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The Son of Beast Discussion Thread


BoddaH1994
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Texas Giant is getting refurbished by GCI or someone, cant remember but i dont see why SoB cant have the same treatment?

If you had a coaster company would you want your company name on it?

Why not, it would show how they could completely turn a coaster around to have top notch safety and provide better thrills.

What if it didn't work out that way?

But it would practically be a new coaster and we have seen the kind of coasters GCI and the Gravity Group has manufactured. Flawless.

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going back on the sign issue for just a moment, an earlier poster is correct, it would only cost the price of an hourly worker to remove and reinstall any signs. I think mutating the SOB into a new coaster is a dream sequence. You must remember we live in a time and place where everything is rulled by the all mighty dollar, and redesigning a ride that is already built would take too much time and money to do. Yes I agree there are some decent to good ideas on here, but the thing is you have to take into account the land, the angles of attack for the trains, the time and the effort to put into this ride. KI has already put 9 years of effort into this ride. I dont see them putting much more into redesigning and redesigning this ride. It was a great idea (SOB) that just didnt seem to be executed correctly, we should all be happy if we had the chance to ride it, and it will be a sad day if they do tear it down. But I think another redesign of the ride is out of the question, at least in the current economic state. Mind you this is only my opinion and could very well be wrong or right, but we just have to be willing to accept the outcome no matter what....

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They can't build another roller coaster! They just spent $22 million on Diamondback, or something like that, and they really can't spend much more for awhile. Destroying SOB would cost them, and then building something else would cost them. So no one get excited if SOB is destroyed. They won't build something for awhile.

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I'll go ahead and bite at this topic:

With the Son of Beast situation, it comes down simply to when do the Cons of having a problem child outweigh the Pros of having a record holding roller coaster at your park. Yes, Son of Beast is a record holder. Tallest, Fastest Wooden Roller Coaster on Earth. That's hardly something to be ashamed of. In fact, I think it's one of the reasons it's lasted this long already. The ride draws in a crowd because of it's records. But, it's a rough ride. Before you flame me, let me just say this. Every train I've come off on Son of Beast, and every crowd I've seen leaving the ride, has been mostly of people disappointed with the ride experience. As a matter of fact, after 3 or 4 years of watching people get off the ride, I've still yet to see a notable amount of people say positive things about the ride. Let's also not forget about the numerous lawsuits, complaints, and bad publicity the park gets from this ride. Case in point, incidents like what has happened here. The lady complained about the injury and it got inflated into a major ordeal. It doesn't matter at this point whether it was the ride's fault or not, people will assume it was the ride. That is not good for the park. Not to mention the countless maintenance troubles the ride's had, from before it even opened. One has to wonder what the maintenance costs are for this ride, compared to the profit it brings in. Now, if Kings Island sees it fit to keep the ride open, if the ride does in fact bring in a good profit, then so be it. If Kings Island decides it is not profitable anymore, or more trouble then it's worth, then it won't reopen next year. Simple as that. Kings Island knows what they are doing and will make the correct decision, I'm sure.

Jackson, willing to post that much on the subject, and would like to point out that none of that is solid fact, but my thoughts, opinions, and inferences on the subject. That's the point of a forums board.

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Just a few thoughts on this... First I am an absolute fan of SOB I love it and hate to see it have the issues that it has/had. It was a quite rocky start with the suits due to the wood used etc.... then an even more rocky time during it's neutering. I'm honestly on the fence on the ride now whether it should be saved or let go. To fix it right, a company like GCI would need to come in and do a total refurbishment of the ride like they are doing with Thunder Road at Carowinds. That refurb is doing a lot for the ride but it's part of a five year rebuild with 2-3 years to go. Given the problems with SOB I don't know if they can really allow 5 years to fix it right, granted the process could be sped up somewhat with keeping it closed during the season. Now the other side of things is to tear it down. This could allow a lot of possibilities in park planning, it could open up access for new areas and to access existing. Long term it may be best to look at it this way, not to replace the ride but to give the park more options for growth. Personally if the wrecking balls do come in and tear it down I'd like to find some middle ground here. Intamin does seem to have a pretty great wooden coaster ability and I'm sure that they could break the 200' mark with their designs. On the other hand we already lost a loop and I'm sure we could have a better coaster without one than the one standing now but how about something else that would be very unique to a wooden coaster. Thats why I would lean towards Gravity Group to bring out the Timberliner Trains and throw in a lift hill launch, and while I'm dreaming (though quite possible) a simulated splash down could be pretty sweet. Just to clarify, in saying simulated splash down I mean take the track barely over water with no hand rails and have geysers explode with the train.

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I know we all have seen the SOB crew members working on other rides. My guess is they are filling other open posistions, so either way a posistion would have to be filled to move them back to SOB if that is the reason (which I hope is true, but do not belive it really is).

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What is up with the SOB crew? Forgive me for not knowing this part but does a certain crew work the ride all year? So for example the SOB crew has no job now at the park, unless they are filling in on someone elses job? Or is it assigned in the morning? Does the SOB crew have to wear their SOB uniforms when working other rides? Forgive me I never worked at the park and have never paid close attention to the workers...

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I think the people on here know the SoB crew by knowing each person. The rides don't have separate uniforms for each ride, I don't think so anyways.

All the rides I went on just had people in those "cute" little red shirts with the blue "thingys" on the shoulders.

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thanks for the info tomkate, but on a side tangent (I dont mean to hijack the thread for a moment) if you work a ride are you assigned that ride all year? (SOB, FoF, Beast, etc?) or can you switch in the middle of the season, one month here another one there...

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Well using the economy as an excuse I don't go for. How many Cedar Fair parks are building new rides for 2010? It costs money to make money and they are making it. Alot of debt yes, but don't we all? They could probably get Sonny to an acceptable ride level for the same cost as having it removed, or not much more. I'm sure with today's technology, a good company could go over the current design and probably make very few changes to make Sonny a good ride. Heck, just the right trains may be the answer, who knows. Fun thing is, we have all winter to speculate now!!

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^I think that new trains would be the ticket. If they were to go with they should go with the Gravity Groups new coaster trains. Here's some info on 'em:

November 18, 2008 – The engineers at The Gravity Group started with a blank sheet of paper and ended up with the next generation of trains for wooden roller coasters.

"Timberliners incorporate new technology - such as magnetic braking and restraint monitoring - that wasn't even imagined when wooden coaster cars were first developed," says Michael Graham, lead engineer for the project. "When it comes to wooden coasters, The Gravity Group has more experience designing rides than anyone. We've applied that expertise in designing trains that addresses every facet of roller coaster performance and function - from maintenance and safety to rider enjoyment and capacity."

Timberliners are designed to be compatible with existing wooden coasters, allowing a park to upgrade their roller coasters with Timberliner trains.

Key features of the trains include:

Single-bench design

Shock absorption and ergonomic styling

Unparalleled ability to smoothly navigate the track for decreased train & track maintenance

Innovative restraint system for unsurpassed safety and security

Restraints designed for higher throughput

ASTM F2291 Class 5 restraint with integrated monitoring

On-board sound system capable

Magnetic braking capable

Launch system capable

And here's a video. (click the HD button)

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I'll be nice. ><

I think you get trained for that particular ride (well, group of rides) at the beginning of the season, and you stay there all season.

Those are their assigned rides, but don't mean they will not see other rides during the course of the season. Depending on staff issues at their ride location and another, they can be moved for a day. When I worked rides, Adventure Express was my baby (and Viking Fury) but I spent some time at Son of Beast as well.

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