Hear the Banshee's screams...
Hear the Banshee's screams...
| Theme Park | Kings Island |
|---|---|
| Park Area | Action Zone |
| Type | Rollercoaster |
| Audience | Thrillseekers |
| Opened | 18 April 2014 |
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Model | Inverted Coaster |
| Height | 167 ft |
| Length | 4124 ft |
| Inversions | 7 |
| Max Speed | 68 mph |
| Cost | $24 million |
| Duration | 1¾ minutes |
One of Banshee's seven inversions
Banshee is Kings Island's record breaking inverted rollercoaster, which opened at the theme park in 2014.
It was manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard and is one of their Inverted Coaster models, which has trains and riders dangling beneath the track rather than sitting on top. With 4124 feet of track, on its opening day Banshee claimed the world record for the longest inverted rollercoaster in the world.
Banshee is also one of the tallest B&M Inverted Coasters: it stands at 167ft tall compared to, for example, the popular Batman variants that are typically around 100ft at their highest point. This scale gives Banshee quite a different feel, with larger elements allowing the train to glide through them gracefully: there is much less of the characteristic whipping into inversions that is felt on other B&M inverts.
The coaster features seven inversions in total, including two classic vertical loops, a dive loop, zero-G roll, inline twist and an uncommon pretzel knot. Thanks to the geography of Kings Island, the pretzel knot sits in a dip meaning its bottom sits 208 feet below the height of the lift hill and causes the ride to not reach its top speed until half way around the course.
Trains use B&M's vest restraints rather than the normal solid over-the-shoulder restraints found on most of their Inverted coasters: some people find these more comfortable, while others complain about them being too tight against their body.
There is minimal theming during the ride itself save for the great blue and maroon colour scheme of the track, but the station and queueline have a gothic church and graveyard feel to fit with the overall wailing banshee theme. One of the gravestones within the churchyard has an inscription giving a nod to the infamous Son of Beast rollercoaster on whose former site Banshee was built.
Banshee is superb and one of the highlights within Kings Island's strong ride lineup. Its size makes for a different experience to most other B&M Inverted Coasters, with an increased ride time and some wonderful swooping manoeuvers replacing some of the more aggressive unrelenting pace found in other examples of the model - all without loosing any of the characteristic intensity. Overall this improves rerideability and helps make Banshee one of the best inverted coasters on the planet.
Action Zone area around Banshee
Steaming sign
Banshee's gothic station
Start of the ride
Climbing the lift hill through one of the vertical loops
High level inversion
Steep dive
Upside down
Vertical loop
Towering over Kings Island
Banshee banner
Looping over the top
Banshee's lift hill and curving first drop
View over Banshee from the Eiffel Tower
Moon loop
