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Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

p. 832: Camp Snoopy announced for 2024!

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The Beast is by far one of the best coasters in the park as well as in the US, as well as one of my favorites.

 

 

I mean this with all the respect, but can you explain why you love it so much? I love plenty of rides that most find terrible so I am not trying to say I am right/wrong in any regard, but the Beast really is one ride that baffles me with its popularity... It is practically long straight away after straightaway with slight turns inbetween and trim brakes. So what do people find interesting about the ride (aside from the only decent part of the ride, the helix)?

 

To consider that ride one of the best in the US just blows my mind

 

I like it because it takes a radically different approach to what we think of as a good formula for a coaster. The ride has next to no airtime and focuses almost entirely on raw speed and making it feel like the train is going to rip off the track. The isolation within the forest is another factor. All you can see from the park is the lift and final brakes. This gives The Beast a very mysterious quality that no other coaster in my mind can match. A first time rider (assuming he/she hasn't seen a POV video) would have absolutely no idea what is coming up next because of the trees and terrain. This fear of the unknown, along with the raw speed factor, make for a super unique ride experience that no other coaster has ever really tried to attempt except for maybe The Ultimate at Lightwater.

 

It may not be my absolute favorite woodie, but it is definitely one of the best coasters from the classic era for being such radical design of the time.

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The Beast is by far one of the best coasters in the park as well as in the US, as well as one of my favorites.

 

 

I mean this with all the respect, but can you explain why you love it so much? I love plenty of rides that most find terrible so I am not trying to say I am right/wrong in any regard, but the Beast really is one ride that baffles me with its popularity... It is practically long straight away after straightaway with slight turns inbetween and trim brakes. So what do people find interesting about the ride (aside from the only decent part of the ride, the helix)?

 

To consider that ride one of the best in the US just blows my mind

 

I could not agree more with you. I find this ride very boring. The straight away's do nothing for me. I am someone who prefers drops and quick turns. The sheer speed is fun but I like the addition of drops and turns. Now this reminds me of Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce because to me it is the same concept but way different. It has mostly these straight away's but adds dips and the trees are different there giving me the illusion I am going to run into them. I do not get that feeling on this.

 

Please do not get me wrong I think the way Beast is designed, it is awesome. I love how you can not see it from within the park. Which is just like Grizzly at Kings Dominion - the main factor why I like that one. Will I ride it every time I go to KI, of course I will. However, I won't be spending as much time on this as I would on Diamond Back, Vortex, The Bat, The Racer, Banshee, and Firehawk.

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I don't think anything can top a night ride on Beast. I feel that if you did not grow up around the park you're not going to understand the love as much. It's always been a legend around here and growing up that's the ride everyone was scared of.

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I don't think anything can top a night ride on Beast. I feel that if you did not grow up around the park you're not going to understand the love as much. It's always been a legend around here and growing up that's the ride everyone was scared of.

 

well said Ape, I was born in Cincy and lived there until I was 10 or 11. I definitely agree with this one.

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First and foremost. That Beast footage is spectacular Robb. I'm not just saying this to kiss your a$$, but you shoot coasters better than anyone. And I'm happy it got the love it so desperately needed. I look forward to riding it again this year.

 

With that said, I gotta agree with the just good crowd. Of my 10+ rides on Beast, I have never gotten that OMFG feeling so many people have described. Is it a bad ride? Not in the slightest. I enjoyed it a lot. It would definitely pop up somewhere in the middle of my Wood Coaster list. But I think all the overhype of the, "OMFG! You have to ride it in the middle of the night on a full moon, or new moon, or after they have just greased the tracks on a 120 degree day, hopped up on mushrooms while praying to Cthulhu and drinking you own urine!" crowd. I just don't get it. Again, to each his own. I respect your passionate enthusiasm. But don't get angry at me because I didn't have the life altering, mood altering, religious experience you did. Don't justify it by saying I rode it on a bad day, or not at night, or not on a full moon, or when there was no moon, or too early in the season, or too late, high, drunk, or not. I'm ecstatic it's your favorite coaster. Every coaster enthusiast needs a favorite. It's what makes this hobby fun. But just because it isn't mine, don't berate me and call me an idiot. I just didn't have the same experience you did. And until that perfect day when I do, it will live in my muddled middle.

 

I want to enclude all the Voyage fanboys in this statement as well. Except I like Beast more. A lot more.

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Being a KI native, I understand the hoopla. It's kind of like an urban legend. It dwells in the woods where no one can see it. I like it for many reasons. The speed is crazy, but having ridden it for 20+ years I will say it has definitely been tamed. I can remember when it was sheer madness without trims just screaming through the woods. Is it the tallest? No. The fastest? No. But it's still a damn good ride. Night rides are amazing because there are zero lights out there, just darkness. But, the main factor I love is that it was built without computers. Think about it, back then everything was drawn and calculated by hand. And in that time, they were able to create this monster. That speaks volumes about the designers.

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I visited KI for the first time last summer on a hot overcast day. Lines were a bit long, especially for Beast, so I didn't go ride it until after night had fallen. By the time it was my turn to ride, fog started to settle and it had started misting. As a result of this perfect set of circumstances, I ended up having that "religious experience" people talk about for my first ride. That particular ride on Beast was a highlight of the trip, and that includes visits to Hersheypark, Kennywood, Cedar Point, Holiday World, SFStL, and SFGAm.

 

We went back the next day for a few hours before we left for Indiana and got one more ride on it during the day. THIS ride was one more like what Guy was talking about. For some reason I really noticed the trim brakes a lot more the second time, and it definitely brought the coaster back down to Earth for me. I still enjoyed it, but I wish I had left it at just the one ride at night.

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First - I have to say thanks to Robb and everyone else for sharing Media Day and Opening Day for those of us who could not be there!! Great pictures and just a psychotically huge crowd!

 

Banshee looks great, and I am very glad that it is better than we were expecting! Can't wait to get up there and ride it.

 

As far as the Beast.... I personally really really like it. I like the length, the fast - straightaways and the wooded setting. Is it top 10 for me? Nope. Do I think it is awesome? Yep. Are night rides better - OH HELL YES .

 

Thanks again for the pictures and posts everyone!!

 

David

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I get why the trims are necessary and that they've been like that for a while, but it is so incredibly disappointing to me to be able to feel that much speed getting sucked out of the ride. I know it would be going too fast by the time it got to certain sections to not destroy the track without the trims, but I just wish there was a better way...

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The Beast is by far one of the best coasters in the park as well as in the US, as well as one of my favorites.

 

 

I mean this with all the respect, but can you explain why you love it so much? I love plenty of rides that most find terrible so I am not trying to say I am right/wrong in any regard, but the Beast really is one ride that baffles me with its popularity... It is practically long straight away after straightaway with slight turns inbetween and trim brakes. So what do people find interesting about the ride (aside from the only decent part of the ride, the helix)?

 

To consider that ride one of the best in the US just blows my mind

 

Theres just something about that ride. i dont know what it is, but it's addicting especially at night.

Its the complete package

 

But thats just my opinion.

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[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

 

^Considering this video with trims was filmed prior to public opening, I'm going to say no.

 

The friction trims were replaced with eddy current trims shown below.

 

 

 

Not exactly sure when that took place. Anyone know?

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My daughter and I just joined TPR today after meeting 2 members in line for the Banshee yesterday. My husband and I took her as a surprise right after school; and it was the very first time we went on opening day. I hadn't seen it that crowded in years.

 

My dream was to become a roller coaster enthusiast when I retired, and our new found friends showed us we could be enthusiasts now. I want to say we met Brandon or Bradley (I can't recall the exact name) from West Virginia. We rode the Banshee 2x with him and learned a lot about TPR. We are so excited to be on here.

 

King's Island is only 1 1/2 hours away from Indianapolis; so we have a season pass this year and plan to go a lot more.

 

We introduced Nicole to roller coasters at a very young age and she has always wanted to ride anything she is tall enough to ride. I'm so grateful to have a daughter that loves to ride them as much as me.

 

We plan to go to Universal Islands of Adventure again later this year; and definitely as many more places as possible.

 

Great pic's of the Beast. I must say, that last year was the 1st time I was afraid to ride it after 31 years (I rode it 1st at 8 years old). It really sounds bad, I must say. I can't help but still call it my favorite, though.

 

 

Hi! I'm glad that you decided to join after riding with Jarred and I (Brandon) on Friday. It was great meeting you two as well as all of the TPR members we got to meet.

 

-Brandon

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Has Beast ever run without any of the trims? Is there a video?

In the posted video, you will notice that the downward slope into the helix has no trims.

 

Also, I remember reading somewhere - could be writings about building the Beast - that they ran it through its course before ANY trim brakes were installed and the designers who were riding at the time were scared out of their wits. I believe that is why the trims were added, at least the ones in the "shed". If I can find the article I was reading, I will post it. OR - maybe someone else knows where to locate it?

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Yeah, they (KI Brass) said that when the Beast was finally finished, they celebrated with drinks and took their first night ride. It didn't have trim on the second hill into the helix. When they returned from that trip they were scared white and vowed to add trims the next morning thinking "What have we created?". It's on a video somewhere. Maybe the "History of King's Island? "

 

I always imagine what it would be like untrimmed into the helix when i ride it. It bet it pushes 90 mph.

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I wouldn't say it's THAT fast. You can't get 90 miles per hour out of a 140-foot drop on gravity alone.

 

Based on an on-ride video of the Beast at its opening, the tunnel spiral wasn't really banked. I don't know if it's banked more today as opposed to back then, but I would say that maybe that's the reason why they added the trim to the second big hill. It looks like it would have hurt otherwise.

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