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I second that. Son of Beast was a very disappointing flop from my first ride. While I still think it looks awesome, and I'd hate to see that awesome structure bulldozed, I'm becoming increasingly accepting. The ride just has a really, really boring layout. Even if it was 100% smooth, I think it'd still be a forgettable ride. There's nothing surprising, no terrain, no tunnels, no airtime, an annoyingly-long turn, and no twisting or quick transitions that make wooden coasters great. It was great on paper, and a complete failure in the real world. Though this would likely never happen (as why would King's Island want people confused that the ride is one of the worst failures of all time, Son of Beast?), if the ride was completely modified, there'd be a ton of expensive work already done... They could save the que, station, first hill....then make it a REAL Beast sequel with a new name, plenty of air-time hills, a twisting, ground-hugging terrain track through the forest with plenty of tunnels...new trains, and Intamin pre-fab track. Also, if using Intamin, it seems like the perfect opportunity to make the world's first launched wooden coaster on the return trip to the station (it's going to happen eventually, so why not be the first to get all the buzz?). Wouldn't this please everyone? The huge investment into SOB wouldn't be a complete waste, the nostalgic people would be happy it was partly saved, and it could overtake The Voyage & El Toro as the world's best wooden coaster, while being the tallest and fastest. Sure, if you counted all of the work put into Son of Beast, maybe this would end up being a $50-60 million ride....but what other park would ever put that kind of money into a wooden coaster? Sounds like another record to me! lol

Major difference of opinion...after hearing the melody about 3 times it was stuck in my head...I'd ride it just to hear the song like I did Phantom Theater. Here's another vid of how it was incorporated starting at 0:30:

Ok, question I haven't seen.... I was reviewing the Ghost Blasters videos on youtube before this ride was even announced, and one of them has this song blaring through the ride: http://www.youtube.c...h?v=i2Y7iFsSjzU and I found it very catchy! It reminded me of Phantom Theater having a catchy song playing while you ride, and that's a huge plus to me. Is it in the King's Island version??? And if it's not in the KI version, this song would lighten up the mood and make it more fun for those complaining it was too dark for their kids...

Awesome! Now Cedar Fair... invest in a set PLEASE! If they don't work out on SoB, send em over to Mean Streak!

This post will probably be flagged down for engineering, cost, and maintenance reasons, but why couldn't some form of suspension be added to all these harsh wooden coasters around the world in danger of removal? Whether it be modifications to existing trains or simply an all-new adaptable universal train to retrofit the many dying wooden coasters... Suspension wouldn't have to necessarily be added to the wheels, but even the seats... Are there any coasters out there that exist with suspension, and did they solve harshness problems? Just think if our cars were wagon wheels on roads... Anyway, perhaps this still wouldn't address the lateral forces of the rose bowl, but just a thought...