Kings Island Rides Ranked

In my last post, I looked at Kings Island as a whole. The short version? Kings Island is a beautiful theme park with several world-class roller coasters but terrible food. In this post, let’s take a closer look at the rides at the park and how they stack up. ALL of Kings Island’s rides ranked from worst to best!

Kings Island Roller Coasters

There are some genuinely fantastic roller coasters at Kings Island! Unlike Carowinds, there aren’t any real stinkers in their lineup.

#15 – The Great Pumpkin Coaster

The Great Pumpkin Coaster is only at the bottom of the list because it’s too small for me to ride. This kiddie coaster is one of those gently undulating oval tracks where you (and/or your kids) go around twice for a ride that lasts under a minute total. It gets points for a great name, though!

#14 – Surf Dog

I’m not even sure Surf Dog qualifies as a coaster. RCDB doesn’t think so. But I counted Pipe Scream at Cedar Point as one, so I will count this one too. And honestly, I didn’t even ride it! I think it’s tucked too far back in a corner for much notice, which might mean lower wait times. I totally should have ridden it – Pipe Scream was reasonably fun.

#13 – Woodstock Express

Now getting to coasters, I actually experienced! Woodstock Express is a super cute, tiny person’s wooden roller coaster. I think the biggest thrill here is watching the little bitties ride by themselves and get their first coaster thrill. And it’s a reasonably large & long ride for a kid’s coaster, just without any significant drops in its figure-8 layout.

#12 – Flying Ace Aerial Chase

The third children’s coaster, Snoopy’s Flying Ace Aerial Chase, is a scaled-down suspended coaster that adults can also ride. It’s very similar (maybe the same?) as Kiddie Hawk at Carowinds, though Aerial Chase didn’t bang my head around as much. And the ride operator made a great Banshee joke while dispatching the ride, so extra points for that.

#11 – The Bat

I keep thinking that I love these old-style suspended coasters like The Bat. This feeling probably stems from a great experience on the Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Williamsburg way back. The ones I’ve ridden recently – like Iron Dragon at Cedar Point – lack that fun back & forth swinging action that really makes these fun. (But also make these coasters a challenge to keep in working condition.)

And The Bat is no exception. I feel like it is faster and more thrilling than Iron Dragon but totally lacks that fun swing that Iron Dragon still has in its back half. And be prepared for a walk! The Bat is tucked way back in the woods, away from the rest of the park. That alone is a fun part of the experience. Like it is its own thing out there.

#10 – The Racer

I was not very impressed with The Racer. First, instead of using the shaded queue line, the ride ops had the line snaking out into Coney Mall and in the way of everyone. Second, the first time I got in line, it went down. And third, when I did manage to ride it later, both trains ended in a tunnel! How can you tell who won??

My disappointments aside, The Racer is a substantial wooden coaster with a good ride and decent thrills. It even races, which isn’t always true of racing coasters these days. But that ending, though! I’m still somewhat mad about it. And sometimes (or at least, it used to) run with one train backward, which would be a lot of fun.

#9 – Invertigo

Invertigo is a suspended shuttle coaster, which I usually don’t like so much. But this boomerang is big enough and fast enough to be exciting. The inside seats face each other, so I prefer an outside seat. And it’s fun to be in the first AND last seat on the train at the same time, depending on which direction the train is moving. It’s a strong, quick ride, and I like that the line is shaded.

#8 – Adventure Express

Kings Island does an excellent job of tucking rides into various pockets of the woods. It makes it feel like you’re deep in the jungle, or far from the crowds around the Festhaus, at least. Adventure Express is the park’s mine train ride, found along a boardwalk to a large covered-bridge-like loading dock.

The ride itself is pretty slow and clunky. But it has a fun temple theme, especially on the second lift hill (which is basically the end of the ride.) I like the Indiana Jones feel of it all vs. the typical mining theme. If you get a chance to ride it at night, the lighting in the tunnels makes it a bit more fun.

#7 – Backlot Stunt Coaster

Now we’re getting into coasters that I really enjoy. The Backlot Stunt Coaster is small with a short ride, but what fun! This coaster was built in the park’s Paramount days, based on the movie The Italian Job. The train cars are little Mini Coopers that swoop and dive around an urban set. Your vehicle is launched into a parking garage and down into a subway, dodging police cars before getting stopped by a helicopter and gunfire before speeding off into the dark. The enclosed portion is the most fun because you can’t tell where you’re going until your car bursts out of a billboard!

My only real beef with the ride is that a good portion of the line is in the direct sun – the line has to get pretty long before you get under a shaded part. But overall, even the wait in the sun (at least for a half-hour or so) is worth it.

#6 – Flight of Fear

Flight of Fear is a launched indoor coaster themed to a UFO testing facility, and it’s fantastic! It’s definitely the neck-cracking/spinal adjustment ride for Kings Island, but in a way that doesn’t make me hate it. The fast launch, four inversions, and only lap bar restraints (as opposed to over the shoulder) make it really fun. There’s even an almost complete stop in the middle, just to be spooky.

Flight of Fear really trades on atmosphere. One of the best sights during the experience is when you enter the hangar and see the UFO for the first time. The line takes you through the UFO, which is definitely fun. However, there is loads of interior queue line inside the hangar – where the air conditioning is – that they didn’t open up. A video plays inside that sets up the story of the UFO, but you don’t stand inside long enough to see the whole thing.

They may not be using the indoor queue due to Covid, but I feel it’s more likely that they don’t use it to accommodate Fastlane users from another entrance. And Fastlane users make the line for this ride go SO slow. The first time I rode, it took an hour and a half from putting my stuff in a locker to getting it back out. I rode first thing in the morning the second time, and it was still an hour wait. There doesn’t seem to be a good time to catch it, so no wonder folks use the Fastlane to ride, but it sure does slow things down for everyone else.

#5 – Mystic Timbers

Mystic Timbers is a newer wooden coaster with a #whatsintheshed story element at the end that honestly really detracts from how good the rest of the coaster is. The queue winds through an abandoned wood mill, then when you board your train, the lift hill feels like it might not make it, changing speeds erratically. Then the rest of the ride is fast, dips wonderfully over the river raft ride, and offers a ton of airtime.

Then comes the “shed.” If you don’t want spoilers, I guess, skip ahead. It’s not terribly exciting. First, against a warning not to go in the shed, your train pulls into an old dusty shed with work clothes and tools. An oldies song plays on an old radio – for a long time, mind you. Like, the whole song plays. Then you get one of three projections on screens to the front and the side of the shed – either bats, snakes, or spooky trees. If they weren’t so cartoon-looking and if maybe there were some practical jump-scare element like air blasts or animatronics, it’d be more exciting. As it is, it just seems like an expensive place to park the train while they load the one in front of you. (Though it’s better than sitting in the sun, I guess.)

I don’t think I ever rode Mystic Timbers in the front of the train – there might be a jump scare up there. But it’s worth sitting farther back to see more of the black-light effects on the shed (mostly painted warnings not to go in.) But in all, the shed show is a letdown after such a good coaster ride. And I think this is the only coaster at King’s Island that I resent getting a locker for. It doesn’t seem quite “locker worthy.”

#4 – Banshee

If it weren’t for the dumb shed show on Mystic Timbers, it might have edged out Banshee for this spot. As it is, I really enjoy Banshee. I was able to quickly ride in the front and the back one evening, and it’s a great swoopy ride. I like it when your feet feel close to the ground on a suspended coaster, and there are a few outstanding elements, like a slow roll almost at the very end. It’s not as good as Afterburn/Top Gun at Carowinds, but it’s a good, long ride – I think the longest of its kind in the world (says Wikipedia.)

A fun fact about Banshee is that it’s built on the spot where the Son of Beast roller coaster used to be. The load building looks like a stone church with an Irish/Celtic graveyard at the base. Included in the gravestones is a monument to Son of Beast, which I think is hilarious.

#3 – The Beast

I’m not actually sure where to rate The Beast. For many years, The Beast was THE ride to ride at Kings Island, and I remember absolutely loving it when I rode it back in 2007. On this most recent trip, it never opened for me to re-ride it. At one point, they stationed a park employee to stand at the entrance and explain why it was closed. Apparently, there have been complaints about how rough it’s been lately, so they took it down for a few days to comb over the track and tighten things up.

The Beast opened in 1979 as the tallest, fastest, and longest wooden roller coaster in the world. Even now, it still holds the record for the longest. And it’s built into the terrain, making it feel extra zippy as it skims over the hills close to the ground. Until I can ride it again, I’m slotting it here, primarily out of fondness and nostalgia. I hope it hasn’t gotten too rough to be enjoyable.

EDIT: I was able to ride The Beast during the Kings Island Halloween event and I think this is still a good spot for it. It’s such a great ride, but I think having two lift hills really slows things down, and a good portion of that long track length is the straightaway back into the loading dock. And is it *quite* rough – it certainly earns its “Beast” moniker. But so fun! And so unlike anything else anywhere else. I still love it, but not above the next two.

EDIT #2: This winter (2021-2022) they’re doing a major refurbishment of The Beast, taking out whole parts of the track and overall making it smoother. I’m glad to see that King’s Island is dedicated to taking care of this treasure!

#2 – Diamondback

Diamondback is an excellent example of how Kings Island generally operates its coasters. It’s an amazing steel coaster with a huge 230-foot lift hill, 215-foot first drop, 80 mph top speed, staggered seating, massive footprint, and a water splashdown ending. But it also features several jarring brake runs – even the water element is essentially a brake run. Where Cedar Point might just touch on the brakes here and there, Kings Island is considerably more heavy-handed.

That being said, it’s a really great ride and a fantastic coaster, high and fast. I love that you don’t need a locker for it, and it still seems to load quickly and dispatch trains often.

#1 – Orion

The best roller coaster at Kings Island is its newest, Orion. Opened in 2020, it features a 300-foot first drop, 5,321 feet of track, eight hills, loads of airtime, and a top speed of 91 mph. It’s not record-breaking, but it’s a dang good coaster for those who like height and speed. Its closest equivalent is probably Millenium Force at Cedar Point.

Riding Orion at night is amazing! And it’s sometimes included in early ride time for season pass holders. I rode it one morning three times in a row in that first 30 minutes of the day that way. Absolutely fabulous.

The theming in Area 72, where Orion is located, is strong, and that extends to Orion as much as it ever does at Kings Island. There are signs out about “needing test subjects” for the Orion project to report to hangar 20. One cool effect is a “body scan” performed as you walk through the entrance building – look for the screens above. And there’s a science lab you walk through just before the loading platform. Once past that, it’s all hills and thrills.

Flat Rides/All Other Rides

Now, just for the heck of it, let’s rate all the rest of the park too. Because Lord knows I don’t write short posts. Here are all of Kings Island’s other rides, ranked worst to best.

#18 – Kids’ Rides

It’s a weird way to start a list, with a catch-all category. But besides the 3-4 kid’s coasters (4 if you count Surf Dog) plus two other rides in Planet Snoopy that I’ll call out below, there are a host of little kid’s rides that don’t really need ranking. In this category, we’ve got:

• Character Carousel, a mini merry-go-round
• Charlie Brown’s Wind Up, a kid-sized swings ride
• Joe Cool’s Dogem School, a junior bumper cars
• Kite Eating Tree, a bouncy drop ride
• Linus’ Beetle Bugs, a mini whip ride
• Linus’ Launcher, a lay-on-your-stomach kite flyer spinner
• PEANUTS 500, a tracked car-driving attraction
• PEANUTS Off-Road Rally, a cars-in-a-circle ride for the littlest guests
• Sally’s Sea Plane, a diminutive “crazy bus” ride – basically a platform (in this case, a plane) on two swinging arms which offers some airtime and lateral g’s.
• Snoopy vs. Red Baron is like a dumbo ride, but with lil’ bi-planes
• Snoopy’s Junction, a family train ride
• Snoopy’s Space Buggies, also like Dumbo but MUCH bouncier
• Woodstock Gliders, a bucket-like ride seat on cables with a large wing to control swing as you go around
• Woodstock Whirlybirds, a terribly cute helicopter-themed elevated tram

All that, plus two more rides geared towards adults/families and four roller coasters, makes Kings Island’s Planet Snoopy one of the largest areas for kids in the theme park world.

#17 – Dogem

I feel like I’ve well established by this point that I’m not too fond of bumper car attractions. Especially on a solo trip. Nothing to see here!

#16 – Kings Mills Antique Autos

Likewise, I don’t tend to do antique car rides solo, so I confess I didn’t ride this one. Kings Mills Antique Autos is a newer attraction, however, with pretty flowers and landscaping throughout. And this one features a covered bridge, replica gas station, and billboards that refer to past and current rides at the park.

#15 – Grand Carousel

The Grand Carousel in a garden setting behind the Eiffel Tower is definitely pretty to look at, but I don’t tend to ride these. Not when there are so many good coasters to ride! This one from 1926 is covered in gold leaf, silver foil, and has 48 hand-carved horses.

#14 – Scrambler

I mean, the Scrambler is always fun, but you’ve been on one before, and it hasn’t changed. It’s a fun egg-beater, near-miss feeling that’s good for a laugh or to squish you against someone you like.

#13 – Race For Your Life Charlie Brown

One of the bigger rides in Planet Snoopy, Race For Your Life Charlie Brown, is a log flume ride, somewhat themed to the 1977 Peanuts movie. All you really get out of the theming is a fun “Camp Remote” load building and a finish line banner sign at splashdown.

But it’s not big enough to be properly thrilling. And the line was atrocious and seriously slow-moving during my visit. It’s like I’d see canoes go by in bursts like there were significant gaps in loading. So unless it’s a near walk-on, I wouldn’t consider it worth the wait.

#12 – Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad

I usually love any amusement park train, and this one is no different. It’s a fun chance to sit down and see some “frontier” sights. At Kings Island, the train is mainly the way to get back and forth from the water park to the main park. So it’s tucked away in Rivertown, almost out of sight behind a soda refill station, and just goes off into the woods and back. You can get some good views of Mystic Timbers, and to a lesser extent, The Beast, so there’s that.

#11 – Eiffel Tower

For amazing views of the whole park, check out the Eiffel Tower, a one-third replica of the famous Parisian landmark. At 314 feet, you can see all the major rides and lands, and it’s just nice to have an open observation tower! It’s closed again now, and one of the reasons it’s this far down the list is that to get to the top of the tower and back down, you’re crammed in an elevator with several other guests. I’m not sure when I’ll stop worrying about catching Covid, but it’s not yet. Otherwise, it’s delightful.

#10 – Shake Rattle & Roll

Getting into the more thrilling rides, Shake Rattle & Roll is a troika-style flat ride, kind of like a scrambler but with height. I always like these, but the ride on this one felt awfully short. The ride operator made some great jokes during my ride, though I couldn’t always hear him.

#9 – Monster

Monster is one of those octopus/spider spinning rides with four cars on the ends of eight arms, all spinning and dipping up and down. I learned never to sleep on one of these during a visit to Idlewild! The movement on this monster spinner has more up & down action, and my individual car didn’t spin much at all.

#8 – Viking Fury

Viking Furing is a swinging pirate (or, in this case, Viking) ship ride next to the Festhaus in Oktoberfest. What’s nice about this one is the setting, under some trees and over a small lake. There’s even water under the ride platform, so you honestly feel a little like it’s an actual ship! Plus, the grown man behind me on the ride couldn’t stop giggling, which is always a bit endearing.

#7 – WindSeeker

There’s a WindSeeker tower swings ride in every Cedar Fair park I’ve been to so far, and this one had a few problems with its soundtrack. Usually, there’s epic movie music playing while you spin up into the air, but the soundtrack cut out during my ride. But as always, there is a good view, and it’s always a bit faster than I expect.

#6 – Congo Falls

Congo Falls is King Island’s shoot-the-chute water ride, off in a corner of Action Zone. I didn’t ride this one – once you’ve ridden Cedar Point’s, the drop on other versions doesn’t seem very exciting. It’s kind of out of the way, so I didn’t see a lot of people standing in the spray or all the usual things you get with these raft rides.

#5 – Zephyr

I always like a good swings ride, and for thrills, of course WindSeeker should win a matchup with Zephyr. But WindSeeker’s speakers cut out, it’s not in a central position for optimal views, and basically, the ride operator for the Zephyr won the day. On this ride, the ride op played trivia games with the riders! He asked 6-8 questions and riders would shout down to him their answers. It was so fun, made the ride seem longer, and I learned a few things! Several of the ride ops told jokes during rides, but this trivia game was by far the best idea. Way to go, Kings Island staff!

#4 – Boo Blasters on Boo Hill

Four Cedar Fair parks have a Boo Blasters haunted laser shooter dark ride. All I can say is that Kings Island’s version is far superior to Carowinds! The one at Kings Island is in a proper spooky castle, and most of the line is indoors. It seems fairly easy to get a high score, too – I usually do about average to below-average on these rides. On this version, I reached the top score!

These all used to be a Scooby-Doo-themed ride, and you can tell. It’s that sort of cartoony silly/scary.

#3 – White Water Canyon

For thrills and chills, you might want to turn to White Water Canyon, the rapids ride in Rivertown. While you might not get as soaked as you would on Congo Falls, you can probably count on getting at least partly wet and cooled off. I found this to be a good, fast river ride, with lots of rapids/dips to get water into the boat. You can leave your stuff at the station, too, which is nice.

To pay quarters to shoot at the riders or just to watch others do it, you can walk almost all the way down the path to the ride, where there’s a split in the line for an observation area.

#2 – Drop Tower

First of all, a drop tower will always be a thrilling ride and a fun view. But I feel like they could come up with a better name than “Drop Tower,” amiright? And it does NOT load like it swallows 40 people at a time. The queue moves surprisingly slow, but at least it’s covered. In fact, I probably would have rated Drop Tower highest, had that queue moved not quite so slowly. It’s a long wait for such a short ride.

The biggest pro to this Drop Tower is that at 315 feet, it’s the tallest of its kind in the world. (Not the tallest drop tower ever, but the tallest like this one.)

#1 – Delirium

And finally, my favorite non-coaster ride at Kings Island is Delirium, one of those giant swinging/spinning pendulum rides. This one feels like it goes almost straight up! But the downside is that as soon as it reaches the highest point, it starts to slow down. It’d be nice to have 2-3 more swings at the top. I think Black Widow at Kennywood does a bit better in this regard.

And that’s it! My rankings for every single ride at Kings Island. (You can see my last post for what I think about the water park.) Let me know if you agree or disagree and what your favorite ride at the park is!

I came back in October for their Halloween Haunt event and made sure to ride The Beast in the dark, which was loads of fun! All the coasters are better in the dark, I think, which makes fall a great time to ride. I also found a drizzly Friday night had extremely low wait times, so that may be the perfect time to visit.