Banshee

Entrance sign and ride layout

*King Cobra* (1984 - 2001)

***Banshee*** is a steel inverted coaster located in the Action Zone area of Kings Island. It opened in 2014 as a replacement for *Son of Beast*. In addition, the *Thunder Alley* go-karts attraction was also removed to make room for the queue line of this ride. Land once occupied by *King Cobra* was also used for this ride. It is the third coaster built under the park's ownership of Cedar Fair. The ride is themed to the supernatural creature of the same name, a ghostly woman that shrieks and screams when someone is in danger of dying. Naturally, a shriek can be heard when the ride is about to descend from its lift hill. *Banshee* is famously recognized by theme park enthusiasts as the longest inverted coaster in the world.

## History

In 2009, *Son of Beast* was closed after a second serious injury was reported to have been caused by the ride. The first had only occurred three years earlier in 2006, resulting in the coaster's loop being removed and new trains being implemented in 2007. In the years following the incident, *Son of Beast* would continue to remain in the park, but all merchandising and references to it had been removed. It remained standing, but not operating, until 2012, when it was decided that the ride would be dismantled and replaced with a new attraction.

In addition, the former pay-per-ride go-kart attraction *Thunder Alley* was also permanently closed and cleared to make way for the new ride, which would later be revealed to be the location of the queue line for the new ride.

Construction on *Banshee* began in 2013, with various teasers being set up, such as screams in the nearby area. Construction was later completed in time for the 2014 season. As the longest inverted coaster, *Banshee* is one of many record-holding coasters that Kings Island has built over the years. The attraction soft opened on April 17, 2014 and opened to the public a day later on April 18.

## Theme and Ride Experience

### Story

Since construction began on Kings Island in the 1970s, workers have noted experiencing numerous amounts of strange activity, the most notable of which involves a strange and unknown creature who screams bloody murder when confronted. Referred to as "the Banshee," it has recently returned to the park, and is "welcoming" visitors to it's home for the first time in years. Kings Island has closed this area off to the public, since employees don't know what this thing is capable of. however, you and your group of friends decide to break in to see what the island is hiding, thinking it's a new ride. can you survive the wrath of the Banshee?

### Ride Experience

After departing from the gothic-themed loading station, the cars ascend the lift hill. As the cars reach the top of the hill, a Banshee can be heard screaming. The cars then drop 150 feet to the right into a dive loop. After the dive loop, the on-ride photo is taken as riders head into a vertical loop that wraps around the station. The cars then travel away to a back area where several more loops, and even a corkscrew occur, before returning to the loading station.

## Trivia

* The queue line is heavily themed, with the entrance resembling a cemetery, and the loading station featuring gothic architecture.
* The entrance sign of the ride features a mist affect, possibly the same kind used to create fog during the park's annual Halloween Haunt event.
* Towards the entrance of the ride, a huge gravestone features a plaque that displays the logo for *Son of Beast*, with the birth and death dates of "2000 - 2009". A pile of shattered wood planks was later added to this gravestone.
* The exit of the ride features a small building where guests can view and purchase their ride photos. This building also formerly housed a small gift shop, similar to the *Diamondback Trading Post*, and featured merchandise focused on *Banshee*. The area has since been converted to an arcade, possibly to compensate for guests who are forced to stay behind with loose articles while others ride.
* *Banshee*​is the second coaster by ​Cedar Fair that forbids any carry-on items, and as a result, has a locker station near its entrance. The first coaster to implement this policy was *​the defunct coaster Firehawk*​. Other coasters that later implemented this rule include *Orion*, *Flight of Fear* and *​Mystic Timbers*​.