coasterfreak75 Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Is it just me or is SOB heading down the same road The Bat went down? It has been reduced to one train operation, once again, for at least part of the season. I really don't see where one train operation can work once the park starts to get good and busy. Look at it this way, one train means capacity is about 432 PPH. How did I come up with this figure you ask? One train holds 36 riders, if full. It takes roughly 5 minutes to cycle a train. Figuring ride time, loading, checking bars, and unloading. I don't see this working, on a busy Saturday you are only talking 5616 passengers all day, maybe 6000 at best. Apparently it destroyed another train, from what I hear on this site and others. A new train can't be that cheap, much less refurbishing an old one can't be cheap either. Every off season, and during each season, PKI does alot of retracking trying to smooth a very finicky ride. This can't be cheap either. Unless I'm badly mistaken The Bat said its goodbyes because of high maintance costs, and constant downtime. Don't get me wrong, I love SOB. It's my second favorite coaster in the park, right behind the daddy. I think it's a great ride, but I also loved The Bat. Please don't dog me for this post, it's only my view and I want to see if anyone else on here feels the same way I do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFlagsMasta Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 SOB isn't going anywhere for quite a while. it normally runs 2 trains (with the third always around for back-up as far as i know) but one valied about a week ago so they will have to have it inspected before it can run again. i'm not sure where the back-up train is right now but o well. so that's why it's been down to one this week.. and it's only been ONE WEEK it's not like it's been a whole season or anything. i mean come on, they just got off from the off-season. they just need to get warmed up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegenRider Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Was there today. 2 trains are back in operation. Dispacting was good and the ride is better than ever the new work on it HAS made a conisderable amount of difference. They know the ride is a work in progress and t hey do have Paramount to back them up. It ran great all day today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfreak75 Posted April 18, 2004 Author Share Posted April 18, 2004 I'm glad to hear that. Like I said I love the ride, I wasn't dogging it. I hope it's there for the long haul! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwware Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Was there today. OT, but was the tower open today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterrz Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 No the tower was not open today. However, they were testing the new elevators all day today. One member of the Tower crew said that the ride would definately not open today but might be ready to be opened for tomorrow. The new elevators are grey/sivler on the exterior as opposed to the red exterior of the old ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOB/Gun Steve-O Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Yes, SOB has been on one-train operation so far this season (except today, apparently but I was off today). Yes, a new train for SOB would probably be extremely expensive. Yes, SOB has 3 trains, one is rotated out every year. If you look, you'll notice we're running 1 and 3 this year. No, I don't know where the other train is. No, one of the trains has not been destroyed. No, SOB is not going away any time soon. SOB doesn't actually have much downtime nowadays. Last year it was not at all uncommon for the ride to function perfectly for at least a week or so. Only major problem with it is that its a pain for the mechanics to check every day and for us to run saftey block tests, so more often then not its not quite ready to open at 10 AM. But other than that, the ride has been running very smoothly - both figuratively and literally! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dropzone265 Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Son of Beast is not going anywhere after the park spent all that money on it. Why would you build a 20 million dollar ride to just spend more to tear it down a few years later? In my mind the Son of Beast was built before the technogily would allow it just like that bat but Son of Beast has a lot to live up to and would cost way to much to be taken apart. Anyway it is a great ride and gets alot of the general public to the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenageninja Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Glad to hear SoB is in good operating condition. The new elevators on tower are looking great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastdude Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Liike everyone said befor me SOB is not going anywere. It would cost way to much money to take down, you would lose the only looping coaster in the world, and you would lose hieght and speed records. I would rather ride the roughest coaster in the world at 218 feet than a 180 foot smooth coaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewbari Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 I think they should take SOB out and put in the worlds olny looping steam train. Just Kidding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StXBomber Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 SoB did not destroy a train SoB is on 2 train operation SoB is smoother than it was because of the retracking (I rode it 2 times yesterday) Get your facts right before you post here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFlagsMasta Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 SoB did not destroy a train i didn't say that a train was destroyed.. i said one valied there's a BIG difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenmayes Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Apparently it destroyed another train, from what I hear on this site and others. A new train can't be that cheap, much less refurbishing an old one can't be cheap either I know everyone else has told you that no train was destroyed, but I am going to go a step further. On alot of these websites people post as if they have any clue what is actually going on. When in reality they have no friggin idea...So dont believe a word that most people say on any of the theme park websites.. This one is well moderated and most of the crap is closed or deleted!! (StXBomber @ Apr 18 2004, 10:22 AM) SoB did not destroy a train i didn't say that a train was destroyed.. i said one valied there's a BIG difference Ya he wasnt talking about you Tiny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFlagsMasta Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 ok my fault Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Homey Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Glad to hear SOB is getting better. IMO, it was never horrible. After my first ride on The Beast, it gave me a headcahe. A problem I've never had with SOB. It will always be a top woodie in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopThrillDragster Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 It is a little bit smoother. Make sure you ride in the middle of each car because if you sit above the wheels it hurts. I rode it yesterday and I was in a lot of pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Homey Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 I hear it will be replaced by the world's first stratawoodie! Besides, The Bat's problem was with the turns. No banking! This is not a problem with SOB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastdude Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 They won't tear it down because of the great photo op. How many rollercoaster shows have you seen that did not show SOBs loop. Well I have not seen many. Even if guest don't ride it they still like to look at it. The statistics that you don't see are how many people come to just to look at SOB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterville Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 As of Sunday, April 18: * SOB was running two trains * I didn't notice any changes between how SOB ran last year and this year * SOB is still a worthless pile of junk That said, I've had my annual ride on SOB to verify things haven't gotten better, you won't have to worry about seeing me in line for it any more this season. Shame, seems the only day the ride performed anything like a real coaster should was the season pass night in 2000. SOB is the only coaster where I routinely here other riders (who were not in my party) complaining about the ride as we sit on the final brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastdude Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 wait just one minute. You don't just come out and say SOB is a worthless piece of junk. Remember some people on this site love SOB and don't like it to be called a worthless piece of junk. This is a site dedicated to people who love PKI. Not to people that dis one coaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CYoung2003 Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 That said, I've had my annual ride on SOB to verify things haven't gotten better, you won't have to worry about seeing me in line for it any more this season. Good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterville Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Hold it, the question was about Son of Beast. The question was not "What do you like about PKI", or "What don't you like about PKI" Yes, to me, SOB is a worthless pile of junk, however PKi does have a slew of great rides - among them Delirium, Drop Zone, Top Gun, Scooby, Beastie, Adventure Express, Flying Eagles, and a lot more. In fact, Son of Beast is really the only ride there I really don't like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastdude Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 sorry if I came off harsh. There was no mean to. I was just trying to say if you would like people to respect your feelings respect theres. Once again if I came off harsh I didn't mean to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOB_TOM Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Ok, so let Tom be harsh. You call yourself a fan of PKI, but you say that something is a pile of junk!? That is both disrespectful to the park, to the people who maintain it (me, my crew, and the wood coaster division), and to this site. Plus, Im sure that those who run the ride sure love it when you just come out and say SOBs a pile of junk. Why dont you think about those who do give it TLC on a daily basis, and hold your tongue. Im glad your done with it for a season. It is one of my all time favorite woodies. Go find another hyper-looping woodie to ride. Now that Im done, heres a fact for ya Coaster, You say it cant be cheap to retrack SOB every year? Then how come its routine to retrack all wooden coasters every year? If you ever notice, Beast is always retracked, both sides of Racer, SOB, and Beastie. Its called preventative maintenance. They just take sections of the track, tear the track apart, and replace it. Next offseason, they start at the last part retracked, and start retracking. The process keeps repeating until its taken out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeLorean Rider Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Ok for one, there are no major problems with SOB. The Bat did. (oh and for the record, no one EVER, I mean no one ever died on The Bat, the worst anyone got was a crick in their neck) anyway, The Bat had little to no banking on the turns because they thought they could rely on the shocks which had to be replaced weekly. Also The Bat had the pinch breaks and break fins on the bottom of the car. this caused major stress on the body of the train. If u'll notice top gun and every other suspended coaster has the breaks directly under the track which you cant really see cause of all the stuff up there. Here is a picture of this, (lol, notice the lady holding her neck) These are all design flaws that were wrong with the actual stucture. There are no big design flaws with SOB. SOB's not going anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewbari Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 As of Sunday, April 18: * SOB was running two trains * I didn't notice any changes between how SOB ran last year and this year * SOB is still a worthless pile of junk That said, I've had my annual ride on SOB to verify things haven't gotten better, you won't have to worry about seeing me in line for it any more this season. Shame, seems the only day the ride performed anything like a real coaster should was the season pass night in 2000. SOB is the only coaster where I routinely here other riders (who were not in my party) complaining about the ride as we sit on the final brakes. Just because you do not like it, does not mean you need to call it a pile of junk, I don't like it, but I do not call it a pile of junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterville Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 SOB TOM: Don't put words in my mouth! I said nothing, zip, zero, nada about tracking or retracking on SOB nor any other wood coaster at PKI. (Hey, if I'm gonna get flamed, I at least want to be guilty of what I'm being flamed for!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwware Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Here is a picture of this, (lol, notice the lady holding her neck) Thanks for that picture link! I went to that site about 2 weeks ago and they only had maybe 3 pictures of The Bat there. Now they have 11! Sweet pictures at that! Now if I could just find a video of that sucker in action!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Punk Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 I don't want to be harsh, but here it is. I am a HUGH fan of roller coasters, especially those at PKI. A few days ago, I read a forum about SOB being retracked and it being smoother. After reading this, I went up PKI on 4/18, for the third time this season (this was the first day of them that SOB was running) and decided to ride SOB. I waited in line and thought to myself that the ride was going to be smoother because of what I had heard. I got in the train (2:2; not over the wheels) and the ride started. Once the train reached the rose bowl, I got the crap kicked out of me. The ride was so violent, maybe even worse than last year. I couldn't believe it. The ride is NO piece of junk, but you really cannot like a coaster if every time you ride it, it beats the hell out of you! I know the ride crews and maintenance crews work their @$$'s off, and I solute them for that, but their is no way to make this ride not beat you up! I am a Beast fan for life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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