The Beast 40th Anniversary

[Theoutdoorkid107]

The Beast was the first coaster I ever rode on, it’s hard to believe it’s been 6 years since then

It was me and my friend at age 8, we are still the type of friends that compete to be the toughest to a certin extent, our Dad’s put us together because they knew as long as the two of us were together, neither one would chicken out, I remember that ride as one of the best of my life. We still remain great friends and to Kings Island at least once a year together. My Dad also rode The Beast in 1979 as a teenager, he said its somewhat different from how it is now but is still a very fun ride! 

[medford]

If you had placed odds 40 years ago that The Beast would retain its title as longest wooden roller coaster in the world all these years later, what would they have looked like?  Perhaps each park attempting to out-do the last hadn't really kicked in like it did in the 90s, but I doubt anyone envisioned The Beast retaining that title for as long as it did.  I adore the ride, and I'm so excited that they are bringing back the paw prints again (I wouldn't complain if they brought back The Vortex prints and Top Gun prints (though that would be awkward) this season as well).

I don't have crystal memories of it, but one of my many memories of my youth is riding it with my mother.  My father wouldn't do roller coasters, and I don't do spinny things (like the tea cup) so when it came to rides, it was either my sisters or my mother (or a friend eventually)  My mother passed away when I was 12 after a second battle with cancer, sometime after her first battle I think she got the inkling to do something special with each of her 3 kids each summer, just mom and kid for a day or two.  Our thing was always a trip to the zoo and a trip to KI, and a trip on The Beast was always a must.

As I've grown older, I now get to ride the rides thru the eyes of my children.  While the personal appeal had diminished slightly with age, it was quickly revamped as my oldest son grew old enough to ride The Beastie, then Flying Ace Ariel Chase, and exploded when he got his first rides on The Beast, Racer, Vortex, etc... shortly before his 5th birthday.  Watching his face the first handful of times he rode each ride has been priceless.  I have no clue how many times we've ridden The Beast together, but one trip will always stick with me.  We were coming out of the double helix, sitting in 1-2 and starting down the last little bunny hill when a hawk must have seen something on the track, as we started careening up the hill into the brake run, certainly this bird was going to fly off.  Sadly, it did not; I quickly had visions of Fabio and grabbed my son and ducked as much as we could behind 1-1.  As we pulled into the station and the lap bars went up, practically the whole train ran into the front to see the damage (there wasn't any, but the riders in 1-1 confirmed that it had been a direct hit.)  That is a ride I'll never forget.

My daughter will be 7 this year, and I'm praying she gets the courage to ride The Beast (though I'd settle for The Racers, Adventure Express, etc...).  She is definitely intimidated, hasn't even been on flying ace arial chase yet.  I've got a hunch that our 3 year old will be a little more daring like his brother; we'll see how he handles The Beastie this summer.

[Joshua]

The first thing I remember about The Beast was how mysterious it seemed. The majority of the ride is hidden by the woods , which is one of the best things about the ride. I also remember that on my first ride, I smashed my ear against the side of the car as we went through the double helix. 

[chuck norris]

Some new signage in The Beast que




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[harmony29]

On 4/4/2019 at 5:51 PM, LuvingKI said:

I have no back problems, but I can't ride toward the back of beast, it almost makes me cry from the pain it causes my back.. I'm 6'5 so maybe that has something to do with it

Have you tried row 17? I like that row the best and it does not shake you, super smooth for beast. My husband still insists on front row, which like as it's a very different perspective, but I will take 17 over any other row.

[BeeastFarmer]

Have you tried row 17? I like that row the best and it does not shake you, super smooth for beast. My husband still insists on front row, which like as it's a very different perspective, but I will take 17 over any other row.

Shhhh! It's a secret! Lol

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[harmony29]

Just now, BeeastFarmer said:

Shhhh! It's a secret! Lol

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 

Oopps, I forgot, so sorry!!! Lol I actually met a friend this weekend that hated The Beast until I took her in that row!

[LuvingKI]

31 minutes ago, harmony29 said:

Have you tried row 17? I like that row the best and it does not shake you, super smooth for beast. My husband still insists on front row, which like as it's a very different perspective, but I will take 17 over any other row.

I can't say that I have....

I've probably rode the best 200+ since a kid, and the older I get the further to the front of the train I stay

I will try to take 17 this coming weekend!

[harmony29]

1 hour ago, LuvingKI said:

I can't say that I have....

I've probably rode the best 200+ since a kid, and the older I get the further to the front of the train I stay

I will try to take 17 this coming weekend!

Let me know how it is, I'm anxious to hear about your experience.

[SonofBaconator]

I haven't been to the park this season but how different does it look going through the mcbr with the construction nearby?

[smurfconemama13]

I first learned Hootie (aka Darius Rucker) was a black man while waiting in line for The Beast. it’s a completely random fact, but anytime I see old music videos playing on the TVs while in line, I remember it and smile.

My other Beast memory is how on my first ride, I came up about half an inch short at the front height meter. The worker looked at my parents and whispered “go get some napkins and stuff them in her heels and come back” ... my parents looked at each other and said “okay let’s go” so off to La Rosas we went ... napkins were acquired and placed in the heels of my shoes, and I cleared the bar. I vividly remember my dad pushing my lap bar down as far as it would go, and telling me to hold on tight .. I replied with a hearty “no way. Hands up!”




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[IndyGuy4KI]

Another great blog post about The Beast by our own @Shaggy.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2019/june/the-beast-the-first-40-years

[Sol44]

Another great blog post about The Beast by our own [mention=104]Shaggy[/mention].
https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2019/june/the-beast-the-first-40-years

Very fun read. Thanks for sharing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BoddaH1994]

3 hours ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

Another great blog post about The Beast by our own @Shaggy.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2019/june/the-beast-the-first-40-years

Mr. @Shaggy,

I may have found an inaccuracy in your blog post. 

For the ride’s 20th anniversary, the trains received special anniversary logos as well as “scratches” to the lead cars. Also, theme music culminating with a recorded “growl” was added to the lift hills.

If you were referring to when the park “Hollywood-ized” The Beast, which included the lift hill music along with the growl and lighting effects in the station, that would have been in 2004 for the ride’s 25th year. I remember this distinctly because 2004 Beastbuzz was my first park event that I ever attended and a big part of it was a celebration of, “25 years of terror.” Side note - this 40 stuff is starting to make me feel old!

Excellent read none the less. I learned a lot!

[TheRickster]

The sound effects and lift hill music were DEFINITELY for the 25th anniversary, as well as some station signage and theater lights that would go off with growling every so often.

[firstnline]

Picked up a Beast mug on my visit last week. Just wish they has Beast HO scale trains for sale. Oh well.

[MDMC01]

Good stuff, Shaggy! Never knew the original (well, current) train colors were meant to resemble a fireball.

[Joshua]

Great article! At one point, the "theme music" was "The Darkest Day" from Independence Day by David Arnold (approximately when Jeff Goldblum watches the aliens' arrival from the rooftop) and a suspense cue composed by Michael Giacchino for Lost. 

Does anyone know if there were other themes used for the lift hill? 

To be honest, I kinda miss it. 

[silver2005]

Random Beast question- what's the length up to the base of the 2nd lift?

[IndyGuy4KI]

Blog post about Beast souvenirs written by Chad.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2019/june/the-best-of-the-beast-souvenirs

[radishman]

Today marked my 5th visit to KI and I've been on The Beast each time. Tested out the mythical 17th row and it seemed way smoother than my other rides.

[Honorarius]

^^^ The middle seat in every car is smoother than the seats ahead/behind it, and the farther back you go, the more of a difference... So for the smoothest rides, try rows 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17...

[YOULLBEBACK]

For you regulars, just curious, has there been a major increase in ridership this year so far with the added promotion due to the anniversary year? 

[IndyGuy4KI]

Another post about The Beast on the KIBlog.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2019/july/on-this-day-41-years-ago-construction-of-the-beast-began

[FredRed_CoasterHead]

Hello all, lurker of the site for some time now. First year having a season pass this year in a number of years. Have had alot of great rides on The Beast this year and just wanted to share my photo from The Beast taken Saturday morning. The ride was down for about 30 minutes and I got a chance to get the phone out and take some pictures(mostly selfies with the kids) while stuck.

[Fishleehooker]

Reviving this thread. I'll put my story on it tomorrow or the following day. Seeing a concert tonight and just no time. But suffice to say, I believe The Beast to be the greatest coaster in world history.  Without The Beast, no other  world-class coasters that we know of really.  No Boulder Dash or Ravine Flyer 2. No Voyage or Steel Dragon.  None of them.  No GCI. No Mystic Timbers.    Anyway, beyond that I can think of or find at least a hundred reasons beyond pure ride experience why its the best.

As far as pure ride experience, I LOVE that it isn't an ADD (No offense to anyone with this disorder for real!!) rollercoaster throwing elements out left and right. Nope. I LOVE that its hills aren't steep at all really so you gets this very real sense of increasing speed and momentum. I'm still surprised to this day when I go down the first hill at how slow it starts and how fast its screaming by the end.  Not too many coasters do that. I adore going through the ground so that you only realize how fast you are hauling when you leave the tunnel. I adore how the speed picks up before the Helix and my favorite is the slam when you hit the helix.  I still get kinda scared about it over and over and have ridden it hundreds of times easily. The whole ride picks up speed and gets better and better and better. It never gets worse for a single second IMO.    All other coasters seem like they are trying hard to do all these things, and I love and appreciate them all. But The Beast never tried to do that. If it did it would take away momentum and make the ride lose steam slowly as most airtime coasters do.   Smoking is bad for you; but, The Beast is Keith Richards with a cigarette dangling precariously from his lip with a low-slung guitar playing Gimme Shelter.  It's timeless and will always ride good. Generation after Generation.  None of these upstarts can say that and they are all Johnny Depp trying to be Keith Richards in his portrayal of Captain Sparrow. Beast doesn't even have to try and is still cooler.  The Beast is the Roller Coaster experience of a runaway minecar boiled down to its purest expression.  It is the Elixer...the Philosopher's Stone of Coasters.  I would't be surprised if The Beast is depicted in the great Pyramid.  I can't decide which is more significant of a South-West Ohio landmark: the Serpent Mound or The Beast?  I could go on...

[BeastForever]

^That just may be the greatest set of metaphors I've seen used to describe anything ever...

Well done, sir.

[AZ Kinda Guy]

On 11/5/2019 at 10:52 AM, Fishleehooker said:

...The Beast is Keith Richards with a cigarette dangling precariously from his lip with a low-slung guitar playing Gimme Shelter....

So a strung out rock star past his prime? Nailed it!

[Fishleehooker]

29 minutes ago, AZ Kinda Guy said:

So a strung out rock star past his prime? Nailed it!

Uh....okay.  Last year's tour was in the top 10 highest grossing of all time...and had by far the highest gross per show ever.  He also kicked heroin in the 70s which is why he is able to make so much more money per concert than anyone out there.  Past his prime huh?

[TheFloppyDisc]

I follow a few of the Youtubers who are coaster enthusiasts and ElToroRyan posted this video recently about The Beast. I thought people would be interested in seeing what he had to say about it.