New Son Of Beast Improvements

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

What can be done to make this ride better than it already is? I personally think they need to take off the mid course brakes or at least not slow it down as much and put the loop back in. Especially since I have heard the ride ops say it now faster than ever why not do this. You can still have the G-Trains and the loop.

[padfoot714]

Personally I feel that SOB needs tunnels before it can ever truly claim to be the actual Son of Beast. I felt this way even before they took the loop out and I think that it especially needs them now that the loop is gone.

[WhoDeyForever]

Put the loop back in.

[Ki Man]

Put the loop back in and add all the chest pain and pressure to your back, neck, spine...and body. That's a great idea.

[Cody]

1:new track layout; I would make it longer and i would add something woodens rollercoasters dont normaly have.

2:Add a loop somewhere else in the ride.

3:bring back the old trains, they had head rest and they could hold much more people.

4:Tunnels is a must

5:Themeing, the ride is plain.

click the image for enlarger one

[Browntggrr]

SoB has already been changed enough times.

What it is, is what it is.

Not to mention, you just can't go adding track length. Scary as it sounds, there was a small amount of engineering done before the ride was built. Adding track greatly increases the possibility of a rollback. Especially now with the lighter trains.

There has already been enough money poured into that dry hole.

[WooferBearATL]

Mo Money Mo Money Mo Money!

[The Interpreter]

And given Cedar Fair's financial condition, it is amazing enough they have spent what they already have on that thing. I don't see many more, if any more, fixes coming that either cost a great deal of money or aren't completely and totally NECESSARY to keep the ride running. I just don't see them spending money on "nice to have" things there like tunnels and new trains or putting back a loop.

[DeLorean Rider]

True^ It is not as if the ride does not get ridden right now. To the general public, the ride is still pretty popular.

[JjAmSaOnN]

Even if financially CF could add new track as suggested, the reputation of the ride is already ruined. It has had problems since it opened. It is like 3 strikes and you're out. SOB had it's chance, it didn't work. Basically it is at the point if it is worth salvaging and trying to make it work with what they have. After almost killing people, it would be insane to invest more money to add more risk.

What CF has done is took out risk. Lighter trains mean less load on the structure. And because they are lighter trains and the design of them, you can't have the loop now.

The only way SOB will survive is to improve the ride with what is already existing and minimize the risk factors. You can't add track and new design without creating even more risk. Let's start with fixing the Rose Bowl where the accident occurred. It is still a violent shaker even though there is less load on the track.

Personally I believe SOB is close to it's end and the wrecking ball will be here soon unless CF wants invest in improving what is existing. I bet they will continue to try and maintain it and just build a brand new better ride for a replacement, but I doubt the looping woody idea would work again.

[WooferBearATL]

It's actually survived much longer than I would have even phathomed to bet.

We could probably do a survey as to how long we actually think that SOB will operate.

.... I mean operate as a ride ... not operate in any given season. <G>

[westcoaster]

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;

[Ki Man]

^Maverick is an origional, one of a kind terrain coaster that is pretty much the greatest in the world. I HIGHLY doubt CF will consider putting something that resembles or mirrors Maverick in any other parl. And Maverick is NO WHERE NEAR gentle, lmao.

[westcoaster]

I'm saying similar to maverick , but its own elements and much smoother:

Also getting back on track No one will build a looping woody again,

also we should look to past success of coasters gone by to build the next great wooden coaster:

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

Ok first off I created this thread for the people who love SOB and want to see it. Also just to have a little fun on this site.

Second SOB did indeed crash I know. 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. Also a bad rep can be rebuilt. Sonny isn't damaged for life. The ride is coming back.

Just a thought I was having, does anyone know if KI still has the 118 foot tall loop that once was in the Son of Beast?

[WooferBearATL]

Ok first off I created this thread for the people who love SOB and want to see it. Also just to have a little fun on this site.

Second SOB did indeed crash I know. 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. Also a bad rep can be rebuilt. Sonny isn't damaged for life. The ride is coming back.

Just a thought I was having, does anyone know if KI still has the 118 foot tall loop that once was in the Son of Beast?

The loop, along with countless dollars poured into SOB have been scrapped.

[Dvo]

How can you scrap the money put into it? It's not like they paid for the loop, but got their money back when they took it out.

[DeLorean Rider]

What can be done to make this ride better than it already is? I personally think they need to take off the mid course brakes or at least not slow it down as much and put the loop back in. Especially since I have heard the ride ops say it now faster than ever why not do this. You can still have the G-Trains and the loop.

No you cant.

The reason is because the G-Trains are not built to hold the entire weight of the train soley by the under wheels. The old premier trains WERE built to do so, which is what made them so heavy. In the case of an emergency the, trains must be able to hang upside down within the loop without giving way. The premier trains were built to withstand this and were put to this test.

[CoastersRZ]

While the accident last year certainly didn`t help Son of Beast win more fans, it is the ride experience itself that has caused the rather negative preception of the ride to the public. That coupled with the large amounts of upkeep cost and time the ride requires, the ride might not make much sense to hang onto for years and years, as others have said.

[Dvo]

^I can only hope. If they tear it out, hopefully they'll replace it with a good coaster... Someone call Gravity Group.

[CoastersRZ]

I think that Kings Island will see a new steel coaster from one of the two major steel manufacturers before they see a new wood coaster show up at the park. That being said, stranger things have certainly happened before.

[hausty1983]

I think we don't know which way the park is going now that CF is in debt so bad from purchasing all the Paramount Parks. We will just have to wait and see whats going on after this season comes to a close. I wouldn't get my hopes up for anything exciting in the Roller Coaster category for next season just my two cents on that.

[Browntggrr]

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.

[MarketingExpress]

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.

You need to use a better word than "crash" too. When I hear that I think of 2 trains bumping each other somewhere on the track. I am pretty sure that this hasn't happened at SOB yet.

[Tomkatt7]

SoB just LOOKS unsafe.

I won't pretend to know all the details of every accident, or the cause.

I am just "average park visitor" and thats my impression of the ride.

Everyone has seen it on the News, and heard about the problems.

You get to the park, and you look up at the lift hill, see all that "extra" wood they put in for re-enforcement, and you think, Wow, The engineers didn't see this from day one?

The extra planks just make it look "cobbed up". Like they are just kind of building the ride as they go along, adding extra stuff here and there as they need to.

I rode it when it was new, and still had the loop. Yeah, it was cool, but not exceptional.

It wasn't great enough to make me want to ride it again, not with the bad press and the fact that the real BEAST is just a short walk away.

In the future, I would suggest that they at least build one on Roller Coaster tycoon before actually breaking ground, just to make sure it will work!!!! LOL

[PKIVortex]

I noticed something about SOB that I haven't noticed before I know it's normal but watch as the train leaves the lift and heads into the curve before the drop, the structure sways a lot, it almost looks as if it could buckle.

[MarketingExpress]

I noticed something about SOB that I haven't noticed before I know it's normal but watch as the train leaves the lift and heads into the curve before the drop, the structure says a lot, it almost looks as if it could buckle.

I think you mean "sways"

But yes it does sway a lot after the train has passed over it.

[welchce]

I think that Kings Island will see a new steel coaster from one of the two major steel manufacturers before they see a new wood coaster show up at the park. That being said, stranger things have certainly happened before.

Yeah, I think that the only way possible that KI gets a wooden coaster is if they take out SoB. Combined between CP and KI there are 30 coasters and only 5 are wood. Two of the five are considered very rough (SoB and Mean Streak). So I have a feeling if CF builds another woodie at one of their parks they'd choose the relatively safe route and get something from the Gravity Group because of how well Hades and the Voyage have been rated and how the hybrid style is a lot smoother.

About the improvements to SoB, I agree that the MCBR should not slow it as much but I'm sure there's no way this would happen since with less speed it exerts less stress on the track and on your body. O, and yeah, there's no way the loop is coming back (just check out DeLorean Rider's post). I also feel that the future of SoB is becoming gloom unless they can seriously improve the Rose Bowl and show the GP that it's safe.

[PKIVortex]

I agree, and yes I did mean sway sorry. They need to redesign the rose bowl somehow, but I know that would cost money. Do they really need to dump more money into SOB?

[hausty1983]

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.