Does Anyone Still Like The Beast?

Kings Island is down to only having one wood coaster that even comes close to being "fun" anymore, and even it is spoiled with a trim brake. Hint: It's one of the three Beasts...and it's most certainly not The Beast.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

The Beast is still my favorite wooden coaster. My ride last year at night was unforgettable. It was drizziling and a little misty. The ride was so out of control and intense it easily became my favorite.

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I didn't get to PKI last year (hopefully I'll make it this year), but did make it down twice the season before.

I, like Den, had childhood memories of the Beast station being filled with excitement and energy all night as people got amped for the best night ride around. It was simply electric.

That excitement in the station is gone, and the ride just isn't the same anymore. Maybe the ride physically isn't as good, maybe my memory is distorting just how good the ride used to be. I'd bet it's a little of both.

I did, however, one October morning in 2001, have one of *the* most ferocious, ass-kicking coaster rides of my life on the Beast immediately followed by a complete dud of a re-ride. ;)

When I was there this past Saturday for BeastBuzz, I had a station wait during the day when we rode it. It was an average ride, nothing like I remembered it to be 14 years ago. However, when the nighttime ERT kicked in.. even w/ the trims, I felt it lived up to its former glory.

I love the beast!!! Always have; nothing more to say....

I believe that this coaster is great based upon a memory! And oh, what a memory it is! For those who can remember the additional cues, beer sales in line, and the general party atmosphere that ride entailed........the good old days! In the beginning there was no complete tunnel on the final double helix (this was 1979 and I was just big enough to ride with mty dad)! Just the frame for the tunnel that was to come! That ride was the meanest experience I've ever had on any ride. This happened for quite a few years. However, somewhere in the mid to late eighties they started taming the experience. It is sort of like rooting for an aging great athlete! Remember Larry Bird laying by the bench during his final season. You want so bad for that former glory to return, but it never quite does. But oh, what a player Larry Legend was! He is forever one of the best! So too is The Beast!

For the younger generation of coaster geeks (like myself), I am so sorry you never got to experience this thing in it's original glory! There has not been a ride built since 1979 that could compete with this machine prior to the modifications! CCI has built some great woodies tht have had their moments, but nothing that comes close to The Beast that once was!

P.S. Night rides are still enough to crack the top 10-15!

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Give me wood or give me B&M! :-)
(330 plus and rising)

I Love the beast.. I Rode it 6 times last sat at beast buzz. Its a great wooden coaster, especially the helix at the end. Nothing beats the Beast at night...

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WOOF !

Still my #1 woodie, besides the fact that the LIMs will never be turned off as often as the old skids (I have had the pleasure/luck of being there a lot of times they were turned off, and even had a night/no trims ride which is why this ride beat Shivering Timbers) I think the ride is enhanced with the LIMs. I seem to think that you go slightly faster through the first half of the ride and really go a lot faster through the helix :). The Beast Rocks and if no one is waiting for her anymore, I say more rides for me!

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Summer 03-CP, HP, Canobie, SFNE, SFWOA, and SFGAm.

maybe it's me but the beast never beat me up the way other woodies do. Even the Cheetah at Wild Adventures is rougher than the Beast and it doesn't have nearly as good of a thrill I like it when a coaster is kind of hidden in and amongst things so you never really know where it's going until you ride it.

There are those out there who need airtime to have fun on a roller coaster. There are those out there who appreciate speed and size. There are those who want a little bit of everything.

The Beast is still a fun ride to me and like anything else, as long as you like it and it is still around to ride, enjoy it instead of worrying about the opinions of others. People get all bent out of shape about a ride not being #1 or #2. Doesn't matter to me. Just because an 'enthusiast' says it isn't 'fun' doesn't mean it can't be to you. As the cliche goes, if somebody doesn't like it...that's good because it means one less person waiting in front of you.

Well thank you everyone. I feel a lot better after reading all of the possitive reviews. As far as the lines, I'm not really complaining because obviously the shorter the better, it's just kind of sad sometimes. I rode it last year when it was pouring rain and it was a blast! I had to keep my arms in front of my head so I wouldn't look like I had just went paintballing. Good stuff.

Although it is no longer my #1 wooden coaster, it does still hold a high ranking for me personally. I have not redden it since 2000, but I'm sure I would still like it. It's such a "one-of-a-kind" that despite trims, lack of bunnyhops/air, or whatever else has been done to it, it still kicks butt.

Most of the complaints I am reading involve the first 2 drops. The best of the Beast is after that anyway. The long winding track in the backwoods through the tunnels and the double helix still deliver the goods! That helix is still my favorite single element of any woodie.

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SCREAM with me... in 2003!

The helix alone makes the Beast worth riding. And the hard left hand turn/tunnel combination on the first drop is brutual (in a good sort of way). I think the lines are short just because the Beast has entered 'middle-age' and is no longer the exiciting new attration that has too be ridden (at least for most people). I think I would be hard-pressed to name any coaster over ten years old that has long lines (and if anyone knows of one, please speak up)

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Bob M.

As for 10+ year old rides with long lines:

In 99 Magnum was still drawing 2hr+ lines

B:TR @ SFGAm still fills up its queues

Mindbender @ SFOG had a really long wait when I visited last summer

Any Disney coaster old enough to qualify

Im sure theres more but the point is that while they are rare they arent that rare

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Summer 03-CP, HP, Canobie, SFNE, SFWOA, and SFGAm.

It's still the best.:)

I love the Beast. Especially in warmer weather. I think it runs better in the warmer weather but is still a great ride in cold weather. If lines are short for the Beast I won't complain, I will just ride it more.

Ditto to the comment that wildcard made. Who cares where the Beast ranks on anyones list, enjoy it for what it is or was...One of the greatest wooden coasters ever. I'm too young to remember the beer sales in line, but I'm sure it was a party. I love this roller coaster even with the brakes and I hope it is around for many years to come.

who dosent like the beast its an awesome ride.my second favorite wood coaster (still love wildcat hershey the best )but beast is close second.but there is nothing like the end of the ride amazing how the train stays on the track on the last helix

When I'm in the train, I love the ride for what it is, just for myself. But the atmosphere surrounding a ride contributes to it's appeal. That's one of the reasons why MF is so fun, because everyone is excited to ride and everyone is going crazy in the station before and after the ride. That makes the whole experience better. The Beast just has a dull atmosphere and that drains from the entire ride experience, though not from the ride itself. I agree with Wildcard; I do love the ride no matter what. It would just be more fun if everyone was more enthusiastic. In the long run though, that doesn't matter. The Beast ROCKS!!!!

I want to love the Beast like I did back in the 80's. I know I ain't got nuttin good to say about PKI, but... It's so slow now. All the breaks. The near stop. The lap bars. The tunnel lights. The BROWN paint. They have killed the spirit of the ride, of course it isn't gonna be as popular.

It was pretty good up until just after the Vortex was built. Maybe a couple years after that. Seems that almost every single year they did a little more to change it. Same thing with the Texas Cyclone, for anyone who's old enough to remember. That (and Riverside Cyclone) and the Beast were the super coaster champions in the 80's. Not any more.

I remember this one single ride I had on the Beast sometime back then. Not sure what year, not sure where I sat in the train... but it musta been towards or in the back b/c I remember literally seeing the train tilting over "up on one wheel." This was one of the infamouse 'brakeless rides' on the Beast. Scared the living crap outta me. It seemed that the train was going to RIP right off the track. It snapped around the turns. It was so fast it was funny (but still scary as hell). Guess I got lucky. One of the very few times I can remember being truly scared on a coaster