Kings Island's Beast breaks its own record by 2 feet, still world's longest wooden coaster

Members of the local media ride the Beast at Kings Island Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Kings Island is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Beast. Kings Island opens to the public for the 2019 season on Saturday.
Members of the local media ride the Beast at Kings Island Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Kings Island is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Beast. Kings Island opens to the public for the 2019 season on Saturday.

The Beast at Kings Island already holds the record for the world's longest wooden roller coaster, but ahead of the amusement park's 50th anniversary, they're hoping to break their own record.

The Beast first opened in 1979 as the world's longest wooden roller coaster according to the Guinness World Record website, and has held that distinction since.

But when it opens again in May, it will beat the record by 2 feet thanks to offseason retracking and reprofiling work that includes a steeper first drop, according to Kings Island.

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This will bring the Beast's length from 7,359 feet to 7,361 feet. Ride time for the 1.4-mile track on the roller coaster is four minutes, 10 seconds.

There are vertical drops of 137 feet and 141 feet, a 125-foot long underground tunnel, eight banked turns and a 540-degree helix tunnel that speeds up to 64.77 mph. During the refurbishing project, the first drop changed from 45 degrees to 53 degrees.

Kings Island will reopen for its 50th anniversary season April 16.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The Beast at King's Island breaks its own roller coaster record