Kings Island's 230 ft. "Diamondback" almost ready.

Thanks to Don Helbig, Public Relations Area Manager of Kings Island, I was able to partake in an exclusive construction tour of Kings Island's newest roller coaster; Diamondback, as a staff member of KICentral.com. At 5,200 ft. long, 230 ft. high, Diamondback will be the park's tallest and fastest roller coaster once it opens in April and is speculated to maybe be one of the top steel coasters in the nation.

Photographs from the KICentral construction tour on Feb. 21, 2009:



-Entering the park on a dreary, cold day Diamondback dominates the skyline.

Pulling off of I-71 North onto Western Row Rd. in my Toyota Corolla with a dented right front fender, it's hard to miss Diamondback. The ride dominates the skyline unlike anything else in the park. The ride is absolutely massive, nearly every hill can be seen over the tree line.



-Diamondback's first drop over the park midway, and how it will appear come April:



Come Spring, the park's "Rivertown" section will be cleaned up and the above picture is the site you will see. Diamondback's train will descend a 215 ft. drop at 83 m.p.h. right over your head, before it heads out into the woods.




















-How the "helix" will appear in April.

After an intense ride out in the woods, the ride returns back over the park midway and spins updwards into a helix once again right above your head.





-Upon completion, this area will be well landscaped and feature a "splashdown" finale.



-The ride station.



-Two of the three trains in storage.



-My good friend Jesse taking some photographs.







Diamondback is shaping up to possibly one of the best steel roller coaster seen in years and definitely a major investment for Kings Island once it open this Spring!

-Gordon Bombay, looking forward to photographs taken in color showing nice weather in the spring, rather than the cold, harsh weather of winter.

Special thanks to Don Helbig for letting us come on the tour. Diamondback will open up at Kings Island in April and you can actually be one of the first members of the public to ride it by placing a bid (which benefits a charitable cause) at KIDiamondback.com. Ride renderings courtesy of KIDiamondback.com.

Previous Update: Feb. 15, 2009 :: Take a virtual tour of the Cincinnati Skywalk, "A ghost town within downtown."

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