Down in the depths of Adventure Land lurks a friendly dragon, who used to enjoy nothing more then giving the park’s youngest guests their very first taste of the thrills and spills of coasters.
Fact File
- Location: Talbot Centre / Festival Park / Thunder Valley / Forbidden Valley / Adventure Land
- Manufacturer: Pinfari
- Ride Type: Super Dragon MD31
- Length: 133m
- Height: 4m
- Speed: 17mph
- Capacity per hour: 700
- Opening Year: 1983
- Closing Year: 2010
This pink knuckle coaster was brightly painted in red and blue and wasn’t too tall or scary to look at, but it used to go quite fast in places for a children’s coaster, requiring guests to hold on!
The Beastie would take a right turn out of the station before ascending a short lift hill which went above the track guests would then descend once reaching the top of the lift and turning left. After the main drop, the ride then took a right-hand turn before another smaller drop through a tunnel followed by a left turn back into the station.
It was a fantastic little ride for kids, young or old, usually going around the circuit twice.
The Beastie first arrived for the 1983 season, known back then as the Mini Dragon Coaster and located in the Talbot Centre, behind what is now the photo booth for TH13TEEN.
It remained in the same location throughout the 1980s including when the area was rethemed to Festival Park in 1984. Then in 1992 it was relocated to become part of the formidable line up of coasters in Thunder Valley alongside the Thunder Looper, The Beast and later Nemesis. Being regarded as a junior equivalent of The Beast for younger guests, the ride became known as the Beastie, a name which stuck with the ride longer after its older brother left the park.
In 1997 the Beastie, along with the Gallopers Carousel, moved to the new Adventure Land to the position it operated in until 2010 where it then remained Standing But Not Operating until being removed just before the 2013 season.
