SOB Question - CoasterBuzz

I have never rode Son of Beast! Someone told me that there is a pretty decent drop out of the station? Any truth to that? Also, I have heard that the ride is alittle rough! And info would be greatly appriciated!

Yeah the drop out of the station is great. It's a 50 foot curving drop, then a little hill then a big turn right up into the lift hill. It's a little rough at parts but what do you expect its a 70mph wooden roller coaster.

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Top 5
1.) Beast 2.) Phantom's Revenge 2.) SROS (SFNE) 4.) SROS (SFDL) 5.) MF

It has a great first drop out of the station....great way to start the ride. The ride is really bumpy but I enjoy that a lot so that only makes the ride better for me. The restraints are the worst but the loop is awesome.

SOB is one of the best rollercoasters I have ever ridden. I liked it better than the beast, and the first drop is about 55 feet, but its pretty fun.

The first drop and the loop were my favorite parts of the ride.

The only place that it was too rough IMO was at the top of the second hill, entering the first helix. It carried a little too much speed into a relatively flat section of track, and let's face it, the ride goes too hard and fast to have a "mine-ride" feel. If that section of track were a little higher (hence slower), or had a little more banking, the ride would be almost perfect. Final touch: replacing those Premier trains!!!
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Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

The drop out of the station is great... there's some excitement before the lift! It's a little rough in the helix, but that's the way i like it. A lot of people don't like the roughness, but I guess enough do because the line is always packed - probably longest line in the park and the second longest wait (FOF has a longer wait cause it is a low capacity ride)

FYI,

The drop out of the station is not immediate. It does not happen just as the train is dispatched. Rather, the train rolls forward, probably a good hundred feet or so, through the lift structure and then drops.

It is a curving drop to the left, followed by a pass through the final hop structure then a left handed fan turn onto the lift.

A unique thing to mention is that the on-ride photo is located at the base of the lift rather than a more thrilling part of the ride. I have always been curious as to why the camera was not placed on this 50 foot initial drop.

The idea was great for the drop, you roll out of the station in a traquil manner, through a magnificent lift structure and lying beofre you is the signature loop. All eyes are on it when the planned suprise, the first drop, happens.

Shaggy

Good question. I mean, until you've been over that drop, it's hard to get a good idea of how serious it is from the ground or even the station. I knew it was there and I was still surprised by it!

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

The roughness that Son of Beast currently has (or had) isn't all that bad actually IMO. While Sunday morning rides were a bit on the sluggish side, it still amazes me how much work has been done to smooth out a lot of the the rough parts.

For the ACE walk-back, we got in two rides before the masses hit the ride, and when I mean masses, I mean MASSES! I have never seen the park that crowded before.......and I still had a great time.

-Sean

SON OF BEAST is the meanest woodie out there IMO.

It IS the tallest AND fastest and it really lets you know it.

I would call it BRUTAL.....yes, it's very rough!

But if they tame it down, I'd say they are fools.

Very strong G-forces on this ride. I say "If it's too rough for you then go ride something else, don't ruin it for the millions of us who love it that way!" It's an amazing creation.

True, the cars are cramped and the lap bar is very tight, BUT REMEMBER - this baby loops! And without a shoulder harness!!! That's the trade-off!

By the way, PKI runs a VERY clear dis-claimer recording in the cues...this is a wild ride and it is not for everyone.

God bless SON OF BEAST.

~Tocci

I love SoB too ! If you don't like it rough, make sure you don't sit in a seat that is over the wheels.

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Current favorite coasters:
Wooden: 1) Beast 2) Raven 3) Son of Beast 4) The Boss 5) Timber Wolf
Steel: 1) Raging Bull 2) Millennium Force 3) V2 4) Wild Thing 5) Mr. Freeze

SOB can be pretty mean at times, but it is no where close to the meanest. For pure, violent, non-stop physicality, The Raven, The Legend, and The Boss can not be beat.
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Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.

You know I still cannot figure out how so many can ride and love Boss and moan and groan about SOB.

Ravenguy98 is right. The Boss was easily the roughest and most teeth jarring coaster I have ridden. I have tried to like it, but just find it painful. I have tried front of train, I have tried middle of train, I have tried back of train. I have tried sitting over a wheel, I have tried not sitting over a wheel. I have tried sitting with my legs apart, I have tried sitting with my legs together. Nothing works. At the ACE Spring Con I rode it 5 times in a row during ERT, until I maxed out. I paid for it too, I was terribly sore and my head hurt so bad I could hardly stand it. Quite honestly, I am sorry I did not opt for more rides on the Eagle instead of Boss.

Even on Sonny's worst day, I never felt that bad. That includes the media day when SOB ran the way originally intended... before the public rode, before ANY alteration. It still was not as brutal as Boss.

Now I don't rank Sonny as one of my favorites, but I enjoy it a lot. I cannot say that about Boss.

But then on the flip side... the best coaster I have EVER ridden is, without a doubt, Legend.

Shaggy

Shaggy said:
"But then on the flip side... the best coaster I have EVER ridden is, without a doubt, Legend."

MASOCHIST!!!! :)

I agree that BOSS was a physical coaster, but not exactly rough. It's just the combination of the "lateral air" and the "U" shaped restraints are hell on the legs. Sonny has a little more of the up and down 'jackhammering' on the first hill.

That being said, Sonny is like my third favorite woodie and BOSS isnt even in the top ten...maybe not even top fifteen..
lata,
jeremy
--who agrees that The Legend is the best ;)

Those that compare the roughness of SOB to the Boss must not be very tall.

I found the Boss to be pretty comfortable as far as woodies go, thought the Screamin' Eagle provided a much rougher ride. Boss beats you up a little more, but much smoother.

However, SOB has to be the most brutal coaster ever. I've been on it twice and only rode it the second time cuz no one else with me had been on it. There is no leg room, and those lap bars grab into your thighs, or at least if you're tall they do. I came off that ride with two large bruises running down the side of my legs (from where the lap bar is). Halfway through I wanted off. I'm sorry, but that coaster doesn't have any parts that particularly make up for the way it slams you around, its just large. I also came off with a little battering of the ribs.

Give me the papa any day, the Beast will always reign at PKI. And as for SOB, it doesn't even make my top 10 woodies.

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Blaster_1578, Im in agreement with ya. SOB was ok, it just didnt do anything for me. Now The Beast on the other hand, now that's a awesome coaster. A definite rush.
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Dayuum, Your HOT!

another agreement, Blaster_1578. SOB looks so cool, I was really anticipating an awesome ride. Instead, the whole experience turned into an exercise in pain. The sides of my legs were also bruised from slamming into the lap bar, AND the worst part is not so much the side-to-side banging you get but the up-and-down banging. It felt like my brain was slamming against the top of my skull and my eyes were bouncing up and down in my head like a WB cartoon. Each time I came off with a raging headache.

I do rather like the position of the camera at the base of the lift hill, since it makes it easier to get a good picture, which we managed to do.

IMO, give me the Father....the Son is just not what I'm looking for.
Maybe it's my nostalgia for The Beast since I rode it as a kid in '79 and it still delivers!

Liz

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"The only real limit to height is what people are willing to get on." - Ron Toomer

Duh you guys, of course Legend is the best coaster ever.:) Quite honestly though, I don't think Boss is rough at all. If you can't handle a violent ride, it's not for you though...and on the subject of SoB, I just rode it again last weekend, and it still IMO isn't too rough at all. I'm always sure to ride in the middle of each car though, so I guess that plays a big role in it.

-Kurt

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-Kurt Borowiak
"Hold on tight, with all your might, and enjoy your flight on the Raven!"

Blaster_1578

I am 6'3". I would consider that tall. The issues I have with Boss are not related to the seats, or the lap bars or how restrained I was.

I just found the track way too rough and violent in areas. The structure run following the first drop, then the shot up into the first high speed curve were terribly tracked. IMO it would not have made any difference what type of train was running them, or how tall I was or was not.

Shaggy