SOB-possible to enjoy it?

Janet, I think the easiest way to remember where to sit is second to front, or second to the back. Either of these seats is about as good as its gonna get. It also helps to lean just a tad forward while riding, keeping your back slightly off the seat back and avoiding the rough vibrations and jolts. I was a SOB hater, now I really enjoy it and can't wait for our first 2005 visit.

But, if a coaster is good you shouldn't have to know what seat to sit in and how to sit while you ride.

That's simply compensating for a poor ride.

*** Edited 4/8/2005 5:03:55 AM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

Amen Gonch!

Or have to wipe blood from your knees.

Do I have to pull out my bloody knee picture... again? ;)

Of course that argument can be made. I'm answering Janet's question with the best advice I can give. Someone passed that information on to me, I tried it out and thoroughly enjoyed SOB.

Call me silly, but in order for me to enjoy a coaster I dont like to feel like I just got jumped or have to spend a half hour in the bathroom trying to get my knee to stop bleeding.

Neuski, have fun on mean streak. I worked on her in 2001 and had a blast. Only bad memory is having to climb the stairs to the midcourse brakes in the morning after a long nite at louies.

...just a thought:

http://www.painstation.de/index_old.html

"What did I do to myself getting on board this thing"
Is I guess a common question for amusement park customers.
It's interesting and sometimes impossible to determine where the line between enjoyment, terror, "good pain" and "bad pain" is.
As the "painstation" has proven, it might be still fun even if blood flows - so bleeding knees are not necessarily a synonym for "no fun".

But from all comments it seems to be evident that SoB is no fun indeed (I have never ridden it so I'm not qualified anyway)
*** Edited 4/8/2005 5:56:05 AM UTC by superman***

Just a little hunch that once Beast Tamer gets to travel a little more that Volares are going to be his favorite flying coasters.

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Beast Tamer said:
I have rode legend and raven and i think they are pieces of s***. I like my woodies intense.

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That's funny, as I've always considered the Legend to be one of the most intense wooden coasters I've ridden (and I know a lot of people agree with me).

As others have pointed out, intensity has nothing to do with roughness and everything to do with g-forces. If SOB were smooth, it'd be one of the most boring wooden coasters in the world. There's nothing exciting, forceful, or intense about it.

-Nate

Not defending it but the further back in the train, The less leg beatage. I preffer 6-2 and have found it the smoothest seat on the coaster. The second hill has been reprofiled again for this year so the slam isn't a slam anymore.

I just feel that woodies should not need suspension.

// Just a thought

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coasterdude318 said:
...As others have pointed out, intensity has nothing to do with roughness and everything to do with g-forces. If SOB were smooth, it'd be one of the most boring wooden coasters in the world. There's nothing exciting, forceful, or intense about it.

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Excellent point, Nate. I'd even argue that intensity isn't entirely about G-forces, either. Son of Beast has plenty of those, but the real key is interest and excitement, of which Son of Beast has little of either. Take Thunderhead, for instance, widely believed to be one of the best wood coasters on the planet. It has neither extreme airtime nor crushing positive G's, and the banking largely mitigates the lateral forces. Yet few people who have ever ridden it would call it anything but "intense".

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Once again in the poll:

DIS-respect for SoB is 13-3. That is much worse than the 2 to 1 ratio of the previous thread. Hans sure takes a beatin'. And so well traveled, 5 amusements parks, with 13 wood coasters....the equivalent of eating Cheerios everyday then saying, "there's nuttin' betta than Cheerios for breakfast."

Here's a couple of suggestions away from those 5 parks: Michigan Adventure, Indiana Beach, Any park in Pennsylvania has better woodies than SoB. It's the ride, not the rattle.

Sorry, I gotta disagree. I am a fan of Son of Beast and I have never been "beaten" on that ride. I also disagree that it would be boring if it were smoother. It has a great first drop, good helices, a fantastic loop and some great banked turns, all of which make it a really good coaster. And, I don't see how you can dis Beast Tamer when he has been on two coasters that the coaster community considers "great" woodies at HW and says he still likes SOB better. First, you make the assumption that he has been nowhere outside of Ohio. Then, when he proves you wrong, you jump on him and tell him to go to Pennsylvania. Well, what if he goes and rides all of these suggested wooden "greats" and still likes SOB better. What next? Go overseas?

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Corkscrewy said:
Wasn't there just a topic on this. I agree Cazy Horse. *sigh*

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well, I'm so sorry I wasted your time...you obviously felt it was important enough to take time to throw in your 2 cents though.

Thanks for suggestions guys, I'll try to sit in 1-2 or 6-2. :)

And, I don't see how you can dis Beast Tamer when he has been on two coasters that the coaster community considers "great" woodies at HW and says he still likes SOB better.

He called both Raven and Legend a POS...Not only is that really harsh and uncalled for his opinion is clearly in the minority. If that's his opinion, fine. He's entitled to think what he wants of them, but he also has to be prepared to deal with the consequences of that opinion.

For example, Shivering Timbers is a very highly-rated wooden coaster. It does well in Mitch's poll and it is many enthusiast's #1 woodie. I think it's fun, but kinda boring and repetitive. When I submit my ballot for Mitch's poll there are more than 30 wooden coasters [out of a total of 90 ridden world wide] that rank better than Timbers. I stand behind my opinion and ranking but I also take a lot of flack because of it.

Again, he's free to think what he wants but should be prepared to face some opposition.

Well, what if he goes and rides all of these suggested wooden "greats" and still likes SOB better. What next?

We all pitch in and buy him some common sense! ;)

*** Edited 4/8/2005 8:05:35 PM UTC by Mamoosh***

If you're going to put your opinions "out there", just realize you MAY be called upon to defend them....doesn't make you *wrong*, it's an OPINION. Butcritical thinking DOES require that you be able to state your case clearly, and to argue your position.

For me, Timbers and B-Dash both lacked that "certain something"...doesn't make me wrong that MOST other people rate them VERY highly, I may have just caught them on *subpar* days - in fact, the mechanic from B-Dash (who saved my glasses) said HE thought it was running "about 3 out of 10" that day, and he SHOULD know, LOL. To me, for an O-n-B, I'll take Timber Terror ANY day over those two...

So...is it possible to enjoy Sonny? Sure is! But you WOULD be in the minority..;)

Well, Moosh, I just felt like that because he is in the minority here, that people think he is wrong and was being belittled for it. Maybe it doesn't make sense to a lot of people here, but apparently it does to him. I guess what I was getting at is that he has visited other parks and tested other woodies, so it should at least validate his opinion. The response I always hear from people when someone else says that they love SOB is I bet you haven't been to a park outside of Ohio which may be the case sometimes, but it shouldn't be automatically assumed that they have not been outside of Ohio. Honestly, I have never been to Holiday World and I find it hard to believe that either Raven or Legend are POS's. But, to each his own, I guess. ;)

The thing is, there IS something to be said about experience. Ranking SOB as #1 when you're only ridden 13 wooden coasters is vastly different than ranking it #1 when you've ridden 50+.

Honestly if someone said they'd ridden over 50 wooden coasters and SOB was their #1 I'd respect their opinion more. I'd still think they were nuts, but at least their opinion would be based on some hard facts [i.e. their vast riding experience].

Yeah, it sucks that experience matters but you find that is the case in every-day life. There is a reason CNN is a more respected news source than, say, Americal Idol's infamous William Hung.

mOOSH