Son of Beast at Kings Island still has uncertain future

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

I agree that hostage is too dramatic. But that is what I thought of when I saw the proposal about keeping SoB unless the Mason tax proposal is dropped so I went with it.

From everything I have seen and heard about SoB, maybe its more letting the game of russian roulette continue?

I don't know... no one let me get off at the MCBR despite my pleas and offer to give back my credit. I kind of felt like a hostage... ;)

I just had an oddball thought: Keep SOB, but make anybody who stands in line sign a liablity waiver and make it an upchrage attraction. That way, only the die-hards like us, who know what to expect, would be willing to ride.

It solves two problems: The liablity waiver helps protect CP for lawsuits, and the upcharge would add to the per-cap revenue.

I myself have been on it a few times about 5 or so. It was novel the first time, but my mom was pulling out the aspirin every time after we got off it. The ride would cost too much to fix, it occupies a nice area of land, so why not finally do the right thing. They have to pull the plug on it.

Even diehards like us don't like this ride hopman. Its been discussed for years on this site how much of a giant turd this coaster is. It was a novel idea, but the waiver idea wouldn't even get me to ride. May it be knocked over and the wood can be burned as a giant bonfire on the nights its cold there.

I still like Dave's idea of saving what can be salvaged, and redesign what can't. If the numbers work out, it would simply be the most pragmatic route to fixing it.

GoBucks89 said:
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Germans? Am I missing the joke here or do you really think the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

For a coaster that large, I am assuming that just a complete retrack/reprofile would be around the 5 million mark or more... would rather see them use that for other use around the park.

I think the only reason they have not torn it down is until all the legal action is done they probly can not do so, in the even that the court wants to have access to the coaster first hand. Then again maybe not...

Pete said:

GoBucks89 said:
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Germans? Am I missing the joke here or do you really think the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son. :)

Okay, is there ANYTHING from SOB that can be saved, or should KI just tear the thing right down to the footers and start over?

Pete said:

GoBucks89 said:
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Germans? Am I missing the joke here or do you really think the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

This is a quote from Animal House http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8lT1o0sDwI

The only reason CF hasnt torn it down yet IMO is they love the fact that it is the tallest fastest woodie, if it wasnt it would have been torn down just as fast as Hercules was. I think they should hire Homer Simpson to redo it like he did with the Zoominator! lmao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qLKSuhEWvE

GoBucks89 said:

Pete said:

GoBucks89 said:
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Germans? Am I missing the joke here or do you really think the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son. :)

Or the best:

zero...point...zero....

I'm one of the (insane) few how viewed Sonny as a top 5 woodie originally. But even I am resigned to the opinion that the best thing to do now is to just chuck it. Put something "safe" there like a GCI/GG mid-sized twister and let the masses lap it up. As it stands now, Sonny is already missing its signature feature. Please, put it out of it's misery.

Hopman said:
I'm getting the feeling that most of these people might be gold diggers looking for some quick cash in this tough economy.

On the other hand, I wonder if some new Timberliners might help it?

No offense but thats just a dumb comment, Expecially considering the injuries happened a couple years ago

CreditWh0re said:
Sorry Jeff, you're indignation is unwarranted. While there are certainly some people who are hurt on rides, through no fault of their own, the vast majority of litigation (actual and threatened) is done for the hopes of a pre-verdict settlement.

So what? Ride injuries are not the "vast majority," and I suspect relative to the number of people who ride amusement rides, is statistically insignificant.

If I would have been injured on one of my two rides on SOB throughout my many trips there, I wouldn't be at all ashamed to get myself a lawyer. Not because I am a gold digger, but because people expect a certain level of safety while on an amusement ride, and SOB shook me so hard that I saw double. I'm pretty tough, physically (lol), and I enjoy rough coasters, but SOB had me terrified that I was going to come off with broken bones.

SOB should have been either fixed or torn down the moment that they realized that it was unsafe, which I would guess was a few days before it opened.

From some of the responses here, I must either be Superman incognito or non-existent. I'm hardly what anyone would call a tough, physical guy (if I ever tried to play football I would get tossed like a rag doll, technically underweight, you get the picture), but I never did have a ride on Sonny that made me want to get off or shook me up to the point that when I got off I didn't want to ride again. Compare that to Beast or Mean Streak where I get off and say "I'm fine if that's the only ride for the day on that." Mean Streak and Beast both kill my back (as do Magnum and Gemini), but Sonny has always been enjoyable and a better ride for me than Beast (oh, and I don't have to worry about losing my hands/head if I sit on the left side).

I'm still with Dave (RideMan) on this. Keep the first drop and the following climb, along with everything after the MCBR and bring back the loop. Replace the rose bowl with a few airtime hills.

Oh, and GoBucks...When the going gets tough!...

Well, the season has been over for a month now and there has been NO major track work done that we know of.

I believe sob may be history(crosses fingers).

^Maybe the solution for SOB wasn't in trackwork, but trains. I still think a MF-TL type of train would do wonders for the ride.

GoBucks89 said:
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Ahhh....Animal House.

LostKause said:
If I would have been injured on one of my two rides on SOB throughout my many trips there, I wouldn't be at all ashamed to get myself a lawyer. Not because I am a gold digger, but because people expect a certain level of safety while on an amusement ride, and SOB shook me so hard that I saw double. I'm pretty tough, physically (lol), and I enjoy rough coasters, but SOB had me terrified that I was going to come off with broken bones.

SOB should have been either fixed or torn down the moment that they realized that it was unsafe, which I would guess was a few days before it opened.

If that happened to you, then why did you ride it a second time? ;)