Leaderboard

And that's if you don't count SOB as being suspended, which it is currently. Some are hoping for rehab, others think it will eventually be expelled. Terpy, trying to be good (and hoping he doesn't get two licks before day is done).

Son of Beast was operating then, too. it was a dangerous time to be at Kings Island.

It's too bad they took the motion seats out of the Action Theater. A POV "Son of Beast Experience" could have went on there for years.

According to the park itself, you are correct in this statement. That rider was the GM who was not happy with the ride experience Yes, I know what you meant, but it's time to get real - while Inenjoyed the ride (with loop more than without), it has, through it's life, become a liability for the park that is not worth further effort to try and salvage.

After a long hiatus from KIC, I decided to return because I missed the friendships from you all. What better way to return than a big PTR! This PTR will have to be in multiple parts but here we go with Part 1: Over the past weekend, I got to head out of Ohio and over to Pennsylvania. I spent the day, Friday, on the road with some friends heading toward Hershey! We got to Hershey about 6:30ish that evening....before we got into the park we had to face a parking nightmare. Dave Matthew’s Band was playing that night and the parking lot was a mess....many people taking up 3 spots to tailgate, play cornhole, drink, etc. That was very frustrating. As soon as we parked we headed to Chocolate World...it was just a quick trip in as we had just about an hour to kill....so we did “Hershey’s Great American Chocolate Tour Ride.” It was a nice little ride, too bad there wasn’t something to gain points with! After the ride we headed into the shops to basically drool over all the candy! 7:30 fast approached and we headed into the park for preview night. We headed straight toward Roller Soaker as it was to close at 8pm. It was a neat little ride..but wasn’t happy that I was the one who got soaked out of the 4 of us that rode it. We then headed over to Lightning Racer...we rode Lightning first, then Thunder, both rides landed us a winning train. Lightning Racer definitely has become a favorite wooden coaster of mine! Especially since our one ride was a “night ride” and the chaser lights were on! We then did the Wild Mouse which was the typical mouse coaster. Directly across from it, we headed to Wildcat. When we got up to the station, they stopped operations because of a protein spill. The people in the station were rediculous. Drove me nuts actually....they kept complaining about the spill not being cleaned up as quick as they thought it should have taken....but they kept talking to the ops cleaning it up. Plus the vo-ban had to sit for a while to soak it all up....and there was a ton! The station pretty much cleared out, so I went to the front row and waited for my ride. It was a great one at that, I really fell in love with the chaser lights on coasters after this experience! After that experience we decided to make our way over to Skyrush. On the way we stopped at Fahrenheit, as the line was rather short! I absolutely loved the layout...not real wild compared to Maverick. I am a big fan of the style of trains on those two coasters. We then made way to Skyrush. We queued for some time, but once we got to the station, it was a breeze. Our turn was coming up, I grabbed a left wing seat and took off! I am absolutely amazed at the speed of the lift! The lift in itself is an amazing thing. Like many reviews I’ve read and heard, it was an awesome coaster, with some pain....I didn’t have too much pain. I absolutely loved my first ride on it, I knew the next day I’d have to get a front row seat! We then headed to our hotel for the evening to pass out and prep for the next day. (Cell Phone Pic) On Saturday morning, we made our way to the park bright and early for registration with Central PA’s ACE Region for the event. Once in the park, we hit up ERT on Fahrenheit for a quick ride then headed over to Storm Runner. Storm Runner was a nice coaster, but a bit short. I really enjoyed the layout...it’s such a photogenic coaster too! After a few rounds on it, we headed over to Skyrush to get it before the opening crowd. We found out that the Hershey Resort Guests get in an hour early over at Skyrush and Comet. So ACE members weren’t the true first riders of the day. However, the queue was a bit short and we decided to get the front seat. While our group was waiting in the station behind the gate, train #2, loaded up and was dispatched. The cable came down to bring the train out, moved just a few inches and stopped. Maintenance was called and they came to fix it. The train started moving, but crawled up the lift hill...stopped about a ¼ of the way up as the other train came into the station. Once that train came in, the one on the lift went up and followed the course. Then our group was next to go, 2 members of our group, went first on one train and the other 4 of us got on the train that didn’t get fast lift. When all of our trains restraints were checked, we were dispatched...we moved 2 inches and stopped. Maintenance was called, we were told by ride ops: “Since this train has started moving, we are not allowed to get you off unless told to by maintenance, however maintenance is on their way.” Once maintenance got there, they did a couple quick things and we inched up the hill. We also got stopped about ¼ of the way up. Honestly it was an amazing experience....felt great to just sit there, feel the breeze and take in the views. We then heard the motors start going, we ended up rolling back about an inch, but the safeties caught us and then were pulled up the lift slowly. Once we dropped from the lift, it was such an amazing experience! There were so many great views, the track looked amazing and just overall I was happy. We found that if you pull up on the blue bars of the restraints on your sides, it hurts a little bit less. After we got off the ride, they sent it empty and took it off for maintenance to work on it. We then headed over to Great Bear and Super Dooper Looper. Both were good coasters, although I felt that Great Bear was just a rather good bear. We then headed over to Trailblazer. There was a hilarious older gentlman working on the crew. He would tell you if you didn’t raise your hands, you’d pay the price....he then would squirt anyone without their hands up with a squirt gun! Surprisingly it was a good mine train. We then hit up Sidewinder and the flat Hurler before lunch. After a nice lunch and door prizes (in which I snagged a piece of the Legend roller coaster at Holiday World), we hit up a few rides including Falcon, the Reese's dark ride, the monorail and their Eagles. The pics below of Sidewinder are from testing in the morning. For those that know me, I don't like children...this showed there were too many children in the park: As the day headed on, we re-rode some coasters including Lightning Racer (both sides). Did their whip which we ended up hitting the wall on the inside, haha! We also did Wildcat and I got stuck on the break run with my friend’s daughter. We then got evacuated and had to walk through the break run and into the station. Afterwards we decided to head toward Comet. We stopped on our way to take some pictures of Fahrenheit. When we rode Comet, it was a great ride in the back seat. 2 members of our group were at a show and the rest of us rode the skyride. We then went back over to Comet and rode once, then headed to Skyrush. We waited in line for a front row again. After that ride, evening ERT on Skyrush and Comet started. We found out that they added Super Dooper Looper to the line up. We focused mainly on Skyrush and had many rides on it! It was so good! We noticed that on one train, the restraints are a little bit softer, but they didn’t help the pain. As ERT was ending I headed over to Comet with my one friend and rode it twice, once in the back row and once in the 2nd row. I really enjoyed Comet. This next photo was taken with permission from the ride operator while waiting for maintenance to arrive at the ride. Part 2 coming soon!

Fast pass has really helped me when riding The Beast but I've never got a Fast Pass at Kings Dominion. Fast Lane, not Fast Pass. The latter is found only at Disney and bears little, if any, resemblance to Fast Lane.

And what 2 are those? I was under the impression that FAAC was inverted, Invertigo was inverted, and Flight Deck was suspended. In my book that's 1 suspended, and 2 inverted.

^ You can say that again. Just thought I'd play along. .

Yes...that would get quite annoying...especially with something of an open forum... Down with the man!

From what I have heard you are lucky this site is still here. I would guess the mods are so sick of hearing it that they don't care anymore. How do you feel about the park telling you what you can and can't talk about?

Many of us here just want them to make an announcement, too... Only so that threads like these can die. But something tells me, people would still keep them active...

This deserves to go under "Funniest Rumors" thread.

Actually, during the discovery phase of the case that went to trial, it was discovered there were a number of reported broken bones associated with Son of Beast that were not related to the widely reported incidents. Kings Island has given Son of Beast many, many more chances than one.

Well little white box to your comment too!

Most of this has been mentioned in a previous life, but for those unaware, please take note. SoB needs more than just tweeks. Given the park has publicly disclosed that they are not satisfied with the ride experience, the ride needs major work to even reopen. If the ride would be operated again with just a few "tweeks" and another incident were to happen, the lawsuits against the park would be non-stop and could very well end KI as we know it. Drastic statement? Yes. Possible? Let's just say it is not impossible. Return on Investment (RoI) is also a major issue here. CF is in the business of entertainment, not printing money. SoB is already one of the most expensive non-themed coasters in the World. And still it sits. The ride's original price tag is in the $15- $20 million range, and with all the modifications that price tag is somewhere around $30 million. And again, still it sits. SoB is "The Money Pit". Just because you throw cash at something, does not mean it will work. The park (this includes both owners during SoB's existence) has hired numerous firms in the business over the past 12 years, and still it sits. Again, these are people in the business, and they have not been able to figure it out. At this point, even finding a firm to work on SoB will be a challenge. SoB has had more than just problems when it actually operated. Ohio Dept. of Agriculture inspected SoB 6 times in 9 seasons. That is more than any ride in the state. http://news.cincinna...n-any-ride-Ohio Simple retracking is not SoB's issue. Retracking, especially in the rose bowl, has been done. Retracking does not prevent "shuffling", as has always been the case with SoB. Riders should pay attention to warning signs. That said, how do you know they didn't? If that same rider has been on 100 coasters over 10 years with the same warning, and had ZERO issues, then went on SoB and suddendly had a "pre existing condition" injury, is it truely "pre existing"? Or did the condition come to light because of one coaster? The ride is not worth it anymore. Cut the losses and move on. IMO the park is wise to invest our money on other attractions & making our experience more enjoyable. Investing in SoB is not a wise decision.

Good Question, with it just sitting there in the open, it may need some tweeks. I also feel like SOB was shut down cause of ONE rider. "Ride at Your Own Risk" and riders should know their limitation. SOB doesn't need fix, true.

I've got the perfect name for it: Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal Instead of running at ground level they can build it so that it runs up in the air around the trees. Mike B. What trees?

I've got the perfect name for it: Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal Instead of running at ground level they can build it so that it runs up in the air around the trees. Mike B.

OK, some more thoughts expanding on my previous comment a few post ago...what would I personally do with what I said would stay of SOB? Hmm...well...let's assume Intamin agrees to "build the new coaster on what's left of Son of Beast..." I would want a massive, out-and-back section similar to SFGadv's El Toro to replace to "Rose Bowl" section of the ride- in fact, very similar to El Toro in this section. The ride would go out, turn around, and come back- just like this: Afterwards, the ride would connect quite nicely with the current 2nd helix- which would be rebuilt to provide actual lateral g-forces like helixes are SUPPOSED to do. A tunnel here would also be quite welcome, and a nod to "Original" Beast. The section after the 2nd helix would also get minor modifications, to provide some more airtime and possibly include a few overbanked turns along this section before the ride returns to the station- in the same manner the current SOB does, in fact. If this refurb makes the new woodie longer than The Beast- so be it. I'd rather see KI break its own record than see some park in China do it, and Holiday World broke their own water coaster world record (Mammoth's length>Wildebeest's), so why can't KI break theirs? Plus, this would put an airtime-packed, smooth, Intamin Plug N' Play wooden coaster in the midwest so people would not have to drive all the way to SFGadv to ride one- a ride that would nicely fit in with the rest of KI's lineup. If Intamin does refuse, but Rocky Mountain agrees, this layout is still possible but I'd have to wonder if they would keep it a wooden coaster... Just an idea.

Just a thought: would it be crazy to keep SOB's station, lift hill, first drop and pre-drop(before lift), tear the rest of the ride down, and build a brand-new ride using the existing lift hill? It would save money on both demolition (not having to tear down as much structure, less risk of damaging other rides as the lift is what is dangerously close to Adventure Express and Flight Deck) and on new ride construction (no need to build a new lift hill for it, just re-tracking)- plus, the lift and that dip before the drop are what most people see of SOB as they walk around the park (the rose bowl really only shows itself from a few spots, such as the Eiffel Tower)...so, for the most part, the park's skyline would remain intact...and the new wooden (or steel hybrid on wood supports) automatically becomes a massive, marketable attraction (if a wooden coaster, it inherits SOB's world records automatically)...and, from what I've heard, everything up to SOB's drop no one had any problems with...it was what came after the first drop people had issues with. And, before thinking "that will never happen! It would be impossible to build a new coaster but use some stuff from an old one to do it!"... The Infamous Crystal Beach Cyclone was demolished, but some of its structure was re-used...and became The Crystal Beach Comet...then it was re-located to The Great Escape, and it continues to be considered one of the world's best wooden coasters. Oh, and The Crystal Beach Cyclone was known for breaking ribs and injuring riders, too (The SOB of the 1920s?). UPDATE: Ignore this- it's a debunked rumor. Thanks Terpy! The Pippin, at Kennywood, was demolished...but some of it survives, as part of the Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt is considered one of Kennywood's star attractions. Even closer to home...the Coney Island Shooting Star, from Coney Island Ohio, was built from the remains of an older roller coaster- I'm not 100% sure which one, though...and that coaster has become a legend, even though it too is now gone. These are just a few wooden coasters that were born from the ashes of, and used parts from, other wooden coasters. This was just one of many, many ideas I've had about what could be done with SOB...obviously, there have been others: tear down and build brand-new ride, iron horse refurb (would cost $20M+ though!), Timberliners (probably wouldn't work...), etc etc...but, for some reason, I keep coming back to this one...why not keep the parts of SOB that actually worked, and build anew from that?

Thanks, thanks a lot...now I know the picture I have with "Scooby" is not Scooby...just another childhood memory shot to... Sorry. Just don't ask me about the Easter Bunny & Santa Claus. It broke my heart the day that GatorGirl told me that Dora, Diego and Spongebob weren't real, and that they were just people inside costumes. I asked her about Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio and all of them down at WDW, and she said the same thing. And she had just turned 4 at the time. A little bit of childhood lost, but today she still hugs the characters whenever she sees them. Thanks to my work, she still believes in Santa (for now). Last December she saw Santa twice, and she told our friends that the second one wasn't the real Santa. When asked how she knew, she said "Because the second Santa had to ask my name, but the Santa at Daddy's work already knows my name when I go in the room."

My vote? A real, genuine log flume. Omit spitting beagle.

I just wanted to add some of my own sarcasm and absurdity to this thread. I feel better now...

DiamondBuckeye appears to already understand the ridiculousness of many members' posts around here and is being playfully sarcastic. 2 posts in, he already "gets it." Do you? ... And if people got banned for dumb comments, I know I'd be banned! Probably most of us would be...

I have seen the box. I was at the park earlier last week and saw a bunch of suits and asked then that exact question. They took me on a back lot tour and showed it to me. The box is in bad shape. Boards are missing. Many are warped. It does not look useable. I pestered the suits a bit. I kept asking if the box will be used again. Their final comment was: "No decision has been made. There is nothing else to talk about." BTW- I never asked about SoB. There was no reason to since the box is SBNO, SoB's status obviously has not changed.

I sure wouldn't want the job of cleaning up after that!

Post whatever you like and don't Let people get to you. You have as much a right here as anyone else.

Tis good I don't handle the KI FaceBook page. I'd be tempted to reply: "You can't handle the truth!"

I just dug up the photos that I took that year...they have been posted here in the past...but hopefully the "newbies" will find them interesting. This is before I went digital...so I didn't take a lot of shots when I went.

I'm guessing your talking about ice skating on the fountain. That had to be amazing getting to skate on ice that big. Was the whole park decorated/opened or just the front part? "Standbyme" mentioned getting to ride the train, where did you board? This gives you a pretty good idea how the 2005 version went. As you can see, you boarded the train at its usual depot in Rivertown (labeled "9" on the map). From what I've heard and been told and learned here, different roller coasters have different operable temperature limits. Probably, some of them could theoretically have operated in a typical Ohio winter (like at Busch Garden's Christmastown, where Griffon is scheduled to operate provided that weather conditions agree). As it was, that particular winter was bitterly cold (which is one factor that played into Winterfest's low attendance), so I doubt any of them would have anyway. From www.themeparkbrochures.net