Diamondback is the true Bolliger & Mabillard hyper coaster at Kings Island. Many consider
this to be the best ride at this Ohio theme park as well as one of B&M’s best hypers and it’s not
hard to see why. It has length, plenty of airtime hills, and a great setting in the woods. It’s fun,
but I do find it a tad overrated and I’ll explain why in this review.
Cedar Fair acquired the Paramount parks in 2006 and immediately began investing in them. Their
earliest investments included a trio of B&M hyper coasters. Canada’s Wonderland received Behemoth in
2008. Kings Island received Diamondback in 2009. And Carowinds received Intimidator in 2010.
The three coasters had very similar stats, but their locations are quite different.
Intimidator has the least exciting location, being built adjacent to
a parking lot. Behemoth is built next to the Splash Works water park. Meanwhile,
Diamondback has the best placement. This coaster goes way out into the woods.
You can see the camelbacks poking above the treeline, but you only have an unobstructed
view of the start and end. You have the imposing lift hill adjacent to the midway. Then the finale
features a giant splashdown more akin to something you’d see on a dive coaster. It’s so picturesque.
When I last visited Kings Island, Diamondback had faded maroon track and yellow supports. For
the 2023 season, the coaster got a fresh coat of paint. The track became a darker
shade of red. Then the supports were made a mushroom brown, which fit in much better
with the western/lumber vibe of Rivertown. I also love this ride’s entrance. The snake
logo looks fantastic and there are some warning signs. However, the queue itself is quite
plain. You have a series of covered switchbacks before reaching a staircase into the station.
Once you reach the station, an employee will assign you a row. But from my experience,
they are happy to honor seating requests. I highly recommend trying both the front and back car.
Both have some awesome airtime in the first half. You may have to wait a while to get on Diamondback
though. This is one of the most popular rides in the park. Don’t be surprised if the coaster
has 45-60 minute waits most weekends, particularly during Haunt. Lines should
be less on weekdays, but still existent. There are a few ways to get reduced waits.
First, the park offers early entry on select days for passholders. The available
rides change by day, but when Diamondback is included, it usually has minimal to no wait.
Second, you can hop in line right before close. The line should move faster between the lack of
Fast Lane and lesser crowds. And Diamondback’s woodsy setting means it is a fantastic night
ride. It is super dark back there. And if you’re lucky, you could get a fireworks ride.
Unlike Orion and Beast, Diamondback does not have to cease operations for the fireworks.
Third, you can visit on a rainy day. Kings Island has a very favorable weather policy. I’ve seen
them run Diamondback in absolute downpours. And there won’t be many people in the park.
Fourth, you can purchase a Fast Lane skip-the-line pass. This is a pricey upcharge,
but it will get you near immediate boarding on Diamondback and the park’s other major coasters.
Diamondback at least has high capacity. It often runs three
trains. And each train seats up to 32 riders. But from my experience, the third train doesn’t
seem to help too much. I often see the coaster double stacked. The crew can check restraints
at a good clip, but guests seem to take their sweet time placing their bags and
loose articles in the cubbies. Then there’s at least one guest per train who forgets to put on
their seatbelt, which slows the employees down. Diamondback didn’t originally have seatbelts,
but Cedar Fair added them to their B&M hypers in 2014 to lower insurance costs.
I don’t think these impact the on-ride experience since they have a lot of give,
but they do add some time to the dispatches. Then you have the same clamshell harness as all
B&M hypers and gigas. I love these restraints. They are super comfortable and really allow you
to experience this ride’s airtime. The trains are a bit different than
usual though. Unlike most B&M mega coasters that have 4 across seating, Diamondback has staggered
v-shaped seating. This is the same train as the aforementioned Intimidator and Behemoth,
plus PortAventura’s Shambhala. With these trains, the two riders in the front of each
car sit side-by-side in the middle. Then the other two riders sit on the edge a few feet back. This
gives you more space and a better view. But it does make the train longer and change the overall
ride dynamics. That’s why I think the ride is noticeably better in the front or back car.
Once dispatched, you ascend a 230 foot or 70 meter tall lift hill. In front of you, you just see
trees and woods for miles. But if you look behind you, you have a great birds-eye view of the park.
Once at the top, you are thrown over the first drop. And this drop is excellent. It’s tall and
lasts a long time. And it’s very steep too with a 74 degree angle. So if you’re in the back car,
you get great sustained floater airtime the whole way down.
The pullout has good force, so I start to see some grey there. But it also has a bit of a rattle,
which is a recurring theme on the outward leg. Next is a massive camelback. It’s 19 stories
tall! Those in front get fantastic and very sustained floater airtime. It’s most powerful
at the apex and then you’ll stay levitated out of your seat for the descent. In the rear rows,
you get great sustained floater on that drop. The pullout is very rattly though.
You then twist left into another camelback. While it’s nearly 6 stories shorter than the prior one,
it feels identical. The front again gets some spectacular airtime. These two hills
are the main reason I try to get a few front row rides each visit. Then the back gets really good
floater airtime on the drop. But this pullout also has a bad rattle. Fortunately, the rest
of the coaster is very smooth, but these three valleys can cause a headache with repeated rides.
Next is a hammerhead turnaround. The front really gets pushed into this and gets some solid whip.
Then the banking is fairly disorienting and feels like a pseudo inversion. You
also realize just how far into the woods you are. The return run kicks things off with another large
camelback, but there is a trim on the ascent that will slow the train down. Whereas the
airtime on the outward leg is among the best of any B&M hyper, the negative Gs on the remaining
hills is average for the genre. The third camelback still offers
good floater airtime across the train though. Diamondback then spirals upwards, treating riders
to strong positive Gs. I always greyout here. This leads into the mid-course brake run,
which will slow the train down a bit. The subsequent drop is sweet though. It’s
straight and sizable, so it offers good floater in the back rows.
Next are back-to-back bunny hills. Both offer decent sustained floater in the front row. You
still come out of your seat further back in the train, but the airtime is noticeably weaker.
The train then has an upwards helix, but it’s fairly slow and tame. It’s more about
rebuilding potential energy for the finale. The drop off the helix is great. It’s so
sharp that it gives a weak pop of airtime in front. Meanwhile,
those in back get really good floater airtime. Then you have a brief straightaway above the water
where the splashdown occurs. You don’t really get to see it on-ride, the visual is more for
those off-ride, but those in the back edge seats can get wet if they extend their arms outwards.
You then hop upwards into the brake run, getting one last spurt of floater airtime.
You then smoothly decelerate and return to the station, ending the nearly 1 mile journey.
I already touched on the smoothness, but what about the pacing? Diamondback is a
mixed bag here. I love the outward leg. But the hills on the return journey feel a bit
sluggish. They all still offer airtime, but the sense of speed isn’t as strong
as other hyper coasters during this portion. So what would I rate Diamondback? I would give
this coaster an 8 out of 10. This is a really good hyper coaster. I love the setting in the woods.
And the airtime at the start is phenomenal. It’s some of the best floater airtime you can
get anywhere. The return journey is milder by comparison, but it still has a decent amount
of airtime. And while on the topic of airtime, it’s all floater on this ride, no ejector. Then
there are some forceful valleys in the first half, but they do have pretty bad rattle.
Ultimately, I think this is a mid-tier B&M hyper for me. And it firmly slots in as my
third favorite coaster in the park, as I do prefer both Orion and Mystic Timbers. I think those two
coasters have better pacing start-to-finish. So those are my thoughts on Diamondback at
Kings Island. What are your thoughts on this B&M hyper? Do you consider it one of the best ones?
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