The Beast (Kings Island) - March 1979 full-circuit POV (no helix tunnel!) / TV advert 

I rode this coaster many times back in the early 90s. It’s amazing how much those trees have grown!

Echo of faster because and they redid it and they make it even longer to feet to feet the hell the first one

It's honestly amazing how wooded the whole ride is now compared to back then. The Beast is aging like the finest of wines.

That's pretty cool

chris I would love to work at Kings Island! But I am only eight... I would rather be a marine biologist though.

chris That's awesome! I have trouble deciding how I feel about the added trim brakes over the years. It seems like there are some in really disappointing places, like on the way down the first hill, over the 2nd airtime hill (which kills the airtime!), and on the way down the 2nd lift hill into the helix. It's like you're zooming along and then there's this annoying interruption. But at the same time, years ago without those brakes, the ride would beat the crap out of you 😛

KIBanshee9 It still beats the crap out of you. I love it though, 2nd best ride in the park in my opinion.

Andrew Duncan Yeah, don't get me wrong, it's not what it used to be but I still ride it whenever I get the chance and still dig it. It's a like riding a piece of history :)

The trim brakes suck now though.

It's getting trimmed harder here than it is now. Just look at how slow it hits the second lift and the final break run. It's going way faster now than when it opened.

@@tobiasj2455 trim breaks also help with keeping the tracks in good shape.

@@WapoStudios That's because they were using old magnetic brakes. They were powerful but very heavy. The coaster wouldn't have lasted if they kept using them.

@@JCBro-yg8vd Actually the old brakes were skid brakes, not magnetic. The two center rails you see physically pushed into the train to slow it down.

Just had the same experience on the last train at night in the rain, plus a lucky bonus lightning strike in the distance before the helix. One of the best experiences i've ever had

Im going tnrw!!! It’s gonna rain ! Now im even more geeked

I actually think the parts that look like steel might just be wood, but it's shiney from being pressed smooth by the wheels and the light catches it, or darkened from the pressure and oils on the metal wheels

Thats not wood theres steel there. Why would they test it on wood and ruin the track?

@@poolplexer She's right there was no steel on the top wood, it's bare wood.

Seconded! Beast at night in the front seat is one of the most thrilling ride experiences of my life!

***** Thirded!

If you notice the track is completely different around the helix. They reconstructed it in I believe 2009- 2010 to add significant banking to the track as it leads into the tunnel. Take a close look at this one and then a newer video to see the difference. They also added magnetic brakes in 2001-2002 on the second lift hill drop and through the covered bridge area.

Rode it at night a few days ago-it's awesome! You can't even see half the time!

Front seat to my self, at night, and a bit chilly. Since I like to lean forward on rides it was great having the front seat to my self. I had extra elbow room. Also, something about it being a bit chilly makes it better.

@donereally it's the small things we remember that make our memories so poignant. Thanks for the kind words.

Epic MEM Yep...they banked the drop into the helix a few years ago.

They kind of had to though, the Gs were a bit too much to take going on a flat track like that. Even now it's still a bit forceful on that hard left into the tunnel, but would hurt much more if wasn't tilted.

Why? That's an awesome aspect of the ride

My dad got to ride it opening season when he was 12 years old. Decades later and I've gotten to ride it with my dad many times. Such a cool coaster.

Username nice avatar of the teletubbies sun

RMC Son of Beast lol, banshee is cheap and a rip off

I rode Son of Beast in 1999 or 2000 with the loop and it scared the sh*t out of me. I think it may have been the greatest wooden one ever.

I love the long transition. Makes it feel like you're locking in to be shot out of a cannon

RIP vortex

And the worst one of all: the replacement of buzz bars with individual bars

@@Charleskesilatgmaili think since they’ve made it more intense over the years they got more secure bars

I wish they never did had the brakes! No brakes would be awesome! Much more speed.

***** The trim brakes were added for two primary reasons. One was to reduced lateral and positive G-forces to less painful and uncomfortable levels. The other is to preserve the structure. The faster the train runs, the quicker the track and overall structure wear down, and the more money KI spends to keep it running. After over 35 years, the only major re-tracking the ride has undergone is some RMC topper track in the helix that was added in 2012.

***** Currently, they use old-school friction brakes for the station, but use magnetic brakes for the trims, if that's what you were wondering.

***** Yep..they changed to magnetic brakes I believe in 2001-2002. They also completly reconstructed the drop into the helix to bank the ride as it enters into the helix.

Sveldtguy If I remember right, they had RMC work some topper track magic on the helix.

It could be the camera, but you're right it definitely looks much slower.

***** The train was empty, heavier trains go faster.

GameCheater803 That may be the case but I suspect that it was also because the coaster was brand new and hadn't run in yet.

***** Gotta love those old-school drive tire trims, though. Annoying and screechy, but just classic looking.

+davidjellis A while back, The Beast was reprofiled in the final helix area, and received new trains that were able to hold up better and have less resistance on the track. These new trains went so fast that the ride then had to be trimmed.

That's because when the original skid brakes were converted to the magnetic fin brakes it has now, that long brake shed was no longer a block zone since magnetic brakes are unable to fully stop a train unlike friction brakes. Apparently trains had to stop there frequently to wait for the train ahead to clear the second lift hill. Instead of doing that, they programmed the computer on the first lift hill so that it gives the train ahead time to clear the second lift before it speeds up to full speed. So yes it is laughably slow at times but there's a reason for it.

Never breaks necks and if it hurts you it hurts for 5

Heel Charisma I agree. I've seriously never understood people whining about wooden coasters all the time. Sure, they're "rough" sometimes, but I've been on some of the legendarily bad ones, and the only one that made me slightly uncomfortable was Psyclone at Magic Mountain. I don't consider myself very "tough" by any stretch of the imagination, I just don't think the coasters hurt that bad. The roughness is part of the draw, as far as I'm concerned!

squeemu They are not meant to be super smooth too. Thats what makes a wooden coaster.. a wooden coaster

Heel Charisma To be fair, Intamin and RMC woodies ARE meant to be smooth and quiet.

+Jason Hook then rmc and intamin woodies, aren't REAL woodies, a wooden coaster is aupposed to rattle, you're supposed to hear the roar and the thunderous rampage they go on while moving. anything that says it's a wooden coaster, but is quiet and smooth, is nothing but a fucking imposter.

Banana Chocolate ikr, i’m 10 and this thing is 39 years old

lmfao the profile pic

and the name just fits that statement

It wont be weird in 2020

InfiniteChaos - You give the best replies, seriously. As a coaster enthusiasts and long-time KI visitor, I appreciate your accuracy and in depth knowledge; thank you! 🤔🤝👍

The ride to the left was actually a water ride called Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal. It was removed after the 2001 season to make way for Tomb Raider: The Ride.

Oh, that's cool! Thanks.

That is the water ride. It was there for many years then got removed to make room for tomb raider.

YES!

Now it's 2021!

And when Gilda Radner was still alive

Ella K no really it's faster.

This is going to be kind of a long message but Yes the roof at 2:30 was part of the design because at that time that long straightaway section of track used to be the old blocking section for safety so the trains don’t crash into each other For example in 1979 when the ride was first made the ride would have one train in the station one train going up the first lift and The other train going up the second lift that long section of track with the roof is long and straight on purpose in case back in the day for some reason one of the trains didn’t build enough energy and couldn’t make the second lift and was stuck in the valley. That long section of track had skid breaks going down the entire straightaway so it could stop the train on the tracks there if it needed to be stopped so it wouldn’t hit the train that didn’t make the second lift for some reason. The reason why that straight away is covered with that roof was to keep that long skid break from getting wet from rain. Now a days technology has changed and the ride doesn’t use skid brakes anymore and they have replaced them with more modern trim brakes which breaks a little more abrupt. The skids were gradual. But the new trim brakes are better because they are better on maintenance than the skids were. And since rain does not affect more modern trim breaks at all now that roof technically serves no purpose now. Since they switched to trim brakes there’s a new blocking section on the ride now. Thats why the first lift hill is so slow now for half of the first lift because the other train Has to clear the second lift for safety. So yeah no purpose for the roof now they just decided to keep it up. Happy they did too because it still adds a cool sound element. Hopefully this helped and I answered your question 😊

Fun fact: about 80% of the wood used on the beast today is the original that was used in 1979 to build it :)

Is this like Scream without the top of its loop you see on clickbait photos?