McSalsa

OK, this is probably random, but there was also another coaster longer than Beast once...it's name was Daidarasaurus @ Expoland (yeah, weird name, eh?). It originally opened in 1970 as a twin-tracked racing coaster, but later it was combined into 1 coaster with a 7,677 foot track length- which was a world record until Steel Dragon 2000 opened. However, the park it was in closed, and Daidarasaurus was demolished in 2008- the longest roller coaster ever to be demolished. The TALLEST roller coaster ever demolished, BTW, is Moonsault Scramble @ Fuji-Q Highland. A shuttle loop coaster, Moonsault Scramble stood 229.7 feet tall and reached speed of 55.9mph, and riders reached a whopping 6.2 Gs! Perhaps that's why it was eventually closed, eh? And an interesting note- the 2nd tallest and 2nd longest coaster ever demolished are the same thing, if one gives Speed: The Ride @ NASCAR Cafe a pass since it is being re-located and will re-open in a new form. That ride's name...Son of Beast. Nuff said.

Here is your view from the Eiffel Tower HOLY CRAP!, they DID build a new coaster. This one has a loop in it! And its wooden- and they said it couldn't be done. Suckers! WARNING: Joke ahead... Uh-Oh. History is repeating itself...NEW FOR 2013: Son of Beast 2.0! It will be hated, like the original, yet still somehow have a somewhat large fanbase. It will partially collapse during a storm and not open until late May, even though the park will be open in April. Then, in 2019, an accident will occur in the rose bowl area, causing them to remove the ride's loop and replace the trains. The ride will re-open on July 4th, 2020. However, in 2022, a woman will be injured on the ride and sue the park- and the ride will be closed and become SBNO for 3 years. On July 27th, 2025, Kings Island will finally make the decision to demolish Son of Beast 2.0...then construction will begin on Son of Beast 3.0. And thus, it all begins again in 2026. And so on, and so on, and so on...until someone finally shuts Kings Island down because they keep re-building this expensive, problem-causing ride.

I'm in the same boat as Coasterfanatic2012, except I never even got to get in line. Had just gotten off Diamondback, was ready to take on the 218' wooden monster, and when we got to it a ride-op told us the ride was having issues and would be closed the rest of the day. We then headed to Flight Deck instead. While heading to Flight Deck, I watched Son of Beast, as it was testing and running empty trains...as we left the park that day, I thought "Well, there's item #1 to do when we visit Kings Island next time..." Next time was 2010. Son of Beast never re-opened, and item #1 on that trip ended up being Delirium...which I ended up loving... A much earlier visit to Kings Island, in 2000, obviously also had some non-rider SOB memories as it was brand-new that season. I remember how noisy the chain lift was, and how imposing and scary the TALLEST, FASTEST, and ONLY LOOPING wooden roller coaster looked. The sheer size of Son of Beast, seeing it as a kid, may have been the cause of me getting a 9-year fear of roller coasters in spite of having a blast on Indiana Beach's Hoosier Hurricane in 1999...which was broken, in quite ironic fashion, in May 2009, by...The Beast.

^ Hmm...perhaps...I was just giving the simple, easy-to-calculate estimates...the real price, in 2012 dollars, is probably higher...

^ Umm...what Son of Beast cost- it was millions. A lot of millions. About $20,000,000 exactly, in 2000 terms. Using a inflation calculator, that's $26,866,085.95 in 2012 dollars- Son of Beast was probably, adjusted for inflation, the most expensive thing Kings Island ever built (Diamondback was $22 million, but that was in 2009 dollars, so it's adjusted price is $23,720,728.83 for 2012...less than SOB, and not counting the many fixes/repairs SOB got). Hmm...out of curiosity, here's what some of Kings Island's other coasters would cost in 2012 dollars... Racer (Opened: 1972)- $6,640,679.43 Not a bad price, considering the park got two coasters... Beast (Opened: 1979)- $12,744,738.29 Beast was, for a woodie, pretty expensive...most woodies don't hit the $10M mark (some do, but they seem fairly rare). Then again, they were building the tallest drops and longest track for any wooden coaster in the world at the time... King Cobra (Opened: 1984, Closed: 2001)- $6,679,027.91 Not a horrible price considering the size of the ride whatsoever...even though its "cheapness" meant it would die an early death. Vortex (Opened: 1987)- $8,144,964.79 OK- ask B&M to build a 148' tall coaster that goes upside down six times, you'll probably get a price tag of well over $16,000,000+! Seems the rumors that Kings Island got a deal from Arrow on Vortex, due to The Bat's failures, are true... Adventure Express (Opened: 1991)- $6,793,450.81 OK, wow...I had no idea Adventure Express cost more than King Cobra and rivaled the price tag of Vortex. That theming must not have been cheap... These are the only prices I could find using rcdb.com and an inflation calculator, converting the cash of the year these rides opened to 2012 dollars...yeah, Paramount was very stingy on sharing how much their coasters cost, apparently...SOB and Diamondback prices are listed way above near the top... Just more random info I thought might be interesting...oh, Tomb Raider: The Ride was worth $25,716,175.65 in 2012 dollars too, BTW...Kings Island demolished $50,000,000 worth of rides in 2012. Yikes.

OK, my pick is...the most important thing an amusement park needs to attract McSalsa is...good thrill rides and roller coasters. (DA DA DUM) Now, I'll explain...this is because roller coasters and thrill rides are the main reason me and my friends visit parks like Kings Island. If Kings Island didn't have any of its big thrill rides, but still had everything else, to be 100% honest I would probably NOT go unless it was $15-20 gate admission...or something like that. So, since without this I would not even get in...it's most important. Now, once I get in, what else becomes important? Well, family rides and kids rides too, because those attract a different crowd (and I will ride a good family ride or two during a KI visit, BTW, but I come for the coasters...mainly Beast...) and without them there would be no more to buy the coasters and thrill rides I crave. The staff must also be nice, and reasonably efficent. I would probably go to a park for its thrill rides & roller coasters, but if the staff is very rude to me and they don't do their jobs well, I'm not returning even if you build the #1 wooden and #1 steel coaster in the world at the same time. The park should also be presentable...although I MIGHT be able to give this one a pass if the rest of the park holds up very well. The price must also be reasonable, as we could not afford to visit Kings Island if it was $65 per person on a DISCOUNT (NOT front gate!) ticket...and there were not perks like free drinks or food, etc. The other options (waterpark & water rides, shows, and food) are less important, especially if the park does the stuff above well. That's not saying that if done well, these things would not make a park much better...heck, Holiday World gets a HUGE boost in "draw" towards me because of how huge and epic their waterpark is, even if I'm not a super-duper waterpark person (but I did love some of their slides)...I'm not really a shows person, but some people will find that VERY important...as for food, so long as it's somewhat good, I don't really care- I didn't come to Kings Island to eat...but, with KI's prices, I do want it to be good... Now, the bonus part- how do I think Kings Island fares in these categories? THRILL RIDES Score: 10/10 A LOT of great coasters...Beast, Diamondback, Vortex, Flight of Fear, Flight Deck, and Racer are all excellent rides. Firehawk & Invertigo I also liked, but nowhere near the first 6 I listed. Drop Tower and Delirium are amazing jumbo-sized flats. A great thrill ride collection. FAMILY RIDES Score: 10/10 See the above. 2 fun family coasters, a large flat ride collection, a 300' swing ride (from the POVs and what I have heard, WindSeeker does not seem to be a thrill ride to me anymore, but is probably still fun), and a Eiffel Tower. Not a bad family ride collection... KIDS RIDES Score: N/A Not rating as I am not a kid, have not been on any of these rides recently, and do not have a kid to take on them...but, just from looking, it seems it holds up to the first 2 categories 10/10 scores...bottom line seems to be Kings Island has good rides. FRIENDLY STAFF Score: 10/10 Kings Island also has good staff, and they are very nice. An easy 10/10. Kings Island is looking good so far to me... STAFF EFFICENCY Score: 9/10 OH NOEZ! WHY DOES Kings Island ONLY GET A 9/10 HERE!?!? Well, while the crews and staff for rides like Beast, Diamondback, and Vortex do a great job (as do the vendors, security, etc) in my eyes, the Firehawk loading/unloading process is so bad, and that's probably not the ride-op or crew's fault, but it holds me back from giving this a 10/10 as well. Oh well...9 is still great... GOOD LOOKS Score: 9/10 Uh-Oh! Another 9! What is wrong here!?!? Well, in this category, I can go on photos of other parks for comparison...and while Kings Island is very nice and looks great, and very clean...I have seen pictures of Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Tampa. And, having seen that...also, Racer needs a paint job. SHOWS Score: N/A Here I have nothing- we go for rides, not shows, so I have never seen one. Perhaps I should some day, but it would probably be after we had ridden tons of rides and wanted something different... WATERPARK Score: N/A Soak City has always been closed during my visits to KI. We always go too early or too late in the year...looks nice from pictures though. Just not Splashin' Safari nice. FOOD Score: 7/10 Oh, here is where thy mighty Kings Island falls. I have had some tasty food at Kings Island, and other times it has been below average but still edible. Last year, new food options improved the menu. I say that needs to keep happening until KI's food is great all-around...like the rest of the park! REASONABLE PRICES Score: 8/10 Score is fairly high because I can get KI tickets for only $30.99 at Kroger...score is held back by expensive food and drink options, and $15 parking. Nuff said. OVERALL Score: 9/10 There are some minor flaws, but this is a great park overall. I kind of agree with Terpy's post- the best parks have a good mix of all the above, and it looks like Kings Island does just that...well, the food lags behind a little but... PS: WOW...that post was longer than I thought it would be...

With SonofBaconador's "What do you look for in roller coasters poll", I was inspired to post this- let's go beyond what makes a good roller coaster. What is the most important thing a entire amusement or theme park needs, in your opinion, for you to consider visiting it? Granted, I realize there are many factors in choosing an amusement/theme park to visit...and you probably decide based on more than 1 of the above factors. If so, pick which you think is #1 most important, and post "I picked this, but these are also important"...or something along those lines. OK? As a bonus to this poll...looking at the categories I listed above...how good would you say Kings Island, under current ownership (based on your most recent visits), rates on a 1-10 scale in each of my listed categories? This second part is 100% optional, but I'm honsetly a bit interested in what you guys see as KI's strong and weak spots...the park probably is too, so they will know where they need to improve... Enjoy the poll. If you dislike, click back. My pick and stuff will be in the next post, unless someone does this super-quick and beats me...

Umm...it not 100% gone... Final brake run's still standing. But, that's not much. Should be gone soon, too...

Wow, this is a hard choice...do I choose the giant wooden looping hypercoaster that I never got to ride in any form, or the awesome-looking indoor giant top spin that I rode, but when I did so it was already downgraded into garbage? Hmm...well, Son of Beast started getting bad reviews from the get-go, but that kind of adds to its charm as I'd be interested in seeing just how bad it was...but TR:TR was an epic dark ride experience like none other...ugh, you know what, null vote...I can't choose! (Builds a Time Machine, and sets the date for May 2002...location: Paramount's Kings Island, Ohio...MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOW I CAN RIDE TR:TR AND SOB WITH LOOP AND EVEN FLYING EAGLES!!!) ...ok, not really, but I wish...

Just one. My all-time record? Two in one year, which was in 2010 (May '10 and October Haunt '10, I also went to Holiday World for the first time that year, also in May). I don't get to visit Kings Island much, but that makes it all the more special when I can. I hoping for a Cedar Point trip in 2013, however...which, if that park is anywhere near where it's cracked up to be, would make me very happy.

^ Which would probably be you, if it was your backyard...

To add to Terpy's point- Beast cost about $4,000,000. In 1979. I used an internet calculator, and that comes up to $13,808,795 in today's dollars. So, if you have $14,000,000 and the right terrain (or, pay extra to modify a LOT of terrain), and have at least 35 acres of land, you too can build The Beast! (Disclaimer: You might want to hire a professional wood coaster builder like The Gravity Group or GCII anyway, otherwise, you will probably mess up your version of Beast and it will be unsafe!)

Honestly, about the GCI wood shuttle concept, I 100% agree- that would be too low capacity for a park like KI, but would fit in a smaller park. In fact, even a normal GCI would probably not work well here as they usually run only 2 trains- meaning we are talking a ride that is super short like Flight Deck, which some would not like for a new wooden coaster here- or really long lines. Then again, SFMM did build one and it even only has 2 11-car trains...anyone been there and seen how the line for Apocalypse is compared to SFMM's other coasters? Thinking about it, perhaps this is why the "Re-Build Aeroplane Coaster" concept was dumped in favor of SOB...Aeroplane only had 2 10-car trains...not exactly great capacity, but then again, SOB never had the capacity it was supposed to have, either...

Also, check this out- wooden shuttle coasters!

As Son of Beast dies, new & 1 old "wooden" and hybrid coasters with inversions begin to rise...ironically, when The Bat "died" in '84, that's when other suspended coasters started to pop up, too... If wooden coasters with inversions become popular, I could see Kings Island trying it again. They tried the suspended coaster again with Flight Deck, after all...and it worked the 2nd time! But the park waited until The Bat was dead for 9 years...using this logic, Kings Island will get a new inverting wooden coaster in 2021! Now, the 200'+ tall part of SOB...not sure on that...

Well, according to this, I just zoomed in on the Kings Island "Pile-O-Junk" and found the park, at least this season, still has the ORIGINAL Son of Beast trains...no, I'm not talking the newer trains added in 2007 (which, on Google Maps, are sitting next to the ride), I'm talking the overweight 6-bench Premier Rides trains that were "responsible" for the 2006 accident and ran on the coaster from 2000-2006... Wow, 6 years after the accident, and the park still has at least 9 cars from those trains...3 of the 12 seem to be "missing" though...is the park using them for parts or something? If so, for what- none of the other wooden coasters currently in the park use Premier Trains, only PTCs, and even Son of Beast was using Gerstlauer trains at the end of its life, not the Premier trains...are the wheels/lapbars/etc etc. useable on Beast & Racer? Is there a secret plan to install the old SOB trains on Vortex or something? Just something I found weird...alas, there are many weird things you can find with google maps... EDIT: Well fudge, the coordinates I linked to didn't take you to where the old SOB trains are...ok, well, go to SOB on Google Maps. Find the "Rose Bowl", or the huge first helix. At the bottom, there is a road that goes down. Follow it until it splits, and take the road that looks like dirt instead of pavement. The SOB "looping" trains are in the big pile of junk on this "road". Hope this helps.

Those are some awesome pics...the skyline will be pretty different here in only a short period of time...then again, TOPGUN1993 always has cool pics... Oh, and for that first pic, here's a "before" picture for you all, not sure who took it...could have been TOPGUN1993 again but I dunno, got it from google:

^ It may be a bit late for you, but... Not my video, it's Coasterbob62's (apparently, he is now a member here on KIC now too, so say "hi" if you see him on here!).

^ You mean "Pick-Up Large & Heavy Sticks, Bulldozer Edition"? OK, but where's my bulldozer?

Interesting numbers...here's some stuff I've thought of: #1-Diamondback could have had a record year this season for itself, had it not broken down for a week... #2-Vortex was within striking distance of Beast. If Vortex is "unpopular" enough to be removed, than so is Beast! (I wonder what Big Bad Wolf's 2008, it's last full season, ridership total was...) #3-I can see Flight Deck beating BLSC. BLSC is a capacity nightmare with its pewny trains, and Flight Deck is actually good with capacity, thanks in part to its 7-car trains and short ride time. #4-Viking Fury whoops all other "traditional" flat rides, including the giant ones like Delirium, WindSeeker and Drop Tower! (Granted, all 3 of those had serious downtime in 2012, but still...) Well, that is all from me.

^ Yep, I actually almost put that in the first post...not 100% sure why I didn't, but oh well. And sadly, SOB was not the only coaster with great pre-ride "awe" factor and post-ride "ouch" factor...Rattler @ SFFT, Mean Streak @ CP, Original Texas Giant @ SFOT...all very good-looking rides with poor reputations when it comes to roughness. There are also steel coasters, such as Roller Coaster @ NYNY Hotel Las Vegas, that fall into this category. And I may have a ride with all 3 "factors" (looks fun, is fun, and is also painful): Voyage @ Holiday World, at least when I rode it in 2010 & 2011 (didn't make it out to HW for 2012 sadly). It was very visually impressive, and a very fun ride, but also pretty darn rough. I think what I said when it hit the brakes after my first ride in 2010 sums it up: "Ow...but WOW..."

Just for the record: Son of Beast also had said "awe" factor to an incredible degree, possibly even when it was not running. It was one of the most visually impressive roller coasters ever built, with its incredible 218-foot-tall wooden structure and the huge "dip" before the first drop...of course, looking good from off-ride and actually being good are two different things...

^ Well, I stand corrected...I did miss that, thanks Terpy. Wow, for what was once a 218' tall, 7042' long wooden hypercoaster this ride is coming down fast...even faster than my above estimate...

Well, El Toro @ SFGadv now officially has the record for largest wooden coaster drop in the world, since Son of Beast no longer has a drop... (Unless you count the air, in which case SOB now has the steepest drop of any wooden coaster ever built at straight down!) I have the feeling SOB will be 100% gone, save perhaps some footers or so, by January 2013 now...which means plenty of time (a whole year and about 4 months in 2013) to build whatever is replacing it and have it ready for the 2014 season. (I too hope for an Intamin Wooden Coaster, possibly one above 200', but anything beats open field...)

Arrow coasters do have companies that make parts for them- S&S Power bought Arrow and does still support several models. Vekoma and Chance-Morgan also seem like companies that would, if asked, be able to work on Arrow Coasters (CM already did with Phantom's Revenge)... Looking at that list, look at how many 1960s Mine Trains are still going strong...looks like Adventure Express isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Some of the older looping coasters, like the Corkscrews and Loch Ness Monster (which is 130ft. tall and goes 60mph, somewhat comparable to Vortex) also appear to be doing quite well. It seems the suspended coasters- ala Flight Deck- are the ones in the most danger. Another thought- perhaps Vortex still has 5-10+ years left on it, but the park is already thinking "what do we do when it does run out and needs removed?" and that could be where the rumor comes from...parks are known to think well in advance sometimes.