General Son of Beast Discussion

[TheCrypt]

While on the subject of Son of Beast dreams, I've had 2!

1. Coasting for Kids had just happened in June, and it is now August of 2012 and we're having the Fall Coasting for Kids event! Except this year, it was spent on Son of Beast! So, after a complete revamp in about 2 months, we got on the green train. The train pulls out of the station, making a 180* turn to the left, then down a bunny hill, up to the lift. We climbed the lift, then down the predrop.

Now here's the wacky part, all of Action Zone was gone. There was no Drop Tower, no Flight Deck, no Thunder Alley, nothing.

Here comes the drop, but it turns into a nightmare right there. TRIMS! Anyways, we passed the upcurve into the rosebowl, and through the rosebowl, smooth as glass. They eliminated the MCBR, and added the loop! After the loop, however, the train makes a 90* banked turn to the right right into the brake run, and to the station.

For some reason, every single tree between Son of Beast and Flight of Fear/Firehawk was cut down.

As I was leaving, I ran into some KIC members. I also remember signing up for 2 new free programs. Food Loathers and Line Cutters! Food Loathers was where you got a T-Shirt with a ride on it (I got a Beast 25th Anniversary shirt) and you have a list on the back of how much more food will cost for you! Instead of $8 for a slice of pizza and a breadstick, it was now a mere $10! What a steal. And Line Cutters was Fast Lane.

And well, I don't remember the other dream (something about it getting Iron Horse track).

[McSalsa]

All right, here's the first of some of that stuff I said I'd put...first up: Son of Beast in 2000, the year the ride made its debut as the tallest, fastest, and only looping wooden coaster on the planet.

9 years later, in June 2009- not long before the ride was closed and became SBNO, which remains its current status. The loop, however, was already gone.

I have still more, but there is a media limit so I'll not clog this post with media. These videos are both the property of Coasterbob62, not me.

[McSalsa]

OK, here's a bit more cool SOB stuff:

POV Video of the ride testing in 2000:

Son of Beast takes a test run...and you can ride along! Also, do NOT FILM WHILE RIDING WITHOUT PARK PERMISSION! I chose this video instead of the Discovery Channel one because...this one's much clearer.

Travel Channel's Ultimate Rides: Drop Zone & Son of Beast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DMIvVOHLqk

A video from the travel channel from a long time ago featuring Drop Zone and Son of Beast, and even a little of the original Beast. LOL that they get the opening date for Drop Zone wrong- it debuted in 1999, not 2001!

Coasterimage.com Music Video- Beast & Son of Beast

A cool music video with The Beast and Son of Beast. Was filmed shortly before SOB's famous accident and features some of the last footage of the ride with the loop still intact. Bonus footage of Avatar: The Last Airbender (now Surf Dog) at the end.

NoLimits- Spez's Son of Beast Recreation

Download Link: http://nolimits-exchange.com/coaster/son-of-beast/696 (you will probably need to sign up- it's free, though)

An excellent (there are some minor flaws, but they are minor...) recreation of Son of Beast for No Limits- includes the loop. You'll want a fast PC with a good graphics card for it, though!

Well, that's pretty much it...enjoy all this SOB related stuff...

PS: Most of this was probably in the old SOB thread, but I figured I'd just post it all here so that it would be easier for others to find...

[kblanken]

Funny Story - I dreamed that it reopened last night..The dream included the whole ride, and I woke up as our train was pulling into the station.

When I woke up, I had a charlie horse. So the ride has managed to hurt me without even being open, lol. But seriously, is anyone here a psychologist that might be able to tell me why I had such a dream about a ride I've never even so much as been in the station of?

I would hypothesize that while you were sleeping, you developed a charile horse. Your asleep brain noticed, and decided to think about something that hurts you. Since you have probably heard numerous stories of how painful the ride is, combined with having roller coasters as a hobby, and started sleep-thinking about Son of Beast.

[KIfan73]

I can only imagine that the situation with Son of Beast and Kings Island would be like buying a new Porsche 911, only to have it not run and be forced to park it in your front yard. Like the Porsche, not only was it extremely expensive, it was supposed to provide thrills for years to come.

[Shawn Meyer]

Since we are starting a new thread as of today, I wanted to transfer my previous comment I made. I think it would be cool if SOB was completely torn down and re-built. However I agree with the dude who said why not save the first hill part and re-do the whole entire structure with a new layout built by a new manufacturer. You have a good opinion and I like it, but we cannot rule out it never happening. We just don't know what Kings Island has in their minds of what they plan to do with SOB yet and I wish and hope they make some kind of announcement at the end of this summer. Waiting on their decision of SOB right now is like waiting for the Cleveland Indians to win a world series which hasn't been done since 1948.

[McSalsa]

^

That idea was mine...and I'm now aware that while that is possible, there might be a good reason to not do it, as Terpy pointed out- the bad stigma from SOB. Even if that part of the ride worked just fine...heck, if they were to re-use the station from Son of Beast, some crazy people might see that as "OH NO THIS RIDE HAS A PIECE OF Son of Beast AND I GOT A BRUISE ON IT AHH IT DANGEROUS ME SUE!!!"

...obviously, smart people would laugh at that...and the lawsuit would fail...but still, the threat remains...

[Hammbone]

Heres an idea I have for a new coaster and what to do with SOB. "Beast's Revenge". A brand new B&M giga. The supports would be dark brown, with blood red track. The trains would be like DB's, with two Beast paws, claws extended, on the nose of the front car. Of the three trains, the colors would be black, silver, and red. This new coaster would also include $30 million in already existing theming!

Thats where SOB's structure comes into play. Demolish certain areas of the structure and leave others standing. Scatter the wood on the ground around the demolished sections. Place one of the trains on the track of a standing section, as if the front car is hanging over the edge. Take the other train and drop it from the crane near a smashed section of track from 100 feet up or so, so it smashes up as if it fell from the track. Then use some of the broken timber to build the sign for "Beast's Revenge", so that fans of SOB could touch some of the wood from the coaster

. The new coaster would weave in and out of the still standing sections of SOB.

The back story would be that "Beast" was angry about what had been done with SOB and thrashed it royaly!

I think this would be a great ride and would also save some money on demo costs. Plus pay homage to SOB at the same time. I'm sure there are reasons why they couldnt or wouldnt, but would still be cool.

[TheCrypt]

Ah, but see, red doesn't age well. See Stormrunner, old Invertigo, Top Thrill Dragster, Magnum, Steel Force, Mamba, or even Diamondback.

But I do love that concept. I'm sure it could come to fruition should the park see fit.

EDIT FOR BROWNTGGR: Well, then I should say that red fades very ugly, to a nasty pink!

[Browntggrr]

No matter what color, they all fade with age.

[KIfan73]

I wonder if SoB's demise had anything to do with the construction of Diamondback?

[ObiPugs]

Heres an idea I have for a new coaster and what to do with SOB. "Beast's Revenge". A brand new B&M giga. The supports would be dark brown, with blood red track. The trains would be like DB's, with two Beast paws, claws extended, on the nose of the front car. Of the three trains, the colors would be black, silver, and red. This new coaster would also include $30 million in already existing theming!

Thats where SOB's structure comes into play. Demolish certain areas of the structure and leave others standing. Scatter the wood on the ground around the demolished sections. Place one of the trains on the track of a standing section, as if the front car is hanging over the edge. Take the other train and drop it from the crane near a smashed section of track from 100 feet up or so, so it smashes up as if it fell from the track. Then use some of the broken timber to build the sign for "Beast's Revenge", so that fans of SOB could touch some of the wood from the coaster

. The new coaster would weave in and out of the still standing sections of SOB.

The back story would be that "Beast" was angry about what had been done with SOB and thrashed it royaly!

I think this would be a great ride and would also save some money on demo costs. Plus pay homage to SOB at the same time. I'm sure there are reasons why they couldnt or wouldnt, but would still be cool.

Sounds great, but you forget. This is CF your talking about, they don't like themes. Plain and boring is their motto. lol

[TheCrypt]

^That was under the Dick that was president. However, new things are coming quick. Watch.

[Tanna]

I was on the SOB on 7/9/06 shortly before the train that caused the injuries (as oblivious as I am it could have been that train). It was my first time on the ride, I remember hearing a cracking noise at one point during the ride and noticed it was extremely rough ride. When the ride came into the station it was not the cheering you usually hear but more of a quiet nervous sound as if something wasn't right and heard some others complaining of pain. I felt weird but then got an ice cream, walked on to Vortex (literal walk on, the gates opened as I got there), then we left just as the first responders were arriving on the scene. So I was one of the last riders to experience the loop which was the best part of the ride. Next couple of days I was sore with symptoms close to whiplash but nothing major. I also would agree that when the ride came back online it wasn't as rough but still did not find it to be a fun ride.

I think your story is interesting. The cracking sound was that loud? Was it from the Rose Bowl? I hear conflicting stories about where the damage to the passengers actually occurred. I do recall reading somewhere of an architect watching the structure sway laterally as the cars made the round. The roughness increased after the crack? I wish of the riders of your car were available to add to this.

[Rustbucket]

I remember seeing the Travel Channel show. That was the year I rode Drop Zone around 600 times. Son of Beast around 500 times, I still miss SoB. The 214 feet drop on the wooden coaster was incredible. The rose bowl was the jack hammering monster, however. I do not know of any wooden coaster that has over 100 feet drop into a banked turn stood up well over the years. The loop was probably my favorite and possibly the smoothest part of the ride.

[Hank]

If you've ever watched a video of another RCCA coaster, you'll see that it jackhammers too. I know that KI built the thing, but it started out with RCCA - and their other coasters are similar looking.

[Gordon Bombay]

I was on the SOB on 7/9/06 shortly before the train that caused the injuries (as oblivious as I am it could have been that train). It was my first time on the ride, I remember hearing a cracking noise at one point during the ride and noticed it was extremely rough ride. When the ride came into the station it was not the cheering you usually hear but more of a quiet nervous sound as if something wasn't right and heard some others complaining of pain. I felt weird but then got an ice cream, walked on to Vortex (literal walk on, the gates opened as I got there), then we left just as the first responders were arriving on the scene. So I was one of the last riders to experience the loop which was the best part of the ride. Next couple of days I was sore with symptoms close to whiplash but nothing major. I also would agree that when the ride came back online it wasn't as rough but still did not find it to be a fun ride.

I think your story is interesting. The cracking sound was that loud? Was it from the Rose Bowl? I hear conflicting stories about where the damage to the passengers actually occurred. I do recall reading somewhere of an architect watching the structure sway laterally as the cars made the round. The roughness increased after the crack? I wish of the riders of your car were available to add to this.

According to the investigation done by the state, a cracked vertical timber in the "Rose Bowl" caused a deviation between two track joints which created a "bump." As the train navigated the course and came into contact with that bump, it injured the riders, but the ride was able to complete its course. When those riders returned to the station with visible injuries, the ride crew took action and stopped operation - stopping one train on the lift hill so that it would not encounter the problem in the Rose Bowl as well. Those riders on the lift hill were evacuated and the ride then shut down.

As for the ride swaying, if you stood in Top Gun's line and looked at the right angle you could se the lift hill sway. This wasn't a flaw, it was supposed to have some give as most tall structures do.

[MDMC01]

I remember the first time I rode Son of Beast. I was so nervous because I had never been on a looping coaster before and I ended up loving it. Althought I didn't realize it until later on, Son of Beast was also my first hyper coaster.

[homestar92]

^Keep in mind, a hypercoaster is only a hypercoaster when it has no inversions. So that would only hold true if you rode it post-loop and it was your first non-inverting coaster over 200 feet. I know, roller coaster terminology is kinda dumb, but that's the widely agreed upon definition.

Not to stray too far off topic, but is Phantom's Revenge a hypercoaster? It is less than 200 feet tall, but given its larger drop goes into a ravine and is more than 200 feet, what does that make it?

[Browntggrr]

^Keep in mind, a hypercoaster is only a hypercoaster when it has no inversions.

I don't see how an inversion can exclude the true meaning of hypercoaster which is a general term for coasters over 200'.

[KI FANATIC 37]

I would still consider SoB a hyper coater even before 06.

Heck, I woul go so far to call it a giga (not really)

But the drop for SoB is much more intense than DB. No doubt about it.

[Browntggrr]

^ It comes down to enthusiasts splitting hairs. Some would not call post-loop SoB a hyper because it is wood.

IMO- TTD has an inversion; most don't agree.

But since my opinion is the only one that counts, TTD now has an inversion.

[Oldiesmann]

I also had the fortune of riding SOB both pre- and post-"loopectomy". I absolutely loved the ride in its original form. Sure, it was rough, but what else could you expect from a ride with those stats? After the loop was removed, I avoided the ride for a couple of years due to reports on this forum that it just wasn't as good and that the trains shuffled on the track. Finally, in 2008 or so, I decided to give it another shot, and decided that the reports here were accurate. Little did I know that the ride would close again (permanently?) less than a year later.

When the accident occurred in 2006, I was on vacation with my parents visiting family in south-central Illinois, and it was so significant that it even made the news in Mt. Vernon, IL (a town about halfway between Holiday World and Six Flags St. Louis). I was rather surprised at this news, as I thought the daily track inspections would have caught something like this long before it became a problem.

[TheCrypt]

What precisely made the rosebowl so God awfully uncomfortable? And was it the fact that the trains were retro-fitted to Son of Beast's track that caused the trains to shuffle?

[Browntggrr]

Pick your poison: track gauging, poor design, substandard material.....

[Captain Picard]

It wasn't just the shuffle there was some jackhammer action after the loop that caused what we called then was brain damage. It was like riding something down the center of a railroad track with no suspension. This was cause by inadequate supports and when you went over a support it was like riding over a railroad tie. It also had random places that would make your spine tingle.

[TheBEASTunchained]

I would still consider SoB a hyper coater even before 06.

Heck, I woul go so far to call it a giga (not really)

But the drop for SoB is much more intense than DB. No doubt about it.

I Completely agree about the drop. To me Son of Beast's drop was more intense and more Fun than Diamondbacks drop. Certain parts of Son of Beast were uncomfortable and rough but that is to be expected from a wooden roller coaster. That is what makes wooden roller coasters unique is there roughness and if you don't like that feeling, than there is a big red roller coaster in rivertown that is Very, Very smooth.

[Jr for Birdy]

I cant remember the intensity of Son of Beast's big drop,this might be do to the overwhelming brain shaking i experienced during the rose bowl.

[Captain Picard]

Maybe that's why the big red one is open and the wood one is not.

[Gordon Bombay]

If wooden coasters of late have proved anything, getting the living snot kicked out of you is not what's to be expected.