diff --git a/HISTORY.md b/HISTORY.md
index b2f7a339..2d91b69b 100644
--- a/HISTORY.md
+++ b/HISTORY.md
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ http://visjs.org
   rather than when the Timeline is actually resized.
 - Fixed `select` event fired repeatedly when clicking an empty place on the
   Timeline, deselecting selected items).
+- Option `order` is now deprecated. This was needed for performance improvements.
 - Minor bug fixes.
 - More examples added.
 
diff --git a/docs/timeline.html b/docs/timeline.html
index feff5dba..8a664610 100644
--- a/docs/timeline.html
+++ b/docs/timeline.html
@@ -456,6 +456,7 @@ var options = {
   </td>
 </tr>
 
+<!-- TODO: cleanup option order
 <tr>
   <td>order</td>
   <td>Function</td>
@@ -466,6 +467,7 @@ var options = {
     `vis.components.items.Item`.
   </td>
 </tr>
+-->
 
 <tr>
   <td>orientation</td>
diff --git a/src/timeline/Timeline.js b/src/timeline/Timeline.js
index cf319aae..03b53e5d 100644
--- a/src/timeline/Timeline.js
+++ b/src/timeline/Timeline.js
@@ -315,6 +315,11 @@ Timeline.prototype.setOptions = function (options) {
     }
   }
 
+  // TODO: remove deprecation error one day (deprecated since version 0.8.0)
+  if (options && options.order) {
+    throw new Error('Option order is deprecated. There is no replacement for this feature.');
+  }
+
   // repaint everything
   this.rootPanel.repaint();
 };