Son of the Beast Has to be rebuilt!

[Eric]

MASON, Ohio — Part of the Son of Beast roller coaster at Paramount's Kings Island must be taken apart and rebuilt under state supervision, a time-consuming process that raises questions about whether the ride will reopen this season.

"If they want to operate it again, that's what they have to do," said Melanie Wilt, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the state agency that regulates amusement park rides.



The Son of Beast has been closed since July 9, when 27 people were injured on a rough ride. On Friday, Wilt said the problem has been narrowed to three possible structural issues: wood strength, maintenance or design.

Inspectors found a cracked vertical support beam in the double helix part of the coaster the day after the accident. Inspectors say that might have contributed to the big jolt riders described.

Kings Island must now take apart a small section of the ride, including pieces surrounding the cracked beam. Those pieces must be turned over to the state for analysis. Meanwhile, the park would have to rebuild that section and test the new portion under the supervision of an independent engineer hired by the state.

The park closes for the season Aug. 23, except for a reopening during Labor Day weekend. Kings Island officials said it's too early to tell whether the ride will reopen this season.

"We're in the preliminary stages of what needs to be done," said Maureen Kaiser, park spokeswoman. "We want to make sure we're completely satisfied that the ride is safe."

The Son of Beast is the tallest, fastest and only looping wooden roller coaster in the world.

In past years, some people have complained about the roughness of the ride, but the coaster has continued to be popular.

The July 9 accident has so far prompted one lawsuit. A Maineville woman who fractured her sternum is suing for negligence.


I don't think it'll take too long, it's only a small section in the double helix, meaning it'll open next year

[SnooSnoo]

Yep, SoB is down for '06. Horrible, really horrible. I went a week to PKI a week after the accident. Didn't get to ride it :(

[Harpo]

I was there 1 week before the accident, and did ride SoB.

Because of its roughness, the amount of money needed to maintain the ride, clearly shrinking lines for the ride, and Cedar Fair deciding to tear down Hercules at Dorney Park for similar reasons, even before the accident, I was speculating that SoB's days would be numbered.

It wouldn't completely surprise me if they decide to not do the repairs, and just tear down the ride. If they do proceed with the repairs, unless the ride experience becomes much better as a result, I still think the ride will be gone within a few years.

[Small Print]

And to think it's only been there six years.

[Dormouse]

And to think it's only been there six years.

Woah... it's been that long??

Time Flies...

[Corn4ahead]

And to think it's only been there six years.
it is so sad a fairly new ride already injuring people.......and i wish they would find some way to make that ride smother......i have had season passes to kings island since 2000 or 2001 and it has been extremely rough since then and even after they removed one of the cars.

[FlyingPenguins]

IMO it would be a good idea to just demolish it and replace it with one of those prefabricated wooden coasters, like El Toro, then add a loop.

[okinawaboy11]

Yep, SoB is down for '06. Horrible, really horrible. I went a week to PKI a week after the accident. Didn't get to ride it :(

Why would you even want to ride it?

[SnooSnoo]

Tallest Woody and only one with a loop, why not. Plus, it wasn't that rough when I rode it (only been on it once) so I gotta make an all around judgement of the ride.

[KingdaKa1]

Lucky u were there when it was smooth. It was poorly built by a even poorer company. With the way CF took Hercules out of DP, SOB shouldnt be around much longer.

I truly enjoyed Hercules better than SOB. SOB had a better design though, but they were both very rough. It was hard to enjoy SOB with all of the bumping around.

Though, I heard Hercules was torn down cuze they were paying 6 Million a year to run it, and no one rode it. I remember being able to get 5 rides in a matter of 20 minutes on that. Or may just b that part of the park. Hydra is never crowded either. Thats whts great about DP, great rides with 5 minute waits like Talon, Hydra, Steel Force, Dominator,Thunderhawk.

Is SOB still an 1 1/2 wait?

[fathorse]

SOB was just run badly. Half the times I was there it was a 2 hr wait or better, but there was only 2 of the 3 trains running, and it was basically 1 train operation, where the train that started loading when you left the station was still there when you finished the ride (and then you'd still wait another 2-5 minutes on the block brakes until it finally left the station).

The other half of the times were worse :p

[okinawaboy11]

^ PKI never installed the proposed third train for SoB. It has always been running with 2.

[Corn4ahead]

Is SOB still an 1 1/2 wait?
HELL NO!!!!!!!!! I have had passes for the last 4-5 years and the last time i didnt walk right on to it was in 2001-2002. But then again I dont go on weekends!!!

[Squid2]

What company built SOBeast, anyway?

Squid2

[Corn4ahead]

What company built SOBeast, anyway?

Squid2
Ingenieur Büro Stengel GmbH, Roller Coaster Corporation of America

[Dark_Rider2k3]

Ok I went to PKI around June 10th of this year, and I must say I had an oppsite feeling then you all...

when I rode front seat, I LOVED IT... It was amazing.. I felt the headbanging... but it wasn't terrible... it didn't give me a headache... it didn't really hurt too much...

later that day, I rode it mid-seat... I HATED IT!!! I felt like I was dying... my nuts hurt from the lap bar, and my hed felt like I smacked it against a brick wall 20 times..

I gotta say I love the ride... I will only ride it, however, if i get front row...

I hope they rebuilt it.. it's a unique coaster...

[bowler4ever]

My nuts hurt from the lap bar
That's gonna be me after riding Superman: ROS Friday :bored:

[Corn4ahead]

Ok I went to PKI around June 10th of this year, and I must say I had an oppsite feeling then you all...

when I rode front seat, I LOVED IT... It was amazing.. I felt the headbanging... but it wasn't terrible... it didn't give me a headache... it didn't really hurt too much...

later that day, I rode it mid-seat... I HATED IT!!! I felt like I was dying... my nuts hurt from the lap bar, and my hed felt like I smacked it against a brick wall 20 times..

I gotta say I love the ride... I will only ride it, however, if i get front row...

I hope they rebuilt it.. it's a unique coaster...
Amen to that.....the ONLY way to ride is in the front seat!!!!!

[NickInAmerica]

i know it wont happen, but i think it would be cool if the just used steel track like on gemini. it would smooth it out quite a bit.

[lakeccrunner]

Would using steel track help its case at all? Because Gemini is pretty rough, I'm noy saying its extremely rough but its got its fair share of bumps and rough patches.

[SnooSnoo]

Guys... its a wooden coaster, it CANT run on steel track, or you'd have to take out ALL of the track and replace it, plus add new trains and such. A big hastle that ISN'T needed.

The only seat I rode was front, and as Dark & Cornman said, it was nice. The loop was awesome too.

I went on a Sunday... last May? (Prom gift :)) and the line was.. 20 minutes? I went this year on a Thursday... walked on to EVERYTHING... The Beast 9 times, didn't wait longer then 5 minutes any time. I'd imagine SoB would be the same, if it would have been open.

[Voyage_luvr]

Why is it that the SOB is so rough. I mean The Raven and The Legend at Holiday World are both rough, but the new Voyage is the smoothest woodie I have ever been on. and from all of the stuff that it does you'd think it would be rough. I mean the only thing i felt was a little dizziness after getting off because of all of the negative-g airtime, which was awesome by the way.:D :up:

[pnkfloyd12]

The Voyage is not the smoothest woodie by far. I personally thought that both The Raven and The Legend were smoother. Since I've never ridden SOB, I can't compare it to any of the three at Holiday World.

[Harpo]

There's no comparison -- SOB is MUCH rougher than all 3 of Holiday World's wood coasters.

A remarkably smooth wood coaster is Kentucky Rumbler at Beech Bend Park. The overall park is a bit of a dump, but the Kentucky Rumbler is a very good wood coaster.

(I liked Voyage better, but my wife preferred Rumbler.)