mayaman2 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Story about SoB bolts and the rides department: In the ride department's office, some of the area supervisors have SoB bolts on their desks, but nobody is allowed to touch them because they are "cursed to close down a ride." There was a Rivertown area supervisor who touched one and the Crypt closed that year, and a Coney Mall area supervisor accidentally touched one early in 2017 and then Dinosaurs Alive closed. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoadAndGo Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 6 minutes ago, mayaman2 said: Story about SoB bolts and the rides department: In the ride department's office, some of the area supervisors have SoB bolts on their desks, but nobody is allowed to touch them because they are "cursed to close down a ride." There was a Rivertown area supervisor who touched one and the Crypt closed that year, and a Coney Mall area supervisor accidentally touched one early in 2017 and then Dinosaurs Alive closed. I've heard about that. Hopefully the Planet Snoopy Area Supervisor will chuck his out the window so Sally's is demolished. Isn't that right @Sally's Sea Plane #1 Fan 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayaman2 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 53 minutes ago, LoadAndGo said: I've heard about that. Hopefully the Planet Snoopy Area Supervisor will chuck his out the window so Sally's is demolished. Isn't that right @Sally's Sea Plane #1 Fan Right on. Sally's Sea Plane pales in comparison to the splendor of a certain blue and yellow Arrow Looper. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOPGUN1993 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 me 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoadAndGo Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 3 hours ago, mayaman2 said: Right on. Sally's Sea Plane pales in comparison to the splendor of a certain blue and yellow Arrow Looper. Blue and yellow? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sally's Sea Plane #1 Fan Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 11 hours ago, LoadAndGo said: I've heard about that. Hopefully the Planet Snoopy Area Supervisor will chuck his out the window so Sally's is demolished. Isn't that right @Sally's Sea Plane #1 Fan Don't @ me 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayaman2 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 13 hours ago, LoadAndGo said: Blue and yellow? Don't come at me with the orange. It looks yellow. 6 hours ago, Sally's Sea Plane #1 Fan said: Don't @ me @Sally's Sea Plane #1 Fan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOULLBEBACK Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 On 7/26/2017 at 0:01 PM, Shaggy said: FYI, while the video is *dramatic*, and tells the basic tale, it barely scratches the surface as to what all went wrong with SOB. It doesn't mention the issues with the designer... a very famous one... that wouldn't ride it... and who himself forced the park into breaking the 200' barrier. It doesn't mention that the park was given two options via a scale graph paper model that allowed them to remove the loop if they wanted. It doesn't talk about the fiasco that was the announcement... for which the park and Montel were not prepared to make... which resulted in a complete dismissal of the PR/Marketing Team. It doesn't mention that it went through 2 logo and theme changes. It doesn't mention that it operated with riders first on Easter of 2000. It doesn't mention that it operated, unaltered, for a select few (your's truly included) before it opened to the general public - but was temporarily re-profiled before the public ever got on. It doesn't mention that in the first weeks of operation, wood coaster crew members were staffed at questionable parts of the ride all-day, every day, to monitor the structure in order to prevent any failures. It doesn't mention that PTC turned down the construction of the trains. It doesn't mention the addition of trim breaks in two areas of the course - or how kicker tires were added to prevent rollbacks. Finally, it doesn't mention that it operated over 4 times as long as "The Bat" which was riddled with issues yet is revered by so many. I wouldn't call it a failure, but I wouldn't call it a success either. I have a long, vested history with SOB. And it will likely go down as one of those (in)famous coasters that people will reminisce (good and bad) for eternity. Ultimately, my opinion is that SOB was waaaay ahead of it's time and technology. It single-handedly ushered in a new era of wooden coasters and could be credited as the modern-day genesis of inversions on "wooden" coasters. Was it one of my favorite coasters? No, not by a long shot. But I sure did enjoy all the hub-bub and excitement surrounding it. Frankly, the loss of the loop crippled the ride by removing it's best feature. The decision to add G-trains must have been made by someone that had never ridden in one... I could have saved them a lot of trouble by sending them to ride "The Boss" at SFSTL. Prior, SOB was rideable - but these severe and drastic knee-jerk alterations compromised how it was designed to operate and made it brutal. I rode it dozens (if not hundreds) of times prior to the change. (Why, I rode 21 consecutive times for Travel/History Channel filming with a camera mount beside and in-front of me with no issues.) However, I only rode it about 3 times after the loop loss and train switch... it was horrendously bad and intolerable... far too rough for me. I found it ironic that they actually made the complaints WORSE with the changes. My last ride was at night in Sep of 2008... and when I got off I knew I would never ride it again... so I said a quiet little goodbye then and there. Bittersweet... the coaster that never was what it should have been... I do wonder what RMC could have done with the ride - it would likely have been a top 10 for most. That's what happened with "Rattler" at Fiesta Texas - SOB's pre-curser that was plagued by the exact same structural and size issues and built by the same people that built SOB... RCCA (The video fails to mention that lawsuits were filed against them for that coaster too.) But truth is, the PR damage is what killed SOB and why it's not there anymore. There was no "converting it" when people would always associate it with sensationalistic news stories of horror rides... like this video. Finally, so much time and effort (not to mention $) had been sunk into it, the park just gave up on it... and traded the clunker for a brand-new Mercedes. I'd love to see a comprehensive history of this ride, so very interesting. Rode it front seat in 2000 with who would eventually be my wife 2 years later. She doesn't ride coasters that much anymore. Coincidence? Watching that announcement video is cringe worthy and awkward. Montel Williams? Everyone involved seems to have no idea what is going on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver2005 Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Its not available now since the webpage is expired, but I've read the forensics report of the 2006 accident, and it was pretty scathing in the closing remarks, so much so that I'm surprised it even reopened in 2007 at all. Sigh...if only Paramount would have waited a few years when Intamin had its pre-fab wooden coaster ready to go. Not sure if they would have done the loop, but they definitely could have made a hyper woodie seeing that El Toro isnt too far off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creed Bratton Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Found a report from 2001 on an injury from SOB: https://ridesdatabase.org/sites/default/files/accident_reports/OH_904303.pdf Decided to request information through the state (public record) on the incidents in 2006 and 2009. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timfsu2k Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 On 1/10/2018 at 9:55 PM, MaestroJr said: Back in fall of 2012 while Sonny was being torn down they put on twitter that bolts and track from the structure of Son of Beast were up for grabs for a limited time only. I called up and got one right away for $20 I believe it was. Defiantly a cool piece of Kings Island history and it also came with a certificate of authenticity and Son of Beast tag which had some info on the ride. They are probably not easy to find today but maybe try ebay from time to time I've seen them on there. WOW!! I would have snatched one up for sure. I just checked and didn't see any on eBay. I'll have to set an alert I guess. Thanks for the info! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMC01 Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Hey, at least Sally's Sea Plane got a cool lighting package for Winterfest! Seriously, though, Son of Beast was truly one of a kind. I know I've said this a few times on here before, but it was my first looping coaster as well as my first hyper coaster (though the first milestone was the bigger deal to young me). I enjoyed the drop of out the station, the really long first drop, that first turn before the infamous Rose Bowl, and the loop and everything following. I'm really glad I was coaxed onto riding it as it was probably my favorite coaster in the park for a while after that first ride. After the loop was removed, the ride was just "meh" and I was ok with it coming down after it sat dormant for so long. -MDMC, who can't believe he hasn't posted in this thread before 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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