King Cobra (roller coaster)

King Cobra (1984–2001) was a TOGO Stand-up roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. It was the first in the world to be designed from the ground up as a stand-up roller coaster. Other stand-up roller coasters that preceded King Cobra were sit-down models later modified to accommodate stand-up trains.^[1][2] After the ride's manufacturer, TOGO, went out of business in 2001, parts for the ride became more expensive and harder to find. In addition, the ride was losing popularity in recent years. So in April 2002, Paramount Parks decided to dismantle King Cobra and put it up for sale. Trains were sent to Kings Island's "graveyard" located at the old Wild Animal Habitat feeding house area next to the Son of Beast. After the ride wouldn't sell, the decision was made in 2008 to transfer some of the ride including the trains to Kings Dominion to be used as spare parts for Shockwave. As of 2010, remnants of the King Cobra can still be spotted in some back areas of Kings Island near Flight of Fear^[2]

Ride experience

King Cobra viewed from the Eiffel Tower (1996)

After being loaded into the 24 passenger stand-up trains, the riders were taken up a 95-foot (29 m) hill, before turning 180 degrees to the right and encountering the first drop. The riders were first welcomed by the vertical loop, which was taken quickly and smoothly. Shortly after, the train climbed up the first camel-back hill, allowing for some floater airtime, then dropped into a 540-degree helix, which had riders standing almost completely sideways. Upon exiting the helix, the second camel-back hill was encountered and followed by the unique "trick track" section of the ride, where the track was straight, but banked to the left before turning to the right. Before hitting the brake run, the track went over two bunny hills allowing brief moments of airtime before the ride came to a complete stop. The train then turned to the right and was brought back to the station.

Clones and similar attractions

Several parks featured stand-up roller coasters similar in design to King Cobra. SkyRider at Canada's Wonderland was a duplicate of King Cobra that opened a year later in 1985. It was closed in 2014 and moved to Cavallino Matto in Italy, where it reopened in 2015 as Freestyle.^[3][4] Shockwave at Kings Dominion featured a similar layout as well with the exception of its finale. After reaching the second camel-back hill, the track turns left into a bunny hill before entering the brake run, as opposed to King Cobra's turn to the right. Shockwave closed permanently in 2015. Star Jet at Washuzan Highland, the last remaining stand-up coaster in operation from Togo, is also similar until the second camelback hill. The trick track is replaced by a bunny hill, which then leads to a right turn and a second bunny hill prior to the final brake run. Unlike the others, Star Jet originally featured sit-down roller coaster trains, but one was eventually replaced by a stand-up model while the other sit-down train was turned backwards.^[5]

References

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