King Cobra

King Cobra was a stand-up roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Manufactured by TOGO, the roller coaster operated from 1984 to 2001, and it was the first in the world to be designed from the ground up as a stand-up configuration. Other stand-up coasters that preceded King Cobra were sit-down models later modified to accommodate stand-up trains. History In April 1983, Kings Island announced plans to build a new roller coaster for the 1984 season. The park wanted a unique coaster design to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first roller coaster in the United States, and a stand-up roller coaster design was selected. TOGO of Japan, which had previously modified other sit-down coasters into stand-up designs, was hired to build the attraction. It would become the first of its kind designed from the ground up as a stand-up model. The prototype, named Astro-Comet, was built and tested in the parking lot of TOGO's facility in Tokyo. It featured a lift hill, a vertical loop, a 540-degree helix, and a maximum speed of . Kings Island purchased the prototype, and construction began in December 1983. Park guests were surveyed to help name the new coaster, settling on King Cobra. The new attraction, marketed as the world's first stand-up coaster, opened to the public on April 22, 1984. After the ride's manufacturer, TOGO, went out of business in 2001, parts for the ride became more expensive and harder to find. Following the 2001 season, Paramount Parks began to dismantle King Cobra and put it up for sale. The trains were stored inside the Flight of Fear building and the track in one of Kings Island's "graveyards" located on old Wild Animal Habitat land. When the ride didn't sell, the track was scrapped and the trains were relocated to Kings Dominion to be used as spare parts for Shockwave.