S.O.B.
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AkA somewhatchewy
"Some guy walked up to me on the street and asked what is punk. So I kicked over a trash can and said, thats punk. He kocked over a trash can and said, so that's punk? I said no, that's trendy." Billy Joe Armstrong, Green Day
Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy.
If it's too much for you, Don't ride.
Thats about all I can say.
Chuck, who rode 35 times in one day and if it wasn't for the lapbars against the thighs could easily ride Sonny all day.
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Charles Nungester.
Is it about coasters or friends? I say both!
I just type a nice long response to this and---ONCE AGAIN--it didn't show up. The short version is as follows.
I rode it when it first opened. I wanted off before the ride was over. I hope the problems have been fixed.
If you are still reading this, Thank You.
EDIT: I forgot to add the word "it".
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I regret to inform you that Lakemont Park is my homepark.
*** This post was edited by dexter on 11/18/2002. ***
SFNE Freak said:
In two words: Total Crap.
How could they rate anything new and Intamin a 6?!-----------------
SFNE Central- Online Six Flags New England Resource
Devoted Intamin Lover for Life!
Because they think Wicked Twister is not good in there mind. I have yet to find a really exciting non-complete circuit rollercoaster. Lacks the luster of a full-circuit.
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I've only ridden SOB once. I had a great time on it. I was told to sit on a seat that wasn't directly on top of the wheels. Maybe this is why I didn't find it so rough. My only complaint about the ride was the lack of leg room in the cars themselves. I didn't find it overly rough myself.
Mean Streak however, I consider extremely rough. So rough in fact, that I probably won't ride it anymore.
Chuck, no matter how much I am taken in by your "Wendy's commercial" banter & the fact that we have had great rapport on the forums....I have to completely disagree with you about "if it's too much for you, then don't ride" attitude. Personally, I'll take a woodie over a steelie on any given day (uh....note the signature), but until they change trains, you can have it, and I'll ride others. PKI tries to stuff 100 pounds of *fecal material*(me) into a 10 pound truck (train). I'm 6'2'' 220 (ding, ding-- for those who enjoy ESPN radio), my knees constantly crushed into the needless, unprotected handbar. The slanted foot rest pressing your knees upward which increases the effect.
If being 6'2'', 220 and being a ''hunka, hunka, burnin' love, btw''.....is wimpy for not wanting to ride a coaster that gives me that much discomfort, then, I guess, I'm wimpy as hell.....Again, this is coming from a person who went thru 8 double sessions in his football career with knee surgery.......I don't know......I guess I'll just (sniff, sniff) take my quiche and run.... Then again, I did happen to ride HP's Wildcat and CLP's Blue Streak 8-10 times in a row and enjoyed the heck out of the laps, but didn't have anything banging thru my knee caps like a 4 foot British sword.
Hint: I love PKI, it's a great park, but until they change the trains, I can't ride it without walking funny the rest of the day. Basically, it's like this: Walk around PKI, riding 12 other coasters, having a ball......or ride SOB and basically head back to hotel for ice bags and plenty of beer....hmmmmm.....sounds great to me!!!!! ; )
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There's nothing like a woodie...
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Mike Miller
"You're trouble, Trouble Boy!"
I am so sick of hearing people act like this is the smoothest coaster on the planet. Why must you act that way? Just to be different? Or are you on crack? I can't think of any other reason. It's moronic. That coaster is needlessly rough. But whatever. You guy take it. You can fine me over on The Beast or the Flyers!
Eric
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A one that is not cold, is hardly a one at all.
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http://www.rockandrollconfidential.com
Eric,
I don't see anyone claiming that SOB is the smoothest coaster on the planet. Some of us just don't see what the fuss is all about in regards to the roughness of SOB. Please don't call us morons because we disagree with your opinions. By the way, is a $50.00 fine too much?
SoB is an amazing ride from dive into the lift, to that super loud chain, to the incredible first drop, to the G forces around the inclined helixes, trough the loop and more Gs, the finale is so intense you can barely keep your arms! I loved ever second of it and you know it's amazing... for all the complaining that goes on here, I didn't see too many crying faces on that ride. Everybody was cheering. :-)
SOB may be smoother now but it gave an awful first impression the year it opened. The coaster placed in the bottom third of Mitch's poll last year...it will be interesting to see if it does any better this year.
Moosh - who ranks SOB at #79 out of 80 woodies ridden.
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Coaster & Amusement Park Christmas cards & merchandise now available here. NOW ACCEPTING PAYPAL!
*** This post was edited by Mamoosh on 11/18/2002. ***
Son of Beast is it's own worst enemy.
First, coaster buffs were immediately divided when the ride was announced. Many drooled at the thought of a mega woodie breaking any and all barriers. Others had visions of a rough ride from the announce ala the Rattler and Hercules. Fans of PKI lauded the park for once again going full wood gusto. Those that oppose PKI saw it as yet another prototype coaster big on name but low on substance.
Right from the start this ride had two camps in the enthusiast world... those that loved it and those that hated it. Most of those opinions were formed, believe it or not, before anyone ever took a ride.
SOB had some troubles, that is for sure. Construction flaws led to a memorable moment in the winter when high winds collapsed an unsecured portion of the ride. The delay of ride openeing due to the construction time over-runs also took it's toll on enthusiast opinions.
When the ride opened, it opened with a lot of fanfare. Why at media day, you would not have believed the attention this thing got. There again, enthusiast opinion was completely divided because of the amount of press it was recieving. Some enthusiasts thought it deserved the attention and some didn't.
Once it opened SOB quickly formed two opposing opinion camps in the enthusiast world. Those that love it, and those that hate it. Those that think it is rough, those that don't. Those that find it boring, those that don't. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground.... with enthusiasts.
However, to be perfectly frank, the enthusiast opinion really means squat. The opinion of the general public is what counts. The majority of guests that attend do not spend their off hours thinking about ride quality or reliving a coaster experience in their minds over and over on a daily basis. Rather a guest's opinion is most accurate in the moment they are experiencing it.
Overall, the true judge of any coaster's success is viewed by the wait times or crowds it draws after the initial blitz has subsided. What we have seen in the past season is, IMO, the true response to the overall SOB experience.
SOB is a ride that guests generally do enjoy and do ride, but it will not be written in the history books as something that revolutionized the park ala Beast. The coaster generally attracts a minimal wait. That says to me that it is a fun, enjoyable coaster by GP standards. But the lack of draw it has as a "must ride" indicates to me that it will not hold much favor with guests a time goes on.
But Son of Beast is a wooden coaster. And wooden coasters change minute by minute. Charlie Dinn, I believe, was quoted as saying that you "never stop building a wooden coaster." How accurate. And trust me when I say that PKI is far from done with SOB. They know much more than you or I what success, if any, lies within SOB. They will not give up until they literally have to. Just look at what has happened to FOF over the past 6 years, and how far it has come.
In SOB's case, I think the extremity of enthusiast opinions differs so greatly because the extremity of it's size and stats dictate it. Smaller woodies with much more serious problems/flaws really do not get as much heated discussion because their fame does not procced them. In other words, if SOB wasn't as talked about then opinions would not be nearly as extreme and divided.
So, truthfully, the most accurate opinions of SOB that you will find cannot be found here. If you want and accurate summary of the experience, stand at the exit and listen to guests or ask a non-enthusiast rider. IMO, they generally like it... they do not rush back to it... but they like it.
Shaggy
Shaggy - I agree with you that in the grand scheme of things the opinions of the very small community of enthusiasts is not as important as the much larger community of park guests. I can probably tick off a list of dozens of coaster that are generally poorly rated by us that the "GP" loves.
I'm not so sure I agree with you about people's opinions becoming so entrenched before the coaster opened, at least such was not the case for me. I am excited about each new coaster and have learned thru experience that a coaster cannot be judged by its size or layout. I was all smiles at the beginning of my first ride but was pretty shocked at how terrible my experience was. I still gave the coaster a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th opportunity over two days to see if I could experience a better ride but it was not to be. But it wasn't so bad that I'd never ride it again.
I will make it back to PKI eventually and will ride SOB again. If its better, my personal ranking will reflect that.
Moosh
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Coaster & Amusement Park Christmas cards & merchandise now available here. NOW ACCEPTING PAYPAL!
SOB is really the worst s.o.b. of a coaster that I have ever been on. From the first hill to the brake run, the ride beats riders just like red-headed step children. On most coaster I relax and enjoy the ride. On SOB after the loop, I did not enjoy a moment of this ride.
This ride is very intense and of course id not for everyone. I will ride this monster again on my next trip to PKI...but with the knowledge that I am going to be battered when I hit the exit.
Somehow SOB it is a coaster that just misses the mark. I get the feeling that there is something that can be done to make it better...but I just can't put my finger on the solution. With this ride, Roller Coaster Corporation of America, may have just pushed the envelope too far. We'll only know that when the next manufacturer builds something similar.
At first, I couldn't understand why people thought Son of Beast was rough. I found it to be the smoothest wooden roller coaster I had ever been on. Every ride was smooth and exciting. I knew some of the history of it, but that didn't bother me much. Then, I rode it during Fear Fest.
It was like night and day. I was constantly being thrown from side to side, up and down, and everywhere in between. It is actually the only roller coaster that I have found to be painful. No cuts or bruises, but I was sure to check for them when I got home. I've pretty much decided that I don't want to give Son of Beast another chance. I will, of course, but I'm going to be a little apprehensive.
My diagnostic? ( Not that it matters, or is right by any means ) I think that new trains would do wonders for this ride. I'm only 5'8" and pretty skinny, and I can't imagine how someone any bigger than me could fit into those Son of Beast trains. I can barely sit down in those things. Not only are the trains extremely small, but the restraints are horrible. I don't think the coaster itself is rough, it's the restraints the cause the problems. I honestly wouldn't mind OTSR if it meant my legs would stop smashing into that mass of steel they call a "lapbar."
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Intelligence is a God given gift: Know how to use it.
very well said Shaggy...im always happy to see you offer an opinion man :)
personally, i thoroughly enjoyed SOB when i rode it...i got 7 rides all together, one front, and the rest in the back....i will agree with an earlier statement, it did kinda die out after the loop....but that first drop and first helix AND that divinely inspired loop are absolute genious!!!:) now, i actually caught a couple decent pops of airtime towards the end of the ride, between the second double helix and the final brakes. so, its definitely a matter of opinion and rider comfort level....SOB is definitely not one of my top five woodies, but its up there :)
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Holiday World; Knoebel's-today's cures for today's common theme park :-D
Legend...who would have thought that a tree could be turned into such madness :-D
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