I was a big fan of Son of Beast when it was still around but after some thoughts when the ride was torn down, I believed it was ahead of it's time. That also got me thinking and it's a question to you guys, if you were running the park and the idea of Son of Beast came today instead of the late 90's, how would you built it the the ride technologies we have today? Would it still be a wooden coaster or steel? Have inversions or not?

If CCI or either two groups that split from it (GCI or GG) did a hybrid like the Villain at Geauga Lake, it probably could be possible. Steel supports & wood track, probably wouldn't be as problematic, however, the ride was too big and crazy for wood and the stresses it endured during it's operation. I'd like to see something go like that, but I doubt it'll ever happen.

I think the original track layout wouldn't work with a wooden coaster no matter what kind of support it had. If I was gonna make it wooden, I would have RMC design it very differently, use a steel support like you did but have the lift hill between 170-180 feet and have the first drop over 200 feet into a lower piece of land or underground tunnel and some over banked turns and air time hills that follow the terrain more (But not like The Beast).

I would have called up Intamin for prefabricated track, i would have replaced the chain lift with a cable lift, the first drop would have been much steeper there would have been a quick airtime hill before the second hill that turns 90 degrees over into the rose bowl like texas giant. The rose bowl would bank to the point of being 90 degrees at the bottom both helixes would be enclosed like The Beast. After the rose bowl the train would take a 90 degree turn into a short bunny hop speed hill, then the train would hit the MCBR after that drop down into the loop, after the loop have the helixes both banked at 90 degrees and enclosed, the rest of the ride would remain the same up to that point expect with prefabricated track. With these additions Son of Beast would be as glassy smooth as Diamondback, except Son of Beast would be much more forceful.. Kings Island could of had a winner on there hands, but they washed there hands of the problems instead of giving the coaster a real chance.

I would have started with a more interesting layout. Keeping the ride all wood, I would have used the proper wood and still went for height and speed but not within the same areas. I truly believe that I've said it all.....layout, proper wood, not all record breakers at once.....this could have made (and still can make) a good 200 + ft. wooden coaster. Don't cut corners when building it!

I know some people are glad it's gone but SOB was probably my favorite ride at KI. I also would have had it built as a prefab woodie.

Just draw the transitions out more and lower the streeses on the track.

Let the builder build the ride.

Not engage in cost cutting short cuts.

It was the same way on the Titanic. The owners of the ship did not take the advice of the designer when they eliminated most of the life boats. Their reasoning was it would clutter up the decks and besides, it met the requirements at the time. We all know what happen next. As Terpy said, it was done to save money.

You'd think the same thing as the builders of the Titanic had you not known about its fate. Why would you need lifeboats on an unsinkable ship?

I agree with troy and a few others about intamin.

Some people have said rmc but you have no idea how it will hold up. Collossus has been built for like 12-13 years and its almost 200'.

I would have built it with a wooden structure and steel track, like Texas Giant. Similar lift like the original Son of Beast, but much larger of a ride.

My only experience is Roller Coaster Tycoon, so I guess I would either put in braking stations and adjust or higher degree banked turns. Slow it down to bring the intensity down and raise excitement.

Did you advise Cedar Fair on what to do with Mean Squeak?

I agree with troy and a few others about intamin.

Some people have said rmc but you have no idea how it will hold up. Collossus has been built for like 12-13 years and its almost 200'.

Colossus at Magic Mountain? It is closer to the 100 foot mark than the 200 foot mark. To be precise, 125 feet. Also, it was built in 1978, which is actually quite a bit more than 12 or 13 years.

The only other Colossus I can think of is the Intamin at Thorpe Park and it isn't even 100 feet... Though you will be happy to hear that it looks to me like a heck of a coaster.

He means Colossos @ Heide Park, in Germany. It was the first ever Intamin Plug N' Play (prefab track) wooden coaster, and currently holds the world record as the world's tallest wooden roller coaster now that Son of Beast is gone.

http://rcdb.com/988.htm

It's 196.8 feet tall, but only has a 159 foot drop for some odd reason. Still, Intamin's wooden coasters have shown they can handle speeds of over 70mph (El Toro @ SFGadv reaches this speed), without ripping themselves apart doing so, so it can be fairly assumed they would be the proven go-to for trying a 200'+ wooden coaster. RMC might be another option, but they are still very new so the test of time has not been done on their rides yet. GCI really hesistates to build overly large wooden coasters, and Gravity Group's 2 attempts at massive wooden coasters with steel supports (Voyage & Hades) are starting to get reviews claiming the rides are very rough, even after rehabs and Timberliner trains were added to Hades. So, If I was to build a 200'+ wooden coaster with 70mph+ speeds, Intamin it would have to be...granted the big problem here is I have heard Intamin Plug N' Plays are expensive, so a SOB-sized one could easily cost over $30,000,000...

However, there would be ONE other flaw with the 200'+ wooden Intamin prefab...you would NOT get the classic wooden coaster feel, where it is bumpy and a bit jerky and feels out-of-control. Son of Beast was an attempt at creating a coaster that still had that feeling, but that stood at over 200' and reached insane speeds. (Alas, it failed) Can THAT be done, without prefab or topper track? I don't know, and looking at the history of what has happened to most giant traditional wooden coasters, I'd be very impressed if any company could do it, even with or without steel supports...

I've always thought Twister at Knoebel's looked more like a sequel to The Beast than Son of Beast ever did. I'm being unrealistic, but I'd think it would be awesome to see a slightly larger (125-150ft.) Custom Coasters International version of Twister's layout as Son of Beast.

Or Boss. I like Boss. Gerstlauer trains and all. It could pass as a Beast sequel.

(Actually, it couldn't. I just really like Boss, and it would make me happy to have it closer than 7-8 hours away. Sorry, I'm having CCI cravings today.)

I'd build it with wood, but this time with a different company.

Son of Beast was to be built with SunCor engineered wood and to have polyurethane wheels. The greneral contractor cut both out to save money.

If you want a over 200' woodie, don't skimp on it. Its like rebuilding a classic corvette the onwe that came with the 427 big block and putting a 4 banger in it to save money.

How mang coasters has rmc did? If its 4, then there is a 25% chance of getting seriously injured or worse.

Personally I would try and make Son of Beast taller since we would have today's coaster technology.

Not another Son of Beast topic-can't we just let sleeping dogs lay? Just saying.

Apparently not. No one had replied for several days. And then...

Dawn of the Dead....

I don't know if we should just let Son of Beast die. Sure, it had a checkered history and what-not, but it is still arguably the biggest part of Kings Island's history. Like it or not, that ride had a profound impact on our park, and I think it is fair to discuss.

Nuclear war had a profound impact on Japan, too.

Son of Beast may well have been a major factor in VIACOM shunting off the parks to CBS. It certainly affected the size, thrill level and required reliability of additions to the Paramount Parks thereafter, ended the Paramount Parks careers of Jane Cooper and Dave Focke, along with countless others, and caused the cheap and cheerful era for Paramount Parks additions.

rocky mountain construction same layout that should be enough said

I would've just built a 200-foot looping El Toro.