deb Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 I haven't had the chance to ride SoB since it reopened, but I did ride it once back in 2002, shortly after I gave birth to my middle son (I've got 3). And as I've stated in other threads, it beat me to death. It COULD be because I was merely 2 weeks postpartum, and still VERY weak from a quick (8 hours) labor/delivery, but at that time I hated it. I don't recall what car we were in, but I do remember that I had very bad bruises on my legs, and that I was doubled over for the most of the ride. My hubby thought it was rough too, and he was banged up, but I think that is due to his height- he's 6'3", and not at all heavy- he's all muscle and length (one of those guys you wonder if they ever eat- you know, the skinny guy with the black hole for a stomach), so I think had he been shorter and stockier it would not have hurt him. I too am tall (nearly 5'10") and have a hard time fitting my legs comfy in a coaster with a floor. I figured a few things out: ride in the FRONT of the car, whichever car you choose. They tend to have more leg room. I always try to position my legs in the car so that my feet are braced and my legs have little movement, so I have wiggle room in my upper body. I find if I let my lower body go with the car and my upper body go with the forces its much more comfy. On rough rides with an OTSR, I lean one way or the other, and keep in that position with my head against the restraint so it doesn't bounce back and forth (that's how I was nearly in tears on Delirium... plastered to one side holding on for dear life). Even though I find Vortex rough, at least that way it was tolerable (although my hubby said I *****ed the whole time..lol) and if he wanted to ride it again, I would. deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 I should also add that if I did not have hope for Son of Beast, or a love of Kings Island and its history, I certainly would not have immediately set sail for the park the moment I heard the ride was open (and it is not a short voyage). This was so even though it was what should have been a very busy Fourth of July holiday. I had to work the next day, and had given up going to Stricker's due to the high probability of a rain-out. Still, when in the afternoon I verified Sonny was open, I immediately set out for the park. Rode it in the front seat, Beast in the front and left the park and came home...only to go to work a mere less than half dozen hours later. See? That is not consistent with someone who had given up hope on the ride. And it IS better. Marginally. In my opinion. As good as I expected? Frankly, no. Do I have concerns about whether or not the park can keep it operating comfortably and with reasonable expenditures? I sure do. I will watch this thing closely to see how it holds up under these new (for it), lighter trains. Frankly, I have ridden an improved Son of Beast so many times now, that I must say the proof is in the puddin...and that time is required to judge. I hope, for the park's and riders' sake that the thing stays reasonably comfortable this time, and without unduly expensive maintenance. But the plain fact is that remains to be seen. Just as, to be fair, it remains to be seen how well Six Flags will maintain its prefabricated woody up in Jersey, or even how well Holiday World will maintain its virtually new, nearly universally praised Gravity Group wood coaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James78 Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 a. It speaks volumes that my favorite wood, by far, is either The Georgia Cyclone or Tremors, depending on the day. Neither is known for their non-violent smooth action! b. It was an IF. The park has reopened Son of Beast. I hope it stays open and stays the relatively smooth ride--for Son of Beast--that it is currently. My complaint is not with those who think the ride is great, my complaint is that people think woodies must be rough. Rough? No. There is a huge difference between rough and violent. Roughness is not good. There is a huge difference between Racer when the track and trains are in good condition and when they are not, as they were not in the early 1990's. A violent woody is something many these days are opposed to, due to becoming accustomed, in my opinion. to the glass smooth rides of B and M coasters. Back in the day, few complained that Vortex, for example, was rough. Now many do. I get what you're saying. I just personally like a little roughness in my ride. I expect it in fact. I had the roughest ride I've ever had on Racer the other day, but it will not stop me from riding it again. For all the problems Son of Beast has had I'm just glad it's open and hopefully will stay that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ki Man Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 KI man, CF didnt put new wood on The Beast, KI's wood coaster division has been doing that since it opened. Its called off season maintenance, Then they have been slacking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delirium_Guy Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 I gotta agree with Interpreter in the fact that its going to take some time to call these modifications a success on SOB. We have been promised a new an improved SOB many times in the past. Typically, it IS better when it reopens....but quickly falls back to its former, nearly unrideable condition. The ride *is* better, not saying that, I just expected a bit more......especially in the Rosebowl considering that section is where the problem was in the first place. I gotta say though, the final turn was FAR more enjoyable this time around and quite smooth. Second helix is still a snoozefest though. I'm also confused as to where this new airtime on the ride is? I rode the back seat and got no more air than I have in the past.....it was only smoother this time. - Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesv7 Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 I rode Son Of Beast yesterday and I think it is allot better than before. The rosebowle was rough but not the banging it had. Me and my daughter rode last seat of the red train there was a little air time in spots and where the loop was is ok. My back felt good and I didn't end up with headache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jondrewfoo Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 has anyone rode it today or know what time they opened it today, he past few days has been around 145-2ish. im gonna be there right when it opens, and want to know is this gonna be a trend for a while, im going on tuesday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstrwomann Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I'm going there Sunday/Mon/Tue to visit the park and do other things in the area I hope to ride the Son of Beast several times because it's my favorite coaster and I miss it. I hope they open it with the park but Firehawk didn't open with the park either when it first opened as I recall. I hope they start inspecting it earlier in the day and can get it open at 10 am with the park soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firehawk Freak Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I rode it 2 days ago and the op said parts of the cars were already braking I had to wait extra for the backseat cause one of the cars were broken on that seat it was a little smoother but not much different I know on the old cars if you sit in between the wheels it was a lot smoother havent tried it on new trains tge trains were much comfier that was the only major improvement to me also on were the loop was i got a little touch of airtime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIVortex Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 It's going to be harder to sit between the wheels now. If Son of Beast stays the way it was for me yesterday then it'll be a good thing. I actually had a much rougher ride on the forwards Racer then on Son of Beast yesterday. But like others have said we have seen this before. I just hope it doesn't become unbearable by the end of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firehawk Freak Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 It's going to be harder to sit between the wheels now. If Son of Beast stays the way it was for me yesterday then it'll be a good thing. I actually had a much rougher ride on the forwards Racer then on Son of Beast yesterday. But like others have said we have seen this before. I just hope it doesn't become unbearable by the end of the season. agree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagoda Gift Shop Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I would agree that it will take time to judge the new status for SOB. The problem with wood coasters is that the track plays such an integral role in the ride. With steel coasters, the wheels and weather conditions are the main two factors which determine how "smooth" a coaster runs. Woodies have changing track status and lots of it (especially on SOB). In the end, it is just a wooden coaster like Beast or Racer. I've had great rides on Beast. I've also had rides on Beast which beat me to death. Woodies are complex creatures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iChase Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I would agree that it will take time to judge the new status for SOB. The problem with wood coasters is that the track plays such an integral role in the ride. With steel coasters, the wheels and weather conditions are the main two factors which determine how "smooth" a coaster runs. Woodies have changing track status and lots of it (especially on SOB). In the end, it is just a wooden coaster like Beast or Racer. I've had great rides on Beast. I've also had rides on Beast which beat me to death. Woodies are complex creatures! That's so true. In wood coasters there are so many more variables. This is what makes them such a unique ride experience. Unlike steel coasters which offer near the same ride experience every day, woodies ride can change drastically from day to day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigellinus Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 To answer the question about Saturday's open, after testing from open until 10:45 am-ish, it opened a little before 11:00 am and I'd say it's safe to assume from here on out for a relative open near park open (at least on weekends anyway) barring any other problems (which are inevitable, though maybe minor). And as far as airtime, I found the most to be the drop right before where the loop used to be and the drop right before the final brakes, but make no mistake, it's no airtime machine like Voyage or El Toro! (or even Racer for that matter!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bday123 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I was on the way to a Reds game on Saturday afternoon and at the last minute decided to stop by KI first for a ride on SOB. (I have a season pass). Due to being Saturday the line was approximately 1 hour. Actually, the first ride was a longer wait because the blue train stopped on the first hill and they didn't get it going for almost 30 minutes! I was thinking, well, here we go again. But they finally got the train going and I got my first ride! My verdict goes with alot of the responses, much improved with still some roughness in the rosebowl. All in all, I am very pleased! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 On a busy Saturday the wait for a very recently reopened Son of Beast was an hour! Oh, my. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 ^ Only an hour on a Saturday? I would think that since the ride just opened the wait would be much longer. Or is it that people have heard about SoB's issues and have decided to stay away from it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIVortex Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 But what is the 1 hour SOB line yesterday compared to. How long where the waits for other rides? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bday123 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 ^ Only an hour on a Saturday? I would think that since the ride just opened the wait would be much longer. Or is it that people have heard about SoB's issues and have decided to stay away from it? Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I got in line the first time around 1:15 - and would have been on it by 2:15-2:30ish....but like I mentioned, there was almost a 30 minute delay due to the blue train being stuck, so I actually didn't get the first ride until almost 3:00. I waited in line about an hour the second time I rode it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delirium_Guy Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 ^ Only an hour on a Saturday? I would think that since the ride just opened the wait would be much longer. Or is it that people have heard about SoB's issues and have decided to stay away from it? I think the line is coming from a capacity issue as well. I can tell you that on my experience Friday night, I waited from just outside the station.....heading down the final ramp up. It took us about 40 minutes to actually get on and ride. You do the math, that wasn't a long line. But I agree though, I'd think that the line would be longer. - Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIVortex Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I bet it's barely pulling 500 riders per hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywriter Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Yup it was only an hour I was there on Saturday. I must say the ride has greatly improved. I sat in the front car and had the best ride of my life on the Son of Beast I was a little scared because I saw the accident last year. But I got on and it was a great ride. I wanted to ride it later like at around 4 or 5 but it broke down or something they just said it was delay that could take 2 hours. I waited and hour then left the line i can always comeback and ride it again thanks to my gold pass.BTW I like this seat belt you get to adjust it to your preference. I plan on riding very soon. The rose bowl is the only really rough part but not near as rough as years past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbubbles513x Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I rode it twice today! First time in the 2nd car 1st seat....so smooth! 2nd time in the last car 1st seat, that was a little rougher. But no more rough then Racer or Beast in the back of a car. I must say, I do miss the loop. EDIT: I forgot to say how LOUD the chain is on the lift hill. Oh, also on both rides I only waited for 2 trains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIVortex Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Was the park dead on Sunday the 8th? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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