OFFICIAL! Son of Beast Will NOT Operate in 2010

[Guest rcfreak339]

^It may LOOK like it will topple, but it's designed to not.

[Fear the Four]

Yeah SOB is a ton more stable then it looks. Even if you take out sections of it's supports the track will most likely stay, maybe not safely but it probably would.

Have you ever looked at it close from AZ? I did the other day I was like wow looks like it was made from tooth picks..lol Kinda like a card house , breathe the wrong way and it topples.

I'm not even gonna bother commenting on that

[EssentiallyCoaster]

It was also designed not to hurt riders. So how did that work out again?

[BeastForever]

Taking out the Antique cars were an epic fail! I like BLSC, but honestly Kings Island is not landlocked what-so-ever, so there was NO reason to take out such a popular attraction to put it in. I'm just sayin, my mom even liked the cars. She wouldn't ride anything, but she loved the cars! They could of put BLSC somewhere else. But hey that was Paramount's thing. Kudos to Cedar Fair for not removing any rides to put Diamondback in!

I agree, kudos to Cedar Fair for not removing a ride to put Diamondback and Firehawk in. Who knows, maybe Paramount would've removed The Beast to put Diamondback in if they would've built Diamondback. That would be theeee most, epic theme park FAIL EVER!!!!!! Also, who knows if Paramount would've removed Flight of Fear to build Firehawk if they built Firehawk. That would also be an EXTREME EPIC theme park FAIL!!!

[The Interpreter]

The removal of Flight of Fear was an almost given...and the one at Kings Dominion had already been closed. Ride rotation was underway. The Flights of Fear removals were among the first things Cedar Fair stopped.

[bkroz]

I don't understand - would Flight of Fear had been re-built outdoors at another Paramount Park? Or were they going to transport the whole thing, re-build the queue, etc? It was enough of a pain to install it in the showbuilding once anyway, I don't see why they'd go through it again (which is what makes me believe they just would've placed it outdoors, especially since they were in their "make the parks appear more purchase-worthy" period at the time and a big, fast, twisted awe-inspiring steel coaster might help do it).

And there was, at one time, a rumor that Kings Dominion's Flight of Fear would be the first of the two to receive the "MTV Soundwave" makeover, and that's the reason it had been closed. Can we assume from your post that that was not true?

[HTCO]

The removal of Flight of Fear was an almost given...and the one at Kings Dominion had already been closed. Ride rotation was underway. The Flights of Fear removals were among the first things Cedar Fair stopped.

And I'm very glad they did indeed stop it.

[coaster_junky]

i brought this up a while back, but i don't think it was ever given a yes or no, did they construct Flight of Fear after the building was built?

[Beast1979]

Yes, the dome went up before the ride itself.

[bkroz]

There is / was a crane in the roof of the building that was used to lower and raise track pieces. I was under the impression that it's still used to check the track when necessary, but I could be wrong. Now, why they built the building first, I haven't the slightest idea... It doesn't make sense to me. Was it all so that riders would be "surprised?" Seems an awful lot of time and money wasted just to surprise people, when the ride isn't visible from outside the park during the off-season anyway... But what do I know?

Either way, Flight of Fear, on the right days, is my favorite roller coaster at Kings Island. And on other days? Backlot Stunt Coaster. Would I lie to you?

[The Interpreter]

And the rides were headed to Paramount's Carowinds and Paramount Canada's Wonderland, where they also would have operated in buildings...

[coaster_junky]

@jackson (very twitter-ish), that's what i thought, thanks for clearing that up.

... well since we're kind of on the subject of it, was the crypt (then tomb raider: the ride) constructed the same way, ride chamber first, then actual ride?

[The Interpreter]

Yes. Tomb Raider: The Ride was never designed to sit outdoors unprotected...

[bkroz]

Yes. From what those here have said, the ride is not designed, nor capable, of being exposed to the elements (which explains, in part, its current lack-of-water-features and temperature controlled ride chamber). Even if that weren't the case, there's more of an excuse for Tomb Raider being build after its show-building than Flight of Fear - the "surprise" thing was not only a big part of the marketing, but also the ride was one-of-a-kind. A roller coaster is... well... a roller coaster, and it makes little sense to me to hide its construction.

Of course, confusing the entire "Giant Top Spin can't operate outdoors" situation is this photo, undeniably of a Giant Top Spin (or should I say, thee Giant Top Spin) assembled outdoors, likely at the HUSS plant... in what may be snow... Perhaps now we know why we've had issues from day 1?

I also find it fishy, because why would a company go out of the way to make something not weatherproof? I mean, certainly they expected Giant Top Spins to fly off the shelf, and expected them to be installed at all manner of park, mostly installed outdoors? So it makes sense that their blueprint include being weatherproof. What makes it not weatherproof? I don't know, but I certainly believe when you all say it isn't... It can barely run indoors. Imagine what a windstorm might do to it.

[The Interpreter]

...which could explain lots of things.

Giggle.

(And now you've gone back and edited while I typed this!)

[bkroz]

Haha sorry T! I tend to do that...

EDIT: At least we have the same train of thought?

[The Interpreter]

As to why it is not weatherproof...it certainly could be, at a cost. It was to be installed indoors. The client specified that. Why would you pay the extra money to make it weatherproof? The budget got exceeded by far too much the way it was...

[coaster_junky]

*looking at it from the front* is that a hinge on the left arm?

also, since that is the crypt, and that is outdoors, could that be where they discovered that it truly can't run outdoors in the elements?

[bkroz]

*looking at it from the front* is that a hinge on the left arm?

Do you really want to know the inner workings of that particular ride?

Hey, it doesn't spray metal shrapnel, it doesn't roll-back, it has not ejected anyone from their seat, and thus far, it has not caused an aneurism*. I'd call that a success!

* allegedly

[KIfan1980]

The removal of Flight of Fear was an almost given...and the one at Kings Dominion had already been closed. Ride rotation was underway. The Flights of Fear removals were among the first things Cedar Fair stopped.

So ride rotation would have seen KI lose FOF. The question I'd ask before calling this a fail is what would KI have received?

[bkroz]

The removal of Flight of Fear was an almost given...and the one at Kings Dominion had already been closed. Ride rotation was underway. The Flights of Fear removals were among the first things Cedar Fair stopped.

So ride rotation would have seen KI lose FOF. The question I'd ask before calling this a fail is what would KI have received?

In all honestly, what from the other Paramount Parks would you be interested in receiving? Perhaps we would have received BORG Assimilator (now Nighthawk) from Carowinds? Oh the unmitigated irony of it all!

[RingMaster]

I'm still not completely convinced that both Fearsome Flights were set to be shipped to 'Winds and Wonderland. I'm more in tune to believe the idea of them getting the Soundwave retheme but went in limbo right after CBS up and sold off the parks (it kinda makes a little sense if a big wooden fence is blocking the path as that could have been made for an advertisement or something). I had also heard a rumor a long time ago that KD's FOF had a major mechanical problem in the offseason and was the reason why it was SBNO in the pre-season.

[bkroz]

I had also heard a rumor a long time ago that KD's FOF had a major mechanical problem in the offseason and was the reason why it was SBNO in the pre-season.

My dream? A park owner who is straight up and tells you what's going on. Do you think that, if it were at Holiday World, folks would've been left in the dark about Flight of Fear? The Crypt? Son of Beast? Communication is key in any and every relationship you'll ever have - that includes park management and its guests. When they are open with you, you'll be open with them. The two parties can grow and evolve to each-others needs and wants and create a dramatically sincere and involved business model. When guests are left in the dark with little to no personal, emotional connection (in other words, when everything they hear from the park is a pre-approved, screened, scripted update), guests get antsy and question their leadership. See, for example, Flight of Fear with Paramount, the Son of Beast fiasco (which, until Mr. Scheid's comments a few months ago, had been all but ignored) and the elimination of the 5@5 on Facebook, which was probably the best communication tool of a corporate-owned theme park that I can recall. Communication is key.

For example, my complaint about how a simple plastic sign should be erected under the X-Base arch when either Firehawk or Flight of Fear is closed, saving guests the long walk down the bottle-necked pathway. That's a very, very simple version of communication, but would be much appreciated nonetheless, and show that Cedar Fair (or whoever is in charge of such things) doesn't mind dropping a little extra dough to keep the consumer comfortable and informed!

[LongliveKingsCobra]

So for someone to change that sign, a ride crew personell would have to walk out and change it, thus taking him away from his job of trying to fix the ride in the firstplace, then when they should be testing the ride again, s/he would have to walk, again back out and change the sign, sparing another 2-3 minutes that the ride could already have been operating.

[The Interpreter]

Spoken like an operations guy, not a finance guy? A bit of employee inconvenience is far more important than many, many bits of customer inconvenience? And why couldn't the sign be electronic, and controlled by the ride operators in the station....automatically....if the ride is operating, the RIDE IS CURRENTLY CLOSED sign out front would not be on, by default.

[Creed Bratton]

Spoken like an operations guy, not a finance guy? A bit of employee inconvenience is far more important than many, many bits of customer inconvenience? And why couldn't the sign be electronic, and controlled by the ride operators in the station....automatically....if the ride is operating, the RIDE IS CURRENTLY CLOSED sign out front would not be on, by default.

I really like this idea terpy!

[Coney Islander]

Taking out the Antique cars were an epic fail! I like BLSC, but honestly Kings Island is not landlocked what-so-ever, so there was NO reason to take out such a popular attraction to put it in. I'm just sayin, my mom even liked the cars. She wouldn't ride anything, but she loved the cars! They could of put BLSC somewhere else. But hey that was Paramount's thing. Kudos to Cedar Fair for not removing any rides to put Diamondback in!

But Diamondback did see the removal of swan lake... Ask yourself this question. Where has Rivertown's theme gone, since the spring of 08'?

[The Interpreter]

A fair question, but I think most people would rather see der fair and the coaster than an authentic Rivertown.

Terp, just sayin'

[Gordon Bombay]

whats the point of this topic? I am confused.

..What is the point of this thread?

I had also heard a rumor a long time ago that KD's FOF had a major mechanical problem in the offseason and was the reason why it was SBNO in the pre-season.

My dream? A park owner who is straight up and tells you what's going on. Do you think that, if it were at Holiday World, folks would've been left in the dark about Flight of Fear? The Crypt? Son of Beast?

Yes. Why do you think you have a right to know? Just cause you're an enthusiast. Decisions are made by people trained and paid to make said decisions. This is a business. As park guests, we're not going to understand the full extent of decisions and taken out of context you get crap like this thread. Look at Helbig and Scheid's comments way back at the beginning of this thread, everyone immediately got all up in arms and jumped to conclusions. The ignorance of guests to understand the gravity of the situation considering they don't work for the park is probably why they're not telling you everything. It's a business. P&G isn't telling me what's gonna be their next new brand of Old Spice deodarant, yet I'm still buying the product even without their "communication." You want to know more about Cedar Fair's decisions, go work for them. If not, go to Kings Island and just have fun. They're gonna do with the rides what they want and do what makes the most sense for them as a business.

Communication is key in any and every relationship you'll ever have - that includes park management and its guests. When they are open with you, you'll be open with them. The two parties can grow and evolve to each-others needs and wants and create a dramatically sincere and involved business model. When guests are left in the dark with little to no personal, emotional connection (in other words, when everything they hear from the park is a pre-approved, screened, scripted update), guests get antsy and question their leadership. See, for example, Flight of Fear with Paramount, the Son of Beast fiasco (which, until Mr. Scheid's comments a few months ago, had been all but ignored) and the elimination of the 5@5 on Facebook, which was probably the best communication tool of a corporate-owned theme park that I can recall. Communication is key.

Sounds like you're really saying that you wish they'd blab about more inside info.

[The Interpreter]

a. Not everyone got all up in arms and jumped to conclusions, etc.

b. Even if you go work for Cedar Fair, you ain't gonna find out very much...That company, perhaps more than any other in the amusement business, largely operates on a need to know basis. A ride op is not going to know what is going in next year much earlier than anyone else, in most cases. Even the marketing director at a major park in the chain is not privy to the amount of information said director would have at Busch or Six Flags, from what I have seen/observed over the years...

c. At least one poster here is not a coaster enthusiast and has not been for years. Industry enthusiast? Yes. Park enthusiast? Yes. Strong friend of and supporter of the industry? Yes. Coaster enthusiast? Not even close.