Beast roller coaster construction project update

In December, we shared the news with our blog readers that the world’s longest wooden roller coaster, The Beast, is receiving 2,000 feet of track refurbishment this winter.

The massive construction project includes The Gravity Group breathing new life into the ride’s first drop and turn coming out of the first tunnel and 540-degree helix tunnel, with Kings Island’s team of carpenters retracking nearly 1,100 feet of track in other sections.

As previously noted, the first drop will go from 45 degrees to 53 degrees in order to come in lower in the first tunnel and provide the proper parabolic arcs due to the reprofiling of the track in that area of the ride.

In regards to other specific areas of construction:

• The banking of the turn coming out of the tunnel after the first drop has increased from 35 degrees to 50 degrees.
• The Gravity Group is currently finishing bents in the first tunnel and the engineered precut track will be installed next week.
• Construction on the 540-degree double helix will begin in earnest the week of Feb. 14.
• Track before the midcourse tunnel will be raised by approximately four feet.

The project began Nov. 1 and is expected to be completed by Mar. 31, 2022.

The opening of The Beast in 1979 shook the roller coaster world to its very foundations, breaking all existing records as the longest and fastest ride in the world. In roller coasters, there had been nothing else like it anywhere. It took riders to a place they’d never been before, delivering the next level of big thrill, adrenaline-pumping excitement. For sheer size, speed and thrills, The Beast stood alone in a class by itself.

A legend in its own time, you will always find The Beast in the top 10 in just about every annual industry and enthusiast poll for wooden roller coasters. In fact, its one of only two roller coasters that have been on every top 10 list Amusement Today has published since the inception of the Golden Ticket Awards in 1998. This winter’s track refurbishment ensures The Beast will maintain its spot as one of the best wooden roller coasters in the world for years to come.