McSalsa

^ Sorry! I was just showing what kind of spider was in the video... McSalsa, who hopes no one breaks their computer because of the previous post...

^ WARNING: If deathly afraid of spiders, do not look at this post! That's actually not a Brown Recluse...that's a large wolf spider. They are large, brown spiders and while their bites are painful, they are not nearly as dangerous as the bite of the Brown Recluse (as in it won't leave serious damage or hurt for 3 months, etc etc...) They are common in forests, hence why it is not shocking to see them near The Beast. A pic of a wolf spider: Versus a Brown Recluse... Hope this clears that up- I'm 95% sure the spider in the video was a Wolf, not a Brown Recluse. McSalsa, who cannot believe we are discussing spiders on a Kings Island fansite... UPDATE: Changed pic of Brown Recluse, because for some reason it stopped working...

Coasterbob62, who does great CP and KI videos, has taken one of these tours and made a video of it. He says CoasterGeek101, who is a member here on KIC, told him about them. Here's his video: Enjoy.

^^ Ahh...thank you for that, so it was just a rumor... Sigh...it's kind of hard to pinpoint exactly where Son of Beast went wrong, isn't it? Design, Construction, It's Sheer Size, both sets of trains...it could have been any of these things, combinations of them, or none of them. Which is quite disturbing if one is trying to wonder if another 200'+ wooden coaster is possible without topper track or Plug N' Play...and a GOOD wooden coaster too...

^^ That may well be true...granted, also when SOB was built, they still went ahead and for some reason used the defective wood instead of getting new, better wood...talk about going cheap-o. That might have been a huge factor in the ride's ultimate failure. Plus, while there may be a few people at KI who worked on both Beast & Son on of Beast, I'd still assume at a lot of the crew was only on one or the other instead of both...though the old guys probably teach & train the newbies, and the park does an excellent job on upkeep on its other wooden coasters. Was it the sheer size of the ride that doomed it? Poor design? Which brings me to this rumor I heard once... Son of Beast, when it was being designed, was originally to be built by INTAMIN. It was planned to be over 200' and have a loop, as the "final" version did, but would also be the first ride to debut the pre-fabricated wooden track (instead, Colossos @ Heide Park did) and it was supposed to even have PTC trains! Stengel was the designer. Paramount didn't like the design Stengel made for them, as it had several trim brakes and extra supports that would have made the ride cost too much in their eyes, so they changed it. Intamin and PTC refused to work on this ride if Paramount did not go with Stengel's plans, so they hired RCCO and Premier Rides instead. And then the bad stuff began... That's just a rumor, but it sounds like one that might be true...not sure though. Does this sound plausible anyone?

^^ $30,000,000!?!? Dang, Wing Riders are more expensive than Hypercoasters that are 60+ feet taller and 1,000+ feet longer than them...Diamondback here at Kings Island cost only $22 million in '09...

Also the Park's In-House Construction Team...which for Beast, was a very DIFFERENT team that eventually went on and became Dinn Corporation, whom built and re-located a couple of good coasters (even if most of their rides did, in later years, go sour). The Hurlers, on the other hand, did not go quite so well...sure, they haven't seriously hurt or killed anyone, but those two are not exactly beloved by coaster lovers. Charlie Dinn & Co.>Paramount's Wooden Construction Team.

Found Diamondback's Page, it lives! But is just not linked up on thrill rides, for some odd reason. Here it is, and it has a video too: http://www.visitking...ndback#panel1-5 Also, the Soak City water rides don't seem to have videos. But they are just about the ONLY rides that don't... UPDATE: BLAGH! Diamondback'S MUSIC MAKES NO SENSE!!! WHY DOES A RIDE THEMED TO A GIANT RATTLESNAKE HAVE TECHNO MUSIC!?!?

Wow, these videos are cool. The Eiffel Tower one has such fitting music. One thing I noticed, besides the suspicious vanishing act Diamondback seems to have pulled, is if you go to watch the White Water Canyon video, when you click it, it asks if you want to download it- and you can't see the video otherwise. It's in FLV format, I used VLC Media Player to watch it...

Cedar Point, Kings Island's sister park to the north, has just officially announced their new coaster unto the world. This poll is very simple- what is your first impression? Does this make up for the loss of Space Spiral & Disaster Transport? Here is the official site for Gatekeeper: http://www.cedarpoint.com/Gatekeeper I suggest watching the official POV to get a decent idea of what this coaster will be like, but it's up to you on that. Here that is, on Youtube, from CoasterForce (supplied by CP): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2IM9h2Gyo4&feature=g-u-u Enjoy the poll. If you dislike the topic, click back. McSalsa's Personal Opinion: This ride is awesome, and yes, it does make up for the old rides.

^ Ahh yes...Blue Streak. A classic John Allen. Supposed to have better airtime than Racer (though I had a great ride on that coaster earlier this year from the front seat, red train, first train of the day on May 5th). Want to ride it as well if I do go to Cedar Point. And I also want to try the bigger wooden coaster in the rear of the park, having heard it has gotten better...or maybe not, but even if so, I have not been on a wooden coaster many have considered "rough" yet so...to see what they are talking about...(though I had a rough-as-heck ride on Voyage @ Holiday World in late 2011)... They could still use another great wooden coaster though...Blue Streak's fine, and perhaps Mean Streak is manageable, but the steel-to-wood ratio is horrible. Even a kiddie wooden coaster would help. (Wonders if something like Wooden Warrior @ Quassy would feel out of place at Cedar Point...)

WOW... Must...go...Cedar...Point...2013... (Not only for this, but also MF, TTD, Maverick, Magnum XL-200, Raptor, and even...Mean Streak, just to see how bad, if it really is bad, it is) This ride looks incredible. Cedar Point has yet ANOTHER awesome steel coaster. I'd still want a great wooden coaster to balance them out more, though. PS: (WARNING- End O' World Joke Ahead!) If a comet or planet or something tries to end the world on December 21st, I will blow it up. How? Well, I'll drive to Mason, Ohio and go to Sling Shot and remove the ball the riders are supposed to ride in. Then, I will attach Son of Beast. Then I fire...KABOOM!!! Yay, no more mean comet/evil planet (Or Son of Beast, but as for SS, I'd just re-install the rider ball when done)! If somehow SOB does not do it, I will fire The Crypt building, too...

WOW. That ride looks simply incredible...well, looks like I had better start planning that first-ever CP trip, no? Love the double keyhole elements, and this ride's inversions look crazy. And it looks pretty big, too...granted, at Cedar Point, 170 feet isn't that big anymore since they have Magnum XL-200, Wicked Twister, Millennium Force, and TTD. This ride looks to have the size of Wild Eagle @ Dollywood, a great location, and the keyhole elements...wait, am I getting Deja Vu? Six Flags Great America builds a new prototype ride...then Cedar Point comes along and one-ups it...can you guess which SFGam and CP rides I'm thinking of here? Looks like CP is getting another world-class coaster- as if they needed another great steel coaster, this makes it six now! However, I'm still waiting on that wooden coaster...but where (if anywhere) could they put that now that this will use the area by the beach I had in mind for the woodie? Oh yeah...they could put it at that one park in Mason, Ohio they own that's losing a massive wooden coaster this year... PS: In case you didn't get it, I was talking about SFGam's Batman The Ride, and CP's Raptor, which one-upped Batman...now it is happening again with X-Flight and Gatekeeper! Double PS: Oh, as cool as this is...Outlaw Run at S.D.C. still looks more interesting, as it is a first-of-its-kind wooden coaster (doube barrel rolls, steep drops, etc...) and Gatekeeper is more of an "expansion" of what Wild Eagle & X-Flight and the other wing coasters have already done. 2013 in coasters is already looking good...now let's just hope the world doesn't end this offseason...

Well, yet another web site you probably never heard of before has made a "Top 10 Amusement Parks in the United States" list. I just thought it was interesting- even if they were not 100% correct on a stat or two. Here it is: http://www.totsandtravel.com/2012/08/10953/best-amusement-parks-in-the-usa/ Worth noting that this site seems to value good places to take young kids (it's freakin' called totsandtravel.com!)...but here they do also seem to value a few thrill rides. I'm guessing they went for parks that, while they have good kids areas & attractions, won't bore Mom & Dad and if there happens to be a teenager in the family, they can enjoy the park too. While I have not been to all 10 parks, I have greatly enjoyed the 2 of them I have been to (one of them is...I won't spoil it ), and I have heard good things about the other 8. They did seem to miss a few good small parks, though. And with that, what do you think about this list? Do you think it's a good one, or a bad one? What does your own "Top 10 Amusement/Theme Parks in the United States" list look like, if you wish to share? Enjoy the topic/discussion.

^ I pity the park who buys that ride...it sounds like it would make Son of Beast look brilliant in comparison.

While Wing Riders can be awesome rides, and I would like one, with Cedar Point getting one in 2013, I don't see Kings Island getting one anytime soon- it would look way, way too "cookie cutter" to add 2 of these to 2 Cedar Fair parks in the same state- possibly even with similar layouts- would feed the "Kings Island IS BECOMING Cedar Point SOUTH!!!" crowd way too much. (Then again they do have a decent point- while the parks are still quite different, since 2009, we have added a huge steel coaster, changed our kids area to Planet Snoopy- the same name as a kids area at CP, added a WindSeeker, added Dinosaurs Alive!- which CP now has too, albeit on a smaller scale- and renamed our water park...Soak City...) A 4D is also out of the question, as that one would "one-up" Cedar Point's wing rider...now, Ouimet is not Kinzel, but I'm still not sure he'd be 100% up for building a brand new ride at CP and then building an even better one at Kings Island the next year... I propose one of these instead: -New Wooden Coaster (GG, GCII, or Intamin Plug N' Play) -Floorless Coaster (CP does not have one, and I don't think there are any ANYWHERE around here) -Inverted Coaster (Raptor opened in 1994...Kings Island should be OK to one-up it now since several other parks already have...they may be outdated by now, but Inverted Coasters are still great rides, and KI could use one) -Giga Coaster (B&M or Intamin...BUT, be sure to give it a unique layout, so that it isn't too similar to Millennium Force or Diamondback...an Intimidator 305 style coaster would probably work, since that's all the way in Virginia...) That's just my two cents...in final: while a wing rider would be fun, with CP getting one, I don't think it's the right move for KI and would like to see one of the 4 rides I listed above instead for KI's next coaster.

Hmm...out of the blue, I looked up how all RCCA wooden coasters did in Mitch Hawker's 2011 wooden coaster poll: The Rattler @ SF Fiesta Texas: 132nd/164 woodies White Canyon @ Yomiuriland: 154th/164 woodies Magnus Colossus @ Terra Mitica: 159th/164 woodies The Bandit @ Movie Park (Germany): 162nd/164 woodies (^ this is the ride that uses the Premier rides trains similar to the original SOB trains) Coaster Express @ Parque Warner (Madrid): 163rd/164 woodies Montezum @ Hopi Hari: Too Few Riders, would have ranked 167th if counted (out of a now 188 woodies) Son of Beast @ Kings Island: Not counted due to SBNO, would have ranked 176th if counted (out of a now 188 woodies) Ouch. When their best effort is a 132nd place finish out of 164 woodies, and Colossos @ SFMM is nearly 20 spots ahead of the best coaster they ever built, it's not a good idea to hire them to build a 200-foot looping wooden coaster.

Oh, wow...I have discovered something that may disturb some of you. It's a coaster in Spain at Parque Warner Madrid, a wooden one...designed by Werner Stengel...built by RCCA...prepare for it... IT IS Son of Beast JUNIOR!!! Actually, this is Coaster Express...but the similarity to the soon-to-be-demolished Son of Beast is eerie. It has a layout devoid of major airtime, and 2 large helixes make up over 75% of the ride- similar to Son of Beast! Only differences: Son of Beast opened 2 years earlier, is 98 feet taller, is 28.6mph faster, and this ride has Intamin trains (yes, the same trains El Toro @ SFGadv uses)...Son of Beast has had 2 sets of trains, but neither were built by Intamin...this ride also, apparently, stinks as it ranked 163rd out of 164 wooden coasters in Mitch Hawker's wood coaster poll! Strange, but true. Who would have thought another ride so similar to SOB would exist, built AFTER SOB's epic failures?

I think it might have something to do with capacity- rush the ride up this lift hill so we can get another train out! Or something along those lines. I don't really like it- I enjoy a coaster that doesn't just dart up the hill, especially one that is over 200 feet. The Beast does it perfect- starts out slow, then speeds up when the other train clears the 2nd lift, but it slows down again just in time for you to see the infamous view from the first drop. As far as lift hills go, it's perfect- and the view from the 2nd lift is also spectacular (perhaps even more!), and you are given just enough time to take that in, too...before dropping into a itty bitty tunnel and experiencing a monster of a helix, of course.

^ They took a row out of each car, umm, how? By cutting/welding/etc? Because that seems like an awful lot of work to do when they could just get new trains...

2 Hours...probably just The Beast @ Night, heck, I'd wait 3+ for that one. Other than that, if it was really really crowded...Flight of Fear (indoors mostly with a fun pre-show) and Diamondback (line moves fast, so at least we'd be moving for most of the 2 hours)...and those 2 are stretching it, if there were other rides in the park with shorter waits, I'd skip them for the other ones. Besides those, however, there really isn't anything else at Kings Island I'd wait that long for...thankfully, you don't really see many 2+ hour waits for rides other than Firehawk at Kings Island unless it is really, really crowded anymore (I try to avoid those days too). If the park were that crowded, you would see me heading for the more high-capacity rides and attractions as well as the less popular ones (Adventure Express, Racer, Vortex, Flat Rides)...and throw in a Beast ride or two, I'll wait for that one.

^ Mmm...Funnel Cakes while in line for roller coaster...(gets on Coaster after 10 minute wait because it not that crowded)...yay! Whee!...oh I don't feel so good...BLAGH!!! (Throws up in helix tunnel so bad, the ride is closed for 2 weeks to be cleaned...) Perhaps it was a good idea when the ride got 3+ hour lines...maybe not so much today...

^ Oh, that I wasn't aware of...wow, those 3 1/2 hour lines sure must have made people hungry...

Actually, when Beast first opened, it didn't just have different seats/restraints...it had DIFFERENT TRAINS...here's the story on that, but first... Here's a picture of the original trains: The difference between these old trains and the "new" ones is quite obvious if you look at the last car. Besides having no headrests and buzz bars (those weren't on the current trains when they were first installed either, but were added later due to changes in Ohio code) notice that it has 4 rows of seats (the current Beast has 3 rows per car) and only 4 cars. Due to the ride's early popularity, I'm told a 5th car was even added at some point, which would make each train capable of holding 40 passengers (The current ride holds "only" 36, and an "average" wooden coaster, let's say Raven @ Holiday World, usually holds about 24)! However, even though these were good for capacity, they proved to simply be just too large and heavy and were damaging the ride (Like father like son?), so the current 6-car, 3-row trains were added. Unlike SOB (which also during its life had 2 sets of trains, with the first one ending up being too heavy), however, this switch actually worked and helped the ride (Would something like the 2006 SOB accident have possibly occured on Beast had they kept using the original trains? It's a scary thought...). The Beast was also originally designed to run 4 trains, but during testing, it proved to be worthless as one of the trains would keep being "blocked" and stuck on the 1st lift hill, so the 4th train was scrapped. The trains you see in that picture also have a red front car, but the color changes to yellow the further you go back on the train, the cars colors were changed to just red when the yellow proved too be a little too easy to spot in the woods. And get ready for this: Trains aren't the only changes The Beast has had during its lifetime, here's a list of what I know about the ride: -The ride used to have only 3 tunnels, and the final helix was originally not enclosed. The ride got its current set of tunnels in 1980, when 2 short tunnels in the middle of the ride were connected into 1 long tunnel, and the helix tunnels were added. -As you may know, The Beast originally had skid brakes- old style wooden coaster brakes that can still be found on some old coasters in other parks. These remained on the ride until 2001, but on a fateful day in October, there was a minor accident where the brakes failed due to rain and 2 trains bumped in the station at a whopping...5mph. No one was seriously injured, but the park took notice and changed the braking system. When the ride re-opened in early 2002, not all of the trim brakes had been re-installed, which gave Beast riders some wild rides, but eventually before 2002 was over, the current brakes were all in place. -The ride's final helix was re-tracked and re-banked in 2009, for "smoother rides". Some Beast fans have complained about this, claiming the final helix is no longer what it once was, and while I had never ridden Beast prior to 2009 I still personally find the helix forceful and intense enough, and it's a still an epic finale to a great ride in my opinion...though I do wonder what it was like before 2009... -The ride itself is not all that has been changed. Originally, there was a pond surrounding The Beast's station and turnaround, that smelled nasty according to some. It was, according to KingsIslandPR, removed when Vortex was built, but this cannot be 100% confirmed. Also, there were once more switchbacks in the main q-line, but they were removed as the ride's massive popularity dropped from "insane" to just "popular". -The Beast's entrance has even been moved! In 2001 (a photo I saw from that year showed its "old" location to me), the ride entrance was much further up the midway in Rivertown, not sure when it was put there. However, in 2009, Diamondback opened and the entrance was moved back to its original 1979 location. -Thanks to LongLiveKingsCobra for this one: When in line for The Beast, you will see vending machines under a building labeled "Beast Canyon Cold Drinks". Well, believe it or not- that was once a place where you could buy food and drinks (basically, a restraunt in line for a ride)! This was probably due to the 3+ hour waits Beast was known to get in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It's amazing just how much one coaster can change throughout the years...

^ I can. An Intamin Plug N' Play is a wooden coaster that, instead of being built on-site, has its wood laser cut in a factory by computers. Then, the wood is transported to the park and put together- kind of like LEGO pieces, if you've ever used/heard of those. This process results in super smooth wooden coasters that can be built quickly, and go higher than traditional, but the drawback is they cost a bit more than "traditional" wooden coasters. El Toro @ SFGadv, one such coaster, was named 2011's best wooden coaster by the Mitch Hawker wooden coaster poll, and none of them ranked outside The Top 10- that should say something about them. Also worth noting: X2 @ SFMM is what's known as a 4D coaster- where the cars actually flip around, and it's seated a bit like a wing rider. B&M is actually rumored to be designing their own 4D coasters, but for right now, S&S Arrow is the only company that builds them (formerly, it was just Arrow, but they were purchased by S&S Power a while back...) Hope this helps.