Oh no, you called my bluff @Ian. Yes, Beast is all things considered an average ride. What makes it an outstanding and unique roller coaster is its heritage: The stories of in-house Kings Island designers walking through the forest, deciding which trees they wanted to avoid cutting down. The napkin John Allen jotted vector equations onto as advice for the park. Beast designer Charles Dinn leaving Kings Island to create Dinn Corporation, the grandfather company of modern wooden roller coasters that spawned Custom Coasters International, and GCI and Gravity Group in turn. All of that is what makes Beast a very good ride.
However, the ride itself consists of many straightaways and turns taken at moderate speeds. Outside of a phenomenal night ride sensation best experienced under specific circumstances (front seat, at night when it's a new moon, slightly chilly air); Beast's sheer size and scope are it's next best attributes. Beast in many ways reminds me of Gemini - a fun, good ride with nothing uniquely outstanding on the surface. Gemini in it's heyday however was the roller coaster to ride in America, simply due to it's world record claims and racing feature. It was ancillary attributes, rather than the ride layout itself, that made it stand out.
Mystic Timbers will indeed be a better average ride experience than Beast. But Mystic Timbers will also be competing against the culture that has been built around Beast, a culture that will have average park goers too quick to judge Mystic Timbers as a knock-off copy.
However, the ride itself consists of many straightaways and turns taken at moderate speeds. Outside of a phenomenal night ride sensation best experienced under specific circumstances (front seat, at night when it's a new moon, slightly chilly air); Beast's sheer size and scope are it's next best attributes. Beast in many ways reminds me of Gemini - a fun, good ride with nothing uniquely outstanding on the surface. Gemini in it's heyday however was the roller coaster to ride in America, simply due to it's world record claims and racing feature. It was ancillary attributes, rather than the ride layout itself, that made it stand out.
Mystic Timbers will indeed be a better average ride experience than Beast. But Mystic Timbers will also be competing against the culture that has been built around Beast, a culture that will have average park goers too quick to judge Mystic Timbers as a knock-off copy.
