All 14 Epic Kings Island Roller Coasters Ranked

There are 14 unique roller coasters at Kings Island, but which ones are the best?

The mileage might vary from person to person, but I’ve ranked all of the Kings Island roller coasters as objectively as humanly possible… Even though Flight of Fear is clearly the best coaster at Kings Island.

I’ll stop.

The highest scored of the Kings Island roller coasters ranked are Orion, Diamondback, Banshee, and Mystic Timbers.

The proof is in the pudding below.

Without further ado, here’s the ultimate ranking of Kings Island roller coasters. (Thrill junkies, debate me in the comments below!)

Related Reading: How To Visit Kings Island On A Budget

Kings Island Roller Coasters Ranked

I’m basing these rankings on the ride’s comfortability, thrill, uniqueness, smoothness, capacity, reliability, and popularity.

• Comfortability: enjoyable forces and re-rideability (10 = comfortable)
• Thrills: speed, height, and inversions (10 = most thrilling)
• Uniqueness: noteworthy features (10 = most unique)
• Smoothness: …smooth versus rough (10 = smoothest)
• Capacity: riders per hour (10 = quicker line)
• Reliability: will it be open likelihood (10 = often open)
• Popularity: by what park guests flock to (10 = popular)

Let’s get to it!

Flight of Fear

Flight of Fear is the world’s first LIM launch coaster, opened in 1996. It’s located indoors and is themed to Area 51. The ride coasts through 4 inversions at a top speed of 54 mph, yielding 4.5Gs within its 2,700-foot run.

Comfortability: 6/10
Thrills: 9/10
Uniqueness: 8/10
Smoothness: 6/10
Capacity: 9/10
Reliability: 8/10
Popularity: 8/10

Notes: KI’s Flight of Fear uniqueness score got an extra point in the since Kings Island’s version has some special features and theming in its queue that the KD counterpart doesn’t have. On the flipside, folks are quick to point out that KI’s version is rougher than KD’s.

TOTAL RANKING: 7.7/10

Related Reading: Exploring The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear

TOTAL RANKING: 8.4/10

The Racer

The Racer is probably one of the most iconic roller coasters on the planet, cited for the 1970s roller coaster renaissance. It’s a twin racing, classic wooden roller coaster with a max speed of 53 miles per hour, drop of 82 feet, and length of 3,400 feet.

Comfortability: 7/10
Thrills: 6/10
Uniqueness: 7/10
Smoothness: 8/10
Capacity: 10/10
Reliability: 8/10
Popularity: 7/10

Notes: While the thrills score looks mediocre, The Racer has a fair bit of airtime, so it’s not a bore by any means. I’m just trying to give it a numerical score in balance to its average height and speed.

Capacity on the other hand, as you can imagine, is… a champ.

TOTAL RANKING: 7.6/10

Orion

Orion is both a giga coaster and a hyper coaster, sporting the latter’s aesthetic and the former’s height requirement. Its stat sheet includes a 300-foot drop with a maximum angle of 85 degrees, top speed of 91 mph, and a total length of 5,300 feet.

Comfortability: 9/10
Thrills: 10/10
Uniqueness: 8/10
Smoothness: 10/10
Capacity: 8/10
Reliability: 9/10
Popularity: 10/10

Notes: Time has me so screwed up that I was still thinking Orion opened just a year or two ago.

TOTAL RANKING: 9.1/10

Mystic Timbers

Mystic Timbers is a wooden coaster themed to an abandoned logging company that met a mysterious fate. Its hallmarks include a 98-foot drop, 53 mph speed, 3,300-foot track length, and The Shed.

Comfortability: 8/10
Thrills: 8/10
Uniqueness: 7/10
Smoothness: 9/10
Capacity: 6/10
Reliability: 9/10
Popularity: 9/10

TOTAL RANKING: 8/10

Banshee

Banshee is one of the longest inverted coasters in the world, with a track length of about 4,100 feet. It has 7 inversions, a drop of 150 feet, and top speed of 68 mph. Due to the terrain, and complimented by no mid-course break run, Banshee hits her top speed halfway through the ride rather than during its first drop.

Comfortability: 6/10
Thrills: 9/10
Uniqueness: 8/10
Smoothness: 8/10
Capacity: 8/10
Reliability: 8/10
Popularity: 8/10

Notes: Banshee’s teaser and Son of Beast slight is so cold. Great piece of marketing!

Diamondback

Diamondback is the first hyper coaster to feature a splashdown effect (when the train enters a pond and scoops water into the air behind it). The coaster has a drop of 215 feet, speed of 80 mph, length of 5,300 feet, and hits 4Gs during its ride time.

Comfortability: 9/10
Thrills: 9/10
Uniqueness: 7/10
Smoothness: 9/10
Capacity: 8/10
Reliability: 9/10
Popularity: 9/10

Notes: The construction site webcam feels like yesterday.

TOTAL RANKING: 8.6/10

The Bat

The Bat is a suspended roller coaster named after the first, and extremely short lived, Bat. This one, formerly named Flight Deck, has a drop of 70 feet, 51-mph top speed, length of roughly 2,400 feet, and pulls 3Gs during its flight.

Comfortability: 8/10
Thrills: 6/10
Uniqueness: 7/10
Smoothness: 8/10
Capacity: 6/10
Reliability: 9/10
Popularity: 6/10

Notes: Shout out to the original Bat!

TOTAL RANKING: 7.1/10

The Beast

The Beast is, aptly, a monster of a wooden roller coaster, being that it is the longest wooden roller coaster in the world. Another Kings Island legend, The Beast has a total length of 7,400 feet, in which it hits 65 mph and 3.6Gs after a 141-foot drop.

Comfortability: 6/10
Thrills: 7/10
Uniqueness: 10/10
Smoothness: 5/10
Capacity: 6/10
Reliability: 8/10
Popularity: 10/10

Notes: RIP to its successor, Son of Beast.

TOTAL RANKING: 7.4/10

Adventure Express

Adventure Express is an Arrow Dynamics mine train coaster that was inspired by Indiana Jones. The coaster puts along at a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour, with a top height of 63 feet and a max length of 3,000.

Comfortability: 7/10
Thrills: 5/10
Uniqueness: 5/10
Smoothness: 5/10
Capacity: 8/10
Reliability: 8/10
Popularity: 6/10

TOTAL RANKING: 6.3/10

Woodstock Express

An opening day attraction, Woodstock Express is a wooden family coaster that opened in 1972. It’s only 35 feet tall and goes 35 mph, but it’s still a fan favorite of many park goers.

Comfortability: 8/10
Thrills: 4/10
Uniqueness: 4/10
Smoothness: 7/10
Capacity: 6/10
Reliability: 8/10
Popularity: 7/10

Notes: Kings Dominion has me inclined to call this one Scooby Doo too.

TOTAL RANKING: 6.3/10

Invertigo

Invertigo is an inverted Vekoma boomerang roller coaster. Its stats collection boasts 3 inversions, 5Gs, a 131-foot height, a 50-mph top speed, and a 1,000-foot length.

Comfortability: 5/10
Thrills: 8/10
Uniqueness: 5/10
Smoothness: 6/10
Capacity: 3/10
Reliability: 8/10
Popularity: 7/10

Notes: Invertigo’s hourly capacity is abysmal and tossed its score.

TOTAL RANKING: 6/10

Backlot Stunt Coaster

Backlot Stunt Coaster is a small launch coaster that opened in 2006. It is themed to the climatic action scene in The Italian Job, with special effects and sets along the ride. The coaster features a max height of 45 feet and speed of 40 mph.

Comfortability: 7/10
Thrills: 6/10
Uniqueness: 6/10
Smoothness: 6/10
Capacity: 4/10
Reliability: 7/10
Popularity: 6/10

Notes: Like Flight of Fear, a clone of this coaster exists at Kings Dominion. If its special effects were maintained and worked regularly, its uniqueness rating would have been higher but alas.

TOTAL RANKING: 6/10

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Snoopy’s Soap Box Racers

Snoopy’s Soap Box Racers is a family boomerang roller coaster with a Peanuts theme. It has a height of 73 feet, top speed of 36 mph, and wholesome length of almost 700 feet.

Comfortability: 8/10
Thrills: 5/10
Uniqueness: 7/10
Smoothness: 8/10
Capacity: 2/10
Reliability: 8/10
Popularity: 7/10

Notes: I really didn’t think any other coaster at KI could compete with Invertigo for the most horrific hourly capacity. And, I guess that was the case up until May ’24.

TOTAL RANKING: 6.4/10

Woodstock’s Air Rail

Woodstock’s Air Rail is a suspended family coaster with a Snoopy vs the Red Baron theme. It stands at 48 feet tall, goes 26 mph, and covers 1,100 feet of track.

Comfortability: 6/10
Thrills: 4/10
Uniqueness: 6/10
Smoothness: 6/10
Capacity: 1/10
Reliability: 8/10
Popularity: 6/10

Notes: *hourly capacity* …at this rate, forget it.

TOTAL RANKING: 5.3/10

Summary

Before we formally wrap up our roller coaster rankings, honorable mentions are due to Son of Beast, Vortex, Firehawk, King Cobra, and The Bat (OG).

Son of Beast… would’ve maybe done nicely in uniqueness, being the first woodie with a loop. But, comfortability, smoothness, and reliability would’ve been (and was) its downfall. As Redditor D0gYears puts it, SOB was “like being strapped into a box and kicked down a long flight of stairs.” Classic.

Vortex would’ve done well in the thrills department. Firehawk would too, alongside uniqueness. King Cobra and The Bat would also do well in the uniqueness category, but The Bat’s reliability would’ve been its weak point.

All the same, Kings Island has a legendary collection of roller coasters. And boy do they have some interesting ideas for new ones!

For a brief summary of the Kings Island roller coaster rankings:

If you have any thoughts about this ranking of the Kings Island roller coasters, let me know in the comments! I’m curious what other riders rate them by.

What’s your favorite roller coaster at Kings Island?

For more Kings Island guides, you can also check out:

• How To Visit Kings Island On A Budget
• All Kings Island Ride Heights
• Kings Island Height Requirements For Each Attraction
• Best Hotels Near Kings Island
• Exploring The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear

Thanks for reading!