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RMC Beast


SonODiamondback
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Ok, crazy thought. Let's say that Beast were to close forever,

Am I the only one who thinks it would be left SBNO due to costs of demolition until they had a new use? My crazy thought is only because of how spread it the ride is and how far the ride is from the rest of the park.

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Before I even knew what Kings Island was, I knew of The Beast. If there's such a thing as a legendary coaster, The Beast is it. It may not be the biggest, baddest, or wildest but it may be the most easily recognized there is. I'm probably over exaggerating but it's an institution, and I've never met anyone who thought they should change it. It's still a top, main attraction of Kings Island after 35 years. Most are lucky to stay big attractions after 10 years. I remember going to Kings Island the first time, and as impractical as it was, I rode The Beast first. I couldn't wait. I've never felt like that about a coaster before, and only Millennium Force since. 

 

I'm reminded of Arrested Development. "There's always money in the banana stand." 

 

THERE'S ALWAYS MONEY IN The Beast. 

 

And it seems to me, no matter who has been in charge, none of them forgot that. Not even the worst ones.

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No I'm not saying it should be remove I'm saying it could one day be removed and I never want to see that day. Personally I love it the way it but when I have gone to KI this year I seen 90 min waits at Banshee, Diamondback, Firehawk,and Flight of Fear. And 25 mins tops at Beast. That's not going to get any better if the add bigger and better Coasters.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

A lot of that wait time also has to do with capacity and loading speeds/crew. Beast has potentially the highest capactiy of any coaster there since it hold 36 people. That's nearly double the 20 that Flight of Fear can hold, so that will allow it's line ot move much quicker. Flight of Fear and Firehawk have very low capacity and can get long waits with short lines. The line length on those that can come to an hour or more would likeley equate a 20-30 minute wait on Beast. Banshee is also still new so will draw bigger crowds but I ahve rarely seen it over 45 minutes (though that is still with a nearly full queue, it's jsut a people eater like Beast). And many times I have gone to the park and still seen Beast with longer wiats than Banshee. So wait times alone aren't enough to show popularity. Beast could be having shorter wait times but still easily sending many more riders through than the ones you mentioned and so have a higher overall popularity.

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^
To be honest though, what would in turn hurt Beast's theoretical max capacity is the next block section after the 1st lift is...the 2nd lift. The brake shed was supposed to be able to function as such, and the coaster designed to run 4 of those 4-bench trains and the ride would have been well over 2,000pph. However, it turned out to be impossible to load and unload the trains quickly enough, hence why only 3 trains were used and that was back before the seat belts and everything slowed down loading/unloading to boot. When the brakes were switched in 2002, the brake shed lost its block section ability completely. (At least this is what I have been told)

 

The sheer length of the ride, thus, works against it as dispatching trains quicker than 2 minutes or so seems difficult to do on the ride. Though thankfully, 36 riders per train does speed things up and 1,000 riders per hour (1200 on a great day) is still possible to do on Beast which is still pretty darn decent considering from what I have seen, most coasters (outside of B&M's and stuff of course) are around 800-1000pph. Though if for whatever reason Beast is running 1 train (due to rain or some factor)...prepare to wait 90 minutes for what should have been 20. :wacko:

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^
This is one of the HUGE advantages of a wooden roller coaster in general. So long as it remains popular enough to justify it (doesn't seem like Beast will have said problem anytime soon), you can just keep replacing the parts as they break without worrying about manufacturers, etc. Some woodies have lasted 100+ years now, such as Leap the Dips @ Lakemont Park.

 

Ironically, if you use that and the still going strong 1920's woodies around today as a base, Beast's 36 year old age is actually still pretty young in comparison. The ride could have 70+ more years to go, should the park be able to stay open and avoid catastrophes like a huge fire or something. (And TBH if a fire did destroy a part of Beast, the ride is currently famous and popular enough I would not be shocked if the destroyed parts were rebuilt ASAP)

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I'm curious about that too. I knew the second lift hill was a block for the first lift hill which is why it goes so slow for a bit then speeds up until it reaches the top, and does so at different points depending on ride, the lift speeds up when the prior train clears a certain point from the second lift. Didn't know about the brake run losing it's blocking.

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So that means The Beast has 4 trim sections, right?

1. First drop (least noticeable)

2. Just before the second drop.

3. Brake shed.

4. Going down into the final helixes.

#4. Man, that one can even play with an enthusiast's brain. Some days it feels like you're careening into that helix and it's not going to catch. That trickle of fear runs up your spine. You can taste your stomach in the depths of your throat. You briefly think "if this doesn't catch, will I live?" And then. *catch*

️ The Beast

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Technically all 3 could fit in that final run of track as long as that roof is.. but Im not sure if it's blocked in a way that a train could be stopped in the station, right behing the station, and right behind it.

And block sections are where the train should be able to make an e-stop. None of the locations mentioned were for full stops, just for trims, if I've come to understand how blocked sections are supposed to work.

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No I'm not saying it should be remove I'm saying it could one day be removed and I never want to see that day. Personally I love it the way it but when I have gone to KI this year I seen 90 min waits at Banshee, Diamondback, Firehawk,and Flight of Fear. And 25 mins tops at Beast. That's not going to get any better if the add bigger and better Coasters.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Diamondstack could have 10 people in the queue and have a 60 minute wait, so DEFINITELY dont use that ride (or crew) as an indicator.  See also, Firehawk.  Of the rides you listed, only Banshee (and its stellar crew) is even a remotely accurate barometer of ride popularity.

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Technically all 3 could fit in that final run of track as long as that roof is.. but Im not sure if it's blocked in a way that a train could be stopped in the station, right behing the station, and right behind it.

And block sections are where the train should be able to make an e-stop. None of the locations mentioned were for full stops, just for trims, if I've come to understand how blocked sections are supposed to work.

 

 

How many trains can fit in The Beast's final brake run? Can it fit 3 if one is stopped in the station for a while or would one have to stop on the second lift hill?

 

The Beast's "Brake Shed" can accommodate two stopped trains with its block system. So if you have one train stopped in the station, one can be waiting in the pneumatic pinch brakes directly behind it, while the third is directly behind that. Two trains on that "shed" are the maximum. The shed does have a magnetic "trim" brake on it as well as sets of pneumatic pinch brakes. 

 

Crews performing well while properly staffed and benefiting from agreeable guests can typically roll a train out of the station well before the following train is in the "shed." 

Additionally, while I've heard it from several good sources, but never confirmed it - The Beast was "supposedly" designed with two stations in mind. One for loading, another for unloading and would've potentially accommodated four trains. I've also heard of a similar plan for Son of Beast that was nixed early on. 

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I love The Beast.  I want it to stay the way it is "forever."  But things change.  If it came to a point where the ride was more expensive to maintain as is and the owner of KI has a choice to retire or renovate, I am all for renovate. 

 

To me, The Beast is as thrilling today as it was when I was young.  I actually like the brake before the helix because it feels more out of control.  I like the rickety feeling, I like the fact that it embraces all the senses.

 

In a like manner, I really enjoy Diamondback. It's very thrilling, but feels more like a "fun" ride whereas The Beast feels more anticipatory.  I hope they never do an "Iron Beast" but I would take that over No Beast.

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