Loaded Couch Potatoes

Kings Island officially opened their latest roller coaster earlier this summer, Diamondback.  The park’s newest roller coaster fills a major void in their ride arsenal, a hyper coaster – a steel coaster usually over 200′ tall that focuses on speed, drops, and airtime, without any inverting elements (no need for an oppressive over-the-shoulder restraint , hyper coasters require only a lap bar).

“The park has really deserved a coaster like this,” said Dave Altman, vice president of the American Coaster Enthusiasts – which roughly translates to “It’s about time they built a coaster worth a damn, and not some mediocre turd, like half the coasters here.”
…at least that’s how I interpret it.  Kings Island has never had a reputation for having standout rides.  Most of the parks coasters are known for being a little rough and uncomfortable.  Diamondback will be different from their other coasters for one main reason: Bolliger and Mabillard.  Referred to as B&M for short, the Swiss based roller coaster designers are known for some of the most smooth and comfortable coasters in the world – and this is the first B&M coaster for the park.  Diamondback is B&M’s 9th hyper coaster design.

Many of the reviews from coaster connoisseur already say this is definitely a contender for a Golden Ticket Award(Golden Ticket Awards are given out every year by Amusement Today – a theme park industry monthly periodical).   Three of the B&M’s 8 hyper coasters consistently win golden ticket awards (Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, Apollo’s Charriot at Bush Gardens Europe in Virginia, and Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia).

The $22 million ride is Kings Island’s 14th roller coaster.  In terms of most coasters at a single park, the addition of Diamondback ranks Kings Island #4 in the world – behind Cedar Point (with 17 coasters), Six Flags Magic Mountain (16), Canada’s Wonderland (15).  It pulls it ahead of the parks that are currently tied with 13 coasters – Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Flags Over Texas, and Kings Dominion (and for those interested, Six Flags Great America and Carowinds follow with 12 coasters).  It’s worth mentioning that nearly all those parks already have their own hyper coaster.

Here are the specs
* Height: 230 feet
* First drop: 215 feet
* First drop angle: 74 degrees
* Other drops: 193 feet, 131 feet, 129 feet, 110 feet, 106 feet
* Top speed: 80 mph
* Track length: 5318 feet
* Ride time: 3:00 minutes

If you don’t want to wait until your next trip to Ohio, here is some video.