Kings Island is one of the top Cedar Fair parks. The park features a deep collection
of 14 different roller coasters, many of which go out into the woods or utilize the terrain.
The park also features a dark ride, some daring flat rides,
and a decent collection of water rides. And then you also have the attached Soak City water park.
This video will be a countdown of the top 20 rides and attractions at both Kings Island
and Soak City. And I’ll also include a few defunct attractions as a bonus.
20) Race for Your Life Charlie Brown- This Arrow flume has a relatively short layout
and there’s a few bits of theming along the course. The final drop is pretty lackluster,
but this one is an absolute soaker. Especially if the Snoopy sprayer at the end is active.
19) Boo Blasters on Boo Hill- This dark ride has the usual blacklit ghostly aesthetic,
but this one has a cool ride system with the rotating vehicles. The ride lasts a
long time as well. However, a lot of targets seem to be broken on this one each visit.
18) Pineapple Pipeline- This body slide has a super steep plunge. The slide is short,
but that drop is a thrill and it gives a little airtime on the way down.
17) Windseeker- This giant Mondial swing ride gives a birds-eye view of Kings Island.
It’s cool seeing all the coasters sprawling out into the woods while
you’re rotating high above all of them. 16) Invertigo- This Vekoma inverted boomerang
has a tummy-tickling initial plunge and then it’s a display of force going both
forwards and backwards. The 3 inversions have leg-tingling positive Gs, strong snaps, and can
cause me to start greying out. While the ride is smoother than a lot of SLCs and boomerangs,
the bulky over-the-shoulder restraints can lead to headbanging which isn’t too comfortable when
you’re being blasted by such strong forces. 15) Adventure Express- This Arrow mine train
has a unique layout. You have two lift hills, one in the middle and one at the end. And that finale
is legendarily bad going from this themed lift hill straight to the final break run.
It’s positively mind scratching. But the downhill sections have decent pacing with a few tunnels,
good use of terrain, and some fun turns offering some light positive Gs or laterals.
14) Delirium- This Huss giant frisbee delivers nice floater airtime on the max swings.
Unfortunately, I only got two of them. The downswings on most swings produce good
positive Gs though and a few of the swings building up offer faint weightlessness.
13) Racer- The trackwork this racing wood coaster has received in recent years has
made it a lot more tolerable. The ride has some weak floater airtime on the outward leg,
but the return leg is usually on the weaker side. Especially since the race has long been decided
and you can’t really see the other side at this point.
12) White Water Canyon- This river rapids ride has a great setting in the woods.
You can’t see what’s coming next and it feels secluded from the rest of the park. There are
4-5 soaking rapids plus 2 drenching geysers, so this ride hits the spot on summer days.
Vortex- This Arrow looper has quite the following and it was a pretty good Arrow looper. The first
drop had some nice floater airtime. The two vertical loops delivered strong positive Gs.
The two corkscrews were taken slower to produce some hangtime.
And the batwing produced both hangtime and positive Gs. The ride was undeniably jerky though,
particularly on the transitions between elements. 11) Backlot Stunt Coaster- This Premier launch
coaster has an underrated start. The initial launch has a little kick and that 900 degree
helix is a true greyout moment. The rest of the first half has some weak laterals,
a meek pop of airtime or two, and some theming. The second half starts with an exciting fire
effect followed by a long, dark tunnel and a fun final drop. This is a great family coaster.
10) Tropical Plunge- This 7 story trapdoor slide has a thrilling initial plunge.
It’s suspenseful and you get some weightlessness. You then rip around
some fast and moderately forceful turns. And this one is perfectly smooth on your back.
9) Bat- This Arrow suspended coaster has a sizable initial plunge and then it holds its
speed start to finish. This isn’t the longest suspended coaster, but it has a fun setting in
the woods plus some strong swinging and decent positive Gs on the low turns.
8) Drop Tower- This 315 foot or 96 meter tall gyro drop offers incredible views
between its sheer height and spin on the ascent. The drop is pretty good too,
offering some floater airtime at the top before speeding towards the brakes.
7) Xtreme Skyflyer- This 15 story tall skycoaster has a thrilling plunge. The suspense of pulling
the ripcord and then falling towards the ground in such an exposed ride vehicle is breathtaking. You
get a brief freefall sensation before spending the rest of the ride calmly swinging back and forth.
Firehawk- This was the smoothest of the three Vekoma flying dutchmen.
Maybe that was because it ran a little slower, but it still had plenty of great moments. The vertical
loop rapidly transitioned from crushing positive Gs to hangtime and back to positive Gs in a flash.
There were some other decently forceful valleys plus two fun inline twists.
6) Flight of Fear- This indoor Premier coaster has an ok launch. The first half has three
fairly forceful and disorienting inversions. The second half is neutered by a trim brake,
so most of the turns lack punch, but that final corkscrew is still snappy. While the other Premier
spaghetti bowls I’ve ridden are very smooth, this one does have a bit of a shake to it.
5) Beast- As a coaster, Beast is flawed. It has no airtime and it spends a lot of time meandering.
And it can be bumpy if you ride it in the wrong seat. However, the setting makes Beast a great
experience. You’re so deep and isolated in those woods. And night rides are legendarily dark.
But Beast does have one signature element that always delivers, the double helix finale. It
offers strong sustained laterals combined with crazy speed and scary headchoppers.
4) Banshee- This B&M invert was running well in 2021 with only a light rattle. That allowed me to
appreciate this ride’s strong layout. The steep, twisting drop is quite snappy. Then the dive loop
and zero-G roll are floaty. The final inline twist delivers wicked hangtime.
And the other 4 inversions deliver good positive Gs to contrast.
Banshee’s combination of speed and power is an absolute joy when it’s running smoothly.
3) Diamondback- This B&M hyper coaster is yet another ride that goes out into the woods.
Diamondback’s first half has some of best sustained floater airtime you can experience
on any coaster. The first drop and subsequent two camelbacks always keep me out of my seat for
several seconds. The first few valleys can rattle, but it wasn’t as shaky in 2021 as past years.
The airtime in the second half isn’t quite as strong after the ride loses some speed
from the trims, but you still get decent floater airtime and that splash finale is a great visual.
2) Mystic Timbers- This is my favorite GCI that I have ridden. Mystic Timbers has a fantastic
setting in the woods and the pacing is top notch. Mystic Timbers never slows down and it’s just one
airtime hill after another. While none of the hills offer elite airtime, each one will quickly
pop you out of your seat. And even though this is an out-and-back coaster, it mixes in some
twists to keep riders on their toes. I have a separate review, but this is the wood coaster
I want to ride at night at Kings Island. 1) Orion- The newest B&M giga is pure fun.
You have one of the best first drops of any coaster with the sustained floater airtime
that seems to last forever. The next few elements are large, but you still feel the
speed in the valleys. And the giant wave turn has weak sustained airtime while turned on your side.
The second half has some great floater airtime on the smaller hills plus a fast helix. This ride
is super reridable and a blast start to finish, and I talk about it more in a separate review.
So those are the top 20 rides and attractions at Kings Island.
What is your favorite ride at Kings Island? Let me know your thoughts on any of the rides
I mentioned or any you think I missed down in the comments. If you enjoyed this countdown, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!