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 There
is nothing like a classic wooden roller coaster for that intense
visceral rush and pulse pounding excitement! |
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Zuko's eXtreme
Rides - Classic Wooden Terror |
Back to The Cool Rides Index |
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 Longest
Wooden Coaster In the World
The Beast
King's Island, Mason, Ohio
Sought out and ridden by serious coaster
addicts from all over the world, The Beast, at King's Island, is the
"Holy Grail" of wooden roller coasters. The Beast is listed in the
Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest wooden roller coaster
and was recently ranked in USA Today as the number 1 classic coaster of
all time.
Even after 20 years of operation the legendary Beast is still the
World's Longest Wooden Roller Coaster.
Living only 2 miles from the park for about 10 years, gave me numerous
opportunities to experience The Beast in all its incredible unbridled
fury.
To completely appreciate the Beast, you need to experience it from as
many different riding positions as possible, every seat is a uniquely
different experience. Sitting in the first car gives you the incredible
sense of being swept along by a thunderous, and very powerful predator.
Completely at its mercy, your smiles stretch into screams (of
excitement) as you blast into sudden gut-wrenching twists, turns, dips,
and The Beast's famous double helix. This awesome predator rips through
the rambling wooded terrain on 7,359 feet of track propelling you at
breath-taking speeds exceeding 64 miles per hour. The Beast maintains the ride's incredible
intensity with double lift hills (big ones).
And don't forget, you should also make it a point to ride in the very
last seat, in the very last car. Just make sure you're up to it though,
wow what a whip-saw, bone jarring ride! Like being drug behind an ugly
enraged runaway wildebeest. You'll take a pounding back here, and
experience some way-powerful centrifugal forces, but hey, that is the
beauty (and the beast) of a "World Famous, Number One Classic, Wooden
Roller Coaster."
Dr. Von Zuko's Fear Factor 7.5
Dr. Von Zuko's Fun Factor 8.5
A few Specifications:
7,359 feet of track
64.77 mph max. speed
Ride duration: 4 min. 50 sec.
Maximum G Force: 3.1
Maximum Vertical: 45 degrees
135 ft. first drop length
141 ft. second drop length
covers 35 wooded acres
An awesome view at the top of the first lift hill.
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Photo courtesy:
King's Island
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Son of Beast
King's Island, Mason, Ohio
The Tallest, Fastest, and Only
Looping
Wooden Roller Coaster In the World
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Just
when you thought it was safe. Just when you thought, "I'm
cool, I've done it, I've ridden and survived the mighty
Beast." Comes the "Son of Beast." Now
I've got to tell ya, if the father scared the be-gee-bees out of you . . .
then junior is going to turn you into a quivering mass of pale green gelatin.
What's the big deal? This awesome ride (opened April of 2000) is a
world-record breaking roller coaster that elevates the classic wood
coaster experience to a new level. This coaster is a major intense
experience!
The
"Son of Beast" is not only the tallest, and the fastest wooden
roller coaster in the world, it is also the ONLY looping wooden coaster
on earth. This bad boy will propel you down a towering 214 foot
(gulp!) main hill, screaming your lungs out all the way down, as you hit
speeds exceeding 78 miles per hour. OHHHH YES! ...Then he'll
launch you skyward through an incredible 103 foot tall loop . . .
AWESOME!. You'll careen, pitch, dive, and climb, over a total of
7,032 feet of twisted wooden track, crossing over and under the
super-structure 12 times. You'll also experience two mind-numbing
540-degree helixes, one blasting to the left and one shooting right,
both have menacing hills and valleys incorporated into the helix.
When you climb aboard this monster, it's guaranteed to be the ride of
your life. My hair is still smoldering, my cheeks are still stretched
back against my ears, and my vocal cords are completely blown
out.
It's a pretty safe bet that you’ve never ever experienced a coaster
anything like the "Son of Beast" before.
Not anywhere
and not ever. Oh
yeah, coaster freaks, you're going to want to do the front car. It's
well worth the wait.
A Few Record-Breaking Specifications:
First Drop (Out of Station) 51 feet
First Lift Hill 218 feet tall
(Tallest wooden roller coaster structure ever made.)
Drop on First Lift Hill 214 feet @ 55.7° angle
(The tallest wooden roller coaster drop in the world.)
Loop Structure 118 feet tall ***
(The only looping wooden roller coaster in the world)
Second Drop 164 feet @ 43.4° angle
(The 2nd tallest wooden coaster drop in the world.)
Third Drop 149 feet @ 37.3° angle
Max. Speed 78.382 mph
(World's fastest wooden roller coaster.)
Track Length 7,032 feet
(The second longest wooden roller coaster in the world. The
Beast® is the longest.)
Dr. Von Zuko's Fear Factor
8.0 An awesome heir to the throne!
Dr. Von Zuko's Fun Factor 8.5
*** The loop has been removed for safety reasons following a
non-fatal accident |
by:
Dr. Von Zuko 1998©
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The
Texas Giant
Six Flags,
Arlington Texas
Voted
World's Best Wooden Coaster 1999 |
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The Texas Giant
was built in 1990, and at that time, was the
tallest wooden roller coaster in the world. The
trains hold twenty four riders each, and three
trains are usually operating. It won the "Golden
Ticket Award" for best wooden roller coaster in
the world in its 1999 season.
A very exciting
ride.
Dr. Von Zuko's Fear Factor 7.5
Dr. Von Zuko's Fun Factor 8.0
A few Specifications:
4,920 feet of track
62 mph max. speed
Ride duration: 2 min.
Maximum Vertical: 53 degrees
143 ft. Total height
137 ft. Lift hill drop
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Renegade
Valleyfair,
Shakopee, MN
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Old West Theme
with unique, never before experienced high-speed
twists and turns. A new type of wooden
coaster that opened it's gates in 2007.
The twisting first drop is fantastic and the
ride takes you through some great moves that
makes Renegade a classic in the wooden coaster
category. It's a "way fun" ride.
A few interesting Renegade specifications:
3,113 feet of track
104 foot lift hill
52 mph max. speed
Ride duration: 2 min.
Special feature: unique twisting first drop
Special feature: low to the ground high-speed
S-turn
Special feature: high-speed station fly-by
Dr. Von Zuko's Fear Factor
5.5
Dr. Von Zuko's Fun Factor 8.5
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eXtreme Rides Coaster Index:
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Dr. Von
Zuko's Recommended books and DVDs on Roller Coasters and eXtreme
rides:
Find other great books on
this or any topic:
The Golden Age of
Roller Coasters
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The Cyclone at Coney Island NY
One of America's most famous roller coasters, opened in 1927.
In June of 1991 the Cyclone was named a NYC Historic Landmark.
In that same year it was added to the National Register of Historic
Places.
In 1927 a single ride cost 25 cents, today a single ride costs
$6 (with a $4 re-ride option).
Dr. Von Zuko's Fear Factor 4.5
Dr. Von Zuko's Fun Factor 6.0
Cyclone Specifications:
2,640 feet of track
60 mph max. speed
Ride duration: 1 min. 50 sec.
Maximum Vertical: 58 degrees
85 ft. Total height
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The Racer
Kings
Island, Mason Ohio
World's Fastest in the 1970's
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One of my favorites for
good old fashioned roller coaster thrills.
The
Racer held the record for world's fastest roller coaster
during the mid 1970s with a maximum speed of 61 miles
per hour (98.2 km/h). The Racer is a racing roller
coaster at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio.
The Racer sparked a
"coaster renaissance" and a revival of wooden roller
coasters. In fact, The Racer is credited with beginning
the second golden age of roller coasters.
The Racer is notable for
having two parallel sets of tracks. The cars on both
tracks ran the route facing forward until 1982. In
1982 the trains on the right track of The Racer were
reversed for a season to create added novelty to the
ride experience, this proved to be very popular with the
riders so the park left it that way.
The Racer is one of four
wooden roller coasters at King's Island, the other three
being The Beast, Son of Beast, and the Fairly Odd
Coaster.
On June 18, 2007 The Racer
was presented with a Coaster Landmark Award plaque by
the American Coaster Enthusiasts during their 30th
Annual Coaster Con celebration at Kings Island.
Dr. Von Zuko's Fear Factor
5.5
Dr. Von Zuko's Fun Factor 7.0
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Rebel Yell - Kings
Dominion, Doswell, VA |
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A classic wooden, twin racing roller coaster with
one train traveling forward and its twin traveling
backwards
Length of Track: Each side is 3,368.5 feet
Height of Lift: 85 feet
First Hill: Drops 50 degrees from an 85-foot
incline at 55 miles per hour
Number of Hills: 12
Speed: Reaches 65 miles per hour
Manufacturer: Philadelphia Toboggan Co.,
Philadelphia, PA
Tunnel: 156 feet in length
Opening Date: 1975
Interesting Fact: In 1992, one train was turned around
to allow riders to feel the thrill of the coaster while
riding backward.
Dr. Von Zuko's Fear Factor
5.0
Dr. Von Zuko's Fun Factor 7.0
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Rebel Yell at Sunset
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Dr. Von Zuko's Fear Factor and Fun Factor
Ratings = 0-10 Points
Fear Factor: Just how frightening is this ride, just how much adrenalin
did it pump, how loud do you scream?
Fun Factor: How interesting is the ride, how many surprise moves does it
throw your way?
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