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What is your Son Of BEAST Expirience?


mccarthysnerd
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I was 11 when the ride opened. I loved it. When I got older and grew above six feet, it was an abysmal experience. The one season, 2006 I think it was, when they removed a car from the train and it opened later than the rest of the park - my friend and I went up after school to check it out. It wasn't much better. When the loop was gone and it re-opened with the so called "new" trains, it was still the same. The first drop was always good, but after that you had two minutes of washboarding.

Holiday World is retracking the spaghetti bowl on The Voyage, even though it wasn't nearly as bad as Son of Beast's rose bowl. If Holiday World can do it, I say Kings Island can do it.

You're comparing apples to oranges though. While both are fruits just as those two rides are wooden coasters, they're incredibly different. Voyage also doesn't have the reputation that SOB has. Voyage was good at one point and through regular re-tracking, has remained a popular ride. SOB has always been ...SOB.

what does Cedar Fair/KI management say?

That "No decision has been made at this time."

It was said at Coastermania last year that SOB might get the Texas Giant treatment. That was from the former CEO.

It was said that it was an option they had looked at among others, not that it might happen.

Couple thousand times between 2001-2007. i'd power ride the thing alot

Broke a vertibre on my back on it and kept riding

That's foolish. May not bother you now, but it will.

Quoted for truth.

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I rode the thing once its opening season, too rough, vowed to myself to never go near it ever again.

2003, I was back on it.

I neither loved it, nor hated it. Only reason I rode it as much as I did, it was typically a walk-on so that and Top Gun (which I actually do love) were good time killers.

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I have never ridden the ride, but had an opportunity once to do so. I was scared at the time, and knew I would be coming to the park later that season, so I felt that my opportunity to ride SOB would come at a later date. That day was June 7, 2009. Very Unfortunate. However, in regards to other coasters of teh wooden vareity, I like them a lot, including Mean Streak.

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The first time I rode SOB was in 2001 when I was 10 and I loved the ride and for the next couple of seasons after that it remained one of my favorite rides in the park. But, as Gordon Bombay said, as I grew older and taller, the ride experience only got worse. I continued to ride it at least once per visit hoping I would have the same great experience I had in 2001 again, but that never happened. When the ride reopened loopless and with the "new" trains there was not much reason to ride it anymore. The drop out of the station and the first drop were always fun to me but after that it would bounce you around through helix after helix.

Son of Beast is beyond (and not worth) saving at this point and in my opinion they're just waiting to tear it down because of the cost. I'm looking forward to the day that the situation is resolved and hopefully a new coaster stands in Son of Beast's spot.

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Rode it in the old cars...with my brother who is 6'4". I am 6'6". We comically fit.

Painful. Brutal.

Rode it again with the loop gone with the "new" cars. Slightly better, a bit less brain scrambling.

That said, I would definately ride it again if redone.

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The first time I rode SOB was in 2001 when I was 10 and I loved the ride and for the next couple of seasons after that it remained one of my favorite rides in the park. But, as Gordon Bombay said, as I grew older and taller, the ride experience only got worse. I continued to ride it at least once per visit hoping I would have the same great experience I had in 2001 again, but that never happened. When the ride reopened loopless and with the "new" trains there was not much reason to ride it anymore. The drop out of the station and the first drop were always fun to me but after that it would bounce you around through helix after helix.

Son of Beast is beyond (and not worth) saving at this point and in my opinion they're just waiting to tear it down because of the cost. I'm looking forward to the day that the situation is resolved and hopefully a new coaster stands in Son of Beast's spot.

So like I said before if it was completely overhauled and given the IRon Horse treatment. You don't think it would be worth it? Have you seen the Texas Giant reviews? And think of the layout changes they could make with it! Where the loop was could be a double up into an overbanked turn. They could even add some of those tunnels that Giant got with the lights. I personally think it would be the best ride in the park if it were done. And yes I'd take the Iron Horse treatment over a new coaster any day!

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The first time I rode SOB was in 2001 when I was 10 and I loved the ride and for the next couple of seasons after that it remained one of my favorite rides in the park. But, as Gordon Bombay said, as I grew older and taller, the ride experience only got worse. I continued to ride it at least once per visit hoping I would have the same great experience I had in 2001 again, but that never happened. When the ride reopened loopless and with the "new" trains there was not much reason to ride it anymore. The drop out of the station and the first drop were always fun to me but after that it would bounce you around through helix after helix.

Son of Beast is beyond (and not worth) saving at this point and in my opinion they're just waiting to tear it down because of the cost. I'm looking forward to the day that the situation is resolved and hopefully a new coaster stands in Son of Beast's spot.

So like I said before if it was completely overhauled and given the IRon Horse treatment. You don't think it would be worth it? Have you seen the Texas Giant reviews? And think of the layout changes they could make with it! Where the loop was could be a double up into an overbanked turn. They could even add some of those tunnels that Giant got with the lights. I personally think it would be the best ride in the park if it were done. And yes I'd take the Iron Horse treatment over a new coaster any day!

Your assumption is that Cedar Fair would pay tens of millions of dollars to have that done, and further, that Rocky Mountain Coasters would agree to do it at all. Remember that if the tallest, fastest wooden coaster on Earth (which has already been proven to have a weak structure, especially to suddenly support steel track) had another incident of nearly any size, RMC could and probably would be sued alongside Cedar Fair. We're talking a migraine that leads to lost work time...

Personally, I think that the Iron Horse treatment would indeed create a world class ride that would be one of the biggest comeback stories in the industry. That doesn't mean the price would be worth it. You're talking about a hefty investment for a big experiment, whereas the same amount of money could possibly demolish and remove the ride and bring in a guaranteed success clone from another park. I have no doubt that every opportunity is being looked at and analyzed. The option that makes the best sense for the best price will be chosen.

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The steal would be lighter than the stacked wood currently being used. And I'm not saying it's going to happen. I'm saying if it were done.

Right. And I'm saying "if it were done" depends on a lot of things. Cost, in many of our minds, is very, very prohibitive. So much so that it may not be worth talking about. Really, nothing can be done on our end. Our best bet may indeed be to sit back, shut up, and wait for something to be announced (or not). Something will be done to Son of Beast. Period. Five years from now, it won't still be standing the way that it is now. Of that, I feel fairly confident.

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I like the idea of Son of Beast getting the Iron Horse Treatment and I do think that it would do very good with it.

I'm not sure how rotten or beat-up the support would is but I think some of it could be fixed.

I can only hope that Kings Island reads this topic so that they can get the view of us here at KIC and what our ride expirience was like so that

when they decide to do what ever type of treatment or re-modeling that they know our opinions and our ride expiriences to help them fix and find the problems in this record breaking coaster.

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I had some enjoyable rides and some not so enjoyable rides on SOB. I worked there in 04 and it was definitely a blast. Craziest rides were those when the train would blow the block brake, (usually with the assistance of the driver).

Still I would trade all those experiences for another wave pool. Imagine the wavepool that could go on SOB's plot. Talk about amazing.

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I loved Son of Beast even if it did get insanely rough in the latter years. I once rode it fourteen times in one evening after work during fearfest. That night is still one of my fondest KI memories ever.

Son of Beast, Tomb Raider: Theride (lol) and the Flying Eagles: three of my favorite rides. All gone.

At least Vortex and Delirium are still there.

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I rode it once when I was 10. I was crying on the lift hill, but had my hands up on the rose bowl.

I know this will sound dumb, but isn't that what wooden roller coasters are supposed to do? Be rough and shaky? I know that a bunch of people were hurt, and I never want to see anyone get hurt, but compare SoB to its father. The Beast is shaky and maybe a even a little bit rougher than SoB, from what I remember. I know, it's dumb, but isn't that the point of woodies, to be brain-rattling and super shaky?

If the fans back then had complained as much about Beast as they do about Son of Beast, I think we wouldn't have the longest wooden roller coaster in the world at KI.

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Son of Beast adds a lot to the KI's skyline, even when it's not not operating. There's got to be some value there, and I can't help but think that's one reason it's still standing. There's a lot of people that visit the park that see Son of Beast from the the parking lot, and have no idea where it is once they're in the park. For all they know, when they ride The Beast or Adventure Express, it could be the ride they saw from the parking lot, which was SoB.

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They have been making changes to The Beast over the years. I remember a last day meet up where we was told that they was testing new ideas on The Beast to later use on SoB.

Years later it was clear by the state accident report that they must have over looked a thing or two. This made it seem that the original contractor knew what they was talking about when they said it was over their heads to do on their own.

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UnrealNightmare, Everyone isn't flaming you. This is a discussion board. Points of view are welcome. Once expressed, other points of view are also welcome.

You will also find that I have expressed no public opinion as to what should be done with the ride. I see my role as asking questions, providing insight from time to time, and on occasion I have even dropped a hint or two.

I am an unabashed industry supporter and that I shall remain.

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Diamondbacker, I don't think anyone's arguing that wooden coasters shouldn't be rough. It's that many thought SoB exceeded their roughness tolerances to the extent where it just wasn't an enjoyable ride.

I myself can enjoy rough rides (such as Mean Streak or Corkscrew at Cedar Point) if there's more to the ride than being jackhammered. (The last time I rode it, Mean Streak's recent retracking restored forces I never knew that ride had, including airtime. I liked it considerably more afterward.) Part of why I suggest people dislike Son of Beast is its layout--beyond the first drop, there's really nothing that happens besides wide, lateral force-less turns and heavy positive vertical G's in various helices/turns. In other words, there's nothing to "distract" you from the rougher parts of the ride. It's a mildly interesting pre-lift section, a long (and LOUD) lift hill, an awesome first drop, and then a series of elements that really don't provide any forces besides the same positive vertical force pulling you down into your seat and (in my opinion) the feeling of being in a jackhammer simulator. There's no real break in those forces--it's constant through the first double helix, then there's the break run, then an airtime-less drop to where the loop was, an airtime-less jump over the bump where the loop was, and then more prolonged vertical forces and jackhammering till the final brakes. That's a good 70% of the ride. And I'm not saying this hatefully, because I do think the ride was really good at what it did right (and will gladly go on and on about it.) It's just how it was.

The Beast, on the other hand, doesn't expose you to minutes of prolonged vertical force, and it's got things like tunnels and scenery to enjoy if it is rough--which, in my opinion, it was last year. There's the first drop, the wide left turn, a drop to the ground and a jump back up, a wide right turn, etc. In theory, it doesn't sound that different, but it's done much more gently. People tend to attribute most of The Beast's roughness to its double helix--and I'll agree there--but the double helix isn't most of the ride, unlike Son of Beast, which has two. The Beast's helix is a theatrical ending to the ride that compliments the experience; Son of Beast's helices are the ride. There's just more to The Beast than its roughest parts, which is more than its son can say.

If you liked the ride and didn't find the ride rough, fine. No one's going to flame you for it. :) It's just that enough people, including the park's general manager, found it too much so, so that's where the widespread distaste for the thing is coming from.

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^

Original Beast is much, much more than simply the sum of its parts...that ride contains few hills/drops, only a few laterals through only a couple of gentle turns, and tons o' straight track not far from the ground. What that ride DOES have, though, is a great sense of speed and an amazing location hidden in the woods along with several tunnels, a great first drop, and the amazing helix finale the ride WORKS its way up to- basically, after the first drop, Beast is merely getting you ready for that helix, and it does it amazingly well. It's a bizzare, unorthadox coaster- but it has its fanbase for good reasons. I find it kind of funny that KI management says "We studied all the world's top roller coasters when building it!" because it ended up being like NONE of the other top coasters then, or even now (though the final helix was clearly inspired by Shooting Star at the Old Coney Island). Sure, there are other coasters that go through the woods, but they all have hills & sharp turns and more of that "traditional" stuff.

Son of Beast, from what I've seen and heard, is also a very unorthadox coaster- but it lacks several elements that made Beast great. #1- It's not low to the ground, so it cannot interact with the woods the way its "daddy" can. #2- It really is just 2 big helixes with a spot where a loop used to be between them after the first drop. It's as-if Kings Island decided the best part of The Beast was the helix, not realizing why that was the best part of the ride, and tried to one-up it making a even bigger ride with a massive drop, 2 helixes, a loop...and not much else. I have seen a few people who claim Son of Beast wasn't super rough, but they still hate it because it's "boring". If SOB re-opens with the iron horse track, but the same layout, it will not win "Best New Ride" even if it is smoother than Diamondback. If it were up to me, I'd gut SOB starting from the bottom of the first drop all the way to the brake run and just build a new ride from there using what's left (station, pre-lift, and first lift hill) to start off the ride, adding airtime hills, twists, and drops along the "new" ride instead- possibly with pre-fab track or iron horse track or Timberliners.

As for my personal experince with the ride:

I head up to SOB.

McSalsa: Here we go...

Ride-Op Comes Up

Ride-Op: Sorry, we're closed for the day.

McSalsa: D'oh! (Turns and heads for Flight Deck)

(A few weeks later, the ride shut down.)

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So TombRaiderFTW, if I may make an analogy to better understang what you are saying:

Beast was like that great first movie that got a lot of money and did very well with all crowds.

Son of Beast was like that sequel that just doesn't live up to the greatness of that first movie. Tell me if I am correct in my analogy.

Again, I was 10 when I rode the ride, so I don't exactly remember how rough or shaky the ride was. But now if I rode the ride again, being much taller, I might experience pain if I rode the coaster now, as what other people are saying about the ride in relation to their height. So it was stupid of me to argue about the ride when I have a 5-year old, unchanged opinion of it. Oh well, I just hope something is done in the next 2-5 years, either way the decision goes.

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