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Beast 35th Anniversary POV


BoddaH1994
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Is it possible that The Beast seems not as out of control and fast etc because we are older? When you are 14 riding a ride for the first time it is a frightening experience. When you ride that same ride every weekend or year its not the same it once was.

When I was 8 Iron Dragon was terrifying. I rode it a few years ago, and the hype I had in my mind (mind you I hadnt ridden it in almost 20 years) was no where near close.

We can become very jaded as a community. When you ride a ride so much you know the turns and you know the hills it can become very boring. Im sure in 20 years, if Banshee lasts that long (I think it will), we will be talking about how out of control it was before XYZ....

No they have added extensive brake runs

Wrong! The Beast has had brakes in the same locations along the 7,359-foot long course since it made its debut April 14, 1979. If the trim brakes that some want to complain about were not in place the ride isn't celebrating its 35th anniversary season.

I see first time Beast riders every day. They're absolutely blown away by this ride!

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What year was the YouTube video from ? It wasn't from the 80 's , when The Beast was in its prime

I believe 2001, but to prove a point here is the building POV

Notice all brake runs seem the same as the 2001 video

Don, I disagree with you. Its not just first time Beast riders that are blown away! Rode it last year for the first time in almost 3-5 years and it was just as out of control and awesome as it was when I was 16 and fit better in the seats!

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In the second video posted the train makes it much farther up the second lift hill then the video in the first thread post. Maybe its due to the weight/gaining more momentum while it has passengers than just a empty train. i don't know, no physics expert here.

F=MA Force= Mass * Acceleration.... the more mass you have the more force you will have... heavier things seem to go faster/farther.

Yes it is the trim braking that I'm complaining about . If your going to alter it by trimming then why stop there ? Alter it some more !

Is it time for your curfew yet?

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Amazing job on the video! I still enjoy the ride as if it were my first. My first ride in 2008...wow I couldn't describe the feeling coming back into the station.

Be thankful we still have The Beast to enjoy after 35 years. Hell, it's only 1 of 3 in the park that have been open 30+ years. The other two are The Racer and Woodstock Express.

Edited to reflect PKIVortex's comment. Slipped my mind at first, forgot that one was over in Planet Snoopy.

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And please before this gets anymore out a hand , all I'm saying is I still enjoy this ride but it is not the same ride experience for me . I have been a KI passholder since the early 80 's and have ridden The Beast countless times each year since .

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The only difference to me is you can feel the magnetic trims grabbing the train and slowing it down, when it had the skid breaks you still slowed down but it slowed down much slower if that makes since. But The Beast is still a heck of a wooden coaster, and it's still the longest wooden coaster even after 35 years. :)

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I rode The Beast for the first time in 1980 as a child with cousins who are not enthusiasts. I have yet to hear them 34 years later say anything about the trains, brakes, trims, whatever! I just hear them talk about us riding it when we were youngsters and how amazing it is to still be around kicking tail and taking names,all these years later!

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Is it possible that The Beast seems not as out of control and fast etc because we are older? When you are 14 riding a ride for the first time it is a frightening experience. When you ride that same ride every weekend or year its not the same it once was.

When I was 8 Iron Dragon was terrifying. I rode it a few years ago, and the hype I had in my mind (mind you I hadnt ridden it in almost 20 years) was no where near close.

We can become very jaded as a community. When you ride a ride so much you know the turns and you know the hills it can become very boring. Im sure in 20 years, if Banshee lasts that long (I think it will), we will be talking about how out of control it was before XYZ....

No they have added extensive brake runs

Wrong! The Beast has had brakes in the same locations along the 7,359-foot long course since it made its debut April 14, 1979. If the trim brakes that some want to complain about were not in place the ride isn't celebrating its 35th anniversary season.

I see first time Beast riders every day. They're absolutely blown away by this ride!

It's easy to be blown away if you haven't experienced better wooden coasters. Once you ride something like Thunderhead or The Voyage, The Beast becomes a rough, drawn out bore.

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Uhh...I've been on both The Beast, and Voyage, and I perfer Beast. Voyage does everything you'd THINK a great wooden coaster should do, and throws as many airtime hills, twists, and turns at you as fast and hard as it can- and since it's also a 160-foot 67mph wooden coaster it beats the tar out of you during the return run, pretty much ruining half the ride. The Beast, on the other hand, tries something else- redefining what makes a great roller coaster, throwing the rule book out the window and instead of hitting you with a turn or drop every second, using the surrounding woods and wooden nature of the ride to instill fear and build suspense. That middle section of the ride after the brake shed that's so "controversial"? If you pay attention, you're actually gaining a good bit of speed during that whole section as it's downhill...but not all at once. It builds up, and the ride shakes more and more with each second, leading you to think "Oh No Something BIG is coming up" but then killing it with the 2nd lift, but there's a purpose: this is to trick your brain so that when you hit the helix, it thinks as you gain speed "Oh great more build-up with no pay-off...wait...what...OH (BLEEP)!!!"

This article probably explains it better than I can:

http://www.rollercoasterphilosophy.com/2009/beast/

Oh, and I'm only 24 myself...and my first ride on Beast didn't come until 2009, so my experience is just with the new brake system- I don't know what it was like before all that, if it was truly better or not. And I've ridden The Beast recently- a night ride on opening day, in fact. Did not feel "slow" at all, save the lift hills and right after the brake shed trim- but it had regained all its speed, or it felt like it, within 5 seconds and was flying before the 2nd lift (if they removed that trim I think the lateral forces could become dangerous in that section BTW). I had a ride earlier that day on Banshee which was worth a 4 1/2 hour wait (awesome coaster, in the more traditional sense though), yet once again, Beast was the highlight of my trip and "stole the show".

Sorry if I ranted a bit there- had to drop my two cents on this whole Beast discussion. Oh, and one more thing- Legend at Holiday World is also superior to Voyage (It's my #2 overall, and Banshee is #3 and #1 steel). Still has everything you could ask from a "traditional" wooden coaster ride (great air, laterals, and non-stop action) WITHOUT the insane roughness. And if Raven were just a bit longer...(I don't hate Voyage, it is a very good ride and could be amazing if smoothed out, but I do feel there are likely quite a few better ones out there)

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After sleeping on it , maybe I have become jaded . I don't know I guess as one gets older perceptions can change on certain things . I just hope one of the things that doesn't change is the joy I get from going to amusement parks and sharing those times spent with family and friends . Back in the day when I was 13 my mom would drop my older brother and myself off at the park each morning before she went to work and we'd stay there til she got off work . Some of the best days of my life .

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Agreed^ Maybe after a night of sleep we can all agree that having a park that holds so many memories is such a great thing that bickering and arguing about it is silly.

Back in my day..... Remember one day our Kids will be saying the same thing about Banshee and its possible The Beast may not even be in the park...

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The Beast is a great classic ride, and it does have many thrilling elements. I will agree in this day and age with new rides we are able to overcome the boundaries and limitations experienced 35 years ago. The beauty in the ride is it's classic way of executing timeless thrills and a very rare and incredible helix that is the true highlight of the ride.

Being jaded also doesn't help, as for instance to me a few rides are just ridden by me because I enjoy them and for nostalgia. When you repeatedly do something constantly, it does lose it's value a bit. I remember by the end of the season I was just content walking around, wheras right now I'm trying to get on everything as soon as I can. Repition does breed content.

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A little off-topic, but it came to mind: I am aware that The Beast may not be the ride for everyone (though I obviously adore it!)- it is after all, unconventional and weird and not everyone is into that. But thankfully there are plenty of other coasters in the park, offering their own ride experiences...(WARNING: Big List Ahead with how I would briefly describle all of KI's coasters!)

The Beast: Classic High-Speed Wooden Terrain Coaster with Odd Layout

Diamondback: Giant Steel Hypercoaster with Massive Amounts of Airtime

Banshee: Forceful and Furious Inverted Coaster with numerous inversions

Vortex: Classic Steel Looping Coaster that still has good specs 25+ years later

Flight of Fear: Fun & Forceful Indoor Launched Looping Coaster

Firehawk: Fun Flying Coaster, one of only 3 in the world of its kind

Racer: Airtime Filled Classic Wooden Racing Coaster

The Bat: Fast and Furious Suspended Swinging Coaster- and this kind of ride is now becoming rare

Invertigo: Looping Inverted Shuttle Coaster with face-to-face seats- only 2 of these exist in the United States

Adventure Express: One of the world's finest Mine Train Coasters

Backlot Stunt Coaster: Small Coaster that has pretty good thrills and forces

Woodstock Express: Family-Oriented and Fun Classic Wooden Coaster

Flying Ace: Family Inverted Coaster

Great Pumpkin Coaster: Starter Coaster for the Kids

I honestly really like the balance of KI's coaster lineup- that list has a lot of diversity in the ride styles and offers everything from mild to wild. Well, that's another random thought from me. Carry on. :P

PS: Oh, BTW- I like all of the coasters at Kings Island. Yes, some more than others, but I don't think any of them are "bad" rides...

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I think when we look at a coaster like The Beast in comparison to big thrill rides (TTD for example) it becomes very tame. However, it is not always a family ride. It may seem that way to many of us, but to families that go once a year, The Beast may be a mile stone ride (I finally over came my fear or man I rode the rough Beast, example).

It does bring me to a question, when is enough enough. When do we hit a point for coasters where nothing is new anymore. When does it become to extreme? The Beast is a long coaster. One day someone may beat it, but why? We saw with SOB that a big drop isnt always the best. Yet a fairly fun coaster has just been built on property that boasts of longest, as well.

Also, I would like to take this time to publicly apologize for my crack at "bed time" to Zerogee. It was uncalled for and not in the spirit of these forums. I was just tired and wrote before thinking. Please accept this picture of a cake as payment:)

sorry_cakes_06.jpg

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Voyage? I'm sorry. We all have opinions. For me, that is perhaps the most overrated wooden coaster on the planet. Both the other wooden coasters in that park far exceed it.

Raven? I'm sorry. We all have opinions. For me, that is perhaps the most overrated wooden coaster on the planet. Both the other wooden coasters in that park far exceed it.

Same idea, different coaster! :P

But seriously, Voyage is among the three coasters I've ridden in my life that I would consider "elite" (Voyage, Maverick, El Toro). Everything else is 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or even 5th tier...But I understand, Voyage can be pretty rough...among other things...

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And see I rode Maverick and was unimpressed. The launch was a nice effect but the flinging left and right for that coaster was not for me.

TTD however was great! Elite even!

My top coasters: Beast, TTD, Griffin, Big Bad Wolf (havnt ridden Banshee)

Top over all rides: Harry Potter, Beast, TTD, Griffin (the suspended feeling is awesome)

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And see I rode Maverick and was unimpressed. The launch was a nice effect but the flinging left and right for that coaster was not for me.

TTD however was great! Elite even!

My top coasters: Beast, TTD, Griffin, Big Bad Wolf (havnt ridden Banshee)

Top over all rides: Harry Potter, Beast, TTD, Griffin (the suspended feeling is awesome)

Maverick is fun but really would be so much better with different restraints...

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I also would like to extend an apology for my "go to your room" comment last night. It was meant as a joke, and I hope it came across as such. But I've lurked these forums enough to know that such jokes can easily get out of hand.

We may all disagree about why we love our Isle of Male Monarchs, but loving the park is what brings us together in the first place.

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