Kings Island is once again showing the theme park world how you treat a legend. The Beast—already the world’s longest wooden roller coaster—has officially begun another major retrack, this time focusing on roughly 200 feet of track surrounding the second lift hill, including the entire top of the lift. Kings Island is partnering with the coaster masters at Gravity Group to make it happen, and it’s the kind of investment that makes longtime fans exhale with relief.
Because let’s be honest… not every park out there would choose preservation over bulldozers.
The Beast’s Legacy Runs Deep
Debuting in 1979, The Beast set records and rewrote expectations for what a wooden coaster could be. Its sprawling layout, endless tunnels, hillside drops, and that iconic double helix finale made it an instant classic. For many guests, this isn’t just a coaster—it’s a rite of passage.
What’s remarkable is how Kings Island continues to honor The Beast’s legacy. Instead of letting its age become a reason to retire it, they keep reinvesting, reworking, and refining it. Retracking is nothing new for The Beast, but each round brings smoother pacing, stronger structural support, and a fresher ride while keeping its wild, terrain-hugging personality intact.
Gravity Group Returns to the Woods
Gravity Group stepping in again is a great sign. They’ve proven time and again that they understand how to maintain the soul of a wooden coaster while bringing modern engineering enhancements to the table. By replacing the track around the second lift hill, they’re targeting an area that’s seen decades of weather, forces, and wear—exactly the kind of TLC that keeps The Beast running like the classic it deserves to be.
And while removing an entire lift hill top sounds dramatic, it’s exactly the kind of proactive work that ensures guests will get that beloved nighttime ride—fog, forest, and all—for years to come.
Kings Island Sets the Standard
What makes this really noteworthy is that Kings Island chooses to invest in its wooden coasters. Many parks, when faced with aging wood structures, just demolish and move on. Yet Kings Island has doubled down on The Beast and even Mystic Timbers, preserving the character of the park while keeping the coaster lineup strong.
They understand that wooden coasters aren’t just rides—they’re stories, memories, and generational experiences. And with every retrack, The Beast’s story gets a new chapter rather than an ending.
Final Tracks
This improving-not-removing mentality is part of what makes Kings Island such a beloved regional park. The Beast continues to stand tall—powered by new track, protected by passionate fans, and respected by the park that built it.
When it roars back to life next season, those 200 feet of fresh track will not only make the ride smoother… they’ll reassure fans that The Beast isn’t going anywhere.
