Kings Island's new Orion roller coaster is out of this world

Next week will be a memorable one for our Orion project team. They’ll be going vertical with the first of 181 ride columns and 148 pieces of track. The vertical phase will begin with columns and track going up in the train storage, transfer and station sections of the ride.

Drop Tower has been one of the most popular attractions at Kings Island for thrill-seekers since its debut in 1999. Not only is Drop Tower celebrating its 20th anniversary season this year, 315-foot tall attraction is poised to give its 10 million ride this weekend.

It happens every year – a new school year starts, temperatures begin to drop and those summer days spent cooling off at Soak City Water Park and on rides like White Water Canyon, Congo Falls and Race for Your Life Charlie Brown are suddenly behind us.

If you think riding Diamondback at Kings Island is a thrill (and it is – riders snake their way around 5,282 feet of track at speeds up to 80 mph on one of the top ranked steel roller coasters in the world in annual industry polls), wait until next year! Kings Island will continue to change the landscape for thrill-seekers in 2020 when its newest roller coaster, Orion, debuts.

Time is running out to vote for Kings Island’s Halloween Haunt for Best Theme Park Halloween event in the 2019 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards contest.

Do you really need a reason to buy or renew a Kings Island Gold Season Pass for the 2020 season? Listen, there’s literally 100 reasons to get a Gold Season Pass but I’ve narrowed the list down to 10.

Huh. So normally when I start a new blog, I like to look back at the last week’s blog. Sorry about last week’s blog. Sometimes I’m all over the place, however I won’t apologize for my love of deviled eggs, games or candles. So technically I’m not sorry? My next big adventure is on the horizon and I’m headed south! South Bend, Indiana that is. My fiance Eric and I have called the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area home since 2016 and we are definitely going to miss it. For this final segment, I want to recount my time at Kings Island because there have been some great memories and amazing opportunities. One last time, let’s get started!

Ten hours after introducing its tallest, fastest and longest steel roller coaster in front of thousands of park guests and news media, Kings Island received the first delivery of parts for Orion with pieces for the transfer table. Later in the day, the first track piece was delivered.

The wait is finally over for Kings Island fans. Come spring 2020, the park will boast one of only seven giga coasters in the world, a class of roller coasters having a height or drop of 300-399 feet.

Watch the replay of Kings Island's 2020 announcement.