Sadly, the Conduct Card handed out on certain days does not mention smoking/vaping (although it is listed on the full list on their website).

9 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

I’ve also heard the “rest of the season” rumors. May be true, may not. Remember the rumors get passed around the employees like the delta variant so it’s hard to say if that’s an official word. But wow… imagine Haunt without Beast. That would stink. 

It really would. I feel like The Beast is such a pivotal Haunt attraction. I remember Haunt 2019, I saved The Beast for last and that was also the second-last day of Vortex’s operation. Rain had been in the forecast most of the day but the rain had seemingly subsided…until I boarded The Beast. Windy, rainy, dark night ride The Beast was the best coaster experience of my life. I felt like I was a goner. 

15 hours ago, Steel Maverick said:

“Are you working The Beast today?” “No, didn’t you hear? It’s closed for the rest of the season!” “Wow, really?!” “Major technical issues, it’ll be down for awhile”.

Reading into this: I find it ironic that such information about a major ride being down for the rest of the season was followed up with "Major technical issues, it'll be down for a while."

That quote alone makes me question the validity of the statement made.  The ride being down the rest of the year is a major news whereas part of the ride getting re-tracked to reduce roughness (as the rumor goes) is very typical of wood coasters and the reason was not mentioned.

As the saying goes: "those who know don't talk, those who talk don't know."

I just checked Queue Times and The Beast is listed as being “Open” but with no specific wait time. Either way, this is great news and I hope it’s running much better now. 

I saw that too, wondering if it's infact open or is a mistake.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

Has the app said “closed” on previous days? It is showing as “open” with 0 minute wait. 

Flying over via Diamondback this morning, they have it roped off with an employee standing there turning people away. Have they had an employee there every day that the ride has been closed?

The official KI app now says The Beast is “down”.

I had a friend check. It’s still closed but there is a train in the station.

1 hour ago, kikid74 said:

Have they had an employee there every day that the ride has been closed?

Yes they have. I am actually good friends with the employee that sits there telling people it is closed.

Unfortunately KI keeps a lid on everything, a very tight lid!  If you worked there, I'm sure there's threats against you commenting on downtime, etc.  So we have more speculation.  Let's look at the individual parts and more can be added

1) the track
1a) foundation or support structures
2) the shell of the cars and wheels
3) the brake fin of the cars (whatever it's called)
4) the latching system for the bars
5) the chain on either lift hill
6) the motor for either lift hill
6a) gearboxes for either lift hill
6b) compressed air systems
7) the humongous bearing/cog at the top of the lift hills (which has sensors to indicate off-center)
8) the brakes anywhere, midway or at the end or in the station
9) sensors or switches to indicate the location of trains
10) wiring for the controls or remote PLCs (putting several sensors into a single remote and connecting to the front)
11) whatever big PLC/computer operates the entire thing
11a) the buttons on the control panel, or the screens
12) hackers!

1, 1a can be fixed in days
2, 3, 4 just don't run all the trains, it doesn't affect them all at once
5 probably some spare chain links sitting around but not an entire chain
6) POSSIBLE... guessing the motor is 50-100hp and it could be a obsolete frame/mount
6a) POSSIBLE any gearbox may be obsolete and it failing could damage other things
6b) should be an easy fix
7) POSSIBLE would probably be custom made in a machine shop
8) spares for brakes, no
9) sensors are probably off-the shelf and easy to replace, if there's not already spares
10) can fix the wiring quickly, maybe if an animal ate them or whatever
11) POSSIBLE even if upgraded since 40 years ago, it's still going to be old and maybe tough to program
11a) just replace the buttons those are standard
12) no hackers on such an oldass system

I am leaning towards 11, that the entire control system took a dump.  If you guys know controls, A/B SLC 500 series is very very common and probably hasn't changed in 20 years.  Same with programming the thing.  Guys at my workplace can do this... it's very maintenance friendly.  The program can't be that difficult but would be horrid to start from scratch.... really not any timing involved because everything happens in sequence including how much to trim the brakes or release cars into the next zone.   WHEW wordwall. Comments?

 

^ Some two cents: I am not an expert, but I'd be very surprised if the sprocket (which is what the cog at the tops and bottoms of the lift hills is called) is custom made. I'd very much expect that Beast (and most coasters, for that matter) uses an industrial chain (e.g. D88K, although that specific size might be too small) and a matching sprocket that many manufacturers could make. They might just have longer lead times given how large everything involved is.

My apologies, the Queue Times website was saying “Open” at lunch but it is now listed as being “Closed” once again. Hopefully it’s open again by this weekend. 

14 hours ago, King Ding Dong said:

Does anyone even use the designated smoking area? From what I have seen they just light up whenever and wherever they want with no repercussions. 

Exactly.  The park caters to this trashy crowd.  It must be their target market.  

1 hour ago, Steel Maverick said:

My apologies, the Queue Times website was saying “Open” at lunch but it is now listed as being “Closed” once again. Hopefully it’s open again by this weekend. 

I hope so! We're doing our yearly trip there late next week! (We like to come that last week of the operating season, because the lines tend to be much shorter). 

Well I got a text last night from my son that said The Beast was closed Thursday and riders were evacuated.    They apparently started doing track work right away to fix some issues.

He sent me an aeiral  picture from above and the segment and it shows new track wood on it.

Not sure if this is the only spot but apparently it is a track related problem and they are working it.

 

 

The information I mentioned I found came from Reddit and in the /rollercoasters group.   

On 8/4/2021 at 5:48 AM, mikejenkins1 said:

The information I mentioned I found came from Reddit and in the /rollercoasters group.

(went to Reddit thread) Is that even new?  Is it valley after the very first left turn?  I could swear that was already done.  It doesn't look like more than 15'.  Looks like supports sinking or shifting is pretty common.

6 hours ago, mikejenkins1 said:

Well I got a text last night from my son that said The Beast was closed Thursday and riders were evacuated.    They apparently started doing track work right away to fix some issues.

He sent me an aeiral  picture from above and the segment and it shows new track wood on it.

Not sure if this is the only spot but apparently it is a track related problem and they are working it.

 

 

I was there Thursday and the crew cycled trains so everyone got off at the station as normal. They then cycled trains again to park a specific train in the station.

On 8/2/2021 at 6:36 PM, silver2005 said:

^Give me Millennium Flyers over Timberliners any day.  Timberliners are too overengineered. 

How about a pair of used Gerstaulers?

 

 

Beast is testing with either water or sand, according to a photo sent to me.

Hopefully, that means that it is close to reopening in the next day or two.

31 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Beast is testing with either water or sand, according to a photo sent to me.

 

Let's hope they don't fly out and someone from WindSeeker sees it and posts a frantic FB post that people are flying out of The Beast....

^Kinda hard when the only parts of Beast you can see from the park are the station and 2 lifts.

You underestimate the power of the GP looking to break a news story LOL.  "I saw a beast train go up the first lift hill full of passengers and when it arrived on the 2nd hill none were there"

Also...

 

31 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

You underestimate the power of the GP looking to break a news story LOL.  "I saw a beast train go up the first lift hill full of passengers and when it arrived on the 2nd hill none were there"

They exited the ride at The Beast Soak City Station.  

On 8/3/2021 at 1:51 PM, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Yes they have. I am actually good friends with the employee that sits there telling people it is closed.

Oh wow I'm pretty sure I'd just stop coming back to work after a couple days of that. That sounds awful. lol

According to posts in a FB group, the ride just reopened. 

 

I can confirm that it is open!