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Kings Island | Orion | B&M Giga Coaster

Hyde

Matt SR
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
Why does everybody seem to want Firehawk to go to Kentucky Kingdom, out of interest? Ed Hart always seems like a guy who prefers his more traditional, sit-down coasters to me (bar T3, of course, but that was added many years back), and besides, he could probably afford a brand new and arguably superior coaster for a similar amount of money to what a used Firehawk would sell for.

Although I will admit that it is sad to see Firehawk get demolished, I don't personally think Kentucky Kingdom would have been the best place for a used Firehawk to go to.
Because a lot of folks bit hard on Firehawk closing and KK announcing Kentucky Flyer. Folks do tend to underestimate construction and relocation costs with roller coasters however - KK is most likely spending less building an entirely new coaster than what would be the cost of deconstructing and reconstructing Firehawk on-site. Oh, and Firehawk was also a **** ride with low capacity, uncomfortable restraints, and an all round appeal equal to the Transformers movie series.

In other news, nice short article on GCI's retrack work for Racer. Those turn arounds have been pretty gnarly of late, so hoping things smooth out with this work. I was very surprised with the smoothness of Racer 76 at KD last year after similar work - hoping for the best! https://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer...racer-coaster-getting-new-track-smoother-ride

 

SilverArrow

Certified Ride Geek
Firehawk was better than Batwing but it was still gross so not a huge loss in my eyes although seeing a coaster get demolished is always a bit bittersweet. I expect whatever is coming will be much more interesting/rerideable.
 

Pear

Strata Poster
I thought bought Firehawk and Batwing were great rides and I really enjoyed both of them. I still prefer them over Nighthawk, the B&M Superman clones, and Manta.
 

TLARides

Hyper Poster
The reason I'm probably the saddest to see Firehawk go is because it was:

1: My first flying coaster.
2: The first coaster I got a photo on
3: My first big coaster

I'm probably the only person who may have enjoyed Firehawk as a ride, me and my friends would always try to make it and Flight of Fear the first ride we rode at the start of the day to avoid hitting the long line.

Sent from my LG-TP260 using Tapatalk
 

Antinos

Slut for Spinners
Firehawk was my 100th coaster back when it was X-Flight at Geauga Lake. I liked it back in 2008, but I've ridden the rest of the American flying Dutchman's and B&M flyers since then.

Regarding the hopes for relocation, I have a feeling that rumor gained traction among those who haven't actually been to Kentucky Kingdom and don't realize that the park isn't the best situated for expansive developments, like plopping a large roller coaster on land that they don't own.
 

Hyde

Matt SR
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
This is also the only roller coaster I have ever lost footwear on - sandal flew off during the first overbank back in Geauga Lake. :D

Despite my prior statement, it's always sad to see a roller coaster go. This was a totally ratchet ride, that I hope is remembered for being pretty wild and zany in it's design.
 

Pear

Strata Poster
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Hutch

Strata Poster
Off topic, but that's a cool shot of Banshee. It's hard to get a sense of how much the terrain drops when your riding, and you can't exactly get a good shot of it off ride. Just look at how long that exit of the zero g is!
 

Hutch

Strata Poster
I've forgotten how barren that area is. Really hoping they spice it up with the next attraction.
 
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