OFFICIAL! Son of Beast Will NOT Operate in 2010

[HTCO]

Who exactly runs the website anyways - whoever it is, he's not too good at updating stuff!

But they probably should say they're closing SOB, because some people might be excited to ride it on opening day, and then become disappointed.

Uhhh... I'm not sure how much more clear we could be than, "OFFICIAL! Son of Beast Will NOT Operate in 2010"

This made Coke go all over my screen.

LOL at Firehawk123. You have GOT to be kidding!

[Outdoor Man]

i'm probably off on my terminology... but whereas The Beast follows the hills close to the ground sometimes- SOB relies mostly on sheer height for it's hills.

[hausty1983]

Take the rose bowl out and add a few hills,tunnels and it would be better but costs I doubt that they would do that...

[dakota2112]

Generally speaking, people are happy that the park has not mentioned tearing down SoB. But the first thing that crossed my mind is something like this: Of course they're not going to mention tearing it down... because if there's even the smallest, most remote chance that the ride will ever re-open again, then the absolute last thing they would want floating around would be any sort of official word regarding consideration of the ride's removal. I suspect there has been plenty of talk behind closed doors about the ride's removal. But they are not about to let that get out, because if the thing ever does re-open, the lawsuits could come back with even more of a vengeance... imagine how bad it would be for the park if someone else were to get injured (or claim injury) on a ride that had been even considered for removal, but then re-opened. Especially when that ride is SoB. Just my $0.02

[Browntggrr]

This is Drachen Fire all over again.

So true.

What started in 1999 as a great amount of anticipation has now ended with a great amount of disappointment.

It is time to end the misery and move on...

[catzdrummer09]

How many different languages does it need to be said in.

The ride will remain SBNO for 2010. The park is not even considering tearing it down. End of story.

Why must the same people always make the same negative responses about the ride. We know by now whether you hate it or like it. Time will tell what happens, so let's not doom it just yet shall we?

[bkroz]

As always, not to nit-pick, but "The park is not even considering tearing it down. End of story." is not necessarily true. It was briefly mentioned that there have been a few ideas considered about the Son of Beast dilemma, and that tearing it down wasn't one of the alternatives considered. First of all, that may well be a lie, as was mentioned. There are certain things that those within the park's operations cannot and should not say... Saying that the ride's demolition was considered is a sort of "admission of guilt" if you will, that the park is at its wits end and is unwilling to continue working with the ride. Whether or not that's how they feel, none of us can say - but they certainly have claimed to be more optimistic than that. Is it the truth? Who knows.

Even assuming that they really have not considered tearing it down, that doesn't mean they never will. If the remaining two of three engineering firms have "unsatisfactory responses" as the first one had, the park will inevitably move on to a new alternative, one of which may be the ride's removal. Keep in mind, though, that tearing it down may well cost as much as some of the more modest fixes that may be considered, and like construction, destruction (especially of this magnitude) must be worked into the park's annual budget. Safely demolishing Son of Beast (think of how close it is to Adventure Express and Flight Deck) plus hauling and trashing the scrapped wood would be a project of unprecedented proportions... Literally.

And of course, one day, be it in months, years, decades, or centuries, Son of Beast will be removed. The same can be said for The Beast, Diamondback, Vortex, and every other ride at Kings Island.

[BrokenMind]

This is Drachen Fire all over again.

So true.

What started in 1999 as a great amount of anticipation has now ended with a great amount of disappointment.

It is time to end the misery and move on...

I feel ashamed of myself for joining on this board for this reason, but I am feeling disgruntled.

You want to hear my opinion on SoB? Well, you can't, because I've never been on it. In fact, I've only been to Kings Island twice, even though I've lived in the Dayton area for over a decade (last summer and Halloween Haunt 2007, and even then I don't think SoB was operating). I've been to Cedar Point, Disney World, Universal Orlando, both Busch Gardens, SeaWorld...

Anyway, back to SoB. First off, there is NO WAY the ride will ever reopen as is. To make the ride experience acceptable when it never was acceptable under officials' current definitions is impossible without further neutering the ride (hybridization like the Texas Giant, installing prefab track on top of existing supports, etc.).

Now, for my rant.

What happened with Son of Beast that caused this mega-closure? The answer is nothing. The ride was operating normally before the date of the "incident", on the day of the incident, and the 2+ weeks after the date of incident (since the rider reported it late). Nothing wrong happened with SoB! In fact, has anything gone really wrong with SoB without the loop (and with the lighter trains)?

What made it worse was the fact that the decision to keep it closed for the rest of 2009 was the fact that they made it just days after the Firehawk "incident". Both rides had "incidents" that were results of riders having pre-existing conditions. Yet Firehawk reopens one day later and SoB is where its at now. And SoB was declared safe, even if it is painful. "Not Satisfied with the Ride Experience," huh? Well I wasn't satisfied with the Flight Deck experience (surprisingly rough and too short) nor was I satisfied with Backlot Stunt Coaster...being called Backlot Stunt Coaster. Should we close those down as well?

Also, what else did Tavella (the burst blood vessel in brain victim) ride that day? I heard some comment say that she came from Firehawk. She could have been on any intense ride; it could have been Drop Tower for all I know that triggered the umm...stroke? Or it might have happened regardless of any ride.

And today, there is another double whammy. Today, they said SoB won't open in 2010 whatsoever. Just yesterday, they said it may have a chance later in the season although it wouldn't open with the rest of the park in April. That's just mean to do something like that (mind rape?)!

So Son of Beast is being treated like a murderer when it was functioning properly the whole (2009) time. At least that is how I feel. I should have been able to ride it last August. It's bad enough that I missed the chance to ride it with the loop...but now it is SBNO for even longer than the 2006 incident where the ride was responsible. This shouldn't be crammed down our throats. I agree that a solution to SoB's roughness should be dealt with, but not at the expense of riders who like the ride or have never been on it...like me... I would like to have my own opinion on SoB...

[BavarianBeatle]

RIP Son of Beast. Imo.it will never operate again. My last ride on it was, well, my last ride on it! Just my opinion. If I turn out to be wrong, then I will apologize next year!

[Browntggrr]

What happened with Son of Beast that caused this mega-closure? The answer is nothing. The ride was operating normally before the date of the "incident", on the day of the incident, and the 2+ weeks after the date of incident (since the rider reported it late). Nothing wrong happened with SoB! In fact, has anything gone really wrong with SoB without the loop (and with the lighter trains)?

The last incident would be the common: "straw that broke the camel's back".

[BoddaH1994]

This is Drachen Fire all over again.

So true.

What started in 1999 as a great amount of anticipation has now ended with a great amount of disappointment.

It is time to end the misery and move on...

I feel ashamed of myself for joining on this board for this reason, but I am feeling disgruntled.

You want to hear my opinion on SoB? Well, you can't, because I've never been on it. In fact, I've only been to Kings Island twice, even though I've lived in the Dayton area for over a decade (last summer and Halloween Haunt 2007, and even then I don't think SoB was operating). I've been to Cedar Point, Disney World, Universal Orlando, both Busch Gardens, SeaWorld...

Anyway, back to SoB. First off, there is NO WAY the ride will ever reopen as is. To make the ride experience acceptable when it never was acceptable under officials' current definitions is impossible without further neutering the ride (hybridization like the Texas Giant, installing prefab track on top of existing supports, etc.).

Now, for my rant.

What happened with Son of Beast that caused this mega-closure? The answer is nothing. The ride was operating normally before the date of the "incident", on the day of the incident, and the 2+ weeks after the date of incident (since the rider reported it late). Nothing wrong happened with SoB! In fact, has anything gone really wrong with SoB without the loop (and with the lighter trains)?

What made it worse was the fact that the decision to keep it closed for the rest of 2009 was the fact that they made it just days after the Firehawk "incident". Both rides had "incidents" that were results of riders having pre-existing conditions. Yet Firehawk reopens one day later and SoB is where its at now. And SoB was declared safe, even if it is painful. "Not Satisfied with the Ride Experience," huh? Well I wasn't satisfied with the Flight Deck experience (surprisingly rough and too short) nor was I satisfied with Backlot Stunt Coaster...being called Backlot Stunt Coaster. Should we close those down as well?

Also, what else did Tavella (the burst blood vessel in brain victim) ride that day? I heard some comment say that she came from Firehawk. She could have been on any intense ride; it could have been Drop Tower for all I know that triggered the umm...stroke? Or it might have happened regardless of any ride.

And today, there is another double whammy. Today, they said SoB won't open in 2010 whatsoever. Just yesterday, they said it may have a chance later in the season although it wouldn't open with the rest of the park in April. That's just mean to do something like that (mind rape?)!

So Son of Beast is being treated like a murderer when it was functioning properly the whole (2009) time. At least that is how I feel. I should have been able to ride it last August. It's bad enough that I missed the chance to ride it with the loop...but now it is SBNO for even longer than the 2006 incident where the ride was responsible. This shouldn't be crammed down our throats. I agree that a solution to SoB's roughness should be dealt with, but not at the expense of riders who like the ride or have never been on it...like me... I would like to have my own opinion on SoB...

Hey BrokenMind,

Welcome to our community.

You should not be ashamed of your post. I understand many of your points.

What you have to understand is that Son of Beast was an unacceptable ride experience and the park tried everything, EVERYTHING to make the ride better. They have tried retracking countless times, new trains, reinforcing the structure and many other tweaks. You have to empathize with the fact that they can entertain as many options as they want during a given day, but every option is going to cost a whole lot of money. They hit a junction in which whatever was going to be done needed to be the right thing to do. It's impossible to justify spending millions upon millions of dollars to retry a fix that may or may not work.

The park actually gained a point of respect with me today. My interpretation is that they ran out of time and options, and when the decision was made they disclosed the information quickly to myself and the members of the media. They knew it wouldn't necessarily be a popular decision, but they made it in the interest of the guests. The ride could have opened with the park, but they elected not to open it because they felt as though it was the right thing to do. It would only be with supreme arrogance that they simply reopen a ride that's not up to their standards and assume that people will quietly enjoy it.

It's a shame that you never got to ride it. You still may be able to in the future. However, as the ride stands now, you're not missing much. It's big, tall and fast but the truth is that it's kind of uneventful. That, coupled with the fact that it was an uncomfortable (and commonly painful) experience, made it a ride that you would only want to ride once or so per season. Being the guy who runs Kings Island's fan site, I think I can credibly say that I'm about as loyal as it gets amongst the fans, but I haven't ridden it since early 2008.

Kings Island offers such rides as The Beast, Diamondback, The Racer and Firehawk - all of which offer experiences that are exponentially better than Son of Beast ever offered. Maybe one day they'll figure out what needs to be done and it can sit in the same crowd as the rides mentioned above, but if that day never comes... it's really not that big of a deal.

Ryan

[gigacoaster2k]

Look on the bright side, guys. At least it isn't DB that's closed for the season.

We still have that, and so many of our other favorite rides. Not to mention, we have each other. I know that sounds sappy and cliche, but it's true. I'm a member of a CP forum that doesn't have a fourth of the friendship level that we have here on KIC.

[windshawne]

This is Drachen Fire all over again.

So true.

What started in 1999 as a great amount of anticipation has now ended with a great amount of disappointment.

It is time to end the misery and move on...

I feel ashamed of myself for joining on this board for this reason, but I am feeling disgruntled.

You want to hear my opinion on SoB? Well, you can't, because I've never been on it. In fact, I've only been to Kings Island twice, even though I've lived in the Dayton area for over a decade (last summer and Halloween Haunt 2007, and even then I don't think SoB was operating). I've been to Cedar Point, Disney World, Universal Orlando, both Busch Gardens, SeaWorld...

Anyway, back to SoB. First off, there is NO WAY the ride will ever reopen as is. To make the ride experience acceptable when it never was acceptable under officials' current definitions is impossible without further neutering the ride (hybridization like the Texas Giant, installing prefab track on top of existing supports, etc.).

Now, for my rant.

What happened with Son of Beast that caused this mega-closure? The answer is nothing. The ride was operating normally before the date of the "incident", on the day of the incident, and the 2+ weeks after the date of incident (since the rider reported it late). Nothing wrong happened with SoB! In fact, has anything gone really wrong with SoB without the loop (and with the lighter trains)?

What made it worse was the fact that the decision to keep it closed for the rest of 2009 was the fact that they made it just days after the Firehawk "incident". Both rides had "incidents" that were results of riders having pre-existing conditions. Yet Firehawk reopens one day later and SoB is where its at now. And SoB was declared safe, even if it is painful. "Not Satisfied with the Ride Experience," huh? Well I wasn't satisfied with the Flight Deck experience (surprisingly rough and too short) nor was I satisfied with Backlot Stunt Coaster...being called Backlot Stunt Coaster. Should we close those down as well?

Also, what else did Tavella (the burst blood vessel in brain victim) ride that day? I heard some comment say that she came from Firehawk. She could have been on any intense ride; it could have been Drop Tower for all I know that triggered the umm...stroke? Or it might have happened regardless of any ride.

And today, there is another double whammy. Today, they said SoB won't open in 2010 whatsoever. Just yesterday, they said it may have a chance later in the season although it wouldn't open with the rest of the park in April. That's just mean to do something like that (mind rape?)!

So Son of Beast is being treated like a murderer when it was functioning properly the whole (2009) time. At least that is how I feel. I should have been able to ride it last August. It's bad enough that I missed the chance to ride it with the loop...but now it is SBNO for even longer than the 2006 incident where the ride was responsible. This shouldn't be crammed down our throats. I agree that a solution to SoB's roughness should be dealt with, but not at the expense of riders who like the ride or have never been on it...like me... I would like to have my own opinion on SoB...

Hey BrokenMind,

Welcome to our community.

You should not be ashamed of your post. I understand many of your points.

What you have to understand is that Son of Beast was an unacceptable ride experience and the park tried everything, EVERYTHING to make the ride better. They have tried retracking countless times, new trains, reinforcing the structure and many other tweaks. You have to empathize with the fact that they can entertain as many options as they want during a given day, but every option is going to cost a whole lot of money. They hit a junction in which whatever was going to be done needed to be the right thing to do. It's impossible to justify spending millions upon millions of dollars to retry a fix that may or may not work.

The park actually gained a point of respect with me today. My interpretation is that they ran out of time and options, and when the decision was made they disclosed the information quickly to myself and the members of the media. They knew it wouldn't necessarily be a popular decision, but they made it in the interest of the guests. The ride could have opened with the park, but they elected not to open it because they felt as though it was the right thing to do. It would only be with supreme arrogance that they simply reopen a ride that's not up to their standards and assume that people will quietly enjoy it.

It's a shame that you never got to ride it. You still may be able to in the future. However, as the ride stands now, you're not missing much. It's big, tall and fast but the truth is that it's kind of uneventful. That, coupled with the fact that it was an uncomfortable (and commonly painful) experience, made it a ride that you would only want to ride once or so per season. Being the guy who runs Kings Island's fan site, I think I can credibly say that I'm about as loyal as it gets amongst the fans, but I haven't ridden it since early 2008.

Kings Island offers such rides as The Beast, Diamondback, The Racer and Firehawk - all of which offer experiences that are exponentially better than Son of Beast ever offered. Maybe one day they'll figure out what needs to be done and it can sit in the same crowd as the rides mentioned above, but if that day never comes... it's really not that big of a deal.

Ryan

Well said Ryan. My last ride on Son was miserable, and regardless of whether it reopens again or not, I will not be on it. The only enjoyable part to me was leaving the station and the first drop-beyond that, its painful. It's a beautiful structure, but lets face it-its a horrid attraction.

[CedarPointer]

What happened with Son of Beast that caused this mega-closure? The answer is nothing. The ride was operating normally before the date of the "incident", on the day of the incident, and the 2+ weeks after the date of incident (since the rider reported it late). Nothing wrong happened with SoB! In fact, has anything gone really wrong with SoB without the loop (and with the lighter trains)?

Lawl... SoB has never operated "normally"... unless beating the crap out of riders is "normal" for a wooden coaster. And, by the way, maybe she reported it "late" because it simply didn't occur to her to report it? I can understand (for reasons that I will not go in to on here) why it would not immediately occur to her to report her injury to the park.

[The Interpreter]

How many different languages does it need to be said in.

The ride will remain SBNO for 2010. The park is not even considering tearing it down. End of story.

Why must the same people always make the same negative responses about the ride. We know by now whether you hate it or like it....

Oh, really?

And in which camp do I fall?

I will find this most interesting....

And I will NOT answer that question...just as I do NOT compare Nitro and Diamondback, even if, just say hypothetically, Mr. Mark Shapiro were to ask me to....

[count_of_tuscany]

I might as well chime in here... just my thoughts. Kings Island isn't my home park (CP is), but I love it and I did have the opportunity to ride SOB several times during the last two seasons. I'm used to Mean Streak, which I think (at least my body thinks) is rougher. I actually really like SOB and I am saddened that it will not be open this season, but I hope there is an operational future for the ride!

[The Interpreter]

I am only going to post this a single time...and let others divine what they will. Just because B follows A does not mean A caused B. Example: A: The dog gets a new brand of dog food today. B: The dog gets sick and dies. Many, many different things could have caused B, even things that happened weeks, months or years ago and that had everything to do with causing B while A in fact may have had NOTHING to do with it.

Put a simpler way, just because thing B happened after thing A doesn't mean A caused B. It only means A happened before B. It does not mean it is the cause (or, as it is called in law, the proximate cause).

In this case, B is Son of Beast closing for the season last June. In all probability, the event that many people here are identifying as the cause (A), is in fact totally unrelated to the reason(s) for the closure. That event, A: the reported burst blood vessel, may have been the proverbial straw or it may in fact have had NOTHING to do with the closure other than happening before it. Some call this a coincidence--a thing that appears to be related but just happened to coincide in time...

[CincyMan98]

Who exactly runs the website anyways - whoever it is, he's not too good at updating stuff!

But they probably should say they're closing SOB, because some people might be excited to ride it on opening day, and then become disappointed.

Uhhh... I'm not sure how much more clear we could be than, "OFFICIAL! Son of Beast Will NOT Operate in 2010"

This made Coke go all over my screen.

LOL at Firehawk123. You have GOT to be kidding!

Oh BTW I wasn't specific enough......I mean the official website of Kings Island. Why don't they just post it there? But they won't.

[The Interpreter]

Yes, they will.

But not last night.

The world does not yet totally revolve around the Internets, websites and social networking sites.

There are still cellphones.

And somewhere, in a dank, dark closet...an old manual typewriter, a Parker fountain pen, a legal pad, a dial-less candlestick phone....and pictures of wooden coasters with loops....most of those coasters...all but one of them actually, from the early 20th century, and not the early 21st...

[Browntggrr]

Why must the same people always make the same negative responses about the ride. We know by now whether you hate it or like it. Time will tell what happens, so let's not doom it just yet shall we?

Yeah, those people really are annoying.

They are almost as bad as the people that think SoB will be opening this summer!

I'm sure during the next 12 months of SBNO will help the ride out immensely.

Don't doom the ride yet fans, as it has produced such positive memories over the last 10 years!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIdMjgkMaAs

[bday123]

Just checked the Kings Island website and SOB has been removed from the Thrill Ride list. Interesting, because I thought at most they would simply put a caption that the ride would not be operating in 2010. Anyway...just an FYI

[Justin_M17]

Well, it's about time we were given some sort of official stance on the Son of Beast issue. I have to admit, I'm definitely not a fan of the ride, and am usually content with riding it once or twice per season, but I'm still sad to see it SBNO.

[RailRider]

Well its not the first time it has been SBNO. I wonder if a retrofit like that of Texas Giant could solve a lot of the issues. Texas Giant had become unrideable in the last few years, it made SoB seem tame. Whoever is in control of Cedar Fair by the end of the summer will have some tough choices to make regarding SoB, but if they find an effective solution then that same solution might be applied to coaster up north with a Mean Streak.

[bkroz]

Here's my breakdown of the situation for what it's worth: Son of Beast will not open in 2010.

No matter which camp you're a part of, there are good things on the horizon - the ride will either be improved by leaps and bounds and create an experience at least more akin to the one it was meant to have, or it will be torn down and removed from Kings Island's lineup of rides in its inferior state. Whether you love the ride or hate it, you must admit, it does not operate the way it is supposed to, and its very possible that it has potential locked inside of it.

So pretty much, we get to "ride the sequel" the way we were supposed to, or the matter is over and done with and the weakened-state ride disappears. How can anyone be displeased with those options?

I hope that, whoever is looking into these alternatives for the ride has a very close eye on Texas Giant. Even that, though, is a frightening thought - if Texas Giant works, perhaps Cedar Fair will elect to try the treatment at their pride and joy, Cedar Point, by applying it to Mean Streak. If they test that out for a year, we're talking four or five years from now when Son of Beast gets the chance - if left to natural forces and minimal human upkeep, I fear Son of Beast may be rubble in five years.

[shark6495]

I dont see a major park company like CF (or whoever owns it) letting a ride rot. I see human upkeep on this ride being no different. Its a massive strucutre and the last thing the park/mother company needs is a ride collapsing during the season (looking a few years out). So with that being said I dont think youll see SoB in a pile of rubble unless some unknown "act of God" causes the ride to collapse

[Browntggrr]

^^^ I really don't know if a modification like is currently being done to TG can be done to SoB.

Coasters are designed to withstand certain amount of forces in certain amount of areas in certain directions. When you change the dynamics of that design, the forces are also changed. The ride could end up folding up like a deck of cards. And sure, engineers can test for things like that- but the engineers that have worked on SoB so far have not done such a bang-up job.

Look at it like this: say you wanted to move your house, and the foundation of your house is currently on rock. If you were to move your house foundation to a sand base, that would change how your house sits. The forces & areas that kept your house upright on rock may not be used anymore and those same forces would be transferred to another part of your house that may not be able to handle the pressure.

Another angle is return on investment. SoB has already been a $30 million failure, and this type of change will be a practical reconstruction. Is the current ride worth it?

TG's modification is about $10 million. The ride origionally had a price tag of $5.5 million, and TG was a decent ride- at one time considered one of the best coasters. Is SoB worth another $15 million? Or can that money be used toward another ride that does not have the history SoB does?

I've said it before; you can take a piece of crap, shine it up real nice, and then what do you have? It's still a piece of crap.

[bkroz]

... I dont think youll see SoB in a pile of rubble unless some unknown "act of God" causes the ride to collapse

You mean, again?

In other words, keeping with its history, we may indeed see it as a pile of rubble... Haha!

And tggr, I agree 100% (this is where angels decend from heaven vocalizing at the impossibility of it all). I love(d) Son of Beast for what it was, but eventually, you have to say, "Wow, GCI could come in and build an incredible ride for the price of this repair." IF we really were facing a $15 million repair, GCI could create a pretty good-sized replacement, too... Maybe not the tallest and fastest, but certainly something unique!

Imagine if all of the money spent on repairs had instead gone towards a replacement some six years ago. We could still have the world's tallest, fastest, and only looping wooden coaster - an Intamin pre-fab one... And one that would doubtlessly dominate top-ten lists across the industry. A proper Son to The Beast, and one that would still be a signature ride of our park.

[XGatorHead 8904]

So pretty much, we get to "ride the sequel" the way we were supposed to, or the matter is over and done with and the weakened-state ride disappears. How can anyone be displeased with those options?

Even with possible improvements, I wouldn't go as far to say that we'd get to ride it the way we were supposed to, unless they add the loop back in... which I see as highly unlikely.

It will be interesting to watch the developments with Texas Giant. Hopefully it works out for them. I've always thought of Mean Streak as rougher than SoB, but I could see a Texas Giant-style rehab on either one depending on if CF would want to spend the money to do that (and depending on how it works out for TG). There may be better options out there, I'm certainly not in a position to know.

[Scooby_Doo]

the coaster could be DRAMATICALLY improved if the "bowls" were removed in favor of making it a true "terrain" coaster.  I think it can be salvaged into a much better experience.  The roughest parts of the ride were when the track curved anyway.

It looks like a true terrain coaster to me!

Other then that the ride experience would be much better without the rose bowl. No aching pains!

I never had any pains of any kinda while riding Son of Beast. I just hope they fix whatever is wrong I really enjoy the coaster and am looking forward to the season to start!

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

Scooby_Doo, you and I are in the minority there. I believe only DropZone99 is the other person joining us in the pain free rides on SoB.