When I went to Kings Island as usual we rode The Beast and going down the first hill I was getting ready to get beaten up but amazingly it really smooth, it was smoother than The Vortex not that The Vortex is smooth but it isn't rough and I found it very weird and I'm wondering if anybody else has experienced this and we rode in seat 3-2.

Generally you get a smoother ride on a middle row of a car, a.k.a. "non-wheel seat." Also a good strategy when you ride Son of Beast, too.

Notice how when I ride in the mid rows, and enjoy the thing, but the people in front and back of me use some words I shouldn't repeat here.

Anyone else here notice this?

Yes esp on the wooden coasters. The Racer can be burtel if you seat over the wheels near the back.

Yeah I rode a few weeks ago in 33 and I was in tears. Worst ride on any roller coaster ever. I swore I would not ride Beast again this year...

So - I rode last Monday in 12. SMOOTHEST RIDE ON BEAST EVAR!!!11 It was soooooo smooth - and so much fun. I loved it.

Since we're on the topic of Beast. Does anyone know when they put in the trim brakes right after the first tunnel? I rode it this past weekend and I was ready to shoot over the drop after the tunnel, but suddenly we slowed and crept over that hill. You used to be able to get a little air on that one, and I don't remember there being brakes on it before. So does anyone know when these were added (or turned on)?

They were there in 2004...

Weird........I never noticed them until now and they've been there for 2 years?

They were installed in 2002.

Best seat in racer is Last Car Middle seat (I think it's the smoothest)

Anyone know what was going on on the roads back by The Beast yesterday(June 8th). There were a lot people with cameras walking around and waving at us as we went by.

ACEr's of Europe had a walkback.

I've only had a few bad rides on The Beast, other than that its always relatively smooth, fast, and fun for me no matter where I sit.

Since we're on the topic of Beast. Does anyone know when they put in the trim brakes right after the first tunnel? I rode it this past weekend and I was ready to shoot over the drop after the tunnel, but suddenly we slowed and crept over that hill. You used to be able to get a little air on that one, and I don't remember there being brakes on it before. So does anyone know when these were added (or turned on)?

The magnetic trim breaks are located midway down the first drop, then as you make the ascending left turn there are trim breaks on top of that, you go up antoher hill, drop, up another hill then a sharp right into the brake shed. At the end of the brake shed there isyet another set of trim brakes. Next you exit the brake shed through the tunnels, into the quick dip, and up lift hill number 2. Mid way down the drop into the double helix there is the final set of trim brakes.

All the magnetic brakes are in the same exact spots as the original skid trim brakes. Originally, after they redid the braking system, there were no trims on the first drop. but that was short lived. Personally, I think the trim breaks offer a better, more consistent ride. The first car of the train still makes it up to the first "booth" on the second lift hill before the chain catches the train. That is about where it stopped in the days prior to the new brakes.

Yeah the magnetic brakes are much better - at least from a maintenence standpoint. The old brakes are probably the worst kind of brakes - as far as wear and tear goes. Also they did not always slow the train the same amount. If it was raining it would go faster. The magnetic brakes have no moving parts - and no contact surfaces. They don't wear out. Also the amount they slow the train down is proportional to the speed of the train.

There was a small mishap with the skid brakes that caused them to change them to magnetic. I think it was a small collision in the station with another train. If I remember correctly, no one was injured and all were sent to the hospital just to be sure.

I never notice brakes before the hump.

Vortex has been more brutal to me than Beast this year (the left turn coming out of the first drop is a real boxing match.) Beast does seem smoother, though.

Ya I was there the day the "crash" happened. I was on Top Gun at the time and we heard these girls in front of us talking about how The Beast Crashed. And sure enough when we wALKED OVER THERE THEY SAID "IT HAD CRAShed earlier today".

I rode Vortex the other day and it was so rough. Then Beast was actually smooth as glass. I rode Vortex today - and it is running really well. I got some true vo-tex flava.

What?When was there a crash? and how could this happen?O yea I hear they had to peel a wheel off Vortex the other day because a peice of it chipped off and they couldn't move it and you may have misheard becuase there was a car wreck right in front of Kinggs Island a few days ago.Just to let you know Klockster.

The "crash" occurred when they were in the process of shutting down the ride due to heavy rain. It resulted due to the heavy rains had slickened the skid brakes and the train couldn`t stop in time. The trains slowly bumped into the other train causing only minor injuries. The next season The Beast opened late as the skid brakes were replaced by fin brakes and magnetic trim brakes.

Uh, no. If a part of The Vortex wheel "chipped" off, they would still be able to move it and replace it on the transfer track. Don`t make up stories about which you know nothing about.

Well said CoastersRZ.

Trying to figure out here how a Vortex wheel would chip off?

If the nylon falls off of the wheel - they just park it on the transfer table and replace it. It isn't a big deal. It has not / would not cause the ride to get stuck...

And it happens...and is no big deal. Mamba out to Worlds of Fun was famous for melting wheels its first couple of years.

Again, wheels wearing on big Arrow and ChanceMorgan coasters is not a big deal. The coasters were designed with this in mind. The wheels are constantly checked for wear.

It didn't make too much sense to me either that one wheel stooped the whole train you would know if you were on The Vortex crew but you aren't so...and this is definatly a real story and I didn't make this up.

Um, Klockster used to be on The Vortex crew, so I`m sure he knows what he is talking about. Besides, why should someone trust a post like yours which is full of grammar and spelling errors?

I never had problems on The Beast or Vortex. Only minor problems on Racer and SOB like me getting stapled to the seat.

Until you have ridden El Toro, you really don't know what stapling is.

Well, maybe if you've ridden J2. Or been to Knott's Berry Farm during a thoosie event...

It didn't make too much sense to me either that one wheel stooped the whole train you would know if you were on The Vortex crew but you aren't so...and this is definatly a real story and I didn't make this up.

Your statements have no validity and you have no idea what you are talking about. Many times I have seen trains on Arrow multilooping coasters such as The Vortex and Viper at SFMM run without one of their small guide wheels that fell off or was worn down. It's very loud when this happens but does not slow down the train, make it unsafe, or cause it to be any rougher. Now if The Vortex can run a trian multiple times that is missing a wheel without any trouble, why would a chip in one bring the train to a halt. Cant we ban people for pretending to be someone who theyre not on the internet?