Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[SK8R]

Well, even though it has gotten rather rough, it is still the symbol of what a wooden coaster could do outside the norm. I am all for TLC! (Same for Ghostrider)

[Warlord694]

I got my one and only ride on SOB 5 days before the accident.

While I was expecting certain death from reading thes boards, it was not a bad ride. Really a boring layout except for the loop.

 

Now it will be drop(trim brakes?)-helix-helix-brakes.

 

The only thing that SOB has going for it now is it is a wood hypercoaster.

[ginzo]

I got my one and only ride on SOB 5 days before the accident.

While I was expecting certain death from reading thes boards, it was not a bad ride. Really a boring layout except for the loop.

 

Now it will be drop(trim brakes?)-helix-helix-brakes.

 

The only thing that SOB has going for it now is it is a wood hypercoaster.

 

I think the hyper aspect of it is debatable. SOB never seemed all that fast due to the shuffling. It also has zero airtime. I think hyper is more of a design philosophy than "any 200 ft coaster". According to B&M's web page, "Height, speed, airtime characterize the Hyper Coaster." Nobody has ever called Sheikra a hypercoaster, or Griffon (200 ft and 205 ft respectively), but Expedition GeForce (173 ft) and Goliath @ Walabi World (153 ft) are commonly described as such.

[dr.gumbo]

Im kind of dissapointed, they took away the heart of this, without the loop its just an average woodie thats aweful (according to most people , never atually ridden it and proberbly never will)

 

This ride could of been done mush better if it wasnt made by RCCOA , they should of went to a manufacturer like Intamin, they may ok done a better job of it!

 

But on the bright side, something had to be done to improve it as it is

[Masked_Maverick]

While I personally never really liked SOB I have still ridden it a few times and I have always felt that the loop was out of place on this ride ( but that is just how I feel) If they can improve it by adding new trains or modifying the current ones then I am willing to give it another chance. To be honest I can't imagine this ride getting much worse.

[Scaparri]

^ Yes, but the fact is 99% of us in here wish it would join Hercules.

I dont... Im all for them improving the coaster vs. it being taken down. I mean yeah it may be a rough one but geesh that doesnt mean it should be dismantled. I say give it the TLC it needs and hope for the best.

 

Jarvis "glad some of yall dont own a themepark!" Morant

 

If they can improve it, then yeah, I'm all about keeping the ride, but I just don't see much of an improvement happening. They are just making the trains lighter to reduce stress on track, which unless they plan on retracking the entire ride to repair whatever damage has already occurred from stress, I don't really see an improvement happening. Maybe I'm wrong though. I hope I am.

[Fuzzy_Psycho]

Butting in with some odd thoughts... Off the bat, I'll say that I'm not exactly a coaster expert or an engineer, but it looks to me as if what CF is doing to SOB is just a temporary fix. They're removing some of the worst of the stresses on the ride and giving it some much needed TLC, but they've still got major issues with this ride:

 

1) The ride was designed to push the limits of what wood can handle, and the contractor botched the job so it was never up to spec. to begin with.

 

2) It sounds like the ride isn't aging well. Removing the loop and making the trains lighter might help a bit, but the ride will still be a maintenance nightmare.

 

3) SOB has a seriously lousy reputation as both a rough ride, and now as a possibly unsafe one, and people don't seem to be thinking that the changes will be much of an improvement.

 

Which leads to my take on the situation. There's a very good chance I'm completely off base with this, but this is what it looks like to me:

 

SOB is a massive mountain of wood and metal. Safely dismantling and disposing of it would cost as much or more as the planned repairs, and leave a major hole in the park's ride lineup. And considering the new rides they've already ordered and the acquisition of Paramont's parks they probably can't work another major coaster into the budget for at least a few seasons. And removing one of their iconic rides without immediately replacing it with something perceived to be just as good or better would not look good from a PR standpoint

 

Which would leave this: Use the contingency fund that they should have set aside for major problems like this one to fix the most pressing problems with the ride and get it up to code again, run it for a few more seasons while playing on it's size and speed for drawing power, then tear it out when they're ready to replace it.

[rollermonkey]

^Which is probably exactly what they are doing. They might even close it next year if the flyer is really going in.

[FLIPDUDE]

I must say I am surprised at how much idscussion is being had over this. I mean, some discussion is understandable, but an all out debate is kinda pointless in my opinion considering nobody even knows what it's like yet without the loop. maybe it's fun. maybe with lighter trains its smoother and you can feel the speed more or I dont know what. or maybe its still a painful death machine.... I really dont see hwo there's so mcuh to be said about this untill it reopens and someone has ridden it.

[bgwfreak]

^ Very true.

 

But my opinon of the ride is that it is by far the worst wooden coaster I've ever been due to the trains.

 

If they can improve the ride by removing those piece of junk trains and putting PTCs on it, more power to them.

 

The loop was the best part of the ride, but that's because the rest of the ride sucked because of the trains.

 

It was a cool idea to do a loop on a woody, but it just didn't work. Move on.

[PKI Jizzman]

As well as leg room...I am 5'8" and I was crunched up in there. Being 6' or over could really push people away from the ride, but with new modifications, alot more people might be able to ride. So there is a big improvement!

[verticalzero]

Pic's of the cracked Beams / Supports which caused the "pot hole" in the track.

 

http://www.screamscape.com/html/pki_-_sob_0.htm

 

The ride was very lucky not to of failed even more. It was just not built properly for the speed and stress of the fast trains.

[PKI Jizzman]

Yikes! Jeez those were big breaks! How could they not have picked those up on the daily inspection? I mean.....damn.....those were big. And very noticeable.......wow.....just wow.....

[scruffy]

From reading the report the big breaks did not happen till the first train was set out with no one in them. So when the park sent the second train out with people in them the park did not know the wood had cracked.

[sfstl1971]

Their is nothing they can do to make this a better coaster, by taking away the loop that only takes away from the wood with a loop experience. AND, take the only one in the world away, I think they should keep the loop and restructure the support to accomodate the coaster.

 

Losing a world renowned coaster and a record coaster at that, not something the park should do.

 

Strengthen the SOB and let her roar!

[jamesdillaman]

^It's still a record holder, funny how everyone's all gaga over what is the tallest and fastest steel coaster and all that junk, but nobody seems to notice the world's tallest and fastest woodie. Anyway, if they put a camelback in place of the loop it would be a much-imprpved ride, but my guess is they'll just add a straight section at the bottom of the drop, or maybe a tunnel to make the drop bigger. It might be cool. Only time will tell on this one.

 

-James Dillaman

[PKI Jizzman]

I always pictured a double down leading into the helix.....but a tunnel sounds sweet! Would make it more of a Son of the Beast....beast having all those tunnels and such....

[Carnage]

but nobody seems to notice the world's tallest and fastest woodie.

 

Probably because the industry has learned that bigger does not mean better when it comes to wooden coasters. In fact bigger for the most part means crappier. The top wooden giants have almost all been brutal rides.

 

The fact is that a small woody with a 100 foot hill can pack a much larger punch then some 200 foot wooden giant.

 

SoB is just a giant waste of wood. Burn it down and they'll be removing one of the biggest mistakes the park has ever made.

[jamesdillaman]

^ I totally concur. It just bugs me hearing every five minutes from some PKI fanboy (that phrase itself is questionable!!) that CF took away the record-breaking ride and made it just another wooden coaster. Technically they only took away 1 record from several. The ride is still junk, and I believe it will always be, until it is torn down. I rode it around twice a year, just to keep tabs on how much worse it became every subsequent season, and that was enough for me. They could build like 3 coasters the size of Raven (I'm approximating based on cost...) with the wood, and even have them duel (truel?) to be the only triple racing coaster in existance for all I care. Just get rid of the SoB (and that doesn't stand for son of beast ) I'm all for making the ride better, but it'll take more than new trains to help this monster.

 

-James Dillaman

[sixflagsguy5]

As well as leg room...I am 5'8" and I was crunched up in there. Being 6' or over could really push people away from the ride, but with new modifications, alot more people might be able to ride. So there is a big improvement!

 

My dad is 6'6" and we were told by a friend that is a park regular at PKI that the middle rows of each car have a little more leg room then the other rows, so we tried it in 1;2. Then we rode it in the back row and he had to squeeze in. After the ride was over he was stapled really badly and could barely get out.

 

I think that the loop was cool, because it was the only looping woodie in the world, buy besides that it was stupid. If the ride wouldn't have been so painful because of those trains, I could see parks adding all sorts of prefabricated steel inversions to woodies just to take records and it would ruin the wooden experience.

[bigboy61483]

the loop in this woodencoaster is what made son of beast unique from anyother natural woodie. taking out the loop just makes it a coaster like anyother.

[Satoshi]

i'm gonna freak out PKD decided to get rid of SOB world's only

woodie loop since the POV says doin' its loop at fast speed is

kind of the smoothest ever in PKD coasters.

 

the ride's kind of suck except the loop!

[verticalzero]

With the loop gone, this can make way for a company like GCI to do a

"Heartline roll" or a "Corkscrew" on a Woodie. They are all possible.

 

What are your views for "inversions" for a wooden coaster..?

[coaster05]

^Why do we need inversions on wood coasters. Are we going to start adding timber to B@M's? Wood coasters offer a unique experience in how they are designed, not by the desire to copy steel. SOB pretty much sucked loop or not so who cares. I can't believe this topic has rambled on and on. I mean how many times can it be said it was a unique element or only smooth part or the ride is rough. Here I will say it again.

 

1. The only looping woodie no longer has a loop.

 

2. Most people thingk that was the only smooth, or good part.

 

3. Most people think the ride was rough or sucks.

 

4. Some people think CF is ruining Paramount parks.

 

 

These are the four most common responses. Feel free to copy any and use as "your original thought" to continue this thread into a repetitive oblivion.

 

Or we could just wait til Spring, ride it again and then come up with our own varying opinions. (shocking idea I know)

[SonOfBeastSucks]

What are your views for "inversions" for a wooden coaster..?

I'm against them. I much prefer the classic wooden coasters, no inversions needed. (or wanted)