The love for Son of Beast

[AZ Kinda Guy]

Terrible ride experience and a huge eyesore for the park.

[King Ding Dong]

Speaking of bad movies Action Point is out on video and I added it to my Plex server.   

[Kyle100991]

Son of Beast was a ride I wish I could have ridden. I was only eight when it opened in 2000 and I had a fear of roller coasters at the time. I didn't get a chance to go to Kings Island from about 2004 to 2011 and during that time I didn't pay much attention to the park so I kind of forgot about it.

I finally got a chance to go to Kings Island in June of 2012 with some friends of mine and when we walked into Action Zone I kept looking up and staring in amazement at that monstrous wooden coaster wondering what it was and why it was not running. When I got home I did some research on the park's history and learned all about Son of Beast. I still had a fear of roller coasters at the time but I was hoping it would open again but as we all know just a month later, Kings Island announced it would be removed from the park. On Labor day that year I rode The Beast for the first time and that was all I needed to get over my fear of coasters and since then I have been left to wonder if I would have liked Son of Beast. I love that we have Banshee, its my second favorite ride in the park but I do miss seeing that giant wooden monster looking over Action Zone and the rest of the park.

[lifetimecoaster]

I am one of those fortunate enough to have ridden every iteration of SOB. It was very thrilling on the first ride I ever took on it. After the loop removal, it was just another high speed woodie. I still rode it often though, because it was an experience that I hadn't had on any other woodie in my life. It was really fast. Other than it was really fast, I can't say post loop, it was anything to be super excited about though. 

[Rustbucket]

I rode Son of Beast over 1000 times.  Only rode it 3 times after the removable of the loop.  Frankly, the best parts of the ride was the first drop and the loop. That rose bowl section was like being in a severe earthquake.  It was far more violent than the double helix on The Beast. 

The worst thing about the ride was the train itself. Premier Surveillance Vehicle was what they were called.  I am 5' 8" and not overly big but it was crampy for me.  Only way for me to ride it comfortably was to cross my legs.  I always rode on the middle rows of a train. 

I did not think the ride was rough per se but it jackhammered like no other wooden coasters.  There were two others jackhammered like SoB: Hercules and Mean Streak. To me, the toughest wooden coaster was Raging Wolf Bobs at Geauga Lake. 

If I remember correctly, both CCI and Intamin bid for SoB as well as RCCA.  Obviously, RCCA won the bid and the rest is history unfortunately.  I consider 2 Intamin designed Wooden coasters as 2 of the top 4 coasters, I wonder what SoB could have been.  

[SonofBaconator]

[Bansheeback]

I rode Son of Beast over 1000 times.  Only rode it 3 times after the removable of the loop.  Frankly, the best parts of the ride was the first drop and the loop. That rose bowl section was like being in a severe earthquake.  It was far more violent than the double helix on The Beast. 
The worst thing about the ride was the train itself. Premier Surveillance Vehicle was what they were called.  I am 5' 8" and not overly big but it was crampy for me.  Only way for me to ride it comfortably was to cross my legs.  I always rode on the middle rows of a train. 
I did not think the ride was rough per se but it jackhammered like no other wooden coasters.  There were two others jackhammered like SoB: Hercules and Mean Streak. To me, the toughest wooden coaster was Raging Wolf Bobs at Geauga Lake. 
If I remember correctly, both CCI and Intamin bid for SoB as well as RCCA.  Obviously, RCCA won the bid and the rest is history unfortunately.  I consider 2 Intamin designed Wooden coasters as 2 of the top 4 coasters, I wonder what SoB could have been.  

I wonder my RCCA, a relatively small player in the industry, was chosen over Intamin or CCI, which were industry leaders at the time.


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[McSalsa]

Based on what I have heard, RCCA was chosen because CCI overbid (charged way too much- on purpose, they actually did NOT want this project, and since they were the leader in wooden coasters at the time that should have been a huge red flag) and Intamin was not super well known for the wooden coasters in 1999 when Son of Beast was built (they had a mixed track record with their large wooden coasters in Japan and stuff at the time- Colossos at Heide Park was the first prefab and the first to get glowing reviews all around). Plus, RCCA probably offered to build Son of Beast for cheaper.

[Bansheeback]

Perhaps if Paramount didn’t kick RCCA to the curb midway through the project, SOB may have been more successful?


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[rhyano]

I have memories of watching the ride but being too young to ride back in 2006-2007ish, (I know it was before Diamondback.) Then 2010-2012 I watched the ride just sit there, as boring as that sounds, Son of Beast fueled me to be who I am today and loving rides and attractions, watching the ride get demolished got me looking at theme park forums on the regular in my free time.