Will SOB suffer Mean Streak's fate?

I am not 100% on Mean Streak's history, but here is how I understand it. (please correct me if I am wrong)

Mean Streak opens in 1991, breaking the height record. It was a fast, fun, but rough ride. (for those who rode MS in 1991, how was it?) Later, trim breaks were added, slowing the ride to a crawl, making it a boaring (in some people's opinion) and STILL a rough ride. It now seems to be CP's "Don't ask, don't tell" coaster.

Here is my question, will SOB turn into another trim breaked yawn-fest after this season? Those who have ridden seem to agree that Sonny is way too rough. We all know that it is currently shaking itself apart. Breakdowns and closings are the daily routine. Will the inevidable modifications to Sonny "fix" it and make it a pleasureable experience, or will it die a slow death, creating yet another expensive pile of firewood?

I really *hope* this ride will become a good one, but I have a bad feeling about the only "hyper-woodie" in existance.

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Gotta ride 'em all!

I *think* that Mean Streak was a great ride when it opened. I'm not sure but they added brakes because the track was not doing so good or something. I really don't know.

"Am I right folks, am I right?" (Indians from the Simpsons) *** This post was edited by PT300 on 7/2/2000. ***

The Mean Streak was so sweet when it didn't have trim brakes. It wasn't really THAT rough. That is how woodies are in my opinion and they should be. People that have been to parks with good woodies probably wouldn't complain that much about the Mean Streak. But so many people go to Cedar Point and they are used to they're very smooth coasters. Raptor, Mantis, and MF. I heard people complaining when they were on the Gemini about the roughness!! Quote: The problem with these old wooden coasters is that they are so rough. WHAT????!!!! That is what makes them so great. If they weren't a little bumpy, they wouldn't be that great. People at CP are so spoiled on roughness, I even know of people that think the Magnum is too rough. MY POINT IS: If you don't like rough coasters, DON'T RIDE THEM. Because then you are going to complain to the park and then they are gonna put trim brakes everywhere and ruin the ride. I can't wait until they put trims on the Manum. That will be the day that coasters die. I haven't been on SOB yet, but I will get to go on it this year. Well, I will probably like it, will you?

SOB won't die belive me. It still will have many things that all other woodies don't and will nwver have speed, hight, and a loop just to name a few. And the most important feature would have to be a dad like THE BEAST

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WOOD RULES!

Mean Streak wasn't bad the first year at all. I'm not sure what was different. But as it has been chronicled to death, the problem is a combination of non-articulating trains, no lubrication, excessive vibration, grooved rails, etc. They're all inter-related.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

I'm am one of the few that doesn't think there is a problem with it. It may have a few flaws like Jeff said, but doesn't that make it all the better?? So what if it is intense??? DOWN WITH TRIMS ON DROPS!!!!!!

I road both Son of Beast (with Ken Griffy Jr.) and Mean Streak within two days on my vaction this year. Son of Beast was way too rough, also in my opinon they over did the helixes, the first one is awesome, but the second one kinda drained the ride. Everybody that I talked to in both Cedar Point and King's Island, said that the Son of Beast was not worth the wait and that it was much too rough. I think once King's Island gets more than one train running on Sonny, they are going to realize that very few people are going to ride it more than once. The GP in Cinci. Think that the SOB is too rough and that it is not worth the wait. Personally I agree with them. In three years either it will be gone or it will have tons of trims.

No,I doubt it.
I've heard from alot of coaster fanatics (my buds) that SOB was a smooth ride.Not to smooth(MF) but smooth enough.
It rides like a coaster should,fast and intense.

I agree with Craig the coaster freak 100%, the Mean Streak is still a great ride. Why do you people care so much about getting jerked around a little bit! I think the roughness of the Mean Streak is one of its greatest assets, does anyone else agree with me?

I personally have never been on MS but to me its completely ridiculous to have a trim brake on the first drop.

"Those who have ridden it seem to agree...." and "Everybody said that SOB....was much too rough..."

'Everybody' includes me, and yet I don't seem to agree that it is too rough. It is rough, mind you, but in a terrifying, enjoyable way. That's the experience I want out of a wooden coaster; there's nothing wrong with roughness.

I don't think they'll add trim brakes. Of course, some people prefer smooth steel coasters and some enjoy the rough wooden ones. For those in the former group, don't ruin it for the rest of us by complaining it's too rough, just get back in line and ride it again anyway.

Has does the roughness of The Boss compare? I won't be going to St. Louis for a few weeks, but I haven't seen much feedback on this coaster.

I found SOB to be a blast! It was rough in a way that I liked, and the first helix was one of the best ever! Why is everyone so concearned about what may happen 10 years from now? I may not even be able to ride coasters by then. I live for today, and today, SOB ROCKS!

The Boss, is not rough IMO. It has that thow you around feel, not that jerky feel. Its fast, has air and a overall enjoyable ride. Its my favorite wooden coaster right now!

I wonder if some of these people have recently rode SOB. I rode it the last week of june, and it was much smoother than when I rode it in may.

SECONDLY, I feel some riders have gotten way to used to steel coasters. WOOD COASTERS SHOULD BE SOMEWHAT ROUGH! Also some of these ACE riders are older individuals. Nothing against older people, but once you start geting older the less the body can take. If your 35 years or older frame can't take SOB then stop riding it instead of complaining, and ruining the ride for the rest of us!

i rode SOB with my mother (michael jackson), and MS (with rob lowe, my father) on the same day.
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48.6mi. - CP
27.2mi. - SFO
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3 MF rides:
3-2, 5-1, 9-2 *** This post was edited by punk on 7/10/2000. ***

Out of control is fun. Rough is not fun. The Beast and Villain are out of control and toss you around a bit, but you don't have to fight the ride to avoid discomfort. There is a difference, and if you're not familiar with the difference, you will be when you have more regularly been on other woodies. Roar, Villain and Viper (SFGAm) are all high on my woodie list, even though they're a lot smaller. I could do without Mean Streak and I'm not optimistic about SOB at all.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

Well, Jeff no disrespect, but here is a list of the wooden coasters I have ridden.
The Raven,The Beast,The Jack Rabbit,the villain, and mean streak.
I rode Mean Streak in it's opening season, and it was to rough. When I rode the SOB on May 29, and it was worse than mean streak.
I rode it again on june 24, and it was much smoother. So smooth in fact that it felt more like a steel coaster rather than wood. The difference between these two rides on SOB was more than substancial. I know the difference between fun rough, and Owww! I broke my neck rough!
NEWS FLASH!!! The common individual knows the difference between pain, and fun. Different people
have different thresh holds. What may be fun for you may not be fun for someone else. You have a right to your opinion; But to say that when riders become familiar with more coasters will prove a distaste for a certain ride is a grand assumption.
I have no love for Paramount's handling of it's parks, but they have made clear strides in improving SOB without slowing it down.
Oh, I rode in the front car on both ocassions, so I don't think which car is being rode changes the roughness as some have claimed.

The point I was trying to make is that there's little reason to "settle" because a coaster is in your back yard. I have 14 in my back yard, but only consider three of them to be among the best in their class.

If you intend not to be disrespectful then it would be best if you'd avoid phrases like "NEWS FLASH!"

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

I really don't rank coasters at all. The "settle" comment kind bothers me a bit. I haven't said this to myself: "Gee I have limited funding, and transportation. Therefore I'll set my standards low, and expect as little as posible out of everything so I'll falsely increase my enjoyment!"
Sure that makes a lot of sense.
My question is: Have you rode Son Of Beast, or have you formed an opinion on it already based upon other's responses of others?
I consider the input of others, but do not form opinions about anything I haven't personally experienced. Well, almost I have to exclude history.

I haven't been on the thing, but respect a few opinions (from people who don't even post here). I'd love to ride the thing, but it never happens to be open when I'm there. That certainly doesn't help my opinion of it. However, I haven't once referred to SOB in this thread and will reserve final comment until I can ride it. My comments have more to do with Mean Streak than anything else.

That said, I knew from the get-go that SOB would be a mechanical nightmare. History reveals that large woodies have problems, so what a shocker when the ride started tearing itself apart the day it opened.

Same fate as Mean Streak? No... at least you can run Mean Streak (and that's not saying much).

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com