UPDATE 8/8/13 – Son of Beast’s replacement has been announced. Banshee will come to Kings Island in 2014. It will debut as the longest inverted roller coaster in the World with 4,100+ feet of track. Read and watch a video here: Banshee Roller Coaster Coming to Kings Island in 2014 [divider_line]
Now that the final piece of Son of Beast has been removed, more than ever, Kings Island fans must be wondering what will happen to this now empty plot of land.
Even without Son of Beast, Kings Island is among the largest theme parks in the World in terms of its number of roller coasters. With its arsenal of 13 coasters, they already have a number of the major coaster categories represented in their lineup. They’ve got a flying roller coaster, two launch roller coasters, a hyper coaster, a suspended coaster, an inverted shuttle coaster, a twin racing woodie, and a massive terrain woodie.
Here are the types of roller coasters that fall on the thrill end of the spectrum that Kings Island could add: a wing roller coaster, a giga roller coaster, a looping wooden-steel roller coaster (Rocky Mt or Gravity Group), and a traditional woodie. Could Kings Island throw us a curve ball and add something like a water roller coaster (like Divertical or Journey to Atlantis)?
Out of these options, I’d be most excited for a multi-launch terrain looper like Maverick, blue fire Megacoaster (pictured right) or Projekt Helix. With rumors of Cedar Fair’s Arrow loopers possibly becoming extinct, a next generation looper would be a strong addition.
Then, if the park does remove Vortex they could add a woodie at Vortex’s location. By then looping hybrid woodies may have come along even further in their development. Who knows what will be possible? Launched, looping, woodie anyone?
I admit that this is more of a selfish pick, than a what might be best for the park pick. I haven’t ridden Maverick or Cheetah Hunt, but having something like this within a day’s drive would be awesome. One of those crazy new hybrid woodies would probably be a better choice to differentiate Kings Island from Cedar Point.
Here’s a video of Son of Beast’s demolition:
What’s your take? Can you think of another type of coaster that Kings Island could or should add? Leave a comment below. Image 1 via Kings Island’s Facebook page. Image 2 via CC Flickr user Roller Coaster Philosophy. [poll id=”96″]