McSalsa

Hmm...in my opinion, which would I choose? Well, ranking them... Rye Aeroplane>Safe & Correctly Built SOB>Banshee>Real & Poorly Built SOB Based on pictures, old videos, and No Limits recreations however I have to put Rye Aeroplane at #1 over all other options. It looks like a fast-paced, wild, out-of-control-yet-safe wooden coaster which is right up my alley when it comes to my taste in coasters. A well built Son of Beast would have had awesome stats, and a 200'+ woodie that has the wood coaster edge without being too rough is just an awesome concept by itself, but the layout isn't the most inspired in the world (75% of the ride was, after all, helixes) hence why I only put it 2nd...though if we are talking a CCI-built SOB and the helixes are as forceful as Legend @ Holiday World's, that changes things. Banshee looks amazing, but sadly for it, I like wooden coasters over steel- no offense to Banshee, which does look like it will be an awesome coaster and still better than the real Son of Beast it "replaces"...

True- it'll be interesting to see how Dan Koch and co. run Alabama Adventure...will it be like Holiday World under his ownership (which was basically the same as Will Koch's management of the park) or different? So far, looks pretty similar to Holiday World... Not to mention it'll be very interesting to see how both parks are managed, since technically this is a tragic "break-up" of the family that made Holiday World what it is. Will Lori Koch & co. change things at Holiday World, while Dan does what HW used to do at AA? Or the opposite? Or will both try to be like the Holiday World of old? Or will neither? So many ways it can go...

The Intamin (Or is it someone else copying Intamin?) Strata-Coaster suprises me...didn't think we'd see another one of those so soon. Alas, I was wrong...I'm wondering how big that thing is going to be...looks at least 350 feet. If it's bigger than Kingda Ka, then...mind blown. Anyhow, a Strata Coaster themed to Ferrari is a very good fit, since Race Cars have already been used for these with Top Thrill Dragster. Also, this is supposedly right next to Port Adventura, so if someone has tickets that get them into both parks, then they have access to some sweet-looking roller coasters with this, Shambahala, Dragon Khan, and Furious Baco, and more...

Well, this is weird. So Dan Koch & Co. gave up the Bluegrass Boardwalk plan, lost control of Holiday World to Lori Koch, and just when you think they are gone...they return and now own Alabama Adventure!?!? One thing I hope happens- since it is still listed as SBNO on every site I checked- is the return of the Rampage CCI wooden coaster. It's been SBNO since 2011, but wooden coasters have come back from longer dormant peroids (Thunder Run @ Kentucky Kingdom for one example) and ran again. And surely a Koch who was with Holiday World for so long knows what a good CCI woodie can do for a park...I don't think it'll happen in 2014 though, as it would probably be too much work refurbishing Rampage so soon, but a 2015 return of the woodie is possible...

Wow. I feel you- I'm kind of in the same boat, though technically I did have two chances to ride Son of Beast: in its opening season of 2000, but I was a 10-year-old kid and the sheer size of the ride alone scared me a bit back then all by itself (and another ride I rode scared me that very day as well). Then, in 2009 when I was overcoming my fear of roller coasters for the first time, and having just ridden Diamondback (along with Beast & Vortex earlier in that day), I headed over to SOB to ride it and...it broke down. Oddly, it never re-opened but was testing all day, so at least I got to see it running empty trains and stuff that visit. I would not return to Kings Island until May 2010, however, and by then SOB was closed...for good. Oh, and the ride that spooked me into a fear of roller coasters on that visit in 2000? The Racer. Didn't realize what "airtime" was and thought I was actually flying out of the ride. Ironic, eh? Or perhaps Racer just is NOT a good starter roller coaster...

^ OH. Whoops... And here I was thinking we would get flashing neon lights in the tunnels...actually that would probably hurt the ride. Some fog though...

...ehh? I found something weird on The Beast's page on the "Thrill Rides" section of KI's website... https://www.visitkingsisland.com/rides/Thrill-Rides-12-14-11-44/The-Beast WARNING: This ride contains strobe lighting and utilizes magnetic systems during the ride. I know the trim brakes are likely the magnetic systems, but...strobe lighting? Something new for 2014?

Yeah, I figured that one...since I have been told from good sources that what became TOP GUN was pretty much 100% designed and all that before Paramount had bought the park, among other things. Though the fact the park did, 7 years later in 2000, build a 4th wooden coaster (Son of Beast) does hint it may have been on the drawing board for the future at the time, and the park's desire for another woodie was indeed there.

OK...thanks guys for the info. Again, just an awesome video filled with loads of cool information.

OK...thanks Dave Althoff (If that is his real name) for making this video and posting it. I had actually been on his Vimeo page the other day and somehow missed this video...

Wow...that was an awesome video, with some interesting info regarding The Beast (and even to a lesser extent, Son of Beast). Some stuff I found noteworthy (not in order of appearance): -When asked "Beast or Son of Beast", the crowd nearly unanimously went "BEAST!"...well, looking at which one's still around in 2014, we can safely see why. -So the designers of The Beast wanted no "less" than 0.2g's, as they felt going any lower would be dangerous...I have to wonder if this is the same number B&M goes for with their steel hypercoasters like Diamondback...I'd assume Intamin is willing to go beyond true 0g, though...hence why I'm guessing many of their rides now need those more restrictive lapbars and OTSR's versus what B&M does. -The Beast's track banking was limited by the era it was built in...yeah, it sure seems that way. Also makes modern wooden coasters, such as Holiday World's Voyage, look even crazier with those 90 degree banked turns. -Son of Beast used an all-bolts structure system, and was not Paramount's idea, but RCCA/RCCO apparently approached the park wanting to build a looping wooden coaster...hmm. -Before Paramount bought the park, there were already plans for a 4th wooden coaster at Kings Island, but Paramount apparently wanted to push their properties as much as possible, thus TOP GUN (now The Bat). But wasn't TOP GUN already in the planning stages as well before Paramount came in under another name? Were there multiple ideas, and that one (TOP GUN) just "won out"? I also have to wonder, if they did go with the woodie, what would it have been like? Who would have built it, Dinn Corp.? -When he mentioned wooden coaster PTC trains with fixed axles, I thought of Timberliners in comparison, and "Wonder what Beast would ride like with Timberliner trains?". -So, at least in 2004, most of Beast's structure was still original...interesting. -An explaination on how skid brakes worked versus fin brakes...good stuff. -'Dat Racer safety system back in 1972. A bell was all that prevented disaster. Yep...Great video, Deviarouseffect!

UPDATE! Well, a little more research and I found out Wildebeestro is NOT the ONLY new-for-2014 shop at Holiday World. Also opening up is "The Outpost" in Splashin' Safari, which sells waterpark items like swimwear and stuff. Also a interesting tidbit- these buildings are being designed by a company that has worked with Busch Gardens and Seaworld in the past. Which probably means these buildings will be very nice. Also, Mrs. Klaus' Kitchen is being heavily updated, and will also be more heavily themed than before. This is on top of the new Mayflower swinging ship ride, and parking lot improvements...starting to see now what Holiday World meant when they said they were spending $8 million in 2014. For pictures of these buildings & updates, here is the site I found this information on: http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/search/label/Holiday%20World

Holiday World has, on their Facebook page, announced a new-for-2014 restraunt...and it shall be known as...WILDEBEESTRO!?!? They will serve: Wraps, Seafood, Salad, Fresh Fruit, & more. Sounds like an interesting menu. Then again, stuff like this is par-for-the-course for Holiday World, and it's nice to see they are still trying to stay as true as possible to what made them great in spite of the recent legal battles. PS: The name of the restraunt as the Facebook post said it spelled it differently than what the above picture shows. I'm just gonna go with the name given via the Facebook post for now.

It was a much different Bat shown though- a brand new B&M Wingrider versus a retheme of the old Arrow Suspended. Though now looking back, it's clear how easy it was for them to do that if The Bat retheme was already being planned, and it was clever as it diverted attention away from the real Banshee. And I still remember the O'Terpy tombstone they had as well.

Ahh yes, that thread. We went from throwing 100% random guesses, based loosely on what we really wanted (I was hoping for a Intamin Wooden Coaster TBH) to Giga Coasters (most thought B&M, but there was clearly that one camp that insisted this would be an INTAMIN in spite of Cedar Fair's recent trends) to the B&M Invert vs. Wingrider battle (I was on the Invert side the entire time, since Gatekeeper was still new I felt adding one at Kings Island would damage Gatekeeper's status- something Cedar Fair would be unlikely to do so soon) and then when B&M Invert parts were spotted and blueprints leaked, nearly everyone went to the B&M Invert side, until there was that Fake Bat Leak at least...which only fooled most of us for around 5-10 minutes. And finally, we got the truth on August 8th... KIC exploded during that thread. There were hundreds of posts and users online at once. It was crazy. Kings Island did an awesome job of teasing us and doing promos for the upcoming 2014 ride...

AHH!!! Good point...ok. Done...and for the record, that E-Mail account I used already has lots of spam, I have another one...

Well, I've sent mine- though I did not ride any adult steel coasters in 2013 due to the one amusement park visit that year being to Holiday World, and all they have is Howler, which I didn't see on the poll at all and I'm pretty sure that's due to the fact it's a kiddie ride (if it were an option, BTW, I would have ranked it last- it was boring and rougher than Raven & Legend which are wooden coasters!). Anyhow, here's what my ballot looks like: --Generator: Jordan's Ballot Helper 2013 (steel)-- --Ballot: 4b75033e9fa-- LOCATION IN NEXT LINE (Please LEAVE THIS LINE IN BALLOT) ~"Indianapolis, IN" NAME IN NEXT LINE (Please LEAVE THIS LINE IN THE BALLOT) ~"McSalsa" RANK THE FOLLOWING RIDING SENSATIONS <-LEAVE Abrupt Airtime_____________________________,y,y,1 Out of Control Feeling/Directional Changes_,y,y,2 Sensation of Speed_________________________,y,y,3 Floating Airtime___________________________,y,y,4 Lateral Forces_____________________________,y,y,5 Positive G's/Loops_________________________,y,y,6 COASTER NAME PARK LOC <--Please leave this Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,1 (It's Beast @ Kings Island) Diamondback Kings Island OH,y,n,2 Flight of Fear Kings Island OH,y,n,3 Vortex Kings Island OH,y,n,4 Flight Deck Kings Island OH,y,n,5 Backlot Stunt Coaster Cedar Fair Parks **,y,n,6 Fav Arrow Mine Train Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,7 (Adventure Express @ Kings Island) Firehawk Kings Island OH,y,n,8 Fav Vekoma Invertigo Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,9 (Invertigo @ Kings Island) Yeah...I need to get to Cedar Point or something, and ride more steel coasters at some point. Alas, for now, this is my list.

Hmm...reading about Goliath and looking over it, I've noticed something: the track has both steel and wood in it- wood below, topped with a layer of steel. And now so do the supports- some wood, some steel. This is, thus, quite possibly one of the more difficult coasters to place in either the "steel" or "wood" categories...so, for me personally, I am considering this a hybrid coaster, along with other steel-track-on-wood support rides, like New Texas Giant or Gemini. I'll even split that whole group off, so now (In my head at least), you have: Steel, Woodies, and Hybrids. However, Goliath still gets a record, I think, under my new head-rulebook: it has the biggest & steepest drop and fastest speeds of any hybrid coaster out there. Though Iron Rattler beats it for height. (El Toro retains the largest drop and fastest speeds for wooden coasters under this system) Just sharing my personal opinion.

During my epic Halloween Haunt 2010 night ride on Beast, it was around 40 degrees at best. The coaster ran great, but my sister and her friend HAD to scream the entire ride, having their mouths open. I usually keep mine closed on roller coasters, BTW... The next day? I was fine, but they had sore throats. A bit off-topic, but not really...

To be honest, we only did this once on our way home from a Kings Island trip...we stopped at a McDonalds. It was pretty good, by McDonald's standards at least (not going to match those higher-end restraunts at a cheap fast food place). We had also stopped at one on the way there since we had made good time and would arrive at the park a bit "too early" to even enter...that one was excellent, and had awesome Kings Island paintings on the inside. The only other restraunts I can remember visiting while going to/from a amusement park? Breakfast at a Hardee's (honestly one of the best fast food burger places I have ever been to), and while driving home once, a Taco Bell drive-thru. Both of these came on trips to Holiday World, however, instead of Kings Island. Plus, we usually bring food in the car and there is often still some left for the trip home afterwards. And that's the main reason we usually do fast food if anything else- it's an hour plus drive home to Indy, and we like to stay in the park until closing or close to it, then get home ASAP, so sit-down and higher end places are usually not an option for us, we need it quick. Hence...FAST food.

True- once you've ridden a handful of a company's rides, you get a "general idea" what to expect from them. Though there are always the "oddballs" (An Arrow looper from the '80s with super smooth transitions, for example) . And the bigger sample size you have, the better...Unless you decide you truly hate a coaster builder, which can happen after even ONE of their coasters sometimes...

I timed the line at Leviathan. It is only about 40 minutes with a full queue. I get what you are saying about the brake run. There could be more after the block, but it works for CW. I mean 45 second or less dispatches. I was very impressed with CW operations. Out of 149 steel roller coasters that I have ridden, only 41 of those were B&M. So having ridden 108 steel coasters that are NOT B&M, I think it is safe to say that I have ridden quite a few more Intamin installations than B&M. So, based on my experience, I will pick a B&M with it's reliability over an Intamin's inovation any day. On a different note, Fire Chaser Express will be my 150th steel coaster! Umm...so you have been to Europe & Asia? Because if it's just North America, there are less than 41 operating Intamin coasters according to RCDB...so even if you rode every single Intamin ride currently in North America, and 41 B&M's, you have still ridden more B&M's than Intamins...plus you have Arrow's, Vekoma's, etc etc. who also have tons of installs around North America... Just asking, because my quick rcdb search seems to suggest at least in North America, there are more B&M's around now than Intamin's... (granted I may have forgotten now-defunct coasters, which may push the scale in Intamin's favor, but I dunno...)

Here is a quick look back at everything that the park got when celebrating Beast's anniversaries: 1984 (5 Years of Terror): King Cobra & Smurf's Enchanted Voyage 1989 (10 Years of Terror): Waterworks Waterpark (now Soak City) 1994 (15 Years of Terror): Days of Thunder (now Action Theatre) 1999 (20 Years of Terror): FACE/Off and Drop Zone (now Invertigo and Drop Tower), Son of Beast announced 2004 (25 Years of Terror): Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay waterpark expansion (now Soak City) 2009 (30 Years of Terror): Diamondback 2014 (35 Years of Terror): Banshee And since 35 isn't that old for a wooden coaster (they have been shown to live much longer if cared for), who knows how much crazy new stuff the park will get on future "Beastiversaries"... As for my personal memories with this ride, well, it's a bit of a biggie since this is the coaster that got me into other coasters and remains my personal favorite at the handful of parks I've visited... NOTE: I have told this story on KIC before so you probably have already heard it if you are a longtime KIC user. If not...enjoy! During my first trip to Kings Island in 2000, there was a lot of "Beast Hype" for obvious reasons- Son of Beast had just opened and was new that year. However, I was also interesting in seeing the original Beast, since I had heard about it before from friends and family members. To my suprise, while Son of Beast and many other rides were clearly visible from many areas in the park, I could not actually locate The Beast until a very late trip up to the Eiffel Tower, when I finally spotted the second lift hill, but wasn't smart enough to look behind Vortex to see the first lift hill at all during that trip. Also during that same trip, a ride on The Racer scared me, making me afraid of roller coasters...I didn't know what airtime was, and basically thought I was going to fly out, is the story there pretty much. Around 2008, upon hearing of school trips to Kings Island and such, I decided out of randomness to do a google search and see what the park had been up to. To my suprise, I learned a few things: #1-Cedar Point's parent company had bought Kings Island from Paramount, and had turned it back into simply Kings Island. #2-There was an accident on Son of Beast, and it's loop was removed. Then, my sister was invited to visit Kings Island in 2008 with a friend, and she rode big roller coasters, and spotted "mystery" construction in Rivertown. I didn't go, but she brought home a park map and all this made me a bit interested: "OK. I was afraid of roller coasters in 2000...but I was a little kid then. Perhaps that's no longer the case...And this mystery construction and all that seems pretty interesting." Another Kings Island google search led me to a new website: www.KICentral.com, where I read forums as a lurker and watched discussion over the new ride. Then, in August 2008... Diamondback. My reaction... "OK...enough is enough. Time to talk with my mom and sister and see about going back to Kings Island!" And so we talked and...approved. May 2009, we were going back to Kings Island, for me, it would be the 1st trip in 9 years (and 2nd ever). I began watching POV videos for all the big coasters, to try and see which one I thought I could take on first. Beast stood out- while it had big drops and all, most of the ride seemed very low to the ground. After a carnival trip a week before where I "forced" myself to ride some of the more thrilling flats they had (sadly there was nothing that went upside down, so I couldn't get any practice for that) we headed home, and then a few days later, it was off. An hour and a half later, the Eiffel Tower and Diamondback came into view...I was back. Our first ride, as suggested by my best friend, was...the Eiffel Tower. Eh, considering this was my first trip in oh-so-long, it was a good choice- I'd need to get an overall bearing for the park again, after all. Found Beast very easily from up there this time, thanks to online pictures I had seen. After that, due to the rain that had started up, my sister suggested we ride The Crypt, since it was indoors. After a 45-minute wait, I was on...got flipped upside down for the first time in ages...and then the ride ended, and I wasn't scared at all. I was angry! What a freaking dissapointment! We exited The Crypt, and it was done raining, so I suggested The Beast as our next ride since it was my original pick and right there. After about a 30-minute wait, I sat down on my first coaster in 9 years..."At least this lap bar holds you in nice and...what? Seatbelt? OH...I feel so stupid..." Thankfully, the ride-op fixed it and was very nice. Then..."all clear"..."Enjoy your ride on the longest wooden roller coaster in the world!" The cars slowly exited the station and headed for the lift. The bumps of the track were clearly noticeable..."Uh-Oh. If it's this bumpy at low speeds..." I thought. Then we hit the chain lift. All of my coaster fears were rising up...to calm down, I joked to my mom sitting next to me: "Look mom! We are higher than the trees!" Then came the top of the lift and that legendary view. "Here goes nothing..." We dropped into the tunnel, and screams were heard of other riders...but not me. This wasn't scary, actually, I realized seconds in by the brake shed run...this was awesome! The train jolted and heaved as it raced through the woods into the 2nd tunnel and out...a few moments later, we were on the chain lift, and I was loving it. "That was awesome!" Then my sister said something that suddenly brought all the fear back for a few more seconds: "Oh, the ride hasn't even done anything yet." The Double Helix Finale. Beast's trademark move. I ducked due to the tunnels, and boy was my sister right, compared to this the previous section of the ride was nothing! However, seconds later we were back in the station..."Wow." I thought. I was no longer afraid of roller coasters, as what I said next clearly shows...(exits Beast)..."Let's ride Vortex now!" A few days later, I joined KIC. And here I am....as a bonus, here is the trip report I wrote for that visit: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/17880-a-very-very-late-may-16th-tr-by-mcsalsa/ And that's pretty much it. Well, save that later that day I got my first night ride, and in 2010's Halloween Haunt got the most epic Beast night ride of my life...

Hmm...well, this got me thinking and doing a quick RCDB search- how many B&M's and Intamin's are there still working in North America? Which are we more likely to run into should we visit any random park? And, for kicks, how do various other companies compare? So I searched...these were the results: B&M: 56 operating, 1 under construction, 1 SBNO= 58 total existing coasters, 0 wooden coasters Intamin: 34 operating, 1 in storage= 35 total existing coasters (includes 2 wooden coasters) So you are actually, in North America, more likely to find a B&M than an Intamin. But hey...what about the other major coaster builders? Let's take a look at some of the more noteworthy ones (aka ones I bothered to look up)...these numbers include both steel and wood coasters, but their builders are mostly known for steel rides... Arrow Dynamics: 52 operating, 1 in storage, 1 SBNO= 54 total Vekoma: 72 operating, 6 SBNO= 78 total Schwarzkopf: 22 operating, 1 in storage= 23 total Chance Rides: 6 operating, 1 under construction, 1 SBNO= 8 total Premier Rides: 16 operating, 1 in storage, 2 SBNO= 19 total Zamperla: 50 operating, 4 under construction, 2 SBNO= 56 total TOGO: 3 operating= 3 total Giovanola: 7 operating, 1 in storage= 8 total S&S Worldwide: 5 operating, 1 under construction= 6 total Mack Rides: 21 operating, 1 in storage= 22 total Maurer Söhne: 12 operating= 12 total Gerstlauer: 14 operating, 2 under construction= 16 total Morgan: 8 operating= 8 total Well, that does it for most of the big steel coaster builders...what about the "woodie" guys though? WOODIES (also includes some steel coasters as I kinda did the opposite for the mostly steel guys...) PTC: 25 operating, 1 under construction, 1 SBNO= 27 total Dinn Corporation: 6 operating, 1 SBNO= 7 total CCI: 24 operating, 3 SBNO= 27 total Gravity Group: 6 operating, 1 under construction= 7 total GCII: 13 operating, 1 SBNO= 14 total RMC: 3 operating, 2 under construction= 5 total And well, that's that...wow, some suprising numbers, especially Vekoma being the most likely one you'll run into at any given park...also, Freestyle Music Park and Kentucky Kingdom were responsible for a lot of the SBNO rides.

WOW...just found this sucker on RCDB. http://rcdb.com/4336.htm And it hardly lives up to its name.