Son of Beast Roughness

TAER IT DOWN? ;)

I wouldnt see SoB being torn down before it hits 10 years old. It's a big coaster and would take a long time to remove. Plus, it would be alot of money wasted to have it built, have it run for a few years and tear it down.

joinrev, it's my understanding that they have spent an unthinkable amount of money in the last 6 years reprofiling, retracking, and just trying to keep the darn thing running. Countless times over what a simple demolition would cost. When the ridership is poor and the upkeep cost is huge it makes sense. We've seen that plenty of times before (think Hercules) *** Edited 4/27/2006 10:07:18 PM UTC by Peabody***

What if they put PTC trains on? That might help a bit.

The gauge of the track is much wider than your standard wooden coaster. Any new trains would have to be 100% custom.

jonrev, matt. is correct, but I still agree with you...the trains are a HUGE issue. If Intamin trains like the ones they use on the milled wood coasters (spring loaded wheel assemblies like their steel trains) or Millennium Flyers could be used somehow I think it would be substantially better.

But, like Matt. said, they would have to be completely custom built, and as expensive as even stock trains are, I imagine that would be an expensive prospect.

You forget that this is a website, and that means people (including myself) can be prone to hyperbole.

Is SOB rough? Do I know people who had bruises after the ride? The answer to both is yes, however its not going to snap your neck. You may be sore as hell (especially if you have no, or too much "personal padding") and it sucks, it has happened to me on that ride but then again I have ridden it and not gotten any bruises.

Personally, irregardless of weither or not I have a soreful ride Im sore after a full day at the park so its not a big deal.

Besides PKI has many other coasters and ride (not the least of which is big Papa in the backwoods of the park) feel free to choose weither or not you ride SOB but dont cancel your trip to PKI.

Go for it!! Son of Beast is a great thrill. I rode it last year and sure it was rough but as many people have already said, it's a 200 ft 78 mph woodie. My advice, if you can handle it, is to go hands free the whole ride. That's how I rode it and as the car shakes side to side, your body doesn't. The tighter you hold onto the handrails, the more your body gets shaken like the car. I remember holding on tight at one point and being shaken. Once I let go, things got better.

Of course, I guess you shouldn't do this if you have a bad back.

Good luck. The tallest fastest wooden coaster on the planet, of course you have to try it.

What if they put PTC trains on? That might help a bit.

PTC trains will not run on SOB...the track gauge is wider than a normal wood coaster.

I would imagine the life span of SOB will be directly related to whomever picks up Paramount Parks. If "private investors" purchase the parks, I can't imagine Sonnie lasting very much longer, or if it does, in a rideable state. If these companies are only out to make a few bucks, ride-upkeep will not be on the top of their list, especially on a coaster with such low ridership when compared to others at the park.

I'm surprised the ride has lasted this long, and the continued investments make very little sense in my mind. There's a fairly long list of other improvements around the park (namely ride themeing) that could have been drastically improved with the money that has apparently been spent on SOB.

I can see the ten-year mark, but not very long afterwards, no matter who the park goes to. If larger wooden coasters from the past are any indication (and I think they are) Son of Beast will either be demolished (i.e. Hercules, and the best case scenario, in my opinion), or neutered with trim-brakes that do very little to make the ride more comfortable or improve the thrill-factor (i.e. Mean Streak).

Tear it down!!!!!!

One tip for those who choose to ride it....Sit in the middle seat of the car. Don't ever, ever sit over an axle unless you like the sensation of a jackhammer against your head.

I will still ride it a couple times each visit because it's there but I'm not sure I'd miss it if it was gone.

I would agree that there are much better things to spend $$ in the park. With the park in limbo due to being on the block I doubt much extra is being spent on anything.

I guess we'll see how things look and are operating at BeastBuzz.

I believe you mean "taer it down," crazy horse. You've got to get the 1337 n00b accent down just right or it's not worth the keystrokes. ;)

How many times do we have to revisit this topic?

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pkidelirium said:
Just don't ride it. Problem solved. It sucks.

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Good for you. Stay out of line so I can get on faster...lol

It's probably a coaster I hate the most and I refuse to ride it ever again, but obviously the general public sure like it. SOB usually has lines.

-Tina

I came off the ride cursing and holding my neck and my lower back. The trains, plain out and out suck. I wanted toi ride it a few times just by looking at it but man, once I rode it 1 time it was definately enough. Put better trains on it and do some retracking. then you'll have a halfway decent coaster.

^I suggested that PKI tear it down and replace it with the Screechin Eagle that is wasting away at LeSourdsville. :-(

I am sure they got a good laugh out of it. ;-)

I haven't rode SOB in a few years. 2003 was probably the last time. It never hurt my back but I got a LOT of nasty headaches out of it.

-Tina

^I bet they really appreciated that.......

Truth is, SoB is rather violent IMHO. My partner, who is not one to shy away from Mean Streak (in fact, he likes it), got off SoB and said "that was the most horrible thing I've ever been on." The roughest parts are the helices, the loop is, of course, the smoothest part. But since it only comprises less than 1% of the total coaster it's hardly enough to count.

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rablat5 said:

--Wild One (pre-retracking)

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Bout to say, Wild One is crystal smooth now, I dunno how it was before they retracked it. When exactly DID they retrack it.

Think of it this way:
As long as SOB is running then my Vortex is safe, cause it seems so much smoother!