New Son Of Beast Improvements

[PKIVortex]

I had a horrible ride on SOB on the 4th, especially in the rose bowl.

[Cody]

I also understand a crash of any type is unacceptable. But Sonny never almost killed anyone. Top Thrill Dragester and Superman Tower of Power or whatever it is at SFKK came closer to killing people before SOB did.

TTD has never, even come close, to the incidents on SoB or on S:ToP.

The issue with SoB was much more extreme, only because of how uncomfortable it is/ was for the riders. It was not an unknown fact on how it treated the riders.

im pretty sure, TTD had an accident were the cable snap, and came back and hit riders in the chest, and blood went everywhere on the train. If there was alot more force, im pretty sure the cable could of done alot more damage

http://www.newsnet5.com/entertainment/3523436/detail.html

seems like I was a little wrong, but atleast no one got hit in the head with metal =o

[hausty1983]

I just hope that they figure out what can be done before something else happens and there is another accident to deal with because it not in good shape and CF won't mess around with it much more.

[TransAm78]

When I was there on the 4th and rode it my chest was bothering me afterwards and I don't know if anyone else noticed any problems afterwards and don't really know why but it must have been sooo much stress on my chest from the ride being so "HORRIBLE" The Beast I can enjoy it without almost feeling like I can't breath on it and can yell and put my hands up and have a good time no matter time of the day I ride it. SOB you have to hold on for life. Its in a hot ring of fire for how long it will be standing! Don't waste your time CF on this ride anymore its a waste its not worth pouring $$$ into anymore because its going to fall apart just like it did before and caused the accident. Go the route that Holiday World went and get a different design almost like Voyage just my two cents thanks.

Why is everybody hatin' on SOB?

Ok i rode it twice on the 4th during KIC: the event. Both times i rode it very back seat in both trains. IMO it was about as rough as the premier trains in the front. I actually believe the back seat in The Beast was far rougher saturday. My question is why is everyone now on the "tear it down, get rid of SOB" bandwagon?? We had to wait 1 hour and 1 hour 20 minutes respectively for our rides. So i would think the GP actually likes the ride. For comparison Racer (which we rode right after SOB) was 15 minutes for back of the backwards train, 45 minutes for front seat of Vortex. I love KI, and i enjoy every ride at KI except for AE, and TR:TR (i liked it when Paramount opened it and the effects worked).

Just my 2 cents.

[hausty1983]

I was just saying what I thought about the ride. I sat in the 2nd to last car on the blue train is there any difference where I sit at on it??? I do have pro's&con's on SOB. The trains were better than the old ones but its still the same old. I love the first drop but after you come up and then go into the rose bowl then hang on for your life almost...

[Vortex]

I have given SOB another try this year and while it was a little better. The end does look it is near for this coaster. That area of the park has so many good spots for another coaster or ride. Wounder if this is the area that B&M coaster will go?

[The Interpreter]

Comparing Racer waits to Son of Beast waits is deceptive. Racer has way, way more capacity than Son of Beast, especially now.

[TransAm78]

Comparing Racer waits to Son of Beast waits is deceptive. Racer has way, way more capacity than Son of Beast, especially now.

But each side has 2 trains. Yes 12 more people can enter at one time per train but that wouldnt cut out 45 mins to 1 hour out of wait time

[The Interpreter]

You also forget that Racer/recar is in effect two attractions, as the Twin Racers were originally known . . .

[markr]

Like PKI Vortex I had a horrible ride on SOB on 7/4. As I was going through the rose bowl I felt like I had been kicked in the chest. It was so bad that I wanted to jump out of the ride. I felt the same way at the bottom of the hill right before where the loop used to be and around the last 2 helixes.(helices?) I felt that the ride was actually worse than it was before the accident.

I rode SOB opening night in 2000 and I loved the ride. Over the years I kept riding it. There were some days when the ride was great, others when it was miserable. After the ride reopened last year after yet more work, I tried the ride again and it was horrible. I vowed never to ride it again. The accident happened a few weeks later.

I gave the ride its last chance on 7/4 and there will be no more chances. I will never ride it again.

[markr]

Agreed no one including Cedar Fair will ever build a looping woody. I also feel that future wooden coasters will be more like voyage, and be steel super structures with wood running on top of it.

Also the best thing Cedar Fair could do for Kings Island is buy all the blue prints for the Shooting Star and build it it was the best coaster in cincinnati, and people still say even better than The Beast.

buy a copy of coney island the dvd at Coney and look at that coaster wow.

Its a great dvd indeed:

but Kings Islands next coaster will be like maverick maybe longer and very gentle:

steel coaster;

Shooting Star was my first adult coaster. I rode it when I was 8. One of the best classic woodies ever. How sad that they didn't reassemble it at KI instead if making it a victim of the wrecking ball.

[standbyme]

I had a horrible ride on SOB on the 4th, especially in the rose bowl.

Same here...I was in the very back seat. If SOB has improved it is so miniscule I could not tell...before you say it, let me beat you to it...I know it's a wood coaster, I know it's "supposed" to not be real smooth...but I also know that it is SUPPOSED to be an AMUSEMENT ride...you should enjoy riding it, not counting the seconds until it's over.

When I rode it on the 4th, right in front of me there were 2 boys about 9-10 years old. After the rosebowl one of them turned around towards me, he was crying with tears streaming down his face...when we pulled into the station I heard him tell the other boy "I don't feel well, it hurts". THAT is amusement?

I felt so sorry for him.

[hausty1983]

I hate to hear about the cons about SOB but sometimes its just true what is said and some people can't handle the truth about how other people feel or say is true most of the time. The 4th when I was there it felt like I had been kicked in the chest myself. I'm a healthy 24 year old and never had any problems with chest pain,high blood pressure,I don't have heart disease that runs in the family either and I never had any problems riding anything else and had this much pressure on my chest until riding SOB since after the accident. So yeah its dissapointing to be reading everyone's posts that are negative but come on a roller coaster should be enjoyable at any park!

[BoddaH1994]

I wonder how the GP feels about it. Obviously a lot of people are not impressed on here, but we're a small demographic. I overheard a person saying how much they like SOB now since it's so much better. I couldn't disagree more, but hey, free country.

[Guest kwindshawne]

I haven't ridden it since a few weeks ago..can't remember the date. I had an enjoyable ride then. Enough is enough-if its getting rough again, its time to bury it.

[hausty1983]

My friends and I made it the last ride of the day on the 4th and i'm glad it was the last ride we went on because we all came off like it was not enjoyable at all it was very disappointing where the loop used to be it felt like the train was running on the shoulder on the highway when it makes that noise and no SOB didnt make that noise it just didn't seem normal.

[PKIVortex]

I've had good and bad rides on SOB this season. But my last ride was probably the worst one this far even before the accident. The rose bowl is my opinion is the worse part of the entire ride, they are so much shaking going on through there it can't be good for the track.

The only thing that kinda upset me was even after I complained of the severe roughness in the rose bowl last Saturday they did nothing to check it out. You'd think after what happened last year that they would have shut the ride down right then and had maintenance come out and check things out.

My first ride on SOB for 2007 was on July 6th just 2 days after it reopened, I then felt it was better and much smoother. I will probably ride SOB again on the 17th when I go to the park again, but if it gives me the same feeling as it did back on the 4th then I'm done with SOB.

[hausty1983]

By the way there is no bandwagon about bashing SOB its the truth how the ride is so we wouldn't be posting opuions that weren't true on here just like saying the bridge collapse wasn't a Flaw in Minnesota because there was a flaw in the design and its sad to hear about and I hope we don't have to hear about another accident on SOB and I know its two different structures but come on it can't be safe much longer.

[PKIVortex]

Let's just hope it doesn't come to that this time. I do not want another accident on SOB or any ride at KI for that matter.

[The Interpreter]

And I can assure you, nor does the park.

I can just see the level of maintenance this thing seemingly requires causing the park and/or Cedar Fair to at some time, perhaps soon, exclaim "Enough!"

[CoastersRZ]

Yes indeed! Also, just listen to the comments made by guests at the exit of Son of Beast. I guarantee that you will her at least a couple of negative comments about the ride, primarily how rough it was. Compare that, with say a ride like Millenium Force. There, most of the comments made by the public seem to be very positive. I understand that the rides are completely different. However, the guests appear to enjoy Millenium Force far more than what guests do with Son of Beast. That combined with the presumably high maintenance issues with SoB, I`d have to think its only a matter of time before you can no longer ride SoB. I also think that it is only a matter of time before Kings Island get a brand new, signature steel coaster. Which will come first? Who knows.

[PKIVortex]

Exactly when will the park say enough is enough. We all know that the Maintenance cost on SOB is much higher then any other coaster in the park. I'm sure they sunk millions into SOB since it opened in 2000.

I just really surprised they even built SOB with all of the troubles with other big wooden coaster. Mean Streak and The Rattler come to mind. Wasn't that Rattler also build and designed by RCCA? If that had problems with that, why did they think a 218 foot 78 MPH woody would be any different?

[The Interpreter]

Yep, Rattler was John Pierce and RCCA.

And it, too, required substantial revisions, only in its case after its very first year.

[Kings Island Rox]

Splitting up the Rose Bowl is probably the best way to improve SOB.

1. Bring back the heavy trains, w/ more leg room and comfortable lap bars.

2. Take out the east to north ends of the outside ring of Rose Bowl. Then redo the (new) track on east end of the Rose Bowl by making an upward straight piece --to slow it down-- to a height of about 150 ft. The turns should be reinforced w/ steel for strength.

3. After 150 ft. height w/ possible slight brake, it then drops into a 100 ft. (or so) loop, going back up around 40 to 50 ft. Then turn east (right). It then could drop into a "quadruple-down" to pick up speed. After that it should go faster and faster into tunnels, 90 degree angles, bunny hops, anything for fun! Then it should make its way back to the northern end of outside ring of helix via a second lift hill, JUST LIKE FATHER!

4. At the top of the lift hill, reconnect north end side of outer ring of Rose Bowl. W/ it coming off chainlift that should lesson the violence of inner helix, but it could have a tunnel for a great distance for the noise (THE ROAR!!!).

5. Brake should not be needed on the long straight-away after inner helix.

6. Bring back the old 118 ft. loop. PROBLEM SOLVED!

From what I see, all they need to remove is about ten full train lengths of track in outer helix to replace it w/ the new section. Also, bring back the original 118 ft. loop to its original location.

This should make SOB the highest, longest, and possibly still the fastest coaster w/ TWO loops! (That should make Cedar Fair open their eyes a little bit!)

Destroying a 218 ft. structure is NOT the answer, but common sense and with a little luck is.

Overall cost should be about 3 to 4 million dollars. Cedar Fair has that.

Oh, and w/ 2 chainlifts, 3 trains could be possible, w/ luck.

[jondrewfoo]

Splitting up the Rose Bowl is probably the best way to improve SOB.

1. Bring back the heavy trains, w/ more leg room and comfortable lap bars.

2. Take out the east to north ends of the outside ring of Rose Bowl. Then redo the (new) track on east end of the Rose Bowl by making an upward straight piece --to slow it down-- to a height of about 150 ft. The turns should be reinforced w/ steel for strength.

3. After 150 ft. height w/ possible slight brake, it then drops into a 100 ft. (or so) loop, going back up around 40 to 50 ft. Then turn east (right). It then could drop into a "quadruple-down" to pick up speed. After that it should go faster and faster into tunnels, 90 degree angles, bunny hops, anything for fun! Then it should make its way back to the northern end of outside ring of helix via a second lift hill, JUST LIKE FATHER!

4. At the top of the lift hill, reconnect north end side of outer ring of Rose Bowl. W/ it coming off chainlift that should lesson the violence of inner helix, but it could have a tunnel for a great distance for the noise (THE ROAR!!!).

5. Brake should not be needed on the long straight-away after inner helix.

6. Bring back the old 118 ft. loop. PROBLEM SOLVED!

From what I see, all they need to remove is about ten full train lengths of track in outer helix to replace it w/ the new section. Also, bring back the original 118 ft. loop to its original location.

This should make SOB the highest, longest, and possibly still the fastest coaster w/ TWO loops! (That should make Cedar Fair open their eyes a little bit!)

Destroying a 218 ft. structure is NOT the answer, but common sense and with a little luck is.

Overall cost should be about 3 to 4 million dollars. Cedar Fair has that.

Oh, and w/ 2 chainlifts, 3 trains could be possible, w/ luck.

lol all i know is you gotta have no common sense to think they would actually go for such a major change like that... no way in a million years is that gonna happen.

[WooferBearATL]

Mo Money, Mo Money, Mo Money

Can we imagine what kind of ride/rides would have been possible if all that money were not poured into SOB.

[PKIDelirium]

1. Bring back the heavy trains, w/ more leg room and comfortable lap bars.

The Premier trains = More leg room?! What!

[Dvo]

Well let's see. SOB costed $40 million according to RCDB. Let's say KI were to decide that was too much and look to spend $25 million. For that price, KI could have gotten Millennium Force. Or Maverick for $21 million. And that's in today's dollars. Seven years ago, Maverick might have costed $16 million. SOB = Stupid Overpriced Bust

[WooferBearATL]

And add in the aditional amounts that it has cost for rehab and reconstruction of the structure.

Add in the ultimately difficult to determine cost of such negative publicity.

Then add in any kind of increase in insurance premiums as a result of the litigation.

SOB sure has an appropriate name.

[Kings Island Rox]

1. Bring back the heavy trains, w/ more leg room and comfortable lap bars.

The Premier trains = More leg room?! What!

What I meant to say was BRAND NEW heavy trains, not the original-- unless they find a way to redesign the old ones so our legs have room.