On May 11th, 1999 Paramount's Kings Island announced it's record breaking wooden coaster, Son Of Beast. This is a video of the announcement. Montel Williams was on hand to be the "Director of Thrills."
I am so glad I went there in 2000 and rode it with the loop. Best wooden roller coaster ever built. Son of Beast was one mean rough roller coaster. Just looking at it was intimidating and thoughts in your head said "don't ride it, that's going to hurt!" but the voice in your head said "come on sissy, ride it". Everyone's reaction was the same afterwords "holly s^%# that is one mean roller coaster, I should of never rode it. It's a shame that it had to be put down. My personal belief is that if you are not in tip top physical condition and you don't know your limits, well Do Not Ride Roller Coasters That May Hurt You! It was a rush for sure!
Paul Jeffries While I do believe you are in the minority in believing this ride was the best wooden coaster built, I have had a few good rides on it. Other than the loop, I didn't care much for the layout of the ride. I did enjoy the speed though
The new Intamin wood coaster technology seems to be doing better. But, I have ridden the Intamin prototype in 2002, and again in 2007 while in Germany. The ride had gotten very rough in five years. Many folks think with the new technology, anything is possible. I am not sure I agree with that as SoB was to use "new" technology as well. Only time will tell.
Wish RMC would remake and sort of remix this track as a hybrid. Keep or even slightly heighten the drop, make the helix more intense, and redo the vertical loop. It would be an amazing ride if done properly and given a few more big airtime moments.
I rode that thing a couple hundred times. Most of my rides were taken during photo/video shoots. Most of those rides were really bad. I did have a few decent rides on it. I do understand why the park made the choice to take it out.
It makes me feel sad to see it gone but happy that I got to ride it with the loop. My. First. Roller Coaster. Ever. It made me fear coasters for a long time
Just for the haters that say they should of re built the son of beast. Try riding the banshee, The ride is one of the best inverted rides I ever been on..
I rode this SOB the year it opened and every year until it was destroyed. It was an awesome roller coaster. Easily one of my top 5 of all time. Yes, it was a little rough. All wooden coasters are rough. It’s what they do. Because wood expands, contracts, etc. you’ll never have the same ride. I miss this coaster. They should have just made some adjustments and not tore the thing down. RIP SOB. And, for the people who are touting “worst coaster ever” or “fail”, you either never rode it or need to get back to your nursing home.
It should be noted that not all wooden coasters are nearly as rough as Son of Beast was. I had ridden it hundreds of times and there came a point where I just stopped riding. It simply wasn't fun anymore, especially after they took out the loop. The park made several adjustments to try and save the ride but it ended up being a nightmare for the park. The people that were rushed to the hospital after the accident would gladly prove to anyone that the ride was too rough and there were serious issues that needed to be addressed. I had ridden the coaster each year also and sometimes it would be bad, sometimes it was not so bad. The majority of my rides were taken during photo and video shoots. The layout itself was pretty tame but it had a lot of speed in the first half and that was the main reason I rode it. After the loop the ride really didn't do a whole lot in my opinion.
I had someone contact me that said they were so sure "Sonny" was being rebuilt for next year that they would have bet money on it. I hope they didn't actually bet.
Little did they know that the Son Of Beast would cause serious problems.Kings Island thought the loop was the problem but it was safest part of the ride
The park knew the loop wasn't an issue. The park purchased lighter trains that were not designed to do an inversion. The main problem was due to the rose bowl section of the ride. The loop was designed around the previous trains ability to do an inversion. They were longer and heavier. The trains that replaced those came from another coaster that was also torn down, the Hurricane in Myrtle Beach.
It's a shame more ride announcements can't be this creative. Even from watching this video, the kid part of me wants to believe there's some sort of creature in there, even though it's just a remarkable use of an animatronic.
+drby0788 The loop was my favorite part of the ride and the smoothest as well. My later rides on the coaster were too rough to enjoy after the loop was removed. I stopped riding it before the closed it for good.
@TopThrillDan - This is correct. I remember when the rumor of a hyper wooden coaster was floating around in early 1999. There were a lot of people that thought for sure it would be built by CCI. Even though the CCI offices were just a couple miles from the park, it just didn't seem like something CCI would have built.
While there were injuries from a previous incident on the coaster, the ride did open again but closed later after a woman complained of injuries. Even though the ride was given the OK to open again the park decided to keep the ride closed as the ride quality wasn't up to par.
It wasn't open to the public. I used to be a regional rep for the American Coaster Enthusiasts. The park invited me to attend the announcement as well as to find some enthusiasts who wanted to ride The Beast from pre-dawn until the announcement later that day.
As a wood coaster and traditional amusement park hobbyist I don't like to see any wood coaster demolished, or turned into a steel coaster by RMC (I reject the modern term "hybrid"). There are a few exceptions. I shed no tears over Hercules, Mean Streak, or Son Of Beast being gone forever. I was fortunate to ride SOB and the only enjoyable part of the ride IMO was the loop. The ride was un-creative, too big (mega woodies normally "don't work" well for several reasons), and too rough. I like wild woodies, but SOB's roughness was due to train, design and engineering struggles. SOB would've been a great project for RMC, but they weren't making steel coasters yet. SOB...Interesting, imposing, eye-catching, but IMO a terrible ride.
The park officially announced last week that Son of Beast will be removed from the park at the end of the summer for a future expansion. Probably in 2014.
That's how I think Kings Island should have approached the problem. Getting Intamin to redo the track and leave the supports alone would have been awesome!
Coaster Amazon I think RMC could have done an incredible job as well.. The three Intamin wooden coasters I have ridden were a blast to ride,. But the last time I rode Colossus in Germany, it had some jackhammering going on. Not sure if it has been fixed yet or not.
Ha ha. That would have been something. The park did consider that option at one point but since RMC was such a new company at the time, they decided not to go down that road.
@@leslieleathem1227 Son of Beast will never be rebuilt. This has been a long rumor for many years now. If there is an RMC in the future for Kings. Island, it won't have anything to do with Son of Beast. The park doesn't like to talk about the history of the ride. I was surprised that they put a memorial in line for Banshee. It was an absolute nightmare for the park. Considering the problems Cedar Fair had with its RMC coasters, I would be very surprised to see them working with the company anytime soon. Had they gone with one of the original designs submitted by CCI, perhaps we would still have another wooden coaster, giving riders, instead of the flop that was Son of Beast. Sorry, just being real.
@Thebearcatfan1 - It took place in front of the first drop of The Beast, and kind of under the drop off the second lift which is what the structure is behind the stage.
Actually, Don isn't the park manager but I do understand what you mean. Who knew? Now that i think about it, I do remember hearing a couple of people make comments along the lines of "this coaster won't be there in 15 years from now" soon after it was announced that day. Hmmmm
Hoping in 2017 they remake the Son of Beast, I was too young to ride it and seeing all these videos makes me want to ride it. I hope Kings Island gets a new coaster with all the teasing going on all ready.
@casinobowling - I wouldn't surprise me if it was something like that. The box continued to shake when it was located near the front of the park. Once it was moved to the actual ride entrance the shaking stopped. The box is now gone.
@6flgslover - One reason the loop was said to have been removed was there was concern over the new, lighter trains making it through the loop. I do feel the coaster was safe but the park knew it didn't exactly make people want to ride over and over.
youtube booooooo You are correct and it didn't have airtime (it appears the layout design didn't call for it) and it really was rough. I thought the loop made the ride actually. It was the smoothest part of the ride and a cool moment on a otherwise bad ride. Once they took out the loop I didn't ride it nearly as much.
@calakapepe - At one point, even before Son of Beast, there was a strong rumor going around that a looping wooden coaster was going to be built at a large theme park in the South (which is now gone). The layout was to be more of an out-and-back than a twister and not have "hyper" stats so to speak.
This press conference/announcement should have been the first clue that the coaster was doomed. What a terribly unorganized and amateur looking event this was.
@THOMASRCT3FAN35 - Took what down? The ride is still standing. While it currently isn't operating there is a rumor it will in the future. To be honest, I will believe it when I see it but if it does open I bet there will be some changes.
What a great historic announcement for a wooden record-breaking coaster! I wonder if there would be a video of the Millennium Force announcement taken at Cedar Point back on July 22nd, 1999... :)
@casinobowling - Bill was the president at the time this video was made. Ray, who sadly is no longer with us, was the president in the early 90's. Mark Cole is the current president.
@cartoonFreak66 - The front seat is probably the most comfortable seat on the train. My last ride on the coaster was somewhere near the middle. Let's just say I won't be sitting in that seat anymore. =:^) I am not certain they are ignoring the ride. My guess is they are looking at valid options that take time .
Sean Flaharty And your wish was granted with Banshee! It’s too bad SOB didn’t last, I wish I could have had a chance to ride while it was in it’s prime.
@THOMASRCT3FAN35 - Son of Beast came with the purchase of the park. Cedar Fair did invest some money into the ride before deciding to close it. While the sign is now gone and the ride doesn't appear on the map, I talked with someone from the park today who did acknowledge the ride and joked (I think) about using it's large structure to hold up large banners advertising season passes and other things. =:^) "New for 2011 at Kings Island....The World's Largest Billboard!!!"
2000 was a big year for Ohio parks. The millennium force son of beast and six flags. although six flags was a disaster that was completely killed by cedar fair. I got a chance to experience the loop but son of beast was really rough.
I really wish that they'd decided to rebuild Son of Beast for 2014 rather than build the Banshee. Knock down what was there (as it was not very structurally sound even when it was built) and have R.M.C rebuild it with topper track AND the loop again.
+Elias Mertens An RMC hybrid would have been nice! However, I am very glad Banshee was built. It's a very solid ride, great capacity and very reliable. That is something the park needed.
Sean Flaharty Yeah, it seems that the park has a fairly unimpressive safety record from Son of Beast, Flight of Fear, the park in general (2014 power outages), and many other rides. And it seems that B&M's are usually fairly reliable.
tf is wrong with you, the banshee is an amazing ride and will be a trademark to the parks for years to come like diamond back and the beast, yeah sure they could try to rebuild son of beast
Martian Man I like Banshee, but I would've though rebuilding Son of Beast would be amazing. I mean if they had RMC build it, it wouldn't be as terrible as it was last time. And it would STILL break seven world records, well six I guess. Worlds first hyper wooden coaster, worlds second longest wooden coaster, worlds tallest wooden coaster, worlds only vertical loop on a wooden coaster, fastest wooden coaster, and most wooden track at one park. Banshee is great, but I miss Son of Beast.
@nicky6ify - I believe Son of Beast's legend is more about it's downtime and rough stories about it's nature than the actual ride it gave. I only know of a few that really love the ride. I have gotten a few great rides on it (yes, great) but the majority of rides left me wondering how and what played into giving decent rides in the first place.
I got a free park ticket out of this ride when it first opened. it was constantly closed it seemed like. I waited forever to ride it and thought "I'm going to go front seat if I'm gonna wait this long". I was literally the next person to get on the train and they shut it down. i was so ticked but I got a free park pass out of the wait. I finally got to ride it in the opening season (one of many rides) and it beat the crap out of me. I tried alot of different seating positions and it didn't really matter. it was one rough ride. the loop was the smoothest part of the whole ride. I was pretty disgusted that they took the loop out and only rode it one time without the loop. it was a cool coaster to look at but I honestly don't miss it.
I feel your pain...litterally. It took me over ten visits to get my first ride on it, which I took exactly at midnight on a muggy summer evening in July.
However. Flight Deck and Vertigo are clones. I guess the same could be said about Firehawk although I am not sure if it's twin in Maryland came first or second. They are both the same, based on the prototype that now resides in North Carolina. Clones can work for bigger parks although I do agree with most in that custom rides are where it's at. =:^)
@morganhaylee1999 - I believe the park is looking into anything they can to come up with a solution to keep the ride. If they do remove it, I won't be surprised but I would love to see what they come up with if they decide to keep it. =:^)
I won't tell you not to ride it because you could very well like it if it reopens. I know plenty of folks that really do enjoy the ride. It's just not my type or ride anymore.
@TopThrillDan - Possibly so. I really, really tried to like this ride. I have gotten great rides on it but the majority of my rides were not all that great. . I can think of a few more that also fall into the "what the hell were't they thinking" group.
I stopped riding the coaster for a few years but gave it a couple more tries with the G-trains last June only to have the worst ride I have gotten on it right before it closed. =:^( What a strange ride. I have had rides that have been real nasty and rides that have been incredible.
It had a lot of potential. Too bad it ended up breaking 2 people's backs and 1 persons neck. No fatalities on the roller coaster but a lot of physical damage.
Also, the duplicate rides Intamin and Vekoma make are usually for smaller parks that either can't afford or are too lazy to come up with their own designs, not necessarily parks like Kings Island/Dominion.
+Vee Dee I believe so. She also worked at Six Flags Great Adventure if I am not mistaken. I first met her while she worked at Six Flags Astroworld in 1998. She then moved to Paramount's Kings Island soon after, where she was let go.
