KINGS ISLAND
It isn’t
the biggest, fastest or wickedest wooden coaster but it is the longest – and in my opinion one of the best. Although I would not classify it as a high
thrill ride and would have to agree with those who find it lacking in airtime,
I think it has enough going for it to merit the popularity it has achieved. Particularly noteworthy is the length and
duration of the ride – 7,359 feet and 4 minutes 10 seconds or 4 minutes 50
seconds, depending upon which version you believe (website with stats says 4:10
but printed material given to me at Kings Island says 4:50 so take your pick). And The Beast manages to pack a lot into
those almost 5 minutes. From the loading area it makes a right turn,
proceeds up the lift hill and drops 135 feet into a tunnel. This is followed by
a number of twists and turns and a couple of excursions into total darkness. One of the tunnels is
underground, which would explain why everything was pitch black. After the second lift hill, the train goes
around a curve and then descends 141 feet into a covered helix. For me this was the best part of the ride because
the train is banked sharply left and in the darkness this is a blast. Rarely have I had so much fun on a wooden
coaster. When I’m enjoying a ride this
much I tend to laugh – and on The Beast I laughed my head off. OK, so it isn’t as ferocious as it used to
be but it’s still worth riding. I would
have ridden it over and over except for the fact that the wait time to get on
it was just over 2 hours and as I had also had to wait 2 hours to get on
Diamondback, this simply wasn’t an option.
(Note that on weekends, the ride lines and food lines tend to be very
long at Kings Island Kings Island Kings Island
