storm toward a habitable planet in the Orion constellation.
The theming goes beyond signage. IMAscore composed an original soundtrack for the area, and hidden Easter eggs throughout the land reference decommissioned Kings Island attractions including Bavarian Beetle and Boo Blasters. In 2020, USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards named Orion the Best New Amusement Park Attraction in the United States.
Orion Lift Hill FAQs
How tall is Orion’s lift hill?
The lift hill is 287 feet tall. The first drop, however, measures 300 feet because the valley at the bottom is excavated below the surrounding terrain — that design detail is what qualifies Orion as a giga coaster.
Does Orion use a chain lift or a cable lift?
Orion uses a chain lift — despite some sources claiming otherwise. Traditional metal chain lifts are standard on B&M roller coasters. Cable lifts, which use a wire rope instead of a chain, are primarily found on Intamin-built coasters like Millennium Force at Cedar Point.
Is Orion really a giga coaster?
Yes. The standard industry definition is a drop between 300 and 399 feet, and Orion’s first drop is exactly 300 feet. It was the seventh giga coaster in the world when it opened in July 2020.
What is the height requirement to ride Orion?
Riders must be at least 54 inches — that is 4 feet 6 inches — tall to ride Orion.
How fast does Orion go?
Orion reaches a top speed of 91 mph, achieved at the bottom of the 300-foot first drop.
When did Orion open at Kings Island?
Orion had a soft opening on July 1, 2020, with a full public opening on July 2, 2020. Its debut was pushed back from its original spring 2020 target due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying Kings Island’s season.
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