The Beast is a wooden roller coaster located at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio, United States.

Designed and manufactured in-house for approximately $3 million, the ride opened in 1979 as the tallest, fastest, and longest wooden roller coaster in the world.

Lead engineers Al Collins and Jeff Gramke consulted with well-known coaster architect John C. Allen, who shared design formulas and strategies to assist during development.

Ruth Voss, the park's public relations manager who would often overhear construction crews calling it "a beast of a project", is credited with coming up with the ride's name in early 1979.

Since its opening, The Beast has consistently ranked in the top ten among wooden coasters in the annual Golden Ticket Awards publication from Amusement Today.

It has also earned a favorable reputation across the industry, including praise from American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE), which held one of its first official events at Kings Island in 1979.

Ruth Voss, public relations manager for Kings Island amusement park, issued a press release on July 10, 1978, announcing plans for a new roller coaster.

[1] The statement read, "Kings Island Family Entertainment Center will open America’s champion roller coaster in the spring of 1979.

[1] Original plans focused on building a replica of the Shooting Star, a popular roller coaster which once operated at Coney Island in Cincinnati.

[2] Charles Dinn – director of the Kings Island's construction, maintenance and engineering division – had recorded measurements of the Shooting Star's layout and dimensions prior to its demolition in 1971.

[2] Eventually, park management decided to suspend plans for the Shooting Star replica in favor of building a bigger design.

[1][2][3] For the 1979 coaster, Kings Island set a goal to build an attraction that would transcend the Shooting Star's nostalgia and appeal to a wider audience.

[1][2][4] Collins and Gramke would progress through tens of thousands of formulas needed to produce record-breaking results without the assistance of scientific calculators or computers.

[2] Materials used throughout the project included 650,000 board feet (200,000 m) of lumber, 82,480 bolts, 5,180 washers, 37,500 lb (17,000 kg) of nails, and 2,432 square yards (2,033 m2) of poured concrete.

Late changes scrapped the mine car theme in favor of a flame-colored paint scheme, and a sculpted logo was attached at the front in place of the headlamps.

The amount of side acceleration the trains experienced was more than the design intended, so the entire helix was reconstructed with a wider diameter.

Engineers managed to complete the feat overnight, considering most of the coaster's track was relatively close to the ground and large cranes were not needed.

Instead, crew members of The Beast's construction team had to board the ride for test runs and push the train back to the station whenever it stalled.

[1] After more than three years of planning, design, and construction, The Beast opened to the public on April 14, 1979,[1] the first day of Kings Island's 1979 operating season.

[10][35] A quarter of the tunnel is underground, and the train exits above ground gaining speed and veering right, which leads into another hard right turn on a slight incline.

[34] The train descends downhill, rises uphill, and then passes over a set of trim brakes before entering the second lift hill.

[45]: 54–55 In 2004, ACE designated The Beast a Roller Coaster Landmark,[1][2] and there is a plaque commemorating the achievement located near the main entrance to the ride.