kinserman11

This merger was the biggest mistake Cedar Fair could have made, I didn't feel good about it from the beginning, & with the negative vibe around Six Flags for years its easy for parkgoers to associate the Six Flags name with mediocrity in running the theme parks, jmo.

John Allen's theory from the 70's still hold true. Wooden coasters shouldn't be more than 110ft or so tall, too many forces, pressure, etc on track & structure. Keep in mind he told KI engineers if they were going go as high as they were & as fast as they were with The Beast that the turns should all be fairly low to the ground to avoid undue stress on the structure....

I was thinking the path was built a year or two after the first season?? So 73-75 maybe?

I wouldn't mind new PTC's with buzzbars, no headrests, & only a divider that goes up to the top of your hip, that tall divider is the most uncomfortable issue with the current trains imo.

I think you would be surprised at how much better Beast & Racer would be just keeping the trains they have and using better quality, softer padding under the upholstery, getting rid of the seat divider that goes all the way to your shoulder, while keeping the one down by your hips, chucking the headrests, and going back to to a single lapbar with a seatbelt. This would also lighten the trains up as well, the way I see it, if The Voyage can run without headrests & a upper seat divider, than these two coasters certainly should be able to....jmo

May 8th is the sign up deadline, correct?

Well I'm buying for 2 people, my gold pass is older and just has the long number under the barcode on the back, my buddies pass which was new last fall also has the long number under the bar code, yet I don't see a 8 digit code on the back of his anywhere.

When I click the button for the season pass ticket discount, it asks for the 8 digit season pass number, trying to figure out where this is located?

Vortex 1990

My first ride on The Beast was in August of 1990, I was 8 years old and it's been my favorite ride ever since.

Beastie was my first coaster when I was 3 or 4 probably around 1985 or 1986, Racer was my first adult coaster in 1988!

That's Charlie & Denise Dinn in the front seat of The Beast. This was a test run before the ride actually opened to the public.

They should have kept the Keelboats! Lol!

I was at the park last night and just wanted to comment that The Beast rides I had were some of the best I've had in 21 years of riding it. The thick fog really intensified the experience and you couldn't see your hand in front of your face!

Beast! Nuff said!

The fastest point on the ride is not the bottom of the first drop, or the helix. It's actually the quick dip (final turn before engaging the 2nd lift).

I think it was planned to enclose the helix all along, but winter weather prevented it from getting finished before the ride opened. Hence the helix tunnel was completed during the winter before the 1980 season.

The PTC trains used to be 4-bench models 4 or 5 cars long? Sometime in the early 80's it was determined that these cars were placing alot of wear on the track and structure, hence they were cut down and turned into 3 bench trains 6 cars long. So in essence they are the same trains that the ride opened with, just modified.

The Racer was my first "big" coaster, 6 yrs old in 1988.

Does anyone know if the problems with The Beast got worked out this weekend? I was at the park Sat. and Sun and Beast was down when I arrived around 3 o'clock. Maintenance got it going again about an hour later, I got 1 lap in, then it went down again around 7 or so and stayed that way the rest of the night, and Sun. through 1 o'clock when I had to head back to Indiana. In 20 years of riding Beast, I've never seen it down such an extended period of time. Just curious if anyone has any info. Thanks

I've stayed at the Comfort Inn on Fields-Ertel Road off of I-71 the last 2 years. The rooms were clean and it ran about $58.00 bucks a night. It might be worth checking it out.

I live about 140 miles away from the park, about a 2-1/2 hr drive.

I never questioned whether I had the record or not, just was curious on what the record for one day was. I though we did pretty well for the last day, and the park being open 11 to 7. BTW Carl Eichelman is the person you mentioned, he has over 4,400 rides since The Beast's opening in 1979.

My friend and I went to KI for the final day of operations yesterday. We were wondering if someone knew what the record was for total rides on The Beast was for one day. We ended up getting 30 laps in for the final day of The Beast's 30th anniversary season. Seems a little crazy I know, but it was cool being able to accomplish what we had planned for a few months. If anyone has any answers it would be appreciated.

First, I want to apologize for reposting someone else's reply to this thread. My first ride on The Beast was in 1990 and I was 8 yrs old. It instantly became my #1 coaster and has stayed there ever since. Even as I rode taller and faster coasters The Beast remained at the top spot because I feel it has the total package when it comes to roller coasters. The seclusion, and sheer distance covered, and incredible night rides are what makes The Beast #1 for me.