Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[coasterbill]

On 11/16/2021 at 8:34 AM, Pedrinho said:

I have the very same feeling for every B&M invert I've ever ridden. Empty trains plus front row is a no-no.

This is a new one for me, not gonna lie. Other than Banshee I don’t think I’ve ever been on a B&M invert that wasn’t butter smooth even on empty trains (other than a few Raptor jolts that I’ve come to love).

With Banshee, it just depends on the day. We had an incredible back row ride this year, but in the past whenever I’ve been put back there it’s been pretty jackhammery. Lol

[prozach626]

Front row or bust. I've never had a bad ride in the front... but I've also never been on a train that wasn't full. As much as I like it, I wouldn't waste a perfectly good night ride on Banshee.

[PKI Jizzman]

I love seeing new paint but I'm surprised Drop Tower is getting the same scheme. I had to look up if that area is still called "action zone" and it still is, for some reason. They need to change the theme, it's already skewing a 'spooky' area with Bat, Banshee, Delerium, and they made Invertigo fit in with new paint. 

[Dan the Coaster Man]

On 10/28/2021 at 7:59 PM, prozach626 said:

lol bruh... Just tell people you broke your wrist. 

Haha I would, but then the follow up is always "which bone?" or "where". To be fair though most people still didn't know 

 

For me Orion, Mystic and Banshee are front row

[Pedrinho]

On 11/20/2021 at 2:55 PM, coasterbill said:

This is a new one for me, not gonna lie. Other than Banshee I don’t think I’ve ever been on a B&M invert that wasn’t butter smooth even on empty trains (other than a few Raptor jolts that I’ve come to love).

Well.. My Inverted B&Ms were Banshee, Raptor, Monster (or Orochi, the japanese-french Raptor clone) and Black Mamba. Out of these, Black Mamba was the least bumpy (and the slowest). 
As soon as trains are balanced, they aren't shaky. But especially with Banshee, we had our first rides on a rainy tuesday, all walk-ons for the front with barely any other people in the trains. they weren't good. Later that day, as soon as it cleared up and the trains were close to full, the bumpiness faded away. 

[tndank]

Lots of The Beast retracking going on now days.  Part of the big helix is completely missing.  First drop is basically gone at the moment.  Good to see them putting some work in.  Some good pics on reddit.

 

 

[IntaminLove]

The Beast was noticeably rougher this year, but I didn't mind it. Some areas could use some work and I'm surprised by what they chose to address first. It will be interesting to see if they do some small reprofiling. 

[Dan the Coaster Man]

I've ridden Beast in 2015 and 2021 and I didn't really notice a difference between the two years. I don't mind the roughness, I don't think its too much! I did ride with my non coaster enthusiast friend this year though, and he labeled it "the world roller coaster ever". Some smoothing out should help out with people like that, which is the majority

[PKI Jizzman]

It has certainly had its ups and downs the past few years, and I've experienced some rides as bad as when the coaster was in its worst shape with Paramount (imo) making me legit nauseous, and only backwards Batman has accomplished that in my life time. 

I'm confident that KI truly wants it running really well for the 50th anny season, glad they are spending $ to make it happen.

[bert425]

if you follow Heightened Imagery on Facebook (he does drone photographs from Kings Island mainly, and it's a really cool page).

he posted this yesterday:

do they typically take the coaster down to the footers for routine maintenance?  

this looks to me like some replacement/retrack work is happening here, no?

[AmyUD06]

1 minute ago, bert425 said:

if you follow Heightened Imagery on Facebook (he does drone photographs from Kings Island mainly, and it's a really cool page.

he posted this yesterday:

 

do they typically take the coaster down to the footers for routine maintenance?  

this looks to me like some replacement/retrack work is happening here, no?

If they've gotta get equipment that wont fit through the access tunnel into the infield of the coaster, then yeah they can take it all the way down.  That looks like a lot though, and all the better.  While downright fun in the front row (it is still my #1 wood after all), other rows, especially wheel seats, can be brutal.

So long as they're not changing the layout or RMC'ing the thing, I'll be content.

[PKI Jizzman]

Well we have never had those drone photos to see what's going on every off season, that account is pretty new so it's cool to see those photos. It's encouraging to say the least, but KI is constantly giving Beast attention. I'm hoping it will run as good as it can for the 50th anny.

[RideThroughTime]

2022 season begins 4/16: 

 

[Pedrinho]

On 11/30/2021 at 4:34 AM, bert425 said:

if you follow Heightened Imagery on Facebook (he does drone photographs from Kings Island mainly, and it's a really cool page).

he posted this yesterday:

 

do they typically take the coaster down to the footers for routine maintenance?  

this looks to me like some replacement/retrack work is happening here, no?

I'm a little late to the party and the link seems to be expired. 

Does anyone have the photo on hand? The Google did nothing to please me here.

[bert425]

7 hours ago, Pedrinho said:

I'm a little late to the party and the link seems to be expired. 

Does anyone have the photo on hand? The Google did nothing to please me here.

it's still the 1st post on their Facebook page   (Heightened Imagery)

but here ya go:

[Pedrinho]

1 hour ago, bert425 said:

it's still the 1st post on their Facebook page   (Heightened Imagery)

Thanks, Bert!

Not being on Facebook I missed that.

That really looks crazy. I didn't know it was a thing to strip a wooden coaster down to the footers. Nice that they really want to improve The Beast!

[mikeykaise]

One good thing about them working on the drop into the helix is maybe they'll get rid of the trim brake that was there, we can hope anyways.

[PKI Jizzman]

Anyone gone to Winterfest this year? To be honest it hasn't really crossed my mind until now, and this weekend looks raaaaiiiinnnyyyy. 

[RideThroughTime]

Looking for the perfect Christmas present? I will be doing a special book signing event for Kings Island: A Ride Through Time, the first-ever Kings Island history book! See you all at Kings Island on Monday, December 20 from 6-7 pm at the KI Collections gift shop!

 

[pianojohn]

Great book and a really nice guy!  Definitely pick it up if you're on the fence!!  

[bert425]

^ agreed. .the book is fantastic!

[PKI Jizzman]

Gravity Group has the Beast project. The drop is going to be a bit steeper and the new pre cut track will be used. All around good news!

"The world’s longest wooden roller coaster, The Beast at Kings Island, is receiving 2,000 feet of track refurbishment this winter.

The Gravity Group, which installed 600 feet of its new engineered precut track on the park’s Racer roller coaster last winter, is breathing new life into the ride’s first drop and through the first tunnel and turn towards the second drop and 540-degree helix tunnel, while Kings Island’s carpenters are retracking approximately 1,090 feet of track in other sections along the 7,359-foot long course.

The first drop will see a change from 45 degrees to 53 degrees. This change isn’t being made to add more speed or thrill element to The Beast, but to come in lower in the tunnel to provide the proper parabolic arcs due to reprofiling of the track in that area of the ride. This change, along with The Gravity Group’s vertical track design, will deliver a buttery-smooth transition through the tunnel and onto the second drop.

The Beast helix crossover will see a redesign and installation of new bents. With the redesign, the forces through the structure will be more evenly distributed to the foundation, the rigidity of each bent more consistent and therefore resulting in a smoother ride experience.

The original design of The Beast had the upper and lower track in the helix on top of each other. In order to simplify the geometry of the crossover, the lower bents will be upper bents until the tunnel."

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2021/december/beast-of-a-project-this-winter-at-kings-island?fbclid=IwAR05SXIvqUyhFqpVCAx_sg_E1we7_g5PoOMpd7e6TdY2aZ6x72XHPx2kcqI

[southpuddle]

Wow interesting! The new track on Racer was butter smooth, this should be fantastic! Can anyone clarify what they mean about the upper and lower bents in that last paragraph?

[VegasBaby]

Great news that the Beast is getting some off-season love.  The retracking did wonders for the Racer, so I'm excited to see how the Beast turns out.

[AmyUD06]

Gotta say I'm a little nervous about the changes to the big helix, but keeping my fingers crossed.