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Son of Beast


pianoman
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The failure was in the engineering. Typically the ride manufacturer has an engineer and the park has one. The manufacturer and park engineer have to agree or changes are made. I seen this in action at Disney with Everest. This is done to prevent things from happening like what happened with SoB. This points the finger again at who should not be working on any wood coaster as I said before.

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I also don't think they will ever build something like Son of Beast again.  There are a multitude of reasons why rides like The Beast and Racer are still going strong and Son of Beast is no more.  I'm glad that they went with somebody this time around like GCI that understands all of the intricacies of building a wooden coaster.

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I rode this coaster several times - all with the loop.  It was very rough and neither myself, nor the other riders on my train, were smiling and happy when they were departing their ride.

 

THEN - my best friend injured her back on this monster.  She still has problems to this very day!  I never rode it after that.

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How long or not until you think Kings Island tries to build another ride like Son of Beast?

 

Depends on what you mean by another ride like Son of Beast?

 

Another 200+ ft tall wood coaster?  Possible and maybe even likely as long as it is done by RMC or using a style similar to RMC.  But that means more steel both in the support structure and the track. 

 

But if you are specifically talking about another just massive traditional wood coaster, I do not believe it will ever be done again.  It just makes no sense.

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I honestly want to see another traditional woodie of SOB's scale, from a company that knows what they are doing and a park willing to shell out for the maintenance, but that'll probably never happen. If it happened, I'd say it'd have to be at a park where the terrain allows for a significant portion of the ride to be taken at a moderate speed, running downhill as it loses speed to keep a good (but not excessive) pace like Voyage's second half. (Think of how Hercules at Dorney had the massive drop off the hill, then the rest of the ride was rather small and on top of the hill.)

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The only time I remember enjoying a smooth ride was it's open year in 2000.  My first trip that year the ride opened up at 5pm, a lengthy line had formed so didn't ride it in the spring.  Went back in October and was able to ride it twice, I thought it was a smooth experience.  Don't remember which seat I was in the first ride, the second was towards the middle.  The wait seemed to be less then thirty minutes.  The following year 2001, went to the park in July.  Wait was just over an hour, to me the ride experience was night and day compared to 2000.  It was much rougher, and uncomfortable.  The lap-bar left yellow and black bruises on side of my thigh muscles.

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Personally, I have never had to ride Vortex in any special kind of way. I have been riding it since it opened. Sure, the transitions could be better, but the technology is way better now and I can't ride Vortex expecting Banshee-like transitions. Not once have I ever received what I would consider a bad ride. Vortex always delivers and I ride it every trip 2-3 times. Plus, I have had back surgery that comes with problems. Is it rough compared to what we have today? Yes. At the same time, this newer technology has spoiled the general public into believing that older rides built 35 years ago should deliver the same kind of experience. I guess that they just don't have that knowledge.

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  • 4 months later...

Hey guys. I'm bumping this thread because I just made a Son of Beast recreation in No Limits 2, and I figured it would be worth sharing here. I always had a huge love of just the way the ride looked. It's gargantuan structure was truly awesome, so I couldn't help but try and replicate it myself. Let me know what you guys think!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDYsbSrJSJ4

EDIT: Here are some screenshots of the coaster!

screenshot-2017-05-05-09-31-04.pngscreenshot-2017-05-05-09-26-07.pngscreenshot-2017-05-05-09-28-44.pngscreenshot-2017-05-05-09-29-31.png

 

screenshot-2017-05-05-09-32-18.png

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^
Wow, that is actually one of the best recreations of Son of Beast I've ever seen. Looks accurate to what the real ride was like, at least based on POV's (never got to ride the wooden monster myself before it was scrapped).

I also agree 100% on the way the ride looked- it was an amazing looking wooden structure, especially due to how tall it was AND the fact they put that pre-drop dip all the way up there. I have also attempted to make Son of Beast myself in RollerCoaster Tycoons 2 & 3 (not very good at No Limits 1 or 2, at least not enough to recreate a real ride with any accuracy at this point). Here's what my efforts came up with (in RCT3- The trees are a mod BTW but I used the in-game wooden track):

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy10/McSalsa/Shot0001_zpsrhqd130r.png~original

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy10/McSalsa/Shot0000_zpsfcezhqkg.png~original

 

 

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Good job JCoaster25! I can't even make a coaster in No Limits (it's too hard), let alone create something as awesome as this! I feel like someone needs to do a side-by side video of HendrickTrolley's POV of the ride and this No Limits POV to see how similar the two really are! Congrats sir. :D 

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Thanks! =) I'm going to add some screenshots of the ride to the original post since the POV doesn't show everything.

I'm a HUGE stickler for details. I didn't go as far as overlay a google maps image into the park, BUT I did use the google maps ruler tool as an aid to get the size of ride elements right, for example the rosebowl helix has a diameter of around 250 FEET! I had no idea it was that huge, and when building it I was like surely it's not THIS big, but sure enough when riding it in the sim it felt exactly like the real thing. I'm extremely visual, so I also like to really carefully look at many photos of the rides I replicate to make sure I get the shaping of curves and drops right. Photos also showed that the terrain the ride sat on was much more hilly than I thought it was, especially photos of the sight AFTER the ride was demo'ed. It just makes the project so much more rewarding in the end to spend time studying a ride to the nth degree, and it also helps me appreciate a ride's design even more.

Quick plug. No Limits 2 is an absolutely AMAZING piece of software, with the comb tools being my favorite tools to use to ensure smooth curves that are achievable with 100% hand made track.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/19/2016 at 1:05 PM, pianoman said:

Who had a chance to ride SOB before it closed? Did you like it? Did you ride it with or without the loop? Would you have ridden it again if it had reopened? Thoughts?

 

As far as me, I didn't ride it until August 2007. I never rode it with the loop. I also rode it a few times in 2008. I personally kind of enjoyed it. I know a lot of people thought it was too rough. But that is the nature of wooden coasters.

i rode it in 2005 with the loop and honestly it was the best wooden coaster i have ever been on.  i would love to see RMC rebuild it.

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On 11/23/2016 at 10:01 AM, Nick_Plummer said:

The sad thing about Son of Beast not being at the park anymore is that all of the criticisms that GP and some enthusiasts alike gave it have sort of shifted those opinions towards Vortex. Yes it can be rough but people who don't know how to ride it and those who are so used to the new and smooth rides KI has added in recent years think that it's about the same as Son of Beast. I used to love Vortex and I don't think it's as rough as Son of Beast was, but it has now become a once or twice a season ride for me as well. That's not to say it's a bad ride by any means, it's a fantastic coaster, but it is starting to gain a larger reputation for being rougher and rougher every year. I went with several different friends and groups this past season and a lot of them didn't want to ride because it was rough and many even compared it to Son of Beast.

my hubby and i both screwed our backs up on FOF it is the roughest coaster i have ever been on.

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On 12/14/2016 at 3:49 PM, KIBeast said:

Personally, I have never had to ride Vortex in any special kind of way. I have been riding it since it opened. Sure, the transitions could be better, but the technology is way better now and I can't ride Vortex expecting Banshee-like transitions. Not once have I ever received what I would consider a bad ride. Vortex always delivers and I ride it every trip 2-3 times. Plus, I have had back surgery that comes with problems. Is it rough compared to what we have today? Yes. At the same time, this newer technology has spoiled the general public into believing that older rides built 35 years ago should deliver the same kind of experience. I guess that they just don't have that knowledge.

when it comes to steel age has little to do with it.  raptor came out in 1994 and its still just as smooth as Banshee

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Front seat, right around 2001, on a date with what would later be my wife. 

I loved it, but being at an "invincible" age of 22 and a big coaster fan, I didn't notice it being rough. 

16 years later, I can't convince my wife to ride pretty much any coaster.  Coincidence??

 

 

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7 hours ago, metalchic said:

when it comes to steel age has little to do with it.  raptor came out in 1994 and its still just as smooth as Banshee

I know of at least one person that would happily disagree with you.  Actually I can think of many, but that is the joy of it all, opinions vary. 

I personally think Banshee is far superior to Raptor, but again, an opinion. We all have them, and they vary greatly. 

When it comes to Vortex, age indeed does have something to do with it. Not the steel itself aging, but the technology. Just as KIBeast said in the quoted post, I don't expect a Banshee like ride from 35 year old technology. And as I said in another thread recently, Vortex delivers the ride it was expected to at the time, breathtaking and intense.  Another opinion, I love it.  

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7 hours ago, metalchic said:

when it comes to steel age has little to do with it.  raptor came out in 1994 and its still just as smooth as Banshee

Sorry, have to disagree on this point...  (with some data):

I'm with a group of guys who do an annual multi-day Cedar Point trip in the summer.  Part of our plans has always been to take a pit stop at Kings Island on the way, then visit Cedar Point in the evening.  

We've had an ongoing dispute within our group between Banshee and the Raptor.  So last summer we decided to settle it with an 'experiment'. 

Went to KI, rode Banshee twice (various spots), then got on the highway and headed to CP, rode Raptor twice.  Afterwards everyone in the group agreed Banshee was smoother.  The Raptor's restraints don't help the situation either.  

I'm not saying metal coasters don't maintain their smoothness, but the Raptor definitely has more of a shake than it's newer counterpart.  I'm sure B&M has put some of their R&D to good use over the years with better tolerances/designs.

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  • 2 years later...

I know the 2006 accident for Son of Beast and it's demise has been talked about probably more than any other topic.  But I found this recent video about the 2006 accident and what led to it.  I just wonder if there was any time for the operators to stop the 3rd train after possibly hearing any complaints from riders.  About a bump from the previous two trains that gave riders a jolt.  Did anyone complain and was ignored?  Or was it simply too late to stop the train that came to a complete sudden stop from the dip in the track.

I was at the park 3 days before it closed forever in 2009.  I always kind of wished I rode it one last time that day.  But the truth was I didn't want to ride it because it hurt my thighs too much in the helix's.  Felt like someone was pounding me with a club or something.

 

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20 minutes ago, rlentless said:

I know the 2006 accident for Son of Beast and it's demise has been talked about probably more than any other topic.  But I found this recent video about the 2006 accident and what led to it.  I just wonder if there was any time for the operators to stop the 3rd train after possibly hearing any complaints from riders.  About a bump from the previous two trains that gave riders a jolt.  Did anyone complain and was ignored?  Or was it simply too late to stop the train that came to a complete sudden stop from the dip in the track.

I was at the park 3 days before it closed forever in 2009.  I always kind of wished I rode it one last time that day.  But the truth was I didn't want to ride it because it hurt my thighs too much in the helix's.  Felt like someone was pounding me with a club or something.

 

I was there the day of the collapse. No one in the park knew what was going on, but I remember helicopters circling over head. This was before the day and age of true internet data where everyone would know. 
 

I am not sure if I got around to riding it in 2009 before it closed for good. I think didn’t. No regrets though. I know there is a spectrum of opinion, but to me the ride sucked. To me it’s a lot like Vortex. I miss having it, but I don’t miss riding it. 

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