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New Son Of Beast Improvements


Colonel_SoB_fan
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I don't think legroom was the problem with the heavy trains. The heavy trains were removed because they were HEAVY. That's why the structure was starting to fail. After cycling those kinds of loads for years, a wooden structure is bound to show some signs of wear. We'll never see those trains again. Thank goodness.

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The Voyage at Holiday World cost 6.5 million dollars for entire ride and it has over 6000 feet of track. All Im trying to say is improve SOB with less stress possibly by making it a hybrid coaster. By splitting up the helix it does just that especially with a lift hill. Why should money be an issue anyway,because they are going to spend it on something here, Cedar Point or anywhere else for that matter. Lateral movement is the reason for failure, also older wood was mixed with newer wood by age which is an absolute no no. Cedar Fair will do anything for a record. A 218 foot wood structure should not be ignored by hate. The inner helix should run about 60 miles an hour with 2nd lift hill. Heck, the weather alone can play havoc for both wood or steel . They both can rot or rust so pick your poison. I've seen Millennium Force this summer and it is already scuffing and rusting in places and I'm not proud of that either. Paint cost money too, RIGHT? ALL RIDES are going to have their problems from time to time. (The Voyage at Holiday World is a must ride for all. THAT is one for the ages. 6 star coaster. :) )

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Guest rcfreak339

I rode i during the KIC event and it was great ... i sat in the first seat and i say its about at the level of The Beast ..but The Beast is a whole lot better...and i to think that SOB needs tunnels and theming preety bad but other then that it was great and would do it any day! :lol::lol::lol:

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I do agree a tunnel is needed on SoB. Beast and Fairly Odd Coaster (or Beastie) whatever you want to call it have one on the first drop and SoB at least needs one. Another thing my mom also thinks they should do although its no big deal is move the camera for the on-ride photo from the beginning of the lift somewhere else like at the bottom of the first drop. Anyone agree?

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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

I think you need to re read that article. No where does it say that Kings Island spent 40 million on the ride. It states explicitly :

"In addition, the Son of Beast represents the largest single investment in the history of Paramount's Kings Island and tops off a two-year $40 million capital expansion program at the 364-acre theme park.

What that means is that the price of Son of Beast, Drop Zone, Face Off and all the renovations of Adventure Village to become Action Zone cost 40 Million dollars.

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And money is now a primary driver, NOT record breaking coasters. In case you hadn't noticed, Kings Island Rox, Cedar Fair is now trying to pay off approximately $1.9 Billion in debt. Even Cedar Point did not get a record breaking addition this year, and the prospects for any Cedar Fair park getting such a thing in the near future are very, very slim.

SAVING money, not spending it on unNECESSARY modifications is a primary motivation at Cedar Fair these days. The company's very survival depends on it. Substantially every inch of real property the company owns (and that includes Cedar Point and Kings Island) has been mortgaged to secure the debt. Failure to meet the required covenants, conditions and debt payments will result in the banks owning the company and its properties. This is not to be taken lightly.

See especially:

http://www.fool.com/investing/dividends-in...r-rebuttal.aspx

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Personally, I don`t mind the brakes on Flight of Fear. By the time you get to the final corkscrew, the train is flying. Because you are indoors, and in mostly darkness, the speed that was scrubbed off isn`t as noticeable, once you get closer to the floor. And, you can look at it as prolonging the amount of time you spend on the ride.

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i was unaware that FOF was not designed to breakless from the midcourse on...

I was under the assumption that since the park had removed them that one season it was safe...

Isnt the primary purpose of that break to create a block and prevent a launched train to collide with one parked outside of the unload area ? I think it is :)

Could you imagine if The Vortex midcourse block break was turned off... that would be one hell of a ride :)

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I didn't say Flight of Fear wasn't designed to run without a midcourse brake on. Rather, my response was to a statement by FF EKU dawg 4 life to the effect that Son of Beast no longer needs the midcourse brake on since it doesn't have the loop. That coaster was designed to have the midcourse on.

Flight of Fear is quite a different story, since otherwise identical versions run outdoors at Six Flags America and Six Flags Fiesta Texas and don't even HAVE a midcourse.

Kings Island never removed the midcourse from Flight of Fear for a season. Rather, it ran for many years with very light braking on the midcourse (while Kings Dominion's version ran with heavy braking), then for a season or so with no midcourse braking. As you've noticed, the braking is back, but now as heavy as Kings Dominion's.

Midcourse brakes are used differently from ride to ride. On some, the primary purpose IS blocking. On others, they are also used as trim brakes.

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Having ridden both FOF's and Jokers Jinx, I can testify that the ride is considerably more intense without any brakeing at all, however personally I prefer the slow turns of FOF to the jerky turns of Jokers Jinx.

Jokers Jinx was built however with 2 trains in mind only where FOF ran 3 and had capabilities for 4. Much of this stems from the face that Jokers Jinx does not utilize an unload platform.

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I think the unload platform is a really good idea. It really clears up that time. Not to mention I thought it was really cool the first time I saw FoF's trains roll into the boarding platform empty. :D

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And money is now a primary driver, NOT record breaking coasters. In case you hadn't noticed, Kings Island Rox, Cedar Fair is now trying to pay off approximately $1.9 Billion in debt. Even Cedar Point did not get a record breaking addition this year, and the prospects for any Cedar Fair park getting such a thing in the near future are very, very slim.

SAVING money, not spending it on unNECESSARY modifications is a primary motivation at Cedar Fair these days. The company's very survival depends on it. Substantially every inch of real property the company owns (and that includes Cedar Point and Kings Island) has been mortgaged to secure the debt. Failure to meet the required covenants, conditions and debt payments will result in the banks owning the company and its properties. This is not to be taken lightly.

See especially:

http://www.fool.com/investing/dividends-in...r-rebuttal.aspx

Why did Cedar Fair buy Paramont parks if they couldn't afford them???

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I know we were talking about SOB here but one other thing about Flight of Fears mid-break. I been on it with light and heavy braking and I like it much more with the heavy braking, if you sit in the first seat on the left side of the train you get a killer view of the track work, it's my favorite part of the ride.

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^I've been on FoF with heavy braking, light braking, and no braking, and I think I like the light braking the best. The heavy braking just kills all the momentum up to that point, and the next sequence of hills and turns is just boring. However with no trims, it's so fast and rough. Though when I rode with no trims, it still had the OTSR's. I like the light trimming in the middle on this ride. It prolongs the ride without ruining it.

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Why did Cedar Fair buy Paramont parks if they couldn't afford them???

Some possibilities:

* Mr. Kinzel really, really wanted Kings Island, and CBS wouldn't sell that park by itself.

* Mr. Kinzel and company wanted to make sure they didn't have significant regional competition for Cedar Point.

* Mr. Kinzel and company thought they could make a go of it at the price they paid. They may still....or not.

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