The Beast - 35th Anniversary!!

Happy 35th Birthday to King's Island The Beast!!!!

Hello peoples!!

Yesterday was the 35th Anniversary of The Beast at King's Island.  In 1979 King's Island unveiled the monster that we know and love to the public.

So here is some info about the angry coaster:
 

Length:	7,359 ft
Height:	110 ft
Drop:	141 ft
Inversions:	0
Speed:	64.8 mph**
Duration:	4:10

Capacity: 1,200 riders per hour

**(We call BS on this because ISI has clocked her running around 80mph and anyone who has ridden the coaster knows that as it gets cooler outside Beast runs faster.  I killed a bug with my face because of her speed, trust me.)


History

 At the start KI wanted to build a replica of the Shooting Star roller coaster located at Coney Island, NY.  People sometimes think that Philadelphia Toboggan Company designed the ride because of the design of the trains but this is not correct. She was designed in-house by Charlie Dinn, who went on to create Dinn Corporation which became Custom Coaster International.

When The Beast opened King's Island even released a TV commercial, this is sometimes created as the first roller coaster marketing campaign.  You can watch the commercial here and I suggest you do because it's really neat.

She opened on April 14, 1979 as the longest, fastest, and tallest wooden roller coaster in the world. There were three underground tunnels when it opened but by the second season two tunnels had been enclosed and the enclosure had been built over the double helix.

Today

In 1994, R.L. Stine even wrote a book featured about The Beast and this even produced a squeal book. 

When Diamondback was built in 2009 the entrance to the ride was moved back to the original 1979 position.

In 2004 The Beast was presented the Coaster Landmark Award by the American Coaster Enthusiasts.  The commemorating plaque is located outside the ride.

Here is a photo of The Beast from above so that you can understand how big the coaster really is:

Here are a couple more pictures for your delight:

We at ISI will be at King's Island later this year for the opening of Banshee and we never miss a chance to ride The Beast, especially this year for the anniversary.

As always: any comments made are to be polite and without malice.  If you're nice to us then we'll be nice to you.

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*Pictures were found on KI's Facebook page and Google.  The stats were found on RCDB.