King Cobra (Kings Island)

Infobox roller coaster
name=King Cobra


caption=‎King Cobra Logo
location=Kings Island
section=Action Zone
type=Steel
type2=Stand-up
status=Closed/In Storage
opened=1984
closed=2001
manufacturer=TOGO
designer=James Rogan
model=Stand Up
track=Steel
lift=Chain lift hill
height=95
drop=90
length=2219
speed=50
inversions=1
duration=2:00
angle=53
capacity=1600 Riders Per hour
cost=3,000,000 USD
acceleration=
gforce=6.7
restriction=54
rcdb_number=68

The King Cobra (1984-2001) was a prototype TOGO Stand-up roller coaster. It was the world's first coaster designed specifically to be stand-up, and the world's first stand-up with a loop. It was taken apart and scrapped in 2002 after TOGO went out of business. King Cobra's cars remain inside Flight of Fear's enclosed bowl. Various scrapped cars were sent to Kings Island's "graveyard", located at the old Wild Animal Habitat feeding house area, where they remain as of 2008.

Ride experience

After being loaded into the 24 passenger stand-up trains, the riders are taken up a 95 foot hill, before turning 180 degrees to the right and encountering the first drop. The riders are first welcomed by the vertical loop, which is taken quickly and smoothly. Shortly after the train climbs up the first camelback hill allowing for some floater airtime and then drops into a 540 degree helix, which has riders standing completely sideways. Upon exiting the helix the second camelback hill is encountered and followed by the unique "trick track" section of the ride, where the track is straight, but banks to the left before turning to the right. Before hitting the brake run, the train goes over two bunny hills allowing brief moments of airtime before the ride comes to a complete stop. The train then turns to the right and is brought back to the station.

Clones and similar attractions

King Cobra has 3 other roller coasters that are similar in design. Each of these coasters still operate to this date.
* SkyRider at Paramount Canada's Wonderland is identical to King Cobra, and was built in 1985, the year after the original was opened.
* Shockwave at Paramount's King's Dominion has an similar layout until the second camelback hill, where instead of a trick track and a turn to the right, the ride imediately turns to the left and goes over one bunny hill before entering the brake run.
* Star Jet at "Washuzan Highland" is also similar until the second camelback hill. The trick track is replaced by a bunny hill, which then leads to the right turn and the second bunny hill before the brake run. Star Jet also opened as a sit-down roller coaster, but at some point one train was replaced by a stand-up train and another was turned backwards.