Son of Beast Closed Again. Will it Join Big Bad Wolf in Coaster Heaven?
The wooden monstrosity that is Son of Beast has once again been closed. This time Kings Island (near Cinncinnati, OH) has announced that the ride will be closed for the rest of the season. Son of Beast opened in 2001 as the world’s only looping wooden coaster. The mere idea of a looping woodie, rubbed wooden coaster purists the wrong way. Others thought it was a neat hybrid of the coaster world. I am in the latter camp, but I can’t speak to how good or bad the Son’s ride is as I’ve never ridden it. The looping woodie debate ended in the winter of 2006-07 when the newly Cedar Fair-owned Kings Island removed the loop.
I was 0 – 2 in my attempts to ride Son of Beast. In April 2006, the entire park was closed due to snow (!) and then when I returned in the summer of 2007 for a twilight visit, Son of Beast was down for repairs by the time I reached the park. Reports have been that it’s super rough and the accident didn’t help this reputation. In July 2006, an accident injured 12 riders sending them to the hospital. I’d love to see Son of Beast reprofiled, but I have no idea how expensive or implausible that might be. Besides, what if Kings Island reprofiled it and it was still as rough as ever.
So is the Son of Beast about to be sent of to the scrap heap, reprofiled, or will it live on to abuse riders for another year?
What’s Your Take?
What do you think will happen to Son of Beast? What do you hope Kings Island does with Son of Beast? Leave a comment below.
Coaster Critic 
85 responses to “Son of Beast’s Fate Unknown”
It's just too big. Obviously if it was a pre-fab it would be better, but El Toro doesn't really feel like a woodie. I think they could replace it with a launch coaster or such. Something like Stealth or Xcellerator.
If it goes, I hope another (better) coaster goes in its place.
C.C., remember Park Sleuth? They have a pretty good vid of the best coaster ever in action… even better than KUMBA!
Great find JaMeS. I love the video they did, but unfortunately it's not on their YouTube page so I can't repost it. But, I'll link to it in my upcoming post on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit's opening.
I'll just pretend that you didn't say it was better than Kumba. 🙂
I only rode SOB when it had the loop. Honestly beyond the loop the ride sucked. It was 2 rose bowls (deep helix's). and a couple hills. It really didn't live up to it's father who is a long terrain coaster full of adventure. When SOB goes Cedar Fair should put a pre-fab in it's place!
im sorry, but it is
Imagine the bonfire we could have … Son of Beast and Mean Streak!
The loop was fantastic but the rest of the ride was so poorly planned (aside from the engineering flaws that leave it rough). The helicies are boring and have none of the flair of its papa. It is like they thought that everyone loves the helix on The Beast so they just added two of them to Sonny without contemplating that the pacing, the slow ramp into the tunnel and the tunnel itself is what makes that one of the best endings in all of costerdom.
Ha ha! Comment of the season, Judy!
Mark, I wonder what Cedar Fair would have built if they owned Kings Island when Son of Beast was built. Something tells me they wouldn't have built a woodie with a loop and an uneventful course.
I have rode the SOB one time and one time only. I didnt like it. Dont get me wrong but it was alright its just not something that I cared to much to ride again and again. And honestly with all the times that it has been closed 7 times in 9 seasons. They need to take it down completely and save themselves. Build another RollerCoaster and make sure that its one that people can feel safe and not think they could get hurt on.
Tear the thing down. If the idiots couldn't build it the right way and it is hurting it's riders, which many could have pernament injuries which will cause them never to ride again, perhaps, due to sore backs and stuff, tear this baby down. I never rode it and wouldn't it it's that rough. BONFIRE IT!
By the way, I'm still upset that Big Bad Wolf is being torn down. I loved it!!!!!!!!!
The son of beas t is like the best ride there and i think that they should just leave it up. yeah its had some problems but they fixed them. the first hill is the best thing that has ever been invented on a rollercoaster!!!
ive seen some pictures of the son of beast and it looks like the drop is similar to the drop on roar. roars drop was good but the rest of it was horrible by the end of it i felt like id just gotten a conncussion. i also read a report on SOB that said it felt like you were riding a car down a road filled with potholes. people seem to like the loop it offers and seeing that it only has a lapbar it must be real cool. but then again the two helixes Sob has to offer arent like the spiraly devistation owned by the beast. i hope that if they take down SOB theyll replace it whith a similar, smoother, taller, faster and better copy keeping the name and the loop. though theyed probly not bon fire it but use its pieces to build the second better SOB
PS. i cant tellyou my opinion beacause i havent riden it
i heard they closed it down due to a lawsuit filed by a rider who allegedly popped a bloodvessel while riding. now, you can do that walking, goin to the bathroom, or just sitting in a chair.
Son of Beast was amazing to me (never even have ridden it with the loop.) This year was quite a bit rougher than last year, but still very fun to me. I'm a speed lover when it comes to coasters, and SOB delivers.
I don't know if SOB will survive. I can see it being totally demolished since it's been a maintenence nightmare from the beginning. But, I could also see it getting 100% overhauled like they've done with some past coasters at parks (Phantoms revenge, Thunderbolt, etc…) hopefully adding more to the ride and making it much smoother. Could be very costly though, so who knows.
I'd sure hate to see it go. Yeah, injuries are definitely not a good thing, but with this monster already in place surely a little more fine tuning could tame this beast into a survivor. What do you think?
no
I know this has never been done, but if it is at all possible, if I was in control of Cedar Fair, I'd get rid of SOB (whose ride made me SOB), and build a LAUNCHED WOODIE by Intamin or B&M. I'd go with B&M because of the frequent disasters lately by Intamin rides, like Xcelerator. I have no idea if this idea would even work, but if it did, that's what I would do.
Ok, Let us look at this with a realistic point of view.
SoB is the Tallest, Fastest wooden coaster on the planet. BUT, due to its roughness, gimmicks, incidents, and bad press, no one in the GP considers it a world-class coaster. And it is the GP that makes the decisions for these theme parks. Frankly, SoB isn't truely a relevent coaster nowadays. A coaster at my home park has suffered a similar problem (without the harmful incidents) and now it sits in pieces waiting for the scrap heap. We all have to look at what CF thinks is the next step foward for the coaster, basing off of popularity and costs. Costs are what matters. Personaly, does anyone thing an overhaul like what the smaller Texas Giant is recieving a relevent investment?
and continuing my rant
KI has to consider, is this a long term investment? What happens five years from now after we have just given SoB a $10 million overhaul and it needs another. In my belief, KI should avoid this situation at all cost and put SoB behind them as another 'Bat' and continue foward. If they do remove SoB they will have a large area for expansion which is What They Need! They will recieve bad press for this but it will become a distant memory as the coaster that was too big for its own good.
I vote, Remove the SoB, and build a ride/rides that will bring a crowd based off of thrills instead of gimmicks.
My daughter and I rode it when it first opened and we LOVED it. Went back the following year and it jerked us around so bad we did all we could to try to keep from getting jerked around. I recently went this past Sat Oct 3rd and was upset to see it wasn't opened. I haven't been up there for about 3 years or so, and had no idea they removed the loop. That was one of the things that made it unique. I had to see it go and become some coaster that is just like all the rest. You have to go with safety though, and for all that ride at amusement parks, you take a risk of injury every time you strap in.
I have A life so I didnt read all the coments but all the people who want it gone you dont know what the word thrill means it's the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in the world and dont complain about it being rough because it's a wooden coaster they are all rough if you are such a wuss about it then dont ride it instead of trying to get it sent to the scrap heap and stopping the people who do like it from riding it I bet have of you screammed your ^%* off riding it if you rode it LONG LIVE SON OF BEAST!!!!!!!!
Shut up, alex. I like Son of Beast too(even though the ride was rough), but try to contain yourself.
seriously alex, shutup, i don`t know why you came here being so rude and all, but dude, stop it. also we do no the meaning of thril and SOB isnt it. actualy, scratch that, by the sound of the comments above, it may of had thrill if you you weren`t to busy stoping your self from getting more bruises than you can count. i think everyone is just trying to say that it just shouldn't be THAT rough. nobody minds getting jostled around a bit but its much more fun when its so smooth you feel like your flying and also, we do have lives, were just nerds, theres a difference you know.
Let's keep it civil folks. 🙂
Yeah, you're right. I have ridden SOB with and without the loop, and I think it is fun. It just isn't the best ride out there. That would probably be Millennium Force or maybe Kumba.
Sorry about above. I kind of messed up on my email, and the site gave me another identity.
It Is Rough I Guess.
I have at least 15 rides with and without the loop. I admit its rough but I,m addicted to its speed. I think that they either put bigger wheels on the trains or go with steel rails like Gemini to smooth out the ride. I would hate to see this monumental ride go to waste.
If Diamondback has taught KI / riders anything, it's that you do not necessarily need to build a record breaking roller coaster, but rather one that's simply fun to ride and won't send you to the doctor's office.
I'm sure if they demolish this thing and put in a roller coaster that's actually fun to ride, nobody will complain.
Oh just FYI, KI has only developed 360 or so of its 700+ acres so it's not like they're that pressed for zoning.
Cedar Fair really does not know how to keep their wooden coasters in good shape. Of all the park chains, their wooden coasters are the roughest. I happen to like Son of Beast. I did like it with the loop. It is certainly NOT the roughest coaster out there. I have many friends, both coaster enthusiasts and general public, who agree with me there. Mean Streak at Cedar Point is much worse than Son of Beast in terms of roughness. Cedar Fair's answer to solving wooden coaster roughness is to add more brakes. The solution is to replace wood and to replace it often. The Voyage at Holiday World is another coaster that is much rougher than Son of Beast. I know that the first half of the Voyage is fairly smooth as it is the hills. The first drop of Son of Beast is not bad as it is just that, a drop. The back half of the Voyage is extremely rough as the track's twisting and turning are uncomfortable for most. I am not a wimp by any stretch of the imagination as I have ridden over 600 different coasters, even the rough ones, with 200 of those coasters being wooden ones. I have been at both Holiday World and Kings Island. I have seen long lines for both the Voyage and Son of Beast. But, as the day progressed, I noticed that the queue for the Voyage diminished…too rough for most. The queue for Son of Beast remained about the same, and that was a decent sized line in 2008 and when it wsa running in 2009. And I do not buy the argument that the Voyage is just an intense coaster but a good design while Son of Beast is lousy. They are different types of coasters. It is tough to compare an out and back with the twister elements thrown in during the last half (Voyage) to Son of Beast that is mainly twister-esque. Let's face it. There are those who like certain coasters more than others. All coasters have the right to "live" and remain. Just because Son of Beast is NOT your favorite doesn't mean that you should want to see it torn down. Those "hurt" on it usually had pre-existing conditions. As to the wood piece that splintered in 2006, the poor wood condition was to blame. Had that piece of wood been on another coaster with similar results, would people be so quick to ask for the removal of that coaster? I think not. I have noticed that certain people tend to defend certain parks as if those parks can do no wrong. You are entitled to your opinion as am I. Son of Beast is an intense coaster, and it should remain with us. If it is too rough for you, then stay off it! The same would be true for any coaster. If you don't like it, then don't ride it. That goes for anyone else out there. Stay off the coasters that are too rough. For those who choose to ride Son of Beast or another coaster, it remains just that. Our choice. Thank you.
Nice comment Derek, and good point, it`s not everyday you find yourself reading a comment more than a page long that dosn`t bore you.
I Disagree with you, Derek. I've ridden the texas giant once and the voyage, mean streak, and SOB over 5 times each and SOB is by far the worst and most painful. At least on mean streak you can pick a good seat. Every seat on SOB causes a painful ride!
[…] posted on YouTube. A cable snapped on Xcelerator sending debris into the air and injuring riders. Son of Beast closed again after a woman claimed that it injured her head. A Son of Beast closing hardly seems like news […]
I rode it last May and loved it.
For me there is a trick to riding wooden coasters: lean forward and 'make like' you are driving it – rather than sit back and get the &%$#@ beaten out of you.
Riding this way works for me on any coaster that hits you around otherwise, though is more physical in other ways. I do this sitting in the back of the Mean Streak – another ride that many complain about bitterly.
Don't knock it till you try it…
I (and I'm sure many others) know how to lessen the impact on your body while riding bad, rough wooden coasters. The question remains whether it's worth the effort. Just because you can come away unscathed doesn't make it enjoyable. I guess if you like a challenge and you don't mind being punished a bit it could be fun.
so don`t ride it, that was what he was saying.
trust me, it is.
Hey, coaster critic, how do you ride a very bad woodie, and not get hurt/ or feel sick? What's the method? I rode the Hershey Park "Wildcat" and dang, swore i'd never ride it again. It banged the crap out of me and when you get off a woodie and feel like crap, then it ruins the rest of the day. please let us know the secrete. ty., rollercoasterdude
'Chacun a son gout' as the French say (to each their own).
My best friend (a middle aged woman with two hip surgeries in her recent past – and no, she is not the next bionic woman) and I go to CP and KI every May. I am not a spring chicken myself, yet we ride all of these coasters.
Remarkably, she gets as much a thrill as do I, riding the ones you deem 'bad' and 'rough' exactly the way I suggested.
I am not trying to imply that those who do not enjoy these rides are wimpy, just because said middle-aged woman (with two recent hip surgeries) rides them with great joy and no ill effect.
I would, however, have to strongly disagree with use of purely subjective and qualitative adjectives such as 'bad' when referencing coasters others might find pretty great.
Other than that, thank you for your site.
Peace
LOL – and no, the hip surgeries are not wooden coaster related – the coaster trips came later
saying a ride is bad is inevitable for some people, you can dissagree, but having opinions is also inevitable.
here`s one tip: when you see a turn coming (an unbanked one) push into the side your about to be thrown into so you don`
sorry, i, by accident, hit the finish comment button while typing. let me finish: so you don`t get jerked arond and slammed into the side.
Don't give up on a coaster after only 1 ride. Try changing seats … front, middle, back.
If I know it's a very bad woodie I won't ride it so I won't get hurt. I'd rather skip a ride then get beat up for no good reason. If I think a ride is going to be pretty rough, then I just try to brace myself like Quil said below. I lean into and go with the turns. I'm sure I do more, but it's hard to describe as it's instinct at this point. But, bottom line, I don't ride coasters that I KNOW will harm me. It defeats the purpose of what should be a fun experience.
Agreed Rsutherland, to each their own. But also keep in mind that the point of my site is that I give my opinion. So I'm going to call some rides excellent and other rides bad or even horrible. If I didn't, my site would be just like all the others, just reporting the news. As always guests are invited to disagree and voice their opinions like you did.
Thanks for your comment and I'm glad that you and your friend enjoy (survive :))these coasters.
Discussions on semantics can be a rollercoaster ride too. (and I write this all in good fun as much as anything)
Here goes:
I find myself able to express my opinions equally well using expressions such as "not my preference", though it does require a few more hits on the keypad.
"Bad" may imply "not my preference" in a critiques' blog, but it does rather negate someone else's preference.
For instance (and perhaps I get laughably fussy here) I did not say the use of an adjective such as 'bad' was bad, LOL.
Don't worry, I will stop as I can foresee multiple trajectories hurled at me in response to this posting…but there it is.
On a more coaster related front -I read that SOB will indeed run again due to adjustments to the seats. Any truth to this?
There is only one coaster I have encountered to be unacceptably painful – and it isn't a woodie. Mantis at Cedar Point eludes me. I find the apparatus around the ears way too hard (therefore a head banger). Sometimes I get cramps in my legs. Any secrets to riding this or is it just a 'bad' coaster? lol.
If only CC has ridden Son of Beast, he could write up an article on the world's roughest coaster: SOB vs. (Riverside) Cyclone. Instead, maybe Predator vs. Cyclone.
Wait – has CC already made a comparison article on the roughest woodie? Because I don't want to be sounding like an idiot when asking this.
To be fair Rsutherland, headless people may find Mantis quite enjoyable. Please continue any Mantis discussions on my <a href-"http://www.thecoastercritic.com/2006/09/mantis-cedar-point-coaster-reviews.html" rel="nofollow">Mantis review post.
Speak for yourself, CC! I've never been to Cedar Point, but my cousin has, and she said she loved it! Oh, and she does have a head.:)
This is the same cousin who I said went on Southern Star at Carowinds and hated it.
CFC, there`s a reason CC put the mantis link in his comment before yours, and you were replying to him! 🙂
Oops, I didn't see that! I really need to be more observant next time around. 🙂
there`s nothing on screamscape.
Here is the link to the article discussing the revamping of Son of Beasts' seats:
http://www.screamscape.com/html/kings_island.htm
Under 'Park News'
If I'm not mistaken, this is for The Beast, not Son of Beast.
i think he`s right Rsutherland.
Ooops and 'sigh'
yeah, that would`ve been a mojor improvment in the ride.
To be fair though in recent years Six Flags has rebuilt parts of the (Riverside) Cyclone and replaced the cars with newer ones that give a much smoother ride than previously. Still is a rather rough ride but I would say by no means the roughest anymore. There is also a significant difference if you ride in the front or back cars versus the rest of the train.
I rode in the middle last year and it`s still the crappiest ride in the world, no offense.
Hands down. SFNE was the only SF park I've been to, and Cyclone SUCKED. That ride and Son of Beast at Kings Island are why I hate woodies so much… and why I'm afraid to go on Hurler at Carowinds.(!)
i love sob its my fav ride but guys come on ur compplaing about it being rough? wat woodie isnt? if u can imagine a 80 foot woodie is rough how bad d u think a 200 foot one is? think about it lol i rlly hope they dnt tear it down
Hey, everyone who's interested! I just looked on Kings Island's official site, and guess what? Son of Beast wasn't listed on the roller coasters list! Does this mean that it really is gone for good?
Oh, and by the way, why is no one talking on the forum anymore? There's only been one or two comments on it in two months!
for some reason the fotrum isn`t letting me on, even though i even started a new account.
I hope they give it one more go around it was a little rough but all woodies are at first,It's one of my personal favorites,it would be ashamed to waste all that land let it be cedarfair
According to a Mason neswpaper, Kings Island is going to open without running S.O.B. again. I was there last year and there wasn,t much activity in that corner of the park. Top Gun was practicly a walk on every time I rode it.I knew that ride was in trouble when they replaced the original trains with the trains they got from Hurriccine cat.5 from Myrtle Beach Pavilion.That ride itself was rough plus the wheels are smaller on the trains.Add that plus 30m.p.h faster. Thats gonna leave a mark|
Rode it with my sons once, in 2007. Exhilirating and intense, and liked more than CP's Mean Streak- but once wore us out. I agree, the layout is too basic. If they do tear it down, they should copy Michigan Adventure's "shivering timbers", owned by CedarFair. That is my single favorite wooden coaster. It's like KI's Racer, but thrill & near size of "The Beast". Steep hills, lots of great ups & downs, and fun banked curve out yonder, and a great high-speed banked helix finish. Shivering Timbers is only 125 ft tall on 1st hill. KI should try 160 tall with same layout, and add a tunnel.
Wait… good review, but that's me.
well, signs down.
check this out:
http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.ph…
Wow, so a coaster that was originally the most gimmicky woodie of all time has gone from brand new to possible removal in no more/no less than 10 years?
Wow…I'm kinda sad.
well…. I see son of beast is no longer on the map of the park is it done.? Forever!!! Ive been on it 1 time to banged up. Just rebuild a new one. Call it son of beast just make it the way u want it ki!
Goodbye SOB.
I was able to ride this coaster shortly after it opened and it was a mess then as it was till the the day they closed it forever.
OK, I'm stealing this from Kevin at Incrediblecoasters, but it was very clever. Basically, if KI removes SOB, you can still experience it. Take a pickup truck to the middle of nowhere with another person. Sit on one of those carnival foot-massagers to simulate the vibrations. Play an SOB POV hooked up to a giant speaker at max volume and st in front of it. Then have the other person drive in giant circles at 70mph, and you'll know what it feels like to ride.
SOB may be like the bat. The thought was there but science wasn,t.This could be the pinnacle of wooden rollercoasters.It was great to feel 80 m.p.h. on a woodie. There is a tremendous amount of wood to make the ride. With Ohios weather hot and cold there was a lot of swelling and shrinking which makes it very difficult to keep everything together. I hate to say this but they will problably take him down and put something different in.I,m glad I had the experience to go that fast on wood. Maybe they could build Grand son of Beast. A 500 foot tall steel coaster?
I don't think so, but I don't see why not.
I say, they tear it down, build another 200 ft tall wooden roller coaster, but build a better layout. More airtime hills, and build a smaller loop instead of the massive 118 ft loop they originally had.
I've probably rode Son of Beast 14 or 15 times. I showed up 3 times in the first 2 weeks of operation, when they only ran it for a few times, and waited in line 6 hours twice, only to get a readmission ticket due to technical difficulties.
While the weight of the cars didn't help, and certainly the loop added to that issue, the fact of the matter is that the thing was just too rough. I really want to see it open again, but you can feel/hear the thing ripping itself apart. In all honesty the design is great, but wooden coasters are supposed to flex and bend, but Son of Beast is a rock solid frame so instead of flexing it just tries to toss the cars off the track (instead of "bouncing" like it does on other woodens) and the speed and g-forces don't help that cause.
If anything adding lighter cars made the violence of the ride even worse as any cushioning you got from the wood flexing is pretty much nil, the cars are smaller, and the turns make you feel like you are in a paint mixer.
They should make son of beast prefabricated. That would end all roughness problems. I don't know if they'd have to take the whole coaster apart or what to make it prefabricated, but it would be worth it.
I think they are going to take it down. I rule out the possibility of a rennovation because of cost. It cost Texas Giant $10 million for the renovation. SOB is almost twice as long and about 5 stories taller! I don't think it would be very practical because it cost 15 million to build (3x what Texas Giant cost) and the park stated that the ride has cost the park 30 million dollars what with the lawsuits and all! No they aren't going to renovate it I'm almost certain. All in all (with a guestimate of 25 million dollar renovation cost) they will have spent 70 million+ on this one roller coaster. They will most likely get rid of it. I hope whatever takes its place is good.
I never rode SoB but i did ride The Beast in 2006 and it was so jerky, i felt like i broke my back on that ride. Was SoB worse than Beast in roughness cuz Beast was horrible!
If they remove SOB, I hope they build another woodie and name it SOB to replace the original. The whole beast, son of beast story thing is cool. They should definitely make the new coaster smoother (maybe steel rails like Gemini?), and keep the loop idea. Then they can reuse some of the wood/track on the new coaster to save money. I think CF needs to keep the son of beast theme cuz in my opinion, that really makes the coaster unique and special.