SOB TESTING

[deb]

Deb, as far as the opening goes. You (and others) should be reminded of the saying that is mentioned time and time again. Those who know, don`t tell. Those who tell, don`t know.

Have some patience the park will open the ride when they, their insurance company and the State of Ohio clear the ride for operation. Until the ride officially opens, or the park issues a press release stating when it intends on opening the ride, all dates of its projected opening are pure speculation.

Of course. I would in no way want to be held at saying that SoB will open on July 4th. A rumor, sure. Definitely? We'll see. I was only relaying what an employee told me. And I know that even IF they DO know exactly when it will open, until the park says they can tell, they can't, or risk possibly losing their job. And I doubt anyone would do that, esp since jobs are so hard to find and keep these days. Personally, I don't have an interest in when it will open. I rode it once and it hurt. I try to avoid things that hurt.

deb

[The Interpreter]

When Hurricane opened, it was glass smooth. It did not stay that way. Gerstlauer trains seem to require that track be meticulously maintained. See, for example, Cheetah at Wild Adventures, Villain at Geauga Lake or Twisted Twins at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom when this isn't done to the standard that some would like...

[PKIVortex]

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if KI even knows when SOB is going to open. They are probably going to run a lot more tests on it.

Also I know KI, Cedar Fair, and The State of Ohio wants to make sure this kind of thing never happens again.

But will SOB be smooth? I doubt it, but I hope it's a little bit more re-ride able.

[jondrewfoo]

heh, what people forget, is the fact that a lot of people actually like the roughness... i personally think the smooth rides feel like a confined car ride to me... at Cedar Point, with its monster smooth rollercoasters, it just wasnt the same. i lvoe The Beast, and the Son of Beast, with their roughness, thats why i ride them!

[The Interpreter]

And I take it YOU haven't ridden the back seat of a car on Kingda Ka!

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

And I take it YOU haven't ridden the back seat of a car on Kingda Ka!

Well being I haven't had the opportunity to go to amusement parks outside of Ohio. No not at all.

[CoastersRZ]

To each their own. I personally love many of the coasters up at the Point (especially Millennium Force). Yes, part of the appeal of wood coasters is the inherent rougher ride experience they deliver compared to a steel coaster. That being said, there is a fine line between acceptable roughness and roughness that results in rider discomfort. If a ride is too rough, ridership will dwindle, and then you will be stuck paying for maintenance costs for a ride that very few people care about. Although, with Son of Beast, it seems as if the park has had to spend lots of money just to try and keep the ride rideable. Some would say that it hasn`t been worth it.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

heh, what people forget, is the fact that a lot of people actually like the roughness... i personally think the smooth rides feel like a confined car ride to me... at Cedar Point, with its monster smooth rollercoasters, it just wasnt the same. i lvoe The Beast, and the Son of Beast, with their roughness, thats why i ride them!

I agree with you I neverminded the SOB roughness and still think most of the injuries the day it crashed were probably normal injuries just maybe a couple were abnormal, i.e. broken sternum or whatever it was.

[CoastersRZ]

No, I can assure you that the injuries that occurred on that day almost a year ago were not 'normal' injuries. There was a structural failure in the ride which led to a severe jolt. This severe jolt was far beyond the typical roughness of the ride. If you read the state report after it was published, they stated that the track could have dipped as much as several inches (in the range of four if I remember correctly). A sudden dip in the track at high speeds would be extremely painful!

[The Interpreter]

Not to mention there is no such thing as 'normal' injuries on a ride. Nor acceptable ones. Rides are supposed to be enjoyable, fun and safe.

[PKIVortex]

It definitely wasn't a normal roughness what those riders felt. I could only imagine what was going through there heads. I probably would have been freaking out myself if I was one of those riders that day.

[Raptor66]

The Beast just depends on where you ride. Try the very back, it's a different Beast back there.

Definitely. I rode in the back at night. Spoiled that night ride. I will NEVER ride in the very back on The Beast again. I was bracing my arms against the seats in the double helix to prevent me from being bashed to death. Otherwise, The Beast is amazing.

[Cory Butcher]

My 4 favorite Wooden Rollercoasters of all time are Blue Streak, Gemini, Gwazi, and Beast!

I was so thrilled with Blue Streak, my friend and I rode it 9 times this past tuesday, and a total of 13 times the two times weve went to CP, we think it is one of the best rides there, three of the four that I just mentioned are not all that rough!

To me, Beast's fun factor is all in looking at squirrels in the trees...it ranks 4th...well ok, it may beat out Blue Streak... but only because of the top speed and the fact that your mind bends in those helixes!!

[jondrewfoo]

My 4 favorite Wooden Rollercoasters of all time are Blue Streak, Gemini, Gwazi, and Beast!

I was so thrilled with Blue Streak, my friend and I rode it 9 times this past tuesday, and a total of 13 times the two times weve went to CP, we think it is one of the best rides there, three of the four that I just mentioned are not all that rough!

To me, Beast's fun factor is all in looking at squirrels in the trees...it ranks 4th...well ok, it may beat out Blue Streak... but only because of the top speed and the fact that your mind bends in those helixes!!

and this had to do with Son of Beast testing how? this thread has gone off topic... if you want to complain about The Beast being jerky, go do it in the appropriate thread, or better yet, dont ride it! if its not for you, dont do it... geez.

[TOPGUN1993]

My 4 favorite Wooden Rollercoasters of all time are Blue Streak, Gemini, Gwazi, and Beast!

I was so thrilled with Blue Streak, my friend and I rode it 9 times this past tuesday, and a total of 13 times the two times weve went to CP, we think it is one of the best rides there, three of the four that I just mentioned are not all that rough!

To me, Beast's fun factor is all in looking at squirrels in the trees...it ranks 4th...well ok, it may beat out Blue Streak... but only because of the top speed and the fact that your mind bends in those helixes!!

People that thing Gemini is a wooden coaster........gezz Cory I thought you'd know better

[Cory Butcher]

My 4 favorite Wooden Rollercoasters of all time are Blue Streak, Gemini, Gwazi, and Beast!

I was so thrilled with Blue Streak, my friend and I rode it 9 times this past tuesday, and a total of 13 times the two times weve went to CP, we think it is one of the best rides there, three of the four that I just mentioned are not all that rough!

To me, Beast's fun factor is all in looking at squirrels in the trees...it ranks 4th...well ok, it may beat out Blue Streak... but only because of the top speed and the fact that your mind bends in those helixes!!

People that thing Gemini is a wooden coaster........gezz Cory I thought you'd know better

Haha, I was hoping someone would catch that eventually! That was an allusion to all the misinformation in this thread, and all the talk that there are no smooth woodies, haha, I figured other people can use some misinformation...why not me? haha, a little humor never hurt anyone. Figured I'd see who would bite!

[DeLorean Rider]

As much as I dont like the idea of the smoothness of the prefabricated wooden intamin track, I think that it's the only way of really preserving SOB. If this current go around of Son of Beast work doesnt work out, I think that thats the only logical next step.

[Delirium_Guy]

As much as I dont like the idea of the smoothness of the prefabricated wooden intamin track, I think that it's the only way of really preserving SOB. If this current go around of Son of Beast work doesnt work out, I think that thats the only logical next step.

I think the only next logical step if this doesn't work is the wrecking ball. SOB's time has come, its either going to work or not. Its useless to continue to POUR money into it when that same money could be invested into a much better attraction.

With that sad, yes wooden coasters are suppose to be rough. As someone pointed out though, there is a fine line of what is acceptable. SOB was absolutely unacceptable. 2/3 of the seats shouldn't be darn near unbearable to ride in. There are rough rides, please see SFNE Cyclone or GA Cyclone. They are rough in the sense that the forces are crazy intense and really move you around. However, the rest of the ride doesn't leave you jack hammering in the seat. the G-Trains are just as uncomfortable as the Premier trains that we just lost, IMHO. Zero padding, probably less than the Premier ones.

- Todd

[DeLorean Rider]

Yea that seems logical. We've put 25million into this ride, lets spend another couple million tearing it down and re-clearing the land so that we have nothing to show for the 30 million dollar dent in our bank account. Or we could hire a company like Intamin to come in and put pre-fab track on so that it will run smooth as millennium force.

Not to mention that Son of Beast, looks amazing. It is un-denyable that when you look at Son of Beast from the Eiffel Tower that it looks incredible. If nothing else from an engineering standpoint it is a magnificant structure. Now the ride experience itself may not be great but beside that, Son of Beast has become an Icon of the park and a huge part of the parks skyline.

The park has considered full re-tracking before, if it could be executed properly, Son of Beast could still work. Unfortunately obviously this go around, once again, budgets were cut and instead of modifying the track, they modified the trains.

[MarketingExpress]

Not to mention that Son of Beast, looks amazing. It is un-denyable that when you look at Son of Beast from the Eiffel Tower that it looks incredible. If nothing else from an engineering standpoint it is a magnificant structure. Now the ride experience itself may not be great but beside that, Son of Beast has become an Icon of the park and a huge part of the parks skyline.

Yes it it impressive which is probably why the Discovery Channel named it #10 on the top 10 man made structures.

[Captain Picard]

Yea that seems logical. We've put 25million into this ride, lets spend another couple million tearing it down and re-clearing the land so that we have nothing to show for the 30 million dollar dent in our bank account. Or we could hire a company like Intamin to come in and put pre-fab track on so that it will run smooth as millennium force.

Not to mention that Son of Beast, looks amazing. It is un-denyable that when you look at Son of Beast from the Eiffel Tower that it looks incredible. If nothing else from an engineering standpoint it is a magnificant structure. Now the ride experience itself may not be great but beside that, Son of Beast has become an Icon of the park and a huge part of the parks skyline.

The park has considered full re-tracking before, if it could be executed properly, Son of Beast could still work. Unfortunately obviously this go around, once again, budgets were cut and instead of modifying the track, they modified the trains.

It all sounds good but the problem is not the track.

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

I'll bet the cost of demolition is probably about the same as what it costs to maintain it for just 1 year.

[WooferBearATL]

Not to mention there is no such thing as 'normal' injuries on a ride. Nor acceptable ones. Rides are supposed to be enjoyable, fun and safe.

You stole my thunder.

[CoastersRZ]

DeLorean Rider, while it may be easy to say just have Intamin bring in their prefab track, I doubt it is that simple. For starters, that would likely be as expensive, if not more so than simply tearing down the ride (not to mention that the park would likely, once again, need to buy a net set of trains if they switched to Intamin style track, which is another expensive proposition.) At some point, a tough decision will have to be made. When is enough enough? Eventually the park will have to pull the plug, unless they can find a cure for SoB`s annual maintenance woes.

[jondrewfoo]

plus that would take away the reason to ride it. i would be way less inclined to ride the ride if they did that. wouldnt be near the same ride. i just dont think woodens were made to have the steel tubing that makes the gemini so smooth, it was ok but i would have liked it better if it didnt have that.

[PKIDelirium]

Intamin wood track isn't steep tubing. It's prefabricated laminate.

[JjAmSaOnN]

If SOB doesn't work with the new cars, it will have lost all of its reputation of being a good ride in the eyes of the public. When SOB first opened it was rough and has been rough ever since. The restraints are very uncomfortable with the old trains. I and many others hated the ride for those reasons.

Then you add the problem of it almost killing people (in the eyes of the general public) at least injuring them. The public will remember this, it will take a long time for SOB to gain its respect as a good ride that it tried to when it opened, yet never happened. I would bet most of the general public won't ride it or will at least wait till it starts gaining a good reputation again.

If the new cars fail to work this time and the ride is still rough, then I bet its over for SOB. Its reputation will be down the toilet, who would want to ride it then? It would be a waste for KI to invest so much money into a new track if people already feel the way they do about it. I don't think coasters work like baseball - 3 strikes your out?? Naw, I think SOB already had its warning and is now on probation.

Lets see if he can redeem himself. I hope I am leary the new cars will be anymore smooth, but we will see.

[CoastersRZ]

No, Intamin prefab track is not tubular steel track like on Gemini or Adventure Express. Intamin prefabricated track is in the shape of standard wooden coaster track. It comes to the ride in segments, and is then bolted together like normal pieces of steel. From what I hear, the rides with this track ride more like steel coasters than wooden coasters (especially since the trains have polyurethane wheels and not steel wheels like most wooden coasters). I don`t see Kings Island doing this to Son of Beast because it would probably be very expensive to retrofit all 7,032 feet of track on Son of Beast with the prefab stuff, not to mention they would once again, likely have to make some train modifications.

[PKIDelirium]

And also, who knows if the structure would work with it, or if Intamin would even be interested in retrofitting an existing ride, especially one with Son of Beast's history.

I just would not count on that happening. I'd say if the current work doesn't improve it greatly, SOB's days are numbered.

[Coasterfan]

I agree, I don't think Intamin would risk their reputaion on something that has such a lousy history(sorry guys, I like the ride too, but there is a line...).

That being said, if it would give SoB an incredibly smooth ride I would love to see it done. I absolutly love how smooth a lot of the rides are at CP and really enjoy a smooth coaster much more than a rough one. I just don't see how it could possibly be worth it after all this.