One week later, on August 8, Kings Island officially announced that it was constructing Banshee, the world's longest inverted roller coaster. Blueprints for the project were leaked to the public on August 1, 2013. A limited number of tickets were also made available to the public giving access to a tour of the construction site prior to the revealing and reserved seats at the event, with net proceeds being donated to breast cancer research.

Media packages containing a silver comb, artificial hair and a tag were sent out to media outlets to notify them of the upcoming announcement. On July 31, 2013, Kings Island detailed plans to reveal a new world record-breaking attraction at 10 p.m. Two weeks later, farm owls were placed in nearby trees. Then, at the beginning of July 2013, recordings of someone screaming could be heard by park guests near the construction area.

The campaign continued with five scarecrows around the construction site and several Twitter posts about the future attraction. On June 10, 2013, the park launched their social media campaign by posting a photo showing the construction site with the caption, 'Field of Dreams'. Along the perimeter of the former Thunder Alley go-kart track, a fence was set up with a sign that read, 'Due to the increasing occurrence of mysterious and bone-chilling screams, it has become necessary to close this section of the park until the cause of this evil phenomenon can be identified.' During the course of the summer, several clues about the attraction were set up around the construction site. Kings Island began teasing the new attraction on the first day of the 2013 season. Owner Cedar Fair had previously considered using the name for a roller coaster at Cedar Point, though Cedar Point's coaster was ultimately named Mantis. Construction Ĭonstruction on a new attraction began on April 22, 2013, and a trademark for the name 'Banshee' was filed the next day. Following their removal, it was not immediately clear what would replace the attractions. A memorial for Son of Beast is in the queue line of Banshee. Amusement Today 's annual Golden Ticket Awards has consistently ranked Banshee among the top 50 steel roller coasters in the world.īanshee replaced Son of Beast (pictured), which closed in 2009 before being demolished three years laterīanshee was built at the former location of Son of Beast, a wooden roller coaster plagued with issues and demolished in 2012, and the Thunder Alley go-kart attraction that was removed the same year. When Banshee opened, it was well-received, accommodating one million riders in less than three months. The first track pieces were installed on August 27, 2013, and work continued through the following January. The ride was officially announced on August 8, 2013, although the 'Banshee' name had been trademarked that April. Banshee operates with three trains, each with eight cars, giving it an hourly capacity of 1,650 riders.īanshee was built at the former location of a wooden roller coaster named Son of Beast, as well as the Thunder Alley go-kart attraction.

The ride includes seven inversions and travels at up to 68 miles per hour (109 km/h). With 4,124 feet (1,257 m) of track, Banshee was the longest inverted roller coaster in the world when it opened. Banshee cost $24 million to build, making it the most expensive project in Kings Island's history at the time. Designed and manufactured by Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard, the roller coaster opened on April 18, 2014. Banshee is an inverted roller coaster located at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio.

Maximum roller coaster g force