Beast with Water!

[Ki Man]

Back in the day, The Beast had water going from the station, around the turn around, and to the lift!

This pic is from Shane, who posts many old pictures on Themeparkreview.com

http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=40361&start=2110

[CoastersRZ]

Now that is an awesome picture. I have never seen that view before.

It also illustrates how the exit for the ride is now the emergency exit today. When the ride had the water, the exit was not between the turn out of the station and the first queue house. (At one point in time what is the first queue house today was actually the second queue house, as there was another queue house located where the photo booth is today.)

[corn4ahead]

a.k.a. Beast lake...great picture btw, i wish it was still like this.

[bkroz]

VERY cool! Thank you! It's awesome looking.

[Dbfan]

Can anyone post any other pictures of this? This is the first one I have seen, I knew about it but have never seem a picture.

And why did they drain it?

[PhantomTheater]

I like how the lead up is all GL, especially right before is the original wood colored Raging Wolf Bobs. I had looked to fast the first time, and was confused why there was water under RWB .

[KI-ORIG-EMP]

When I worked there as a "litter getter", I swear I saw a cotton mouth in the water. I know them as I saw one up close and personal once.

[Jasper]

Can anyone post any other pictures of this? This is the first one I have seen, I knew about it but have never seem a picture.

And why did they drain it?

Feel free to correct me someone, but they drained it due to the fact that it was a standing pool of water, no circulation system or anything. From what I have heard, on a hot summer day it could get pretty nasty.

[Ki Man]

Notice no head rests? Buzz Bars for the win!

[Oldiesmann]

Can anyone post any other pictures of this? This is the first one I have seen, I knew about it but have never seem a picture.

And why did they drain it?

Feel free to correct me someone, but they drained it due to the fact that it was a standing pool of water, no circulation system or anything. From what I have heard, on a hot summer day it could get pretty nasty.

That's the most logical explanation. Mosquitoes love standing water, and mosquitoes + summer heat = not a very fun experience

I would love to see the original queue setup. I know there used to be a snack stand there too.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

When I worked there as a "litter getter", I swear I saw a cotton mouth in the water. I know them as I saw one up close and personal once.

I do not doubt you as cottonmouths are water snakes, but they are rare in this part of the country. They usually hang out in the south more particulary Florida, Georgia, Mississippi.

[Browntggrr]

Beast lake was virtually stagnant.

The bugs, smell, and litter were terrible in the last few years the lake was there.

Early on, the water themeing next to Beast's station worked and was pretty neat. I'm not sure why it was not always on, but I'm sure it had to do with the pump clogging up with crap people dropped/ threw in the lake

[Braves0511]

Now that I've seen this, I'm probably the only person on here that will say "eh.." Granted I can't see the whole thing, but to me it just looks like a muddy mess. I kinda prefer the green grass under the turnaround. Although now I realize why the footers/footings (oh boy, here we go ) are kinda funky and tall

[ZukoGirl]

I think I've seen this before in an old video.

I think it looks pretty neat, but I can see why they drained it.

[LongliveKingsCobra]

Wait, so if the rides exit was the E-exit then how did they get off the ride, I mean where did they exit off the train?

(by train I mean The Beast Train, not the actual train )

[CoastersRZ]

The exit ramp down to the Emergency Exit is original to the ride. It used to be, in the water/pond days, that you would exit via the emergency exit path of today, and onto the path that runs parallel to the queue ramp up to the station. (This path is now blocked by a gate in The Beast plaza. There was no right turn for the exit at the bottom of the ramp like there is today. Does that make sense?

[LongliveKingsCobra]

Sure?

I am just wondering did they go down the ramp, and where did they go after that?

[CoastersRZ]

They went down the ramp. Immediately after crossing underneath the tracks, guests would turn left (the present day emergency exit). From there, they would turn right, and cross over a small bridge (visible from the very top of the queue ramp, where the queue turns to the left into the station proper). After the bridge, guests would be on the midway pavement, and would follow that back out to the main midway. That pavement is now blocked off at The Beast plaza by a tall wooden fence and gate.

Does that make more sense?

[Shaggy]

Currently, when you exit The Beast, you go down the handicapped ramp. You then turn left which takes you under the drivers booth. After that, you turn right and head past the queue house.

Originally, when you headed under the drivers booth, you turned left and went through an exit underneath the station and back out to the access road that lies between Beast and Crypt. The exit still exists, but is used as an emergency exit only and has a door.

No one thing can be cited as the reason the "lake" (odd to call it that as it was literally only a few inches deep) was removed. There were actually a handful of reasons.

Trash issues, circulatory issues, bug issues, smell issues are a few reasons. But more importantly, the park wanted to seal off the midway path between Beast and (then) KCKC to use for behind the scenes purposes. They also wanted to re-direct the exiting guests past the (then) new on-ride photo booth and midway games. In addition, they also wanted to re-direct guests out an entirely different area away from the entrance to deter line jumping.

What many folks don't know, or recall, is that The Beast used to have an entirely seperate queue house that no longer exists. The concrete pad it was on was still there the last time I checked, albeit hidden by a fence. Next time you exit The Beast and are nearing the on-ride photo booth, look through the wooden fence to the right. You'll see an overgrown concrete path. That was where it was once located.

There was also a seperate "building" at the original exit that was called the "Beast Tamer Photo" It offered guests the chance to have their pictures taken in the middle of The Beast paws.

Finally, at the entrance, there was originally a large sign that told the legend of The Beast. I'll dig it up and post it. But basically it was a fable that told the tale of a Beast running wild through the woods. Oh how I wish they'd bring that sign back. Very few people recall it.

Shaggy

[LongliveKingsCobra]

Thank you Shaggy. THat was an intersting read, you always fill your posts with countles numbers of outside information (sorry, I am getting ready for AP US History test ) Thanks that clears it up a bit.

[CoastersRZ]

Shaggy, I would love if you could dig up that information that was once on the sign. Since I only started riding The Beast in the fall of 1995, I never rode The Beast when it had the old exit set up. And, I am of an age, that I certainly wouldn`t remember what the setup was like back in 1979, as that was six years before I was born.

[Shaggy]

Thank you Shaggy. THat was an intersting read, you always fill your posts with countles numbers of outside information (sorry, I am getting ready for AP US History test ) Thanks that clears it up a bit.

Muchos gracias...

Coastersrz and I posted at the same time, he had the exit info posted before me, and he's exactly right ;-)

BTW, here's what the fantastic sign at The Beast's original entrance said:

PUBLIC NOTICE: Help is urgently solicited!

Due to the increasing occurance of mysterious noises, inexplicable tremors, and vicious

acts of vandalism within these premises, it has become necessary to suspend the normal

operations of this company.

Although the cause of this evil phenomena defies identification, authorities agree it is

surely the work of some demonic creature of prodigious size, which for now can only be

designated as:

The Beast

LET THE FOOLHARDY BEWARE! this so-named Beast appears to be very much alive

and intent upon conquering all who would oppose him. Nothing of the imaginations would be

able to inflict such terror upon the human soul.

IT IS WITH UTMOST URGENCY that the Management entreats all civic-spirited persons

to assist it's loyal employees in the ongoing effort to subdue this disruptive scourge and restore

order to the community.

ALL VOLUNTEERS will kindly apply by entering through the employment office. (At

times it may be necessary to await recruitment at the observation area to the left of the office

building.) Thank you, and may the Lord have mercy!

Charles J. Dinn President

The Little Miami Amalgamated Mining & Minerals Co.

[flightoffear1996]

I would love for that way to come back but man does that water look nasty.

[Oldiesmann]

Did a little searching and found a photo of the sign from the 1981 park brochure...

Original location: http://www.themeparkreview.com/parks/photo.php?pageid=1&linkid=7014

This brochure also brags that The Beast could hold 40 riders per train at the time ()

[coaster_junky]

^it could, each car used to have four rows, where now it only has three.

[CincyMan98]

I love the water underneath it. But I honestly don't think it's much of a difference if it's water or land. Plus, it's only 20 seconds of the ride.

[dragsterfan420]

I wish the water wheel was still operational and the original type of of trains were on there. Then the trims wouldn't even matter to me.

[Oldiesmann]

It would definitely be interesting to ride The Beast the way it originally was. I can at least say that I rode it when it had skid breaks, though I don't remember what it was like then (I didn't have a pass back then so I was lucky if I got to KI more than once a year at that point).

[CoastersRZ]

The Beast still had skid brakes through the 2001 season. After a minor incident at the end of 2001, caused by rain in which a train softly bumped another train as the ride was in the process of being shut down, the brake system on The Beast was overhauled during the off season. In 2002, the ride opened with the new pneumatic brakes in the station, and the magnetic trims on the course.

I remember riding the ride with the old skid brakes many times. They were really old technology. Essentially, they had been adapted from the old days when wooden handles were used to control those type of brakes. Except in The Beast`s case, pneumatics controlled the skid brakes. But as was the case in 2001, they were not quite as effective as the pinch brakes.

It still boggles my mind that the rain policy on The Beast prevents more than one train from operating. One would think that with two lifts, and magnetic trim brakes that bleed off a lot of the speed in the final brake run (and are not impacted by wetness like the pneumatic pinch brakes or skid brakes) that a rain mode similar to Diamondback in which two trains could operate would be feasible. Even with light crowds, The Beast with one train operation is a nightmare, given its incredibly long ride time of four minutes and fifty seconds, thanks to its record breaking length and two lift hills.

[bkroz]

That's the worst... Even if it's just a "station wait" and there are four people in front of you, you're talking at least ten minutes until you can even get into the train. If there are eight people in front of you, it's more like twenty five minutes... That really adds up fast.