Kings Island GM: Son of Beast will not open

Well stated, Vater. If another fix ultimately ended up being another failure, I'd much rather see it bulldozed to the ground in a violent crash.

Agreed Vater and LK. It's time Cedar Fair cuts their losses.

SOB's future should only include a ton of gasoline and a match. If that's not possible, I am sure they could sell it for firewood. ;) LK, I would pay just to see that violent crash!

-Tina

^Isn't it fireproof?

Perhaps some of the concrete footers could be re-used. Unless there is a problem with them, too ;)

The wood is treated. You couldn't use it for firewood. I believe it is only weather treated, not fire treated.

It would be interesting to see if they could salvadge it with the Texas Giant "solution," but honestly - from my experience I'll agree with others. If we can't burn it - how about a HUGE explosion?? It is beautiful, but goodness, it is poison.

Pagoda Gift Shop said:
I've just submitted this to news:

http://www.whiotv.com/news/22866282/detail.html

30 million dollars for repairs? They easily could've bought something much better (*cough* Voyage *cough*) with that $$..what a waste!!

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 2175 :)

Jo, you missed the "construction and" part of that sentence. :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Wow, I'm kinda suprirsed they've spent that LITTLE on Sonny - I'd have put the total expenditures between 40-50M....but then again, I'm used to figure in NPV, where the money gets interest accrual added in over time. Gigantic wa$te under any method of figuring...

I'm surprised they're opening it this year. I still advocate for the Texas Giant treatment. Even the hardcore wood coaster enthusiast woulnd't likely be upset about it.

Apparently, you can polish a turd, but the question remains - how many times?

As I recall, Mythbusters addressed that question...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

LuvRaptor said:

Pagoda Gift Shop said:
I've just submitted this to news:

http://www.whiotv.com/news/22866282/detail.html

30 million dollars for repairs? They easily could've bought something much better (*cough* Voyage *cough*) with that $$..what a waste!!

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 2175 :)

^I think they could have purchased about 5 Voyages, if my calculations are correct. But a Voyage wouldn't work at Kings Island - it's too 'wild'. It would have brakes all over it. I know what you were trying to say though - about the money.

There was a rumor I heard a while back that before SOB, KI was interested in getting GCI to build a version of the Rye Aeroplane.

I never got to ride SOB, even though I heard that you were saving yourself three more years by not riding it, I would have wanted to experience it. I went their last summer, and I must say that Daddy was one of my favorite woodens ever(second to Toro). I would have liked to had been able to compare father and son, though it seems like most think daddy reins supreme.

Yay!!! I can't wait to ride SoB again! (NOT sarcasm!)

however, that article date is from March... :(

You didn't miss much, CC. SOB had a nice first drop. From the bottom of that drop to the end of the ride, you just got shaken to death for a few minutes. It was uneventful, and the exactly two times I rode it, which was the second week that it opened it's first year, and a few weeks before it was prematurely closed forever last year, I passionately hated the ride.

LostKause said:
You didn't miss much, CC. SOB had a nice first drop. From the bottom of that drop to the end of the ride, you just got shaken to death for a few minutes. It was uneventful, and the exactly two times I rode it, which was the second week that it opened it's first year, and a few weeks before it was prematurely closed forever last year, I passionately hated the ride.

LOL, Yeah the first time I went to KI, it was last summer so I rode diamondback 25 times and tried the other coasters, bur SOB found itself closed.

I really hope that I get to ride it before it is DESTRUCTED, because it was a really expensive project fro KI and I think they wanted it to be a world-class wooden.

The loop was THE reason to ride Sonny. You had to endure a brutal beating before and after the loop in order to enjoy those deliriously-fun 6-8 seconds....but once that was removed, the ride became basically pointless. Obviously, IMO. ;)

The son of the beast has always been one of the main attractions at kings island, especially for big roller coaster fans, when i was younger my father always wanted me to ride this with him, as it was one of his favorites, he passed way recently and i'm hoping they re-open the Son of the Beast, for further fans to enjoy and for stories to be passed down from generation to generation.

You make it sound like SOB has been there for 30 years. It's only been there 10. And it's only opperated for 8 of those years. Beast and/or Racer are the one's who have been around long enough to have generations of memories.

^ And the 10 years it's been around is probably more than half this guys life. It reminds him of the good times he and his recently deceased father shared on the ride. Kinda harsh to come down on him like that, don't you think?