SOBeast, what do you think?

I'm curious to hear what people think on the SOB with the new(er) trains and w/o the loop.

I only rode it with the old trains, the last season it had them, and it is a painful memory. But the loop was great! And the creepy steep lift was great too.

It's really sad to hear the park got this instead of the 'near acquisition' of a Rye Airplane clone.

How'd that short-term ROI work!?

Is the ride any good? Will it stay?

Worst wooden coaster mistake ever. What were they thinking? How many good woodies are there that are over 140 feet? 150 feet? Let alone something more than 200 feet... It was a disaster before ground was even broken. The loop used to be the only good part of the ride... now that's gone. The ride is a little bit smoother now with the new trains, but that doesn't make up for a completely uninspired layout that is completely devoid of any airtime whatsoever, and some of the slowest, most boring turns in existance. I've been on it twice now that it's loopless, and never plan on getting back in line for it.

The ride is 10X better without the loop. Not that 10X better=fantastic, but its ridable now. I make it a point to ride it every time I go now (mainly because the line is so short, and that first drop is still fantastic) where as with the old trains I swore never to ride it again.

Heh, I didn't go anywhere near it when I was there pre-loop. The structure looks amazing though.

^Yeah! Like many 'big coasters' its nice to look at. I think it was Bill Cobb who said go over 100 feet, and you're asking for problems. That has been pretty much proven since '78 (Colossus) and '81 (Eagle) .... well, and '88 (Hercules)

The steel I-beams have worked wonders, have we learned our lesson!? There are like 3 parks that can take care of a big woodie - Holidayworld, ?, and?.

I'm not into the Intamin plug and play being real woodies, but if they are going to do it, then they seem to be doing it right. I wish they would put some of that track on Texas Giant, Mean Ski...

Maybe I'm to much about the appearance of rides, but the new trains on Son of Beast look horrible. The trains on Beastie (or whatever they call it now) look better than the new trains.

The old trains might have been rough, but they looked cool.

^

I think that's mostly due to the fact that the new trais are so much shorter than the original ones... they're seriously like half the length. It just makes them look goofy on that ginormous structure. *** Edited 3/25/2008 5:09:42 AM UTC by Dusa65***

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CoasterComet said:
^Yeah! Like many 'big coasters' its nice to look at. I think it was Bill Cobb who said go over 100 feet, and you're asking for problems. That has been pretty much proven since '78 (Colossus) and '81 (Eagle) .... well, and '88 (Hercules)

...

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Actually, American Eagle is doing pretty well and is definitely re-ridable. It doesn't beat you up and has a an out leg that is fast and smooth for a 25+ year old woodie with a 147 ft. drop. Even the return leg is enjoyable if the brakes don't kick in after the huge barrel helix.

If memory serves me right i think that Stengel (who designed it) was proposing to build the ride with the new pre-fab track. (No wonder, since he is holding the patents for it).

Management decided against this because of the added costs. Just imagine how well this money would have been spend and the trouble it would have saved in the long run.

Its a lot more rideable now with the G trains and trackwork by GCII.

I miss the loop dearly, That swoop does really nothing . Matter of fact, after the loop drop the coaster really does nothing noteable but thats always been the case.

Chuck, who took 45 consecutive rides for a travel channel shoot with the midcourse completely off, That was the best that it ever ran and quite honestly. I woke up every ten minutes from the bruises on my knees.

It was worth it :)

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tricktrack said:If memory serves me right i think that Stengel (who designed it) was proposing to build the ride with the new pre-fab track. (No wonder, since he is holding the patents for it).Management decided against this because of the added costs. Just imagine how well this money would have been spend and the trouble it would have saved in the long run.

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With those trains it had, That thing would have tore the prefab up just as quick and then they'd be waiting all the time for shipments of track.

The trains originally were supposed to run some kind of composite wheel to absorb shock.

Premier made the trains for the coaster as a part of a settlement on the FOF fiasco.

This has been a ongoing lawsuit that I don't know where it stands or if it was ever settled. Shoddy matterials ect.

Chuck, who thinks CF did the only thing they could do to give the ride a chance. Paramount dumped over 15 million more than the cost of the ride to keep it running. CF modifys some existing trains for a couple hundred grand and VOILA! Didn't seem to tear the track up much either actually much less than Papa.

I guess being young has its advantages because i've always enjoyed SOB. I like a rough ride, that's what makes it intense. The Beast is nearly as rough as its son these days. The loop was incredible, best loop i'd ever been on. It's still a fun ride, that giant helix is just insane.

One of the disadvantages of being young is thinking rough and intense are the same thing. One is good. One is not.

Batman The Ride (the inverted ones by B&M) has strong, intense g forces.

SOB is just rough.

SFMM Goliath's helix has strong, intense g forces.

SOB is just rough.

El Toro has strong, intense g forces.

SOB is just rough.

Don't confuse rough and intense. They are not the same. ;)

*** Edited 3/25/2008 6:28:06 PM UTC by Mamoosh***

And any one of those intense g force coasters I could fall asleep on because they are so controlled, smooth and predictable.

Exactly why I prefer wood.
Chuck, who'd take SOB as uninspired as it is over most steel coasters out there.

Fine...here's another example:

Voyage, with the exception of the one well documented trouble spot following the third 90* turn, is smooth and extremely intense.

SOB is just rough.

Are you telling me you can snooze on Voyage, Chuck?

^I thought the hill before the 3rd 90* was the problem, Moosh!? That ride has so many hills (25-30, depending on how you count them) it's hard to remember!

I remember seeing sharp angles on SOB's track. Didn't look good (and hurt!)

Would be nice to see some of these old PTC train designs upgraded. A more comfortable train would be nice, also something that can handle the coaster better.

Seems nobody is too interested in the new 'cut in half' PTC 1 benchers...

I never really hated SOB. The only part I ever found it to be "rough" was at the bottom of the HUGE rosebowl. But that part also had some insane g-forces!

I ALMOST got to ride the new version. They had run tests all day when I was there on July 3rd, and the attendant said it may open in the evening. It reopened on July 4th... :(

No but I could on SOB :)

^I thought the hill before the 3rd 90* was the problem, Moosh!? That ride has so many hills (25-30, depending on how you count them) it's hard to remember!

I'm not referring to any hill. I'm referring to the turn between the last 90* turn and the hop over the lift.

a hop over the lift? u mean a HILL? hehehe :)