Son of Beast to be Removed

d-lo775 said:

From the Kings Island fan site and twitter from Don Helbig.

After a lengthy evaluation of all alternatives, the decision has been made to remove the Son of Beast roller coaster to make room for future park expansion.

The dismantling of the ride, which last operated in 2009, will begin later this summer.

It's about time!

Jen

Such a shame... what a waste of all that lumber. Perhaps they'll be donated to Habitats for humanities? I just hope whatever goes up there is another big coaster.

Cyclone_Phil said:

I just hope whatever goes up there is another big coaster.

Why go big? A nice GCI woodie would be just fine. Maybe even leave some space for a B&M inverted for the future.

Paul

It's about time. While an impressive looking structure it really has become quite the eyesore at the park. I bet KI's next big addition will be in the same spot.

Maybe they will take it down carefully. Just recently they tore down Raging Wolf Bobs at Geauga Lake but they did not just rip it down, they took it down carefully. It's possible they will reuse the wood somewhere else.

G-Dog

alpengeistno3 said:

Why go big? A nice GCI woodie would be just fine. Maybe even leave some space for a B&M inverted for the future.

Paul

I guess... How big of a footprint did it take up? I wished I got to see how big it was in person. Lol, if it was another woodie, would it be Beast III?

Cyclone_Phil said:

How big of a footprint did it take up? I wished I got to see how big it was in person. Lol, if it was another woodie, would it be Beast III?

Pretty damn big. I think the rose bowl alone could have held most of a medium sized woodie like Hurler or Grizzly.

New woodie name? Daughter of Beast?

Paul

* This post was modified at 7/27/12 7:10:36 PM *

Amazing. If anything, I thought the rose bowl could be the one thing worth keeping if possible. I doubt it, but it looked pretty nice.

Lol! 'Daddy's little girl'?

Does this mean I have to change my e-mail address?

I've been on record as being one of that minority that enjoyed the ride. I considered it my favorite ride until Toro opened in 2006. I'm not sure when my last rides were, but they were good. I'll miss the ride, but join in the chorus of those for whom a new wood coaster is on the wish list.

Does this removal leave Toro as the tallest wooden coaster, in the U.S. or worldwide?

R.I.P., S.O.B., my old friend.

Mike

* This post was modified at 7/27/12 7:58:24 PM *

I made SoB a priority in 2000. I sat near the middle. When I returned to the station I felt like I was just in a car wreck. In 2005 I gave it another go in the front seat. I could still feel my brain hitting off my skull. I never attempted another ride. I know some improvements were made, but I wasn't willing to see them. Finally this coaster nightmare is over. Now they can add something new and rideable. IMO the park needs another great coaster. The park itself is mediocre. A new coaster installation would draw my interest. I'm hoping for a wooden coaster by Intamin, Gravity Group, or GCI. I hope the new attraction is ready for the 2013 season. The park is on way to work. That's the only reason I have visited so many times. A decent coaster installation would make KI a family trip.

* This post was modified at 7/27/12 8:27:27 PM *

I have to say I am so saddened by this news.Son of Beast was a top ten woodie for me and I got to ride it the last year while it was in existence.It was not rough at all in the front and I always wondered why people felt that way about it.I never had a bad ride on it and just the sheer beauty of the ride should have made Cedar Fair want to keep it and just make something of it like they did with The Texas Giant.All I can say is that they better have a good plan with what they will do with that space.I want an amazing woodie to be built there.Tired of China getting all the great wooden coasters now.Please hire Gravity Group to design an amazing coaster like The Voyage,Ravine Flyer,or Hades with that space.

Count me in as someone who will miss Son of Beast. I always seem to like the coasters I am not supposed to like- Twister over Phoenix, Legend over Raven, Drachen Fire, Mean Streak back in the 1990's, and now SoB. My first rides on SoB in 2002 were amazing. It was my #2 wooden coaster back then. I rode again in 2005 and again enjoyed my rides. My final rides in 2009 were less impressive thanks the removal of the loop and the Gerstlauer trains, but I still never thought it was as bad as everyone makes it out to be. If that makes me a bad enthusiast, then so be it.

RIP Son of Beast. You had a fan here and you will be missed.

Yet another coaster regret of mine. At first, the regret was not riding Son of Beast while it had the loop. Now, the regret will be that I never rode it at all. Why I've never made the relatively easy trip to Kings Island, I don't know.

I should be out there in the next few weeks. I hope I catch the structure still in tack. I also hope they are delicate with the removal. That wood has to be good for something.

Let the speculation begin...

A GCI or GG coaster would be welcomed. But this park, despite its wonderful coaster collection, is still missing a staple - the B&M inverted coaster. Cedar Fair and Kings Island will have to decide which ride is more marketable; the invert or a wing rider.

Parc Asterix just opened up a wonderful, but mid-sized invert. I'd love to see KI do the same.

From an industry and reputation standpoint, this coaster will go down as one of the biggest "busts" of all time. The timeline of this ride's operational history is almost laughable. Even before it opened there were problems with the quality of the lumber provided by RCCA(it's sister construction company), and I still remember some accurate predictions made on this board as to what the future held for this attraction. Some predicted that the ride would be too rough, and I even remember one person predicted that the loop would eventually have to be removed. Anybody remember during the first month it was open when people were actually ranting and raving about how smooth it was compared to other wooden coasters? And, after that first month passed people started complaining how rough it became in such a short period of time.

This ride was doomed to fail from day one. There's SO many factors that come into play here. For instance(besides the quality of lumber provided):

-More experienced and higher quality wooden coaster manufacuterers overbidding on the project, probably because they were unsure on the possible issues of such a large ride.

-The coaster was planned and designed at the EXACT WRONG time. Only the year before the ride opened GCI started manufacturing their single-axle trains and only the year after Intamin released their pre-fab track designs.

-The addition of the loop which warranted much heavier trains than other wooden coasters, in combination with those trains have fixed double axles traversing long, sustained turns(rose bowl).

-An extremely lackluster ride profile which almost completely lacked elements that make a coaster great. Airtime matters, not just to enthusiasts but to the normal GP too. Go to any park that has a coaster filled with airtime and you'll notice the ride always has a good size line.

-The above mentioned factors all coming together to cause the structural failure which resulted in the pothole which injured riders, and then the possibly frivolous lawsuit that came three years later.

Even with all these issues, I've read that the ride remained popular, however it was clear that it's reputation was fading fast. When the park decided to replace the original trains with Gerstlauers it became evident that the ride wasn't going to last much longer. Needless to say this is the ABSOLUTE right decision by Kings Island and Cedar Fair, and if they decide to eventually replace it with another large coaster, I think them going the CW route wouldn't be a bad idea. KI is the second busiest park in the chain, behind only CW, and it seems as if Leviathan has been a complete success so far.

drachen said:

Yet another coaster regret of mine. At first, the regret was not riding Son of Beast while it had the loop. Now, the regret will be that I never rode it at all. Why I've never made the relatively easy trip to Kings Island, I don't know.

Same here. I actually went there a few weeks after they closed it down. I realize I probably would've hated it but I would have liked to give it a try.

Jen

GoYanks34 said:

drachen said:

Yet another coaster regret of mine. At first, the regret was not riding Son of Beast while it had the loop. Now, the regret will be that I never rode it at all. Why I've never made the relatively easy trip to Kings Island, I don't know.

Same here. I actually went there a few weeks after they closed it down. I realize I probably would've hated it but I would have liked to give it a try.

Jen

Same...I've never been there but I would have loved to have ridden it.

I rode it once when it had the loop and I remember the first drop, 2nd drop and the loop weren't bad at all but it was the 2nd half of the ride that was torturous. I've gotten "jack-hammering" on some other woodies but this was by far the worst - there have been very few coasters I've been on where I wanted to stop the ride and get off before it was over but this, unfortunately, was one.

It is a shame that they can't save it somehow and re-make it into a good ride, but I guess that must have been too cost-prohibitive.

I was there opening day, eighth train out after a four hour wait, and other than the jolt at the crest of the first hill it was a nice ride. Second outing I waited six hours and it never did open that day. Instead we had to wait months for a reopening, and it never was the same ride ever again.

Admittedly it was a bit disappointing even at its best. Certainly didn't seem like the second longest woodie in the world. One long quick drop, two helices, a couple more dips, then the brakes. The drop into the loop was the best "coaster" element, and the loop itself was fun in that it was more enjoyable than any steelie loop. It was best enjoyed if you looked sideways while going thru the loop.

While not the roughest coaster in the world (GL's Villain won that award) it was difficult to endure and certainly not re-ridable even once. I would continue ride it once per visit, then once or maybe twice a season, then after one ride with the Villain trains and no loop it was no longer worth the experience.

Despite everything that was wrong with it, I still believe it was the wind damage during the winter of its construction that led to its eventual demise. The track was never properly joined at the entry to the rose bowl, which was the location of notorious jolt. It was never right, no matter how much they reworked it.

Certainly an impressive looking structure. It was beautiful to behold, but other than the fond memories of riding it with my kids, I won't miss it at all.

It was a very impressive looking structure!! Not many coasters I can say look more impressive than SoB.I remember showing my friends the pics before we went out to ride it.They were just amazed how impressive it looked.It made all 3 of our top ten lists.we loved it so much that we got up the next day and rode it in the morning before we headed out for our next destination.

Did something today I haven't done in quite some time. I wore my Son Of Beast t-shirt.

I wonder if its value is going to go up now that it'll soon be gone? :)

Cyclone_Phil said:

I wonder if its value is going to go up now that it'll soon be gone? :)

If you mean the shirt, It's not in the best of shape :( Still readable, though!

We were lucky enough to ride it a day before it closed. We hit KI for an evening/morning, then drove to HW for an evening/morning, then back to KI and that evening we got back to KI SOB was closed.
SOB gave some really nice rides those last days. We rode six times in various seats and it was giving a good ride, smooth enough that we thought they finally fixed the jackhammering. It was actually fun! We looked forward to riding it after getting back from HW (where, no doubt about it Voyage was the worst coaster i have ever been on in my life as far as roughness is concerned) but it was closed and that was it. At least we got those last few good rides in, farwell SOB..

We rode SOB in the morning and Voyage in the evening that same day. Voyage was at least 10X rougher. Man I hated that ride, until I rode the front seat then yeah its the best. Wish HW could take care of thier woodies better..

* This post was modified at 7/29/12 8:39:19 AM *

SOB, the only coaster that ever drew blood on my person. It happened during the URC 2 event in 2001. We pulled into the station and I had a gash on my knee with blood streaming down my leg, not a pretty sight. That thing should of been torn down the season it opened.

Patripman

Yeah....the key to riding voyage or most woodies is being in the front seat.Any coaster enthusiast should have this knowledge.The crazyiest rides with airtime are usually in the back and the smoothest rides are in the front.Voyage is easily the best coaster in the world when having a front seat!!

ray_p said:

Count me in as someone who will miss Son of Beast. I always seem to like the coasters I am not supposed to like- Twister over Phoenix, Legend over Raven, Drachen Fire, Mean Streak back in the 1990's, and now SoB. My first rides on SoB in 2002 were amazing. It was my #2 wooden coaster back then. I rode again in 2005 and again enjoyed my rides. My final rides in 2009 were less impressive thanks the removal of the loop and the Gerstlauer trains, but I still never thought it was as bad as everyone makes it out to be. If that makes me a bad enthusiast, then so be it.

RIP Son of Beast. You had a fan here and you will be missed.

You can add me to your club of people who like coasters that no one else seems to like. Let me first start off by saying I have never been bruised or hurt on a coaster...

I liked Hercules from the beginning (don't know what it was like in it's last days)

I liked Mean Streak when it first opened (but now it's so slow, it's just boring but not painful, yet I still enjoy it)

I like Hershey's Wildcat (a fun aggressive woodie, just the way I like 'em)

I liked The Villain ( a distant cousin to Knott's GhostRider, I found the ride enjoyable and never noticed it being rough, unlike Big Dipper which was a back cracker, but still fun)

I liked Disaster Transport. It wasn't highest, fastest, but to me it was fun.

And, I liked SOB. Before the loop and after, although I preferred the Loop. I will say that this ride slowed down significantly after the loop that it felt like it didn't have enough energy to return back to the station. I liked the out of control feeling in the rose bowl, and the first drop was fantastic on a woodie, Only El Toro comes close for me as a great woodie first drop.

And aside from liking these coasters, I really don't like to see any coaster go, whether I liked it or not.

Patripman said:

SOB, the only coaster that ever drew blood on my person. It happened during the URC 2 event in 2001.
Patripman

You are getting old Bernard it was 2000.

Regards,
Keivn Reid

KevinReid said:

Patripman said:

SOB, the only coaster that ever drew blood on my person. It happened during the URC 2 event in 2001.
Patripman

You are getting old Bernard it was 2000.

Regards,
Keivn Reid

I remember being there with Bernard* and some other URCers and he gave SOB another chance...at least he tried to. He just couldn't align himself in those original cars and that previous wound was still on his mind, so he waited for the rest of us to ride. I felt bad.
Hell, those seats weren't all that great for me, and I am MUCH smaller than he.

SOB was the kind of ride I abhor...so much vibration up through my a.., er, through the seat...that it gave me chattery teeth. Except in the loop.
It did, however, look amazing while viewed upside down from Delirium.

* not sure what year that was, but it was the "day of the basketballs" **

** written for Bernard's sake
:-O

What I find most ironic/sad is that when you think back to 2000 that was the year Ohio seemed to be the center of the roller coaster universe. Cedar Point built Millennium Force, Kings Island opened Son of Beast and Geauga Lake was converted into Six Flags Ohio, adding four roller coasters in the process. Who would have thought that a decade later, Millennium Force would be all that was left. At least that is an iconic ride.

I did ride SOB once its opening year and thought its was OK. Not something I would ride repeatedly, but a unique experience. Fortunately, it was part of a NAPHA event and we got a walk back prior to opening and I was able to get a ton of early morning up close pictures.

Oh come on Benard, You absolutely loved it, I know it!

Ducking from Ripples :)

I can be counted as one of the few that liked (the looped) SOB, but when they switched to the Gerstlauer trains and removed the loop it was a totally different (and painful) experience.

And to the person that said The Voyage was worse, the Voyage is very temperamental. I tend to find it better towards the end I the evening but I cannot ride in the mid-back part of the train. There's too much whiplash air to the ride, I prefer the more floating feel the front gives.

But I know there won't be enough time for a 2013 ride in that spot (just guesstimating) but I would love to see an Intamin woodie like El Toro (but better operations) an for heavens sake a real inverted coaster put in. And since we lost the Crypt, a new flat ride would be nice also, say an Air Race, or Power surge, there was a Zamperla ride at IAAPA a couple years ago that looked like a modern day kangarooesque ride that was really fun. And how about a ferris wheel. Kings Island is also one of the few "big" parks without a ferris wheel also.

SoB was one of the coasters on a short list I kept- of the worst coasters I have ever been on. The loop was the only redeeming thing on that ride. It won't be missed on my part.

I guess I am happy to say that I was on it though, just to be able to honestly claim a bit of notoriety for surviving a ride on it intact.

What else can I say except I will never understand the SOB hate.Are me and Beastmaster the only ones that loved this amazing coaster!!

chitlins73 said:

What else can I say except I will never understand the SOB hate.Are me and Beastmaster the only ones that loved this amazing coaster!!

There's a handful of others in our Secret Society, Dion. They just don't often make their presence known...

Mike

Wasn't Mommabeast one of the SOB lovers?

(wonder where she's been... I'll have to drop her an email)

Some vacation photos (no coasters)

RobLec said:

Wasn't Mommabeast one of the SOB lovers?

(wonder where she's been... I'll have to drop her an email)

She was indeed. We used to e-mail occasionally, but I haven't heard from her in ages or seen her on the board. I miss her :(

Mike

I think we can all say we saw this day coming. Son of Beast was great ride, and we should all just know, whatever happens to it, it will benefit the world somehow. Whether it goes to another park, 9I highly doubt), or turns into High school test papers, or makes a cabin for campers, it will still be benefiting the world forever. i am truly going to miss this monster. Rust. In. Pieces Son of Beast!!

d-lo775 said:

From the Kings Island fan site and twitter from Don Helbig.

After a lengthy evaluation of all alternatives, the decision has been made to remove the Son of Beast roller coaster to make room for future park expansion.

The dismantling of the ride, which last operated in 2009, will begin later this summer.

Sadder than sad; bluer than blue ;'(

~Momma*tearing-up*Beast

beastmaster said:

RobLec said:

Wasn't Mommabeast one of the SOB lovers?

(wonder where she's been... I'll have to drop her an email)

She was indeed. We used to e-mail occasionally, but I haven't heard from her in ages or seen her on the board. I miss her :(

Mike

Awwww...I miss you guys too. Been busy moving/packing - been in the same house for 51 years; lotsa schtuff to pack up/throw out. Man oh man I'ma gonna miss my S.O.B. Had many a fun ride ... many marathons ... keeping my SOB keychains and patches, yup!
Thanks Rob for dropping me an email ...
{{hugs}} to all my coaster buddies~~
~MommaBeast

MommaBeast said:
Been busy moving/packing - been in the same house for 51 years; lotsa schtuff to pack up/throw out.

Tell me about it! My sister and I just went thru all that last spring getting my mother's house ready to sell. And I just bought our retirement home in Florida. Now to sort thru thirty years of accumulated clutter so we can fit it all into just four rooms.

Glad to hear from you again. It's been a long time. Good luck with wherever the four winds may blow. BTW I think I'm done with KI, for good, hopefully.

RobLec said:

I think I'm done with KI, for good, hopefully.

What??? After all these years? Hate to hear that I always look for you when I go through tolls or turnstiles. Of course, I've cut back my visits significantly this year. I just assumed that's why I hadn't seen you lately. Don't think I would've ever made it through the summer of 2010 working at KI if I didn't occasionally get a chance to talk coasters and concerts with you. Best wishes to you and your wife as you open up a new chapter in your life.

* This post was modified at 8/7/12 6:30:06 PM *

RobLec said:

MommaBeast said:
Been busy moving/packing - been in the same house for 51 years; lotsa schtuff to pack up/throw out.

Tell me about it! My sister and I just went thru all that last spring getting my mother's house ready to sell. And I just bought our retirement home in Florida. Now to sort thru thirty years of accumulated clutter so we can fit it all into just four rooms.

Glad to hear from you again. It's been a long time. Good luck with wherever the four winds may blow. BTW I think I'm done with KI, for good, hopefully.

Moving to FLA? *Jealous!* Actually, I'm right behind ya as that is our NEXT move. My daughter will graduate this year and she's already indicated sending transcripts and ACT scores to Florida colleges.

Sour taste in your mouth with KI? I haven't been since before Diamondback...*siiiigh*...

Lots going on in my life right now. Wish you well in everything you do. When are you officially moving south?

~MommaBeast

MommaBeast said:

Moving to FLA? *Jealous!* Actually, I'm right behind ya as that is our NEXT move. My daughter will graduate this year and she's already indicated sending transcripts and ACT scores to Florida colleges.

Sour taste in your mouth with KI? I haven't been since before Diamondback...*siiiigh*...

Lots going on in my life right now. Wish you well in everything you do. When are you officially moving south?

~MommaBeast

I was wondering what's been happening with you. I still like KI but was quickly losing that taste, so had to get out before that bitter taste took over. Probably won't be moving for 2 to maybe 5 years. Laurie is still working and I need to find and train a replacement at my other job... NOT going to be easy, considering it's dinosaur tech and 99.9% of applicants will be expecting high tech and have zero experience. In the meantime we hope to rent out our condo, then fix the place up for the final decades of our lives. The toughest part is there are no basements in Florida, so 80% of our stuff will have to go. I'll give you a call after we return home.

Some vacation photos (no coasters)

Good to hear from you, and thanks for your kind words. 2010 was a great year... HWN, Wildebeest, ERT on RFII, bumping into you, then you suddenly disappeared. But it is a year I will remember forever.

MommaBeast said:

d-lo775 said:

From the Kings Island fan site and twitter from Don Helbig.

After a lengthy evaluation of all alternatives, the decision has been made to remove the Son of Beast roller coaster to make room for future park expansion.

The dismantling of the ride, which last operated in 2009, will begin later this summer.

Sadder than sad; bluer than blue ;'(

~Momma*tearing-up*Beast

Hi there Mommabeast! Good to hear from you - you're missed here. Sorry about your coaster. :~(

Jen

Yeah, I did kind of disappear in the middle of the shift that day and never returned. I had already given my 2 week notice earlier in the week, but after the grief ??? (can't remember her name) gave me on my lunch break that day, I decided it wasn't worth sticking around for another 11 days. Lets just say I may have given an earful of some very colorful words to some punk kid (another employee) a few days before that said some very tasteless things about one of the handicap employees in admissions.

Your rave reviews of Montu and RF2 did the trick in convincing me to make the time to check out both those parks within the next year. Needless to say neither coaster disappointed and both were well worth the trip. I do have to say you caught me completely off guard that evening at Holiwood Nights when you yelled my name in line for Eagles Flight. I had no idea anyone even knew I existed at work, let alone knew my name. After that night, when I found out we shared a common interest. I would always check my schedule to see what days I would work with you. Those days always went by so much faster than the others.

d-lo775 said:
After that night, when I found out we shared a common interest. I would always check my schedule to see what days I would work with you. Those days always went by so much faster than the others.

It's strange, but I just happened to recognize you. And I too enjoyed our chats immensely, though I do sometimes worry about maybe coming off as a know it all. But I am glad you got to ride RFII and Montu. In fact we were at BGT just last week and Montu was a walk on for all but the front row. Unbelievable. But the heat was no brutal that we only rode Montu, Sheikra, the train, skyride and Rhino Rally plus a couple shows before we left, so it wasn't worth writing a TR.

I had no idea that it was you who started this thread, but I'm glad you spoke up when I said I had left KI. It had been eleven years and as you know changed my life dramatically. But I never intended to stay there that long. After I turned in my notice it seemed I ended up getting all kinds of grief... not deliberately, but my patience with the staff and especially some of the less than gracious guests grew very thin. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Hopefully next year I will be spending more time there as a guest... and maybe bump into you again sometime.

Truth be told, RobLec, I was looking for you this past Sunday and Monday. There was a guy working the front gate that say along with the national anthem (and sang really well - they should just let him do it). I thought, "Is that RobLec"? Nope.

Nah, Rob I never once thought of you as being an obnoxious, know it all. I did, however, view you as someone that knew more than me and that I could learn some helpful tips from when visiting a park.

I look forward to seeing you at the park as a guest instead of an employee. We will definitely have to meet up sometime in the future and grab a few rides together on Diamondback. It's kinda weird to have shared rides this season with members of this board that live 7-10 hours away from me, yet I have never gotten in a single one with you.

Drachen, I was on the lookout for him too, as I was planning on introducing you to him in the event that he was working those days. As we were discussing, it's always nice to have a face to match with a screen name.

When they took out SOB's loop, I knew that to ride it again wouldn't be the same. It seemed like the writing was on the wall with this problem laden coaster. I'll remember it how it was when we ridden it a day before that infamous accident leading to the loops removal, the most wild and intense coaster that I've experienced. It took Voyage to topple it from my number one ranking. RIP Son of Beast. :(

I wonder what's going to happen upon it's dismantling. Could it be going to another park?, I could highly doubt it though because the manufacture is now defunct, and it was one hard coaster to maneuver. It's probably going into storage for a while until they decide to turn it into shreds.

The trains will likely be stored until they find a use for them. The wood is worthless.