Wender·Vista
Son of Beast
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
at Kings Island, north of Cincinnati

Son of Beast

— — the loop that held for nine summers.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“For nine summers in southwest Ohio, Son of Beast stood at Kings Island as the world's tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster. It opened in 2000, painted red and white above the back lot, with a vertical loop in its first incarnation. The ride closed in 2009 and came down in 2012. The footprint is still empty.

from the studio
Son of Beast
— bring it home

Son of Beast, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Son of Beast

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Son of Beast stood at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, about 38 kilometres north of Cincinnati, from 2000 to 2009. At opening it claimed three records for wooden roller coasters: tallest at 218 feet, fastest at 78 miles per hour, and the only wooden coaster in the world to feature a vertical loop. The Roller Coaster Database (RCDB) lists the layout at 7,032 feet of track, with a 214-foot first drop. Roller Coaster Corporation of America completed the structure in time for the park's 2000 season.

— the year

The ride opened on May 26, 2000, with a vertical loop reinforced by a steel support structure unprecedented on a wooden coaster. A major closure followed a July 2006 incident in which a support beam failed and several riders were injured. Kings Island removed the loop and reworked the trains for the 2007 season. After a 2009 incident the ride did not reopen, sat dormant through the 2010 and 2011 seasons, and was dismantled in summer 2012.

— the silence

The footprint sits in the back corner of Kings Island, behind the Action Zone, on a patch of cleared woodland the park has not rebuilt over in more than a decade. Mystic Timbers, the wooden coaster that opened in 2017, sits a short walk away on different ground. Visitors who rode Son of Beast still walk past the empty parcel and slow down. Nothing on the ground today marks the spot.

— where
United States · Mason, Ohio
— within
Kings Island
— position
39.3447° N · 84.2683° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
0.4 km N
The Beast
wooden roller coaster
0.3 km E
Mystic Timbers
wooden roller coaster
0.5 km S
Diamondback
steel roller coaster
N
Son of Beast
The Beast
Mystic Timbers
Diamondback
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Son of Beast — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Son of Beast was a wooden roller coaster at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, operating from 2000 to 2009. At opening it was the world's tallest, fastest, and only looping wooden coaster.

After a 2009 incident in which a rider reported a serious injury, the ride did not reopen. It had previously closed for much of 2006 after a support beam failure. Kings Island demolished the structure in 2012.

At Kings Island, an amusement park in Mason, Ohio, about 38 kilometres north of Cincinnati. It stood in the back section of the park, on a patch of cleared woodland that the park has not rebuilt over.

The first drop measured 214 feet from a 218-foot lift hill, with a top speed of 78 miles per hour and 7,032 feet of track. Roller Coaster Corporation of America designed and built the ride.

Yes. From 2000 to 2006 it ran a vertical loop reinforced by a steel support frame – the only loop ever built into a wooden coaster. Kings Island removed the loop before the 2007 season.

Nothing replaced the structure directly. Mystic Timbers, a different wooden coaster, opened in 2017 on separate ground. The original Son of Beast footprint remains an empty back-lot parcel.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for our customers who rode it in those nine seasons. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note carries the lift hill forward for people who remember it from the parking lot.

The tile sits well with maximalist Americana, gameroom, and warm-collected interiors. The reds and whites of the structure hold against dark wood panelling, vintage signage, and warm brass.

Yes. Defunct-coaster and lost-amusement-park pieces have become a steady sub-category of the broader collected-Americana wall, alongside vintage park signage, ride photos, and ticket prints.

Above a standard sofa, a Large or a four-tile Mural reads at the right scale. Above a console or a bar, a single Medium centred above the surface is enough.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and made for vertical wet-room installations. The Glossy finish is for framed wall art in dry rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth and warm water. No chemical cleaner, no abrasive pad. The colour lives in the surface, so it will not wear off with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is created in-house by Reid Wender, the curator of the atlas. There is no licensing and no second print run from outside the studio.

— if this one stayed with you

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