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Kings Island building a B&M Hyper Coaster


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Just posted on KI's site. Check it out.

 

 

THE STORY BEHIND THE BEAST

 

 

The idea for building arguably the greatest roller coaster of all-time at Kings Island actually began as a dream of re-creating one of the Midwest’s most popular old coasters.

 

When Kings Island construction and engineering personnel began planning to build a new coaster for 1979, their aim was to reconstruct the old Shooting Star, an immensely popular ride at Cincinnati’s Coney Island before the park closed in 1971. Charles Dinn, director of construction, maintenance and engineering at Kings Island at the time, had surveyed the Shooting Star before it was torn down and had recorded each measurement of the ride. Dinn and his crew had even chosen a site, right next to Kings Island’s Racer coaster.

 

But Kings Island officials decided the rebuilding an old coaster was not the answer. While agreeing that a new Shooting Star would be great for nostalgia buffs, they reasoned that a newer, better coaster would be even more popular, and have more of a universal appeal. But where would it be built, and what would it be like?

 

That’s when Kings Island’s management explored many options, and realized that a wooded area at the southeast corner of the park had terrain that could accommodate a very special roller coaster. A monster roller coaster!

 

Bingo! Everything began to fall into place. With 35 acres to work with, there were virtually no limitations on space or length of the ride. And with the use of natural rugged terrain through trees and skirting ravines, the coaster would be able to provide thrills and surprises unlike any coaster ever built.

 

On a rainy afternoon, on April 4, 1979, with a spring chill drifting up from the Little Miami River, six engineers, 17 technicians, 53 construction workers, four managers, one general manager and 33 assorted involved people, watched as The Beast roller coaster’s gleaming red 2,700-pound train was placed carefully on the untested tracks.

 

The first test of The Beast was beginning.

 

About to be judged were three and one-half years of planning, 30 months of studying the world’s greatest roller coasters, several life-times of experience, 4,300 hours of precise design work to limit all tolerances down to less than 1/16 of an inch, 87,000 hours of construction work, a computerized safety system, the investment of $3.8 million and the anticipated thrills of nearly three million plus thrill seekers that summer.

 

The Beast had already been called the world’s ultimate coaster by authorities, buffs and fans. But, despite all the engineering and planning and design, its great hills (the two longest vertical drops in the world at the time), its banked turns (eight in all, including a 540 degree helix), its awesome length (still world record 7,400 feet), its yawning tunnels and its rugged terrain, everyone was anxiously waiting for that gleaming red train to return. They were delighted when the train roared back into the station, witnessing the start of something special.

 

The Beast was “unchained” in a special preview for members of the national, local and regional press on April 13, 1979. The ride opened to the public the following day to rave reviews and continues to thrill park guests nearly 30 years later, annually ranked as one of the top wooden roller coasters in the world by Amusement Today readers.

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^ That's cool, JZ, but I think you should have posted it in your thread, as I don't really see how it pertains to the new hyper.

 

I was told the construction would be part of the PR hype for the ride, and will be done in a matter that will build excitement throughout the rest of the season.

 

-James Dillaman

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^I think he might be pointing out how peculiar it is that Kings Island chose to run this story a little over a week before the announcement. Among all the other clues (shaking box used for SOB promo, "Meanest ride," vids with people running in terror, the eye in the box similar to the eye in the SOB logo), it would seem this could possibly point to the new coaster being a new member of the Beast family. Otherwise, it's an extremely random time for KI to post a story like that.

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^I think the CEO did...

 

I'm really excited for the announcement, and I'm going to be upset if it is as short as rcdb says it will be. I doubt it will be anywhere near Beast or SoB in length, but Cedar Fair might surprise me and make it around 6000+ft in length. I know that is unlikely as MF is just over 6000ft long, and a coaster of that length would cost a lot. However, I can see this as a really big coaster, and looking at the blue prints, it looks a lot like Nitro. Since this will be on some hilly terrain, it will probably have some similarities to Phantom's Revenge, and if so, this could be B&M's best hyper coaster.

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Most of these new signs are furthering my Diamondback theory. One thing though is that infrared one. What does that have to do with anything? Infraed is the opposite of an old fashion mine town, or any snakes that may inhabit them.

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Most of these new signs are furthering my Diamondback theory. One thing though is that infrared one. What does that have to do with anything? Infraed is the opposite of an old fashion mine town, or any snakes that may inhabit them.
Lots of snakes can sense heat. That's infrared.
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I spy a horsey...

 

If they're gonna go with Mustang as the name, what does infared have to do with anything? It made sense with a snake, but a horse? Not so much.

 

*EDIT: The only relation I can think of is maybe infared having to do with the speed of light? That would tie in with the fast speeds of a hyper...*

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