Son of Beast closes

Cincinnati news is reporting that a rider suffered a burst blood vessel in the brain ("brain aneurysm") and was taken to the ICU in a local hospital. This meets the definition of an "accident" according to the ORC. (By comparison, Magnum's collision last year technically did not).

As Son of Beast has no headrests, the only way it can generate a head injury is via direct trauma caused by an improper riding position, or (as is possible in this case) as an indirect trauma caused by the violent shaking.

We do not know at this time whether the injury was caused by the ride, and quite frankly I don't know of a good way to find out. But at least some information is coming out!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I don't think a head restraint will help, the coaster shakes so violently nothing can help soften that pain machine.

Really don't know what Paramount Parks, and RRCA was thinking when they put that in. It's hard to keep the ride smooth, at that height and speed. I mean riding other wooden coasters that are at lower speeds, to me are more enjoyable. And can't believe it took the park six years to figure out that the trains are to heavy for the track. Also hope that the loop will be reused in another, and better coaster.

Exactly, Daniel Smith. When SOB was new, some enthusiasts were quick to complain of it's roughness, and the PR person who was being address responded with an excited statement that sounded like "yes, but remember this is a wooden coaster - can you imagine something that heavy moving so fast over a wooden track?" It sounded like spin, of course, and the sideways glances around the room indicated not everyone was buying it.

I'm sure the park had high hopes for the world's tallest and fastest wooden coaster, as we all did, but it's definitely proven and reproven to be a bad idea. Unless a better structure or track bed is utilized, wooden coasters are best kept at sane speeds, manageable heights, and allowed to thrill in the old fashioned way. We've all been on those smaller but mighty rides, had a blast, and have to agree that there's value in something other than breaking records.

Now there's another injury. It might be easy to dismiss her claim, and perhaps there will be some sort of technicality that will keep the park out of the hotseat. But if it didn't happen to her, it was gonna happen to someone. There's a couple of threads going on here about SOB and I've mentioned there that the ride hurt me too. And I knew what to expect and know how to ride. I'll be ok, and hopefully this gal will be ok, but really, this ride needs to go.

Me and my two close friends are going down to Kings Island in mid July. I have been to KI plenty and have ridden SOB plenty. Yet my one friend has not been to KI since he was like 10 and he is now 24 so its been a while. He is excited to ride Diamondback but he is more excited to ride SOB.
Mind you he is like 120lbs and shaped like a twig. I told him what this ride will shake his brain so hard that all that will be left of his brain will be JELLO! He says im over reacting..... So am I? I don't think i am...

john peck said:

Charles Nungester said:Theres only one problem with the ride IMHO its the turn at the top of the second hill and the rose bowl. Doze the bowl, make a out and back that keeps some speed for the second helix and go with it. The first drops never really been a problem...Chuck

I have to totally agree with Chuck here. Its the top of the second hill and that whole Rosebowl which is the problem. That transition just kills any speed the train still has and the rosebowl literally shakes its passengers like a British Nanny.I would love to see that removed in favor of a two large airtime hills, a high turnaround a series of smaller hills and maybe a low to the ground section then rising up to connect to the block. But I would also love to see it knocked over. Go figure.Why has this ride never had any padding? Good Grief!

The prelude to the Coney Island Shooting star was a helixing coaster that quickly lost interest. The ride was partially torn down and made into a out and back.

They got enough high bents already on SOB to use to make a out and back with only having to pour the footers for them (Part of the rose bowl and the entire midcourse brake run (TOTALLY UN NEEDED)

Rebuilt, You still have the height and speed records without the pain and possibly add some floaty air to increase fun factor.

Headrest do not stop your brain from rattling in your head or your intestines comming out your arse. The first I've had happen several times in the rose bowl. The second only felt that way a few times.

Then again, I've had rides on it I've had no complaints at all.Rebuild it or get rid of it. Thats a ton of potential land to use.

Chuck, early supporter who can no longer justify its benifits over its deterents.

Not sure how you would prove without a reasonable doubt that the ride single handily caused this unless it was the only thing ridden on that day. Not to say that it wouldn't be too surprising.

I remember two rides with the old trains. One was rough but tolerable. The other after having legs bashed into a metal bar, yeah could have done without that. The loop wasn't bad though.

Doing some comparative analysis, I never realized how much slower the new trains run.

Before
After

Disclamer: The before video violates Ohio state law and should not be viewed as acceptable behavior.

The mid-course grabs pretty hard on the new trains as well, although I would suspect that may be due to the loop being gone.

Edit: Fixed link.

^^ before and after are linking to the same vid (after)

Is this the 'before' vid you wanted?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GPmIW629e4

Pagoda Gift Shop said:Doing some comparative analysis, I never realized how much slower the new trains run. BeforeAfterThe mid-course grabs pretty hard on the new trains as well, although I would suspect that may be due to the loop being gone.

Clearly unauthorized footage. Don't know who took it but Id remove the link

Wow. I had no idea there was that much difference. Looks like it's suffering from Mean Streak syndrome, but less fun.

Son of beast's track record (no pun intended), can't be favorable to the ride if it ends up going to court.

I don't know, maybe it's time to remove the track and make it a tubular steel track instead. If not, I think it's time for the scrap pile and have the best bonfire known to man. Do the same with Mean Streak as well.

^ Pull youe head out of you butt learn to LOVE MS. If any ride needs to go to thr junk heap, it's DT.

Sure MS may have here flaws, it it's a fun coaster. Plus, it looks damn cool at night.

I have to agree with Jeff and most here also. I had kind of hoped that CF would kill SOB when they bought KI. If they knew what a maintenance nightmare it was previously, that was not about to get any better. I rode it last month, in the 2nd row, and swear it sux worse now then it ever did. I dont understand wth PKI was thinking even with the concept of SOB. You can't take the best parts of the Beast and make a better coaster. Different designers, different trains, different times!

Crappy coasters go all the time---Hercules anyone????
And look at what DP has now with Hydra! :)

As for lines on the ride, Mean Streak still has lines and you will find 99.9% of those people are 1st (and last) time riders. Same holds true for SOB.

I still say SOB was adopted.

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 2025 :)

If anyone ever thought that the mythology surrounding The Bat or Drachen Fire surpassed the experience....wait about a decade and hear the people complaining that "I never got to experience the greatest wooden coaster built in my lifetime". I'm not saying it was, I'm saying that that's how it will be remembmered by those who never rode the silly thing.

^^Hey now, don't be hating Hercules! LOL. As I hate to see any coaster go, it seems that at this point SOB is just a liability to KI. With the previous accident being so widely publicised, and this now this incidient, it seems that SOB would be an injury lawyers darling. It does look so impressive, but sans loop, the coaster is not much more than an overgrown twister. "Take the venom out of a cobra, and what do you get? A belt"

rollergator said:If anyone ever thought that the mythology surrounding The Bat or Drachen Fire surpassed the experience....wait about a decade and hear the people complaining that "I never got to experience the greatest wooden coaster built in my lifetime". I'm not saying it was, I'm saying that that's how it will be remembmered by those who never rode the silly thing.

Yet neither were bad coasters IMHO just either unpopular or design flaws

Yeah I remember hearing back in '99 when the news came out about SOB, they were making it sound like, they wanted to take all the great elements from the Beast, and just make them bigger. So they broke the height with 218', and they wanted to make the helix's of all helix's by making just the largest one around.

Add on top of that trains reaching 80mph, also remember hearing awhile back that one morning after or during a rain storm, one of the trains hit nearly 90mph in the Rose Bowl, do not know if that is true, just a story I heard.

The ride never reached 90mph. Its almost physicsly impossible. It did run consitantly a couple mph faster than its design and a lot of factors come into play there. Heavier trains than origionally designed ect.

Slightly OT:
The Beast did run a FAST AS IT COULD GO RUN back in 79-80 where they greased the rails top and bottom, Put 36 full sized adults on it and let it rip. Its design speed was 64.77mph and it hit 70. Thats after its original 4 four bench five car train was switched to 3 four bench six car trains before it ever opened. It ran brakeless on the first drop and midcourse until may. My return in June of 79 featured heavy braking in the shed.

The footage linked above (The Discovery one/Actually a Travel Channel shoot) I was also on a Discovery HD shoot that feature only five total rides) I was on board for all 36 rides. Only one train ran and the midcourse was OFF. I woke up at 3am that night with pain in my thighs that was almost unbearable.

We had a blast at the shoot. Siebert (Wearing a tie and suit) was saying that Josh Wozzny and Sean F were faking the ping ponging at the top of the second hill as they were sitting in 1-3 (the masochist seat) as me and my brother used to call it. Sean invited him up for a couple rides and Jeff changed seats after only two, Saying, I guess you weren't joking :)

Me and my brother always sat there if we weren't in the backseat. Since Legend, Beating each other un-intentionally has become a WOODIE moment for us!

As far as pain with the old trains. Except for the first car the front seats extended in front of the wheelbase. Sometimes on the second drop your body would get some lift and the train would do something and your spine would compress. I only got this in 5-1 and 6-1 and got em on enough occations that I avoided those seats at all cost.

I've only rode it a handfull of times since the train replacement/neutering of the loop. It was improved but still at times in the rose bowl your brain would shake in your skull sometimes it was just how good I was feeling when I got on as to how I felt when I got off. Ususally the bottom of the second pass, Don't know why the first time thru wasn't ever as bad.

Chuck

^^Btw, Chuck, you know how you claimed with regards to Diamondback..."50" waist or you don't ride" (lolz) I actually think a 44" waist is barely making it!!