Too bad Kings Island never found a buyer for King Cobra. I believe the price went as low as $80,000 at one point. Man, if I were rich I'd have bought it and put it in my backyard.
It's was my 1st coaster I rode with a loop, & add the fact you had to stand up. When I was 9-10 years old waiting in that line my anxiety was through the roof. When I got done with that 1st ride I was addicted lol🤣🤣🤣. I really miss the King Cobra & also miss the Vortex. ✌️✌️
Its interesting that new technology can't facilitate repairs on older roller coasters. Newer stand ups are true as they lack they bicycle seat. We used to lift our legs which gave the feeling of flying and making massive leaps. RIP KING COBRA!!
I rode it many times. Like others, I don't understand why they took it down. Even though it wasn't a big ride I am sure a lot of people would still love to ride what I believe was the first stand-up roller coaster. So sad.
great video....i loved king cobra. the ride was shut down because replacement parts were no longer made. glad i was one of the many who enjoyed this wonderful ride.
I agree with Parkette. Is IS creepy to see the King Cobra train sitting in the dark, dusty and forgotten. I rode that ride so many times I can remember the duration in my head. I WISH I had one of those signs on the back that read "PLEASE KEEP FEET FLAT ON FLOOR". I must have read that over and over while waiting for the Cobra to take off! Good times!
this was my favorite ride ever at kinds island! I miss it :( got stuck on it once, but it was still awesome! rode it back to back all the time! Looking at the pics now, it looks so sad. RIP King Cobra! :)
Well, the only issue is that the company that made it went out of business so finding replacing parts is like finding a hay in a needle stack. That’s why they even took the ride down in the first place.
You would think that they would hire a company to make custom parts for those rides. I rode the King Cobra once. It paused going up the first hill, but it rode smoothly throughout the rest of the ride. It constantly broke down, and people would often get stuck on the ride. Kings Island has an awesome history of introducing rollercoasters ahead of it's time. I just hope that they will be able to continue doing so for many years to come despite the competition.
I worked at kings island as a rides electrician when the "COBRA" was at the end of its life. it did go down a lot, due to the fact that the brakes were worn out, and would "STICK" either open or shut." TOGO" was still in operation at the time, and a kings island maintenance manager tried to get free replacement brake assemblies ( based on the 20 year liability of the ride manufacturer), all 20 of them. the outcome was , it pissed off the ride manufacturer , and they told kings island that they would sell them new brakes for 1 million dollars for each brake assembly. kings island would not spend 20 million dollars on a 15 year old ride, so it was put up for sale------ no takers, and it was scraped!!!!
They can't just buy new parts. The company that created this ride is no longer running, and parts would be really hard to find since another roller coaster, Shockwave takes parts from this ride.
Unfortunately none of the King Cobra is located on Kings Island premises any longer. The trains were relocated to Carowinds at the end of last season. I have one of the remaining pics of the train resting in the coaster junk yard just before it was moved. What had been in Flight of Fear is no more - as an employee I was inside the building at the end of last season and all reminence of the old coaster had been either relocated or scrapped. ~Josh
The type of coaster that will replace vortex will more than likely be an invert and will go in right where vortex is right now. It was announced not long ago that vortex will be removed soon due to age and wear and tear as well as no replacement parts available.
even though i havent been on this roller coaster it bust be hard to say good bye to a favorite coaster like in six flags great adventure they took down scream machine and replaced it with green lantern it was hard but now i dont c scream machine i c green lantern its very hard
@MrChikki True. I was riding the beast at night and they stopped it for the fireworks one night, so I was bullshittin with the dude workin the ride and he told me they were just waitin on the part for the chain. I rode it in the fall, so it's not goin anywhere. If it does, I hope they finally build a gigacoaster to replace it.
@chloeruggiero I was the Supervisor of Flight of Fear so yes I did walk down there everyday to check the ride and there not down there anymore at one time they were but They have moved them to a other part of the park!!
Not a lie...sorry :( The trains were moved from this location to the "graveyard" down the hill from Firehawk during the 08 season. I have a few pics of the dismantled train cars. While setting up for Halloween Haunt the trains were then moved to Carowinds.
I just found this site. It appears that K.I. officials reported early this season that they expect the ride to open some time late this season. That is Son Of Beast by the way. If you are wondering. Just google will son of beast re open?
@haylie1112 That was the last time it was spoken about. There is nothing wrong with the ride structurally. Wooden coasters take alot of maintenance though. I really think the lady was just looking for something to blaim it on and blaimed it on that. Reason for me thinking this is because how long it took her to make the complaint.
Good video, but out-dated King cobra's trains no longer sit it the Flight of Fear. King cobra's trains have been moved to Kings Dominion. Kings Dominion takes parts from the train to use it on Shockwave. You can still see the cars behind the Flight of Fear if you look back as soon as you get out of the launching tunnel on the ride Volcano. (At Kings Dominion)
Why didn't the Coaster last until 2013? The Reason why I say 2013 is because that is a year before the Coaster opened 30 years ago. The same thing happened with Skyrider at Canada's Wonderland and Shockwave at Kings Dominion. So if it did stay open after 2001, it would also closed one year before it's 30th Anniversary. Just like Skyrider and Shockwave.
Wild mouse, king cobra, the bat, scoobys ghoster coaster and the famous son of beast! All defunct rollercoasters of kings island! The next coaster to become defunct will be Vortex. It is nearing the end of its life span and will be removed probably around 2016. Arrow is out of business and replacement parts are hard to get for the vortex and even the adventure express. I am willing to bet that the next coaster is going to be a giga coaster. Either a b&m or Intamin. We will soon find out!
@demolitionderbyfan13 It's possible but then again I wasn't really looking for it. Same with the track...though now I'm going to be thinking about it when I ride.
@nintendork2000 I know it isnt but I am telling you it was reported late last year that it would not be torn down. Google it and you should be able to find the article.
The real reason was because the manufacturer had stoped making the parts. So if it were to break down, they couldn't fix it. So the only thing they could do was tear it down.
@josh19852008 Um it isn't on the map go there this season look on the map where it usually would be and you'll be there scratchin' your head goin' "where's the son of beast?".
I bet you know sad thing is that if they have the ride still why dont they just put it back together and reopen it back up. and its not like that they dont have the room for it which they do.
@haylie1112 It was not that bad of a coaster. It was way out of date though. Most do not realize that the park was actually improvising parts just to keep it running when the company went bankrupt. There is sttill hope though. Son Of Beast will re open. It was said last year there was no way they were going to tear it down or get rid of it. They are going to make it more enjoyable.
Why did they have to close it down and scrap it, what's the chance of ever seeing a TOGO "Stand-up Coaster" outside of Japan... TOGO is a Japanese amusement ride company that went bankrupt in 2001.
+brianna anderson That's not true at all. The only deaths that ever occurred at Kings Island was the teenager who fell down the Eiffel Tower elevator shaft, the two guys who got electrocuted in the Oktoberfest lake, and a lady who fell out of the former ride, Flight Commander while intoxicated.
ya it is its sinking in the ground you can still ride it right now but they will be taking it down i asked one of the workers and i go to kings island almost every weekend i have a gold pass
@haylie1112 Well thats not what they said in a interveiw late in the season last year. It will eventually re open because it cost the park 30 million. They will not get rid of it. Cedar Point owns all that shit now. Trust me they are not going to throw it away. They will get it worked out. It is all on google though if you care to search for it
