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Not sure exactly what year but Beast also had a car increase from Four - 4 Bench Cars too Five - 4 Bench Cars. Increasing the capacity from 32 riders per train to 40 riders per train. And after that the trains were changed to Six - 3 Bench Cars, Capacity was and to this day is 36 riders per train. The Beast opened in 1979 with five 4-bench cars. In 1980, it was changed to the current six 3-bench cars. That same year, banking was enhanced going into and out of the shed and walls were added to the helix. There were originally four trains when the ride opened, with three of them in operation on a daily basis. In 1982, the fourth train was eliminated and used for parts.

I've heard from many people that it was not removed for Flight of Fear (infact, one side still had the bunny hill while the path went underneath it), but was removed to make for a longer break run. I've always been curious if the chain on the large hill on The Racer (right before the ride splits for the turn around) was ever needed. The chain was added in that location of the ride in 1982. The train would sometimes get stuck in that area of the ride during early morning test runs, especially early in season. Maintenance would have to stop what they were doing and head over to the ride to help push it over the hill. The chain solved that issue.

Not sure exactly what year but Beast also had a car increase from Four - 4 Bench Cars too Five - 4 Bench Cars. Increasing the capacity from 32 riders per train to 40 riders per train. And after that the trains were changed to Six - 3 Bench Cars, Capacity was and to this day is 36 riders per train. The Beast opened in 1979 with five 4-bench cars. In 1980, it was changed to the current six 3-bench cars. That same year, banking was enhanced going into and out of the shed and walls were added to the helix. There were originally four trains when the ride opened, with three of them in operation on a daily basis. In 1982, the fourth train was eliminated and used for parts. So?

"First world problems" I wish I even HAD a chance to go on a vacation, let alone choose which coast to go to...

True, but I think that was more in line with people noticing the trademark filing for the name "Stratosoar" and quickly surmising that Cedar Point would get a 400-foot StarFlyer (which, of course, ended up not being the case, but close enough). That's not so much a leak as it is a guess based on investigative work. For example, if Disney does end up building the multi-ringed carousel that Terp posted the trademark filing of earlier this week, it doesn't mean Disney's plans leaked. It means someone found a patent filing, then Disney actually used its own patent to build an attraction. For information to "leak" implies to me that it was well guarded, but someone on the inside secretly let it slip. For example, the recent "leak" of Universal Studios Florida's Harry Potter land. But finding a public patent or trademark that speaks for itself doesn't mean the same thing, in my opinion. People like pizzababy try to "leak" information that they got from unreliable sources to begin with, causing mass confusion on sites like Facebook and mass eye-rolling on sites like this one.

Photo #66

What they mean is that a Google bicycle equipped with cameras actually drove through the park and captured all of the pathways, etc. so that using Google maps or Google Earth, you could simulate "walking" through the park. At Universal's parks in Orlando, for example, you can drag the little yellow man and set him down next to the Pharos Lighthouse, then use your keyboard to walk through the entire park, turning and zooming in on rides and attractions as you go. That was done by having someone actually ride a bike through the park equipped with Google's cameras. It's one of the few times they opened the twin gates at Universal's Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. They're really just for decoration... EDIT: On Google maps, you have to click the guide arrows on screen. In Google Earth, you can use the keyboard arrows to "seamlessly" walk around with images fading one to the next. It's really nice way to explore the nooks and crannies of those parks... So much detail in the architecture, etc. and a great way to "visit" if you're having withdrawal, as I commonly do!

Oh boy, you asked for it... After being scared to death by The Racer way back in 2000, I was terrified of roller coasters for 9 years and would refuse to even ride some of the more intense carnival rides. However, in 2009, with the addition of Diamondback, I decided to give roller coasters another shot and we planned a trip to Kings Island. We arrived May 14th, 2009 around 10:30 AM. Little did I know, the 230' Diamondback would not be the highlight of the trip, as good as it was...(and still is) After heading up the Eiffel Tower for some amazing views, we first tried the now-defunct Crypt (because it was raining and Beast was down), which (even though none of us knew it) was on its 2nd day of the "ultra-tame" ride cycle that the ride became lamented for during its final few years. While the ride, at first, caught me off guard and suprised me, it ended far too soon. I was dissapointed, and was a little worried that Kings Island might actually let me down. After leaving, the rain had stopped and Beast had re-opened. I entered, and smacked my sister with a q-line "gate" on accident. The Beast's crew was doing an excellent job getting people pumped up for what they claimed was the "best roller coaster in the world!". After a 25 minute wait, I boarded the ride..."Ok, here we go...a roller coaster..." The train left the station and around the turnaround. Thudthudthudthud..."Oh (Insert Curse Word Here) What Am I Doing!?! I'm on a HUGE wooden roller coaster! This might hurt..." Then, we began climbing the 110' lift hill...clankclankclankclank...to relieve some tension, I looked at my momma and cracked a joke: "Look ma, we're higher than da treez! " The ride reached the top of the hill, and one of the most famous images in all of coasterdom was before me: "Well, here goes no..." I couldn't finish because we began dropping! There is a trim brake on the first drop, but I didn't even feel it (In fact, I never have, even though I know it's there...) We hit the tunnel, and people were screaming, and I thought "Hey! This isn't so bad!". We dipped into a ravine, then back up, and flew into the brake shed, where I managed to catch my breath for a moment before the ride quickly turned again and darted into a tunnel. "Oh Man, this is a long tunnel!" I thought during that part of the ride...then, the ride exited into the daylight and made a few more downward turns into the woods before another lift hill emerged before us. We hit it, and I caught my breath again. My first thought "Momma, are you ok?". She said yes. My second thought was for a friend of mine who was also afraid of roller coasters, and he said he was loving it so far. So was I. Then my sister blurted out: "You ain't seen nothing yet!" "Crud!" I thought. Kings Island emerged in its glory, but I didn't get to view it for long before a 141' drop into a tunnel was smack dab in my face. The ride dived down, faster, faster, faster and into the darkness, where I was thrown around and the train began screaming as if it were trying to break free of the track. Then, we exited, and dove back in! All over again, and finally, the train calmly exited the second helix tunnel and turned right into a small drop, and then we hit the final brakes. "WOW!" I thought. "Welcome back riders, how was your ride?" My response: "WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" After that, I took on Vortex, later Diamondback, and numerous other rides at Kings Island. That night, I returned to Beast with my friend and we took a night ride on the wooden monster that put even the ride I described a minute ago TO SHAME. I have been on The Beast 7 times, and all 7 of those rides have been memorable for one reason or another, but never because they were bad. I've since been to Holiday World as well, and rode their wooden coasters, and yes, they are great...in fact, at one point I had both Voyage and Legend ahead of Beast in my coaster rankings, but a stunning Halloween Haunt night ride changed that so Beast was #1 again. And it hasn't lost that spot yet. (Granted, I've only been to 3 parks total and there are some pretty epic looking rides out there I have yet to go on, such as El Toro @ SFGadv, Bizzaro @ SFNE, Millennium Force & Maverick @ CP, etc etc) And I agree with KIFan73: I would go to Kings Island simply if Beast were the only ride/attraction there, no offense to Diamondback, Delirium, Flight of Fear, Vortex, Drop Tower, Racer, Flight Deck, etc etc. But, they are simply the cherry on top of a Beast sundae...MMMmmm...Beast sundae...

Awesome! It's great to see a pic of this fairly undocumented part of the park. I vote for '74. I still can't imagine the reaction of the average park goer back when Kings Island was new. It had to have been totally stunning.

Thank you for doing this, it has been such fun looking at the pictures of the park that I grew up at. It's been great to show my daughter how the park looked when I was growing up compared to how it is now. She is turning into quite the KI enthusiast.

Mature trees are nice, but I-Street in '74 looked like an interesting place to be versus the walk-by it has become today. I know, there are times when I enjoy sitting by the fountains and people watching, enjoying the scenery, but I think it looks like there was more to it than that. Thanks again for the efforts of JD and Hendrick on this thread - it makes me go to the computer (v. just the iPhone) to log on to KIC every day.