They say you can’t teach an old Beast new tricks, but Kings Island just might have proven otherwise.

After an offseason project that replaced more than 1,600 feet of track, The Beast—the park’s legendary wooden roller coaster—has emerged from hibernation with a noticeably elevated ride experience.

I recently took my first rides of the 2025 season, and I can say without hesitation: it’s running better now than it has in decades.

Yes, decades. Not “better than ever,” as some exuberant fans (who weren’t even born when Clinton was in office, let alone Carter) have declared—but better than it’s been since 1990, the final season before seatbelts, headrests, and individual lap bars took away some of its raw, untamed feel.

One of the most impactful changes this year comes at the top of the second hill. The trim brakes are gone, and in their place is a more parabolic drop that finally delivers airtime—especially for those in the back of the train. That’s right: airtime on The Beast. If you’d told coaster aficionados that back in 2005, they’d have laughed. But here we are.

The notorious shuffle leading into the mid-course brake shed? Gone, too. In its place: a smooth bunny hill followed by a graceful, banked swoop to the right that flows beautifully. Because the ride now enters the brake shed with more speed, two sets of magnetic trim brakes have been added to ensure the speed beyond that point remains consistent with past years. It’s a thoughtful update—one that improves the experience without disrupting the soul of the ride.

Of course, to understand what The Beast means to Kings Island—and to roller coaster history—you have to rewind to 1979.

That spring, The Beast burst onto the amusement scene as a force unlike anything that had come before. At 7,359 feet long, it instantly claimed the title of world’s longest wooden coaster—a record it still holds. Designed in-house by Al Collins and Jeff Gramke, and built using slide rules and field calculations rather than modern CAD software, The Beast was both an engineering marvel and a declaration of independence from the industry’s conventional limits.

The ride was originally envisioned as a tribute to the Shooting Star, a beloved wooden roller coaster from Cincinnati’s Coney Island. But Kings Island had bigger dreams. With designer John C. Allen stepping into retirement, the park’s team took the reins, carving out a twisting, terrain-hugging monster in the park’s remote southeast corner. It opened for a press event April 13, 1979, under a steady spring rain—ushering in a new era of coaster greatness.

In the decades since, The Beast has undergone changes—some more welcome than others. Buzz bars gave way to individual restraints. Its legendary status remained, but for many guests, the ride experience gradually became less enjoyable over the years as rough track and other changes chipped away at the coaster’s original charm.

Now? It’s back to delivering a ride experience that’s as fun as it is exhilarating.

Is it the same Beast I fell in love with in 1979? Not exactly. But this is the best it has been running in 35 years. And that’s a triumph worth celebrating.

Have you ridden The Beast yet this year?

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