Deep in the wooded hills behind Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, The Beast has been devouring riders since 1979 — and no wooden roller coaster on Earth has ever matched its sheer size. At 7,361 feet (2,244 m) of track sprawled across 35 acres of forest, it has held the title of world’s longest wooden coaster for its entire life, a record recognized by Guinness World Records. But ask how tall The Beast actually is, and the answer is deceptively modest: its lift hill tops out at just 110 feet.
The ride’s real trick is using Ohio’s ravines and hillsides instead of raw height — its biggest drop is actually taller than its own lift hill. Built in-house by Kings Island’s own team — designers Al Collins and Jeff Gramke, with design consultant John C. Allen — for $3.2 million, The Beast is less a traditional coaster than a runaway train through the woods. Below is every stat that matters: height, both drops, top speed, g-force, trains, capacity, height requirement, and what changed in the 2022 and 2025 retrack projects.
Quick Answer
The Beast’s lift hill stands 110 feet (34 m) tall, but that’s not its biggest vertical drop — the second drop plunges 141 feet (43 m), deeper than the lift hill itself, into a wooded ravine and straight into a helix tunnel. Top speed is 64.78 mph (104.25 km/h), the ride lasts about 4 minutes 10 seconds across 7,361 feet of track, and it pulls up to 3.6 g with zero inversions.
How Tall Is The Beast? Height, Lift Hills & Drops Explained
The Beast uses two separate chain lift hills to haul trains across its enormous 7,361-foot footprint, and each one feeds a different drop — which is why you’ll see slightly different “height” numbers depending on the source.
The first lift hill rises 110 feet (34 m) — when The Beast opened in 1979, that tied it with Six Flags St. Louis’s Screamin’ Eagle as the tallest wooden coaster in the world at the time. From there, the train dives down the first drop, about 135 feet (41 m) at a steep 53-degree angle, straight into a tunnel carved into the hillside. That 53-degree angle is steeper than it was when the ride opened; The Gravity Group increased it from 45 degrees during the 2022 retracking.
After winding through the forest, the train climbs a second lift hill, 107 feet (33 m) tall, before dropping a final 141 feet (43 m) at a shallower 18.5-degree angle — the tallest single drop anywhere on the ride, and deeper than either lift hill. That drop empties straight into The Beast’s famous double-helix tunnel finale. So while “the height of The Beast” is technically its 110-foot lift hill, the ride’s real scale comes from stacking two lift hills and two drops — including one taller than the lift itself — across more than 200 feet of overall elevation change carved into the terrain.
Key Stats at a Glance
Lift hill height: 110 ft (34 m). First drop: about 135 ft (41 m) at 53°. Second lift hill: 107 ft (33 m). Second (tallest) drop: 141 ft (43 m) at 18.5°. Length: 7,361 ft (2,244 m). Top speed: 64.78 mph (104.25 km/h). Duration: about 4 minutes 10 seconds. Max g-force: 3.6. Max vertical angle: 53°. Inversions: 0.
Trains: three Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters trains, six cars each, two riders across in three rows (36 riders per train), with buzz-bar lap restraints — no shoulder harnesses. Hourly capacity: about 1,200 riders. Height requirement: 48 inches (122 cm). Type / manufacturer: wood, built in-house by Kings Island. Opened: April 14, 1979.
How Fast Is The Beast, and What Does It Feel Like?
The Beast’s 64.78 mph top speed hits on that first 135-foot drop into the hillside tunnel, and the ride holds a sustained clip near that pace through long, low straightaways and lateral-heavy curves in the woods — there’s rarely a moment where the train feels slow.
The finale is the stuff of legend: off the second lift, the train slides down the 141-foot second drop and slams into a double-helix tunnel at full speed, generating the ride’s peak force of about 3.6 g in total darkness. With zero inversions, The Beast earns its reputation on sustained speed, terrain-hugging drops, and that disorienting helix rather than loops or twists — ask any enthusiast and they’ll tell you to ride it at night, when the final helix becomes one of the most beloved coaster moments anywhere.
The Longest Wooden Coaster on Earth
The Beast’s defining number isn’t its height — it’s its length. At 7,361 feet, it is not just the longest wooden coaster in the world, it is one of the longest coasters of any kind. Because the lift hills are only 110 and 107 feet tall, the ride achieves its scale by burrowing into the landscape rather than climbing above it.
That length translates directly into stamina. With a ride time of about 4 minutes and 10 seconds, The Beast also ranks among the longest ride times at any theme park — an eternity by coaster standards, where most rides wrap up in under two minutes.
How The Beast Compares to Other Wooden Coasters
At 110 feet, The Beast’s lift hill isn’t especially tall by modern standards — it’s not even the tallest wooden coaster Kings Island has ever operated. That title briefly belonged to Son of Beast, a 218-foot wooden hypercoaster that opened at the park in 2000 and was demolished in 2012 after years of mechanical and structural issues; part of its footprint later became Banshee.
The Beast has never chased height the way Son of Beast did. Instead, it proves a wooden coaster doesn’t need to be tall to be a record-holder — it just needs enough terrain to build a course around, which is exactly what its 35 wooded acres provide. Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards have consistently voted it among the world’s top wooden coasters for over two decades, including a top-five finish in recent years.
History: The 2022 and 2025 Retrack Projects
When it opened on April 14, 1979, The Beast was the tallest, fastest and longest wooden coaster in the world. The tallest and fastest crowns eventually moved on, but the length record never has.
Ahead of the 2022 season, The Gravity Group steepened the first drop from 45 to 53 degrees, while Kings Island’s carpenters completely re-tracked 1,090 feet (330 m) of the ride. The reprofiling actually added two feet of track, nudging the official length to 7,361 feet — extending the record it already held.
Before the 2025 season, Kings Island replaced more than 1,600 feet of track — over 20% of the entire ride — covering the section just before the second hill, through the brake shed, and the mid-course tunnel, including the approach and exit on either side. The work was maintenance-focused rather than a redesign: The Beast’s total length held at 7,361 feet and its other performance stats were unchanged.
Who Can Ride: Height Requirement, Trains & Capacity
The Beast has a 48-inch (122 cm) minimum height requirement, standard for a full-size wooden thrill coaster with lap-bar restraints rather than shoulder harnesses. Three Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters trains run the ride, each with six cars seating two riders across in three rows — 36 riders per train — and the ride can move roughly 1,200 guests per hour when running all trains.
Because the lift hills and drops are built into natural terrain rather than steel supports, the trains and track see unusually heavy wear for a coaster this size, which is why Kings Island has run two major retracking projects (2022 and 2025) within a few years of each other to keep the ride running at full speed.
Visiting The Beast
The Beast runs seasonally alongside the rest of Kings Island’s lineup, with hours and operating days that shift through the spring, summer, and fall (including Halloween Haunt nights, when it’s one of the park’s most popular night rides). For current park hours, ticket pricing, and ride closures, check the official Kings Island site before you go, since schedules and maintenance days can change week to week.
The Beast Photo Archive: 2001–2023
These are original ThrillZing photos of The Beast taken at Kings Island: April 7, 2001, April 13, 2002 and August 13, 2006, restored and upscaled from the original camera files, and July 2022 and June 2023, shot on an iPhone. They show the 1979 wooden coaster’s clawed entrance sign and 1979 plaque, the weathered station and the signs hanging in its rafters, trains on the lift hill and through the woods, and the view from the Eiffel Tower. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
Jump to: 2023 · 2022 · 2006 · 2002 · 2001
2023 · 11 photos
June 2023
2022 · 26 photos
July 2022
2006 · 1 photo
August 2006
2002 · 1 photo
April 2002
2001 · 7 photos
April 2001
Ride with your glasses on and keep them. Many parks allow glasses on rides if they're strapped, so check the ride rules first.
Small enough to ride with on most coasters, big enough for a phone, card and keys. Two zippers mean nothing falls out upside down.
A fan and a mist in one, rechargeable. Very popular in queue lines once the afternoon sun hits.
The Beast at Kings Island height, speed and stats FAQs
How tall is The Beast at Kings Island?
Its lift hill is 110 feet tall, but that’s not the biggest vertical drop on the ride — the second drop plunges 141 feet, deeper than the lift hill itself, into the ride’s signature helix tunnel.
How fast does The Beast go?
The Beast reaches a top speed of 64.78 mph (104.25 km/h), hit on its first drop into the hillside tunnel, and it sustains near that pace through much of the ride’s forested midsection.
How long is The Beast ride?
The track is 7,361 feet long — the longest of any wooden roller coaster in the world — and a full circuit takes about 4 minutes and 10 seconds, among the longest ride times at any theme park.
What is the height requirement to ride The Beast?
Riders must be at least 48 inches (122 cm) tall. The ride uses buzz-bar lap restraints rather than over-the-shoulder harnesses.
Does The Beast have any loops or inversions?
No. The Beast has zero inversions — its intensity comes from sustained speed, steep drops into tunnels, and a disorienting double-helix finale, not loops or twists.
Is The Beast still the longest wooden coaster in the world?
Yes. It has held the Guinness World Records title for longest wooden roller coaster since opening in 1979, and retrack projects in 2022 and 2025 preserved — and in 2022’s case slightly extended — that record length of 7,361 feet.
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