Yesterday Kings Island announced that it will be removing their troubled Son of Beast roller coaster. Built in 2000, it was the first modern wooden roller coaster with a loop. In July of 2006, an accident on the roller coaster sent two dozen people to local hospitals. During Cedar Fair’s ownership of the park, the loop was removed even though it was not thought to be the cause of the accident.
According to RCDB, Son of Beast was closed for a full year following the accident. And then it was open from July 2007 until June 2009. For three years it’s sat idle, presumably, while the park has been trying to figure out what to do with the ride. Speculation of its demise has been making the rounds for many years and now it’s official.
Here’s the entire very brief statement from Kings Island:
After a lengthy evaluation of all alternatives, Kings Island announced today the decision has been made to remove the Son of Beast roller coaster to make room for future park expansion.
The dismantling of the ride, which last operated in 2009, will begin later this summer.
– Kings Island Press Release
I think the writing’s been on the wall for years now. Although, some might have wondered if Rocky Mountain Construction might have saved this coaster with one of their Iron Horse track make-overs. It did wonders for the Texas Giant and Fiesta Texas’ Rattler will receive a similar upgrade. Maybe the design and layout of the coaster didn’t lend itself to such a redesign.
Unfortunately, I never got the chance to ride the Son of Beast in its looped or loop-less forms. Rough monstrosity or not, at least those of you who have survived ridden Son of Beast will have stories to tell your grand kids.
Read about more defunct roller coasters. And check out: 5 Most Missed Defunct Roller Coasters
What’s your take? Will you miss Son of Beast or are you just excited to read the phrase ‘future park expansion’? Leave a comment below. Image courtesy of CoasterImage. Image featured on the home page courtesy of Flickr user – jcgoble3.