The loop was the only part I really enjoyed. Probably cause it was secured with a steel frame. Rode it years later again with the bump they followed it up with while also in those tiny cars they replaced it with was way worse.
I'm not a theme park / coaster person, so I'm surprised we're even still making them out of wood at all. "The world's largest wooden rollercoaster" to me reads like "the world's fastest car without power steering"
@@katevgrady it’s both more impressive for the park to have, making it a more popular attraction, and offers different perks to thrill seekers bc of the speed difference to steel coasters. they might seem obsolescent at first but there definitely are different advantages to wooden coasters.
Son of Beast was also unfinished. A foreman of one of the crews came into my store. I told him we were taking our kids to King's Island later that day and our 10 year old was wanting to ride the son of beast. He took his change and started yo leave the store when he suddenly stopped and turned back to me and said, "Don't let them ride that. It isn't safe." That was good enough of a warning for me.
"Don't let them ride that. The Devil's blood be in that wooden monstrosity. That coaster truly belongs in Hell...It isn't safe!" as thunder roars and lightning flashes outside
@@sentryogmixmaster “The person that rides that ride aint the person that comes back. It might look like that person, but it ain’t that person. ‘Cause whatever lives in the ground beyond the Son Of Beast ain’t human at all” 😂
@Lassi Kinnunen 81 Only the assets in the corporation with the actionable suit are available to creditors / litigants for recovery purposes. They basically just fold the company and set up shop again. Trump did this repeatedly with his different buildings/ companies.
I was one of the 27 and this is the first time I have seen someone get what we went through right. Thank you from all of us who went through that horrific day for getting it right. I also saw someone say they didn't evacuate people off the lift hill, that is not true. All of us through the terrifying pain were screaming at the ride operators to get those people off. I can't thank you enough for getting this right.
So glad none of you died! And also very glad you were able to let the ride operators know to stop the next train. The whole thing could've been so much worse. That experience must have been so scary!
@@lesunshineworshiper11 as the track had sagged but didn't have a catastrophic failure, so the train didn't stop as it could keep going along the track
I rode Son of Beast the weekend it opened and it actually was very smooth for a wood coaster... at first. It loosened up and got VERY rough in a hurry. It left me with bruises more than once. Banshee is a FAR superior coaster, very intense yet smooth. Part of its queue goes through a mock graveyard that includes a tombstone for Son of Beast...😁
One thing I’ve learned from this is how skilled you need to be in order to be a ride operator, that operator that stopped the train on the climb might have saved those peoples lives
@@blueflare3848 and to get minimum wage for doing it lol I love how these guys probably turned down a bid for what this piece of shit ended up costing them lol I don't KNOW that happened but I'm guessing if anyone else was willing to build this thing they probably bid it at 30-50m or so (you know, so they could put enough supports in it) and the park said "nope, we'll go with these guys and save a ton of money..... What's the worst that could happen?!?" I would love to see the complete set of numbers on this ride. How much did it cost to build? How much did they make? What's the estimated cost in profit loss for having the ride shut down so long? How much did the hospital bills cost? How much were all the repairs? And all the other financial questions I missed.... I can't imagine there being any significant profit at all from this whole thing.
The Beast (original) is a rough coaster. But it owns it, throughout the entire ride, you feel like you're clinging to the back of a monster. A night ride on The Beast as it tears through the forest, with the trees whipping by you, and the cold air rushing through your hair is an amazing feeling. The Son of Beast had none of that poetry, it was just a battering with no aesthetic appeal. I unfortunately never got to ride it with the loop so I only have negative memories. But it did help me realize that for coasters height doesn't always equal good.
The Beast just received some extensive re-tracking recently, I hear it is much smoother, but slower. I haven't rode The Beast since it went to individual lap bars only when it had buzz bars... Which I was also lucky enough to ride hercules with the original buzz bars
I did a night ride on the beast! It really does give that running through the forest from danger vibe. The tunnel seems extra scary because the pitch black... But son seems like just a ride. Doesn't have Atmosphere like the OG
This is such an awesome description of Beast. It had an extensive re-track recently and I can attest it is a MUCH smoother ride as a result. It still has that amazing feeling though.
I actually remember waiting in line to get on this thing a while back with my dad and just when we were about to board the train, it started raining and the ride operators announced that the ride would be shutting down due to the weather and we never got the opportunity to try riding it again...looking back I can't help but think the sudden rain was divine intervention
I find that good and bad like now you can't brag that you you once went on the only wooden coaster with a loop but is good because you didn't get like injured lol (or did it not have the loop at that time?)
This exact thing almost happened to me. I was on 1 of the last 2 trains to leave the station before they shut it down. It was a 3 hour line. So yeah my first time on SofB was at night, in the rain, with the loop. Best ending to a day a KI ever.
When you got off the Son of Beast you literally felt like you had just gotten the shit kicked out of you by Mike Tyson in his prime. It wasn't even fun, it just hurt. But the regular Beast coaster is always a blast!
Depends on what year and time you rode Beast! I've rode both for several years, I've rode the Beast when I knew when to hold myself up out my seat a bit do to extreme beating.
Before that accident, "dangerous" may have just been a euphemism for "trust me, it looks awesome but it's not a fun experience because of how rough it is"
I rode SOB when I was a kid, after the loop was removed. I remember it being THE MOST intense ride experience I had ever had but still insanely fun. My aunt came off the ride with huge bruises on her arm from being jostled around in the car. I think being so young I avoided damage, just thought it was a sick coaster. Pretty sure I rode it the year before it closed permanently. This coaster had serious presence. Just looking at it from the ground you knew you were in for it
Imperial and US measurements aren't exactly the same (e.g. pints and gallons are different sizes). It might be better to put the US/metric conversions on screen rather than reading them out every time though, to keep things moving along better.
I'm american but I love metric because I'm a huge minecraft nerd so I can visualize metric easier. HOWEVER when it comes to speed measurement I still depend on imperial. Probably because I'm a narcissist who likes hearing my name /j
Cincinnati media downplayed the danger of this ride like crazy. They pretty much treated it like a closing restaraunt. It was 'closed for construction' for a long time before it was just gone. Happy I got to ride it as a kid though. It was alot of fun.
I went to kings island one time in 2011 and seeing this thing standing tall from the parking lot was indescribable, it didn't seem physically possible a wooden monster could be that massive.
Until this video, I had not o idea of the reputations of these coasters.I live in So Cal We had our problem coasters, but not like this. If we did, I was too young to remember. We did Disney and knots berry Farm. Although Disney had some casualties, Disneyland had a drowning, a ride operator killed and someone killed or seriously on Big Thunder Mountain. There were a few more. That would require much more solid research Skip.
SOB was incredibly intense. Imagine if the Coney Island Cyclone was twice as fast and four times as high. I'm glad I got to experience the loop without too much bodily harm.
I'm not very experienced in roller coaster riding, but I have experienced the Cyclone, and was miserable on it. As you say, I can't even imagine how much worse it could be scaled up to SOB's size.
i rode this when I was 11 in 2001. I'll never forget the guy in line pointing out the fact the the ENTIRE large chain lift hill swayed about 1 foot to the left when the train reached the top of the first turn. this ride was amazing though
All the hate it gets is sad. It was an amazing ride! Wish I had a chance to ride it again...I mean I'm used to The Mean Streak 🤣, with the old cars it wasn't horrible.
I rode The Beast a couple months ago, and I’ve rode it many times in the last 5 years, but this time it was particularly rough. I ended up in urgent care with a strained shoulder. A couple days later I was on a KI subreddit and an employee commented on some braking issues with The Beast. Normally the rough, terrifying twists are part of the charm. Not this time. I was assaulted. I’ll definitely go on it again because I’m a masochist.
@@TrackhawkJack Or maybe because the local environment dictate what kind of of infrastructure you need - we in Hungary didnt build our stuff to withstand -30 celsius for example, because that EXTREMELY rare here - or use "green energy", because none of them effecient enough in the environment we actually living in (aka. their cost more to operate than their produce). But i guess somes want to use all kind of tragedy/natural didaster to push their ideology/agenda instead of understanding the REAL problem. California's summer energy problem is way more serious issue (because guess what, we talk about california, you are supposed to be prepared to a hot summer), Texas may have a rough winter every 20 or 30 year, while California will ALWAYS have hot summers like the previous one - and if you believe in climate change it will get ONLY WORST in California's chase. Decide which one is really the bigger, more fundamental problem. Without partisan bias if possible (i know, its almost outlandish thing to ask from americans right now, thinking rationally instead of following the prescripted party buzzwords, what kind of lunacy is this!).
@@attilaedem101 LMAO, bro do you think rich people don’t have their lines buried for winter? Its not that much more expensive to do but no city wants to put in the infrastructure because they can fall on the excuse that “oh winter only happens for a day” despite numerous problems with tree branches freezing and falling on power lines well over 2 months before what happened in Texas happened. I was living in a state next to Texas and my power had been out for 1 month not because of any snow but because ice froze tree branches and caused 1/3 of the city to go out with the priority going to businesses over people’s homes with repairs. Buried lines aren’t just a winter thing there’s a plethora of reasons to have buried lines but because it’s privatized they’d rather have people have no power than put in the upfront costs of changing the lines because then they can get state money to spend on their infrastructure despite it being “private companies” that do power in most states. Who’d have thought even the libertarians need the states help running their private companies
It would be interesting to hear about the moment a park decides, "this is it, close her down." What exactly makes the park decide a coaster is in need or repair and what the last riders thought before the ride closed for repairs.
Paramount Pictures sold the park and the new owners taught it was just a liability since it had many lawsuits on people claiming back and neck injuries caused just by riding the ride not counting all the negative publicity the park was getting by the local news.
@@anaz5918 CF bought the park in 2006, it ran SOB until 2009 when the woman who had a blood vessel burst 2 weeks prior blamed the ride for her injury although it was not concluded SOB was the contributing factor since she waited so long, but there were other issues being found all the time and when you spend $45,000,000 building and maintaining a rollercoaster in just 9 years of operation it is time to cut your losses. Just for reference, with what they spent on SOB they could have built 15 Knoebel's Twister Roller coasters (Twister cost $3,000,000). For those who wanted KI to RMC it, I believe it was examined for an RMC treatment but deemed to expensive and most of the structure was complete garbage.
You’re very correct. I used to race prerunners in the desert and this ride was like strapping in, removing the steering wheel, flooring it, and being beat with a rubber mallet by an angry gorilla while careening through the desert out of control. Not the worst experience I’ve had, but waiting in line for hours to get my ass kicked was a one and done affair.
I got to ride the SOB in 2004 or 2005 when I was in elementary school. I rode it well after dark and it was terrifying, but not in an exciting way. I legitimately was terrified for my well-being, and that ride still haunts me.
It wasn't fun scary It was just scary scary. Legit I feared for my life and I never felt that on any other coaster. Everett and lots of coasters and even coasters that were bumpy or jolting
This is random but as a European I actually really appreciate that you always mention what it is in kilometers and meters as well because a lot of american youtubers don't do that and I end up having absolutely no clue how fast or how long something actually is so thanks
@@12HpyPaws Appeal to a bigger audience -> more views -> more money. I'm pretty sure most of the people on YT understand english well enough, but most have no idea how many feet a mile has or how much one pound is. (I know 7,000 feet is almost 1,000 Shaqs, so that's quite a lot, but is that 5 miles, or 2, or something in between, idk 🤷♂ )
I'm 70 miles from Kings Island. I worked there 20 years ago when the ride just came out. It was awesome but beat ya to death. KI has lot of rides like Vortex, King Cobra, etc that are gone like SOB
I had the opportunity to ride this and I can testify to the fact that it was BRUTAL! The cars seemed to be designed purposefully too small to keep you tightly squeezed in place and it hurt your knees, back and neck. With that said, it was probably the most intense wooden coaster I have ridden.
So much I never knew! As a Cincinnatian, I rode this every year it existed. It was smooth the first year. Bumpy after that. SUPER rough after the loop was taken out. I loved this coaster all the same. The loop was ICONIC.
I loved it when it first came out (though I do remember it being INTENSE), but it definitely got worse over time. My friend and I went to KI one day when it wasn't very busy, and rode almost every single coaster in one day. We were going strong, then Son of Beast was one of the last ones left. It was definitely rougher than when it was first built, but not awful until we had a huge jolt at the exit of the loop. The rest of the ride was not enjoyable and after we got off we could then feel all the coasters we had ridden that day. We skipped the last coaster or two and hobbled home. (We still did I think 10-12 coasters that day, so an excellent day all around). This was probably a year or two before they finally shut it down. But I have to agree, the Beast after dark is one of my favorite things to do there! *Edit*: after watching more of the video, and trying to remember what year I would have gone, this may have actually been **after** they removed the loop. So it was immediately after the former loop site where we had the jolt.
I rode this a kid. My brother convinced me it wasn’t the one w the loop. Once we reached the top I followed the tracks and saw the loop coming. I cried the whole time. But totally glad I did it looking back on it.
I remember riding SoB in high school. We went to King's Island instead of going to prom. when we went, it was raining. Riding SoB in the rain was intense. It beat the crap out of you.
The loop was the only part that wasn't absolute hell. I only rode it once, but it wrecked me for an hour, couldn't move from the park bench I was laying on. Glad that thing was destroyed.
so that they said 'this is the only wooden coaster with a loop' is .. is it technically correct, or technically incorrect? The loop isn't wood, it's steel so.. the loop isn't wooden so it doesn't have a wooden loop and therefore it's misnomered.
I remember my dad taking me on this when I was about 12, so around 2008. I was a really skinny kid so I was always afraid of falling out. After climbing the first hill I hugged the lap bar as hard as I could and never let go till we stopped. That thing slammed you around like nobody's business.
When we would go on school trips to Kings Island we would call the beast “head smashers” because kids were known for getting concussions and headaches after, teachers would tell kids to ride it last is anything to avoid ruining the whole day for everyone 😭
The loop was ALREADY steel! Should just said, "screw it!", and repkaced the overtaxed load points with steel. Then told riders the change was to ensure the safety of ride patrons
That was the support structure of the loop, the track itself was wood. That is how it it is determined if a coaster is wood or steel, by the track. Coaster's such as Gemini, Iron Rattler, New Texas Giant, look like they are wooden coasters due to the wooden support structure, but these are steel coasters due to the fact that the track is steel. Believe it or not, much of the support structure of the Coney Island Cyclone is made of steel, but the track itself is wood, so it is a wooden coaster.
I’m a materials scientist, not a roller coaster enthusiast (though I did log like hundreds of hours in roller coaster tycoon as a kid) but this was a super interesting watch from my perspective. From a purely engineering perspective, I can’t think of a good reason to make a coaster out of wood in the 21st century. Let alone when you’re cutting corners and handing hugely important projects to the lowest bidder.
there are actually a few reasons parks like to build woodies. first is cost. wooden coasters are typically cheaper than steel coasters not only due to the nature of the material but also how they’re built. steel coasters parts are prefabricated in steel workshops then shipped to the park. then they’re assembled like a gigantic lego set. while this does lead to a much smoother experience, more reliability, almost no need to be retracked, and a potentially larger coaster, it makes them extremely expensive. on the other hand, wooden coasters are typically built on-sight by skilled carpenters instead of machines. they’re also far easier and cheaper to retrack (i’ll touch on this in a second). this generally bumps the cost down by a few million dollars. second is lifespan. wooden coasters will normally have a much longer lifespan than steel coasters. with steel coasters a park won’t have to retrack them for a few decades. however once they exceed their shell life the park will either have to remove it entirely or retrack it which is almost as expensive as rebuilding the coaster all over again. on the contrary, wooden coasters, in spite of having to be retracked every 1-2 years because wood will wear out much faster than steel, will outlive most steel coasters due to the fact that retracking them isn’t as difficult or as expensive as retracking a steel coaster. this is why wooden coasters like the beast and countless other woodies have been opened for well over 50 years while most steel coasters will close after around 30. and fun fact, the beast has actually outlived a couple steel coasters in the same park such as firehawk which originally opened in 2001 at six flags worlds of adventure before being transported to kings island in 2007 and then closed in 2018, and vortex which opened at kings island in 1987 and then closed in 2019. and lastly, experiencing a wooden coaster is far different from a steel coaster. with modern steel coasters, the ride experience is often glass smooth with almost no bumps or jolts. however wooden coasters are usually far from smooth. for many, this gives wooden coasters a lot of character and makes them feel more unique. if every coaster in a park was a steel coaster the constant glassy smooth experience they offer would likely become repetitive or even boring after a while. of course there are problems with building wooden coasters such as it being more complex, taking longer, are harder to operate, and can often lead to less than stellar results. thank you for attending my ted talk
I agree with dibble i dont ride rollercoasters due to multiple reasons. But i have friends that are coaster crazies and a few take the feel of a wooden coaster anytime over a steel coaster. All my friends say that wooden coaster and steel coasters are differents beasts (pun intented). Not per se better but it matters to youre taste.
Living literally 5 mins from kings island I rode SoB a hell of a lot. Back when they had the metal loop it beat us up so bad they gave us free passes for 2 years. Had bruises and all, it was insane.
I loved SoB! I also lived in Cinti & rode it maaaaaany times, BUT: I once bonked the back of my head so hard the metal hair barrette I was wearing sliced my head open. I didn't even realize it (the cut I mean, definitely felt the bonk lol) until getting off & the dudes in the car behind us caught up & told me I had blood all down the back of my top. 😳
SOB and banshee are literally polar opposites in my mind. SOB shakes harder than an epileptic chimpanzee at a skrillex concert, while banshee feels like driving on a fresh segment of road.
I rode the Son of Beast during the tail end of its lifetime. I was a teenager at the time and found it to be a good ride, but i remember the next day I was sore around the shoulders and neck.
I will never forget my first ride on the Son Of Beast! It knocked my little brother out cold! We have a picture of my brother completely unconscious when they snap your picture 😆
@@awesomesauce33 it wasn’t funny at the time, but it’s been probably 20 years or more. So the fright that it gave us is now gone. All we are left with is a funny picture. But I see your point. When it happened it was funny at all. It was years later when we found the picture after a death in the family. It brought us, including my brother, a good laugh during a hard time.
I was to little at the time to ride it but just thinking about how shaky and bumpy the beast is and then people said times that by 2 i could not imagine how shaky it would be.
I've been a wooden coaster fan since my teen years back in the 70's. I have seen and ridden alot of them over the years. This was a very well done story of what could have been one of the greats. Thanks keep up the great work and I will do my best to keep riding.😁
"Disappointed by the rough ride" is an understatement. I rode it one time, and I'm surprised I didn't have brain damage with how brutal it was. Slams your head around and constantly Jerking your neck. I don't often get headaches, and with how bad I felt after it, I'm glad I don't.
It must of gotten a lot worse very rapidly because I remember the original Beast being a lot worse at the time I rode it. I thought my memory might be off but I've seen a couple comments here saying the same thing. My loose lap bar had me concerned about getting stuck upside down though.
I rode this coaster back in 2004. I’m a tall guy and was barely able to fold myself in like I’ve done many times. My knees were banging on the grab bar the entire ride. There is no exaggeration in this video, this is and will forever be the roughest coaster ever built. I wanted nothing but to get off this coaster once it started. My knees were busted and it was just a piece of crap coaster.
The reason the loop was so many people's favorite loop is 1. People didnt know there was a loop on this ride until they were already on it. 2. It was the only part that you werent getting clobbered.
put this video on because it seems interesting, realized you were talking about kings island (my boyfriend is from ohio). i showed this to him and he excitedly told me that son of beast was one of his favorite coasters and he loved how much it shook you around. i told him i was happy he was alive and not concussed!
As a child, they let me ride this when I was technically too short. I almost fell out during the loop. Thank you random adult for grabbing my arm and keeping me in the cart
Dramatic much. Nothing would have happened and you know it. Edit: you know how I know? It’s called centripetal force. Literally you cannot “fall out” when you’re upside down, there is a force shoving you in the opposite direction. A lot stronger than a human too who apparently “had to hold you in”.
Having grown up in the city of Kings Mills where King’s Island is located, I’ve known a lot of employees from King’s Island. Having heard terrible stories of how incompetent workers are and the horror stories of the park, I don’t trust those parks like I used to. How there are not more deaths in these parks amazes me.
I’m going to show my kid your videos when putting together a book report. I appreciate the grounding of terms, sourcing, and historical contexts. Reminds me of 7th grade writing classes and learning how to put together a good story. Appreciate it. I may also have my son place paragraph brake zones.
Interesting. I loved this roller coaster and actually thought it was smoother (although not as fun) as it's predecessor the Beast. Hopping on the Beast after sunset is one of the coolest rollercoaster experiences.
I loved it when it first came out (though I do remember it being INTENSE), but it definitely got worse over time. My friend and I went to KI one day when it wasn't very busy, and rode almost every single coaster in one day. We were going strong, then Son of Beast was one of the last ones left. It was definitely rougher than when it was first built, but not awful until we had a huge jolt at the exit of the loop. The rest of the ride was not enjoyable and after we got off we could then feel all the coasters we had ridden that day. We skipped the last coaster or two and hobbled home. (We still did I think 10-12 coasters that day, so an excellent day all around). This was probably a year or two before they finally shut it down. But I have to agree, the Beast after dark is one of my favorite things to do there! *Edit*: after watching more of the video, and trying to remember what year I would have gone, this may have actually been **after** they removed the loop. So it was immediately after the former loop site where we had the jolt.
I was about 13 back then and remember feeling afraid to get on it. My uncle urged me to try it and after a two hour line in the sun, I was relieved to be at the front of the line. After the bone-jarring ride I was just happy that none of my teeth got cracked. The rest of Kings Island was rather enjoyable. They did the right thing taking SOB down.
I can't say I have nearly the experience as you, but I have to agree. Just the display this thing had as you approached it was amazing. The two huge sides that came down into the center where the loop was.
As a Canadian who goes to Canada’s Wonderland, this ride just seems like The Wild Beast and The Great Canadian Mine Buster had a baby, Which they proceeded to drop down a concrete stairs
Having been on both Wilde Beast (and it’s angry little cousin at Kings Dominion, Grizzly,) and SOB back in the day I can agree. Just imagine that level of roughness… at double the speed. It was terrifying.
El Toro in NJ beautiful ride. Also for a fun not to jerky ride is Boulder dash at Lake Coumpounce CT. Also home to probably THE most painful roller coaster Wild Cat! One of the oldest roller coasters in the world though.
In retrospect, it seems like the fact that they never ran three trains on this ride also in part prevented a catastrophic accident in 2006. Because if they only stopped the ride after the second train came into the station, that would mean if there was a third train it would already be in the Rose Bowl block, and presumably unstoppable until it reached the mid-course brake run, which would have been *after* the part of the track with the failure. Of course if they ran three trains normally, the failure probably would have occurred earlier than 2006 as well.
This is just art. It felt like I was watching a documentary by some famous journalist. Put this on Netflix or on TV. I wouldn't mind watching this on tv.
Probably a bit of production and style would make this work on Netflix. Some production elements: the style of reading, the editing, music. Still a noble effort
I heard the words - save money - a few times in this video...as someone who hires design teams for buildings - one of the comments I heard early was the choice to not use an experienced coaster design company - honestly that decision at the beginning is the reason for all the other problems noted in the video...I've been faced with similar choices and ultimately used the best, most experienced teams and the results were always excellent - but I could see using lesser teams could have been much worse...just an observation.
Wow that track swayed like a waterbed when the train passed through. 1:18 As incredible as this ride looks, I’m glad it was destroyed, it’s clearly not stable enough to continue running. Part of me hopes they will make a safer replica of this ride someday. It really does look magnificent, just the sheer scale of it all. Most intimidating coaster I’ve ever seen, visually.
I remember riding that as soon as it came out- it was so rough that me and my friends nicknamed it "tylenol" because we seriously needed some after riding.
I was too young to actually ride SOB, but since I lived in the surrounding are around KI, we always got season passes to attend. As a kid I was always so curious why the ride was never on and why it seemed nobody would speak about this gargantuan structure. When I finally became tall enough to ride, it was when they tore it down. I always wanted to ride it even if it was rough just to say I had. For those who never saw it in person, It was absolutely massive. You could see it while riding nearby coasters. I‘m glad I now know the full story, it’s really a shame that it was so poorly built.
Kings Island is about 15 minutes away from where I live. As teenagers we would visit the park a multitude of times over the summer. I even worked there at one point and would ride various rides when on break. Son of Beast was a cool ride. That being said, we never rode it twice in one visit.
As an ode to Son of Beast, they have a sign next to the Banshee Entrance that says "Son of Beast 2000 - 20009" with its original logo. So gone, but certainly not forgotten.
I rode this monstrosity just after it first opened and before any changes were made to "improve" the ride. The portion where you are violently snapped left to right on the curve made my head feel like it was going to pop off my shoulders! I wasn't prepared for something like that and it effectively ruined the rest of the day at the park and I felt it for week after it happened. I did go back either later that year or the next and I knew where the jolt had occurred and I remember watching the people in front of me get snapped like a slingshot, but at least I was prepared for it that time. Yes, this was without doubt the roughest roller coaster I have ever been on and was glad when they tore that horrible ride down. I lived in Dayton and was only 35 miles away from King's Island.
I’m hoping that this isn’t what happens with World’s of Fun’s new 2023 wood coaster, Zambizi Zinger. They have a few fast “trick track” banks that are super snappy, and if it isn’t made very well, it could feel pretty horrible.
I rode SOB 4-5 times. Visually stunning, the views from the top of the lift hill were also great. Thank goodness I was in my teens where my bones could withstand the constant beating from those helixes.
I remember when this ride opened. My brother and I rode it that same year and loved it. Then I remembered coming back a few years later and it was such a rough ride that you hurt getting off it.
I rode it June 2000. The things I remember are. The loop was one of the greatest loops I've ever been on. I've been on my fair share of coasters. I also remember the lap bar kept tightening itself throughout the ride. Near the end I actually was screaming in pain for it to stop(12 years old)
I remember riding it, and the build up to it. The box that shook and growled in the little plaza near the carousel, and then was broken when it opened. How back then if you had a gold pass you could ride it two times in a row in select seats... I miss it sometimes but what they have built since has impressed me.
I rode this coaster in the early 2000s. It was a blast. Strangely, I rode another King's Island coaster in the 80s that was shut don a few weeks after I rode it. That coaster was called The Bat, and I believe it was the first (or one of the first) hanging coasters ever built. I enjoyed both coasters a lot.
OMG The BAT . I think I rode that one time.. there were huge lines and the ride was underwhelming and honestly it had more downtime then up .. good riddance!
@@c328m they didn't rebuild it, they built a different hanging coaster, originally named Top Gun when Paramount still owned the park. When Cedar Fair bought it, the name changed to Flight Deck, and it's been renamed The Bat fairly recently.
The Vortex was removed last year too. I always loved that ride but there’s a brand new one that’s supposedly one of seven “super coasters.” Orion I think it’s called.
@Sean Price The original coaster named "The Bat" is completely different from "Flight Deck" and was torn down, but they renamed "Flight Deck" to "The Bat" a few years back.
I absolutely love the Beast, it is so growly and fun, I've ridden it back to back many times, but I think Son of Beast gave me an actual concussion. My head hurt so bad after the ride I threw up right outside the queue and had double vision, and I immediately left the park.
I rode Son of Beast with the second trains. The drop was incredible but it shook me so bad I had to go back to the hotel for the rest of the day. My head hurt awfully and I was literally concerned for my life. Such a shame because it was a mammoth of a sight
I rode it back in 2001-2002 and it was rough. I was ok with it at the time, but thinking back, I remember how intensely bumpy it was and how smooth the loop was in comparison to the rest of the ride. Great video! I learned a lot!
As terrible as this ride was, it is so satisfying seeing the train go around the course. A giant long train always is satisfying, especially on Tivoli coasters
Rode son of beast when i was tall enough and could convince my mom to wait in the long line on summer (probably 2006-2008)... lap bar doesn't come down low enough for a child that met the hight requirement. there were numerous times my mom had to hold me down as i was coming off the seat at everything to a point that i could almost straighten my tourso and could just slip out. Mom had only rode it right when it had opened prior and had no idea how rough it had become and as an adult the lap bar secured in the correct location for her. never rode again and we live close enough that we would go to the park numerous times each summer. I still had the vidid memory of when i almost flew out of the seat, the lap bars tightest place it would lock was 3 inches above my hips. i had marks in my arms from my moms nails as she held me down with as much force as she could. I remember telling other people never to ride it and then it closed down a couple years later. never ride a ride that goes upside down without over head restraighnts
Yeah, and especially considering that "one finger pointing" is to GOD who decides when the rain will start and stop! The Bible says not to temp God...gee...ya think this might be what it is talking about in many ways? Glad you are safe!
I hadnt paid attention to Coasters for over a decade, and looking around now, it seems that building a wooden coaster over 100 feet high is a bad idea and maintenance nightmare. Its a bummer, Mean Streak, Texas Giant, Rattler, SoB, all great memories of out-of-control wood
Imagine watching that pov of Rattler from 1992 and saying, “I want that company to build my roller coaster.” Seriously though I never knew the original rattler was so gnarly
RMC greatly appreciated the wooden coasters portion of the coaster wars. Would have been interesting to see what they could have done if they got their hands on SOB.
RMC was already working on their remodels - not to they level they are now, of course - when the decision was made to destroy SOB. It was still standing when New Texas Giant opened. The thing is, I think adding the extra weight of topper track to that already flawed structure might’ve been too much for it. My guess is, as long as SOB stood there unused, they had considered such an option and decided it was either cost or structurally prohibited.
If they'd put you in a tube going into the water I'm in. Put some viaually appealing fake aquarium in there (even tapping on the glass will disturb real fish).
Still one of, if not the most aesthetically beautiful and imposing rollercoasters ever built. Even if there's a small chance, I hope one day they'll remake the Son of Beast with all issues fixed and all its best features returning, to finally redeem this infamous name and have it fulfill its destiny as a truly worthy and lasting heir to The Beast.
My wife and I rode it once when it first opened. Once. We felt like we had been in a car wreck. We have rode dozens and dozens of coasters, hundreds of times. I am glad we got to ride it while it was open with the loop, but man it was rough
I was able to ride SoB a handful of times both with the loop and without. When someone would talk about rough coaster experiences like Mean Streak, Ghostrider, etc, and they mentioned jackhammering, I never really understood what they meant. SoB was the one coaster that I finally understood 100%. The damn train felt like it was coasting over rocks on those helixes.
Whenever I hear something like "the only wooden rollercoaster with a loop" my first thought is "ok that's probably for a good reason."
Honestly "the only wooden hypercoaster" fits that bill more.
The loop was the only part I really enjoyed. Probably cause it was secured with a steel frame. Rode it years later again with the bump they followed it up with while also in those tiny cars they replaced it with was way worse.
exactly my thoughts as well brotha!
I'm not a theme park / coaster person, so I'm surprised we're even still making them out of wood at all. "The world's largest wooden rollercoaster" to me reads like "the world's fastest car without power steering"
@@katevgrady it’s both more impressive for the park to have, making it a more popular attraction, and offers different perks to thrill seekers bc of the speed difference to steel coasters. they might seem obsolescent at first but there definitely are different advantages to wooden coasters.
Son of Beast was also unfinished. A foreman of one of the crews came into my store. I told him we were taking our kids to King's Island later that day and our 10 year old was wanting to ride the son of beast. He took his change and started yo leave the store when he suddenly stopped and turned back to me and said, "Don't let them ride that. It isn't safe." That was good enough of a warning for me.
"Don't let them ride that. The Devil's blood be in that wooden monstrosity. That coaster truly belongs in Hell...It isn't safe!" as thunder roars and lightning flashes outside
@@sentryogmixmaster “The person that rides that ride aint the person that comes back. It might look like that person, but it ain’t that person. ‘Cause whatever lives in the ground beyond the Son Of Beast ain’t human at all” 😂
This comment made me laugh because it just read like a Jaws or Jurassic Park type movie but with a rollercoaster that's alive. 🤣
"sometimes,.... dead is beddarrr...."
So you let a random person deny your kid fun for no reason.
Me, not knowing a damn thing about Roller Coaster history and lore: Hmm... Yes. So the RCCA are the villains of this story.
Roller Coaster lore LMAO
@@Jupiter_Rsabbit nice
I’m getting into this manga- paramount is like the dumb rich kid and RCCA is the manipulative evil corporation
RCCA are always the villan of the story lol
@Lassi Kinnunen 81 Only the assets in the corporation with the actionable suit are available to creditors / litigants for recovery purposes. They basically just fold the company and set up shop again. Trump did this repeatedly with his different buildings/ companies.
I was one of the 27 and this is the first time I have seen someone get what we went through right. Thank you from all of us who went through that horrific day for getting it right. I also saw someone say they didn't evacuate people off the lift hill, that is not true. All of us through the terrifying pain were screaming at the ride operators to get those people off. I can't thank you enough for getting this right.
So glad none of you died! And also very glad you were able to let the ride operators know to stop the next train. The whole thing could've been so much worse. That experience must have been so scary!
How much pain were you in when you got back to the station?
Sending you all the love and peace in the world! I can’t imagine the fear
What actually happened? I dont understand how the coaster jolted and hurt people but didnt come to a stop?
@@lesunshineworshiper11 as the track had sagged but didn't have a catastrophic failure, so the train didn't stop as it could keep going along the track
I rode Son of Beast the weekend it opened and it actually was very smooth for a wood coaster... at first. It loosened up and got VERY rough in a hurry. It left me with bruises more than once. Banshee is a FAR superior coaster, very intense yet smooth. Part of its queue goes through a mock graveyard that includes a tombstone for Son of Beast...😁
I think the theme for Banshee is genius with the tombstone implying the Son of Beast has risen as a Banshee! Just genius!
@@jeffsonnefield6199 yeah I agree, I love the lore. Despite all its problems, it’s a cool part of Kings Island history.
Banshee is my personal favorite, my favorite type of coaster with plenty of inversions. Plus, I don’t feel like I need a chiropractor after riding it!
@@dawnboyer3190 I really like the lack of a mid-course brake run. From the top of the lift hill to the final brakes, it never lets up.
I rode it a lot the first year it opened and had a great time every time. The roughness was an added bonus.
One thing I’ve learned from this is how skilled you need to be in order to be a ride operator, that operator that stopped the train on the climb might have saved those peoples lives
I would never want to do it. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for the lives of other people. That would be far too stressful for me.
@@blueflare3848 and to get minimum wage for doing it lol
I love how these guys probably turned down a bid for what this piece of shit ended up costing them lol
I don't KNOW that happened but I'm guessing if anyone else was willing to build this thing they probably bid it at 30-50m or so (you know, so they could put enough supports in it) and the park said "nope, we'll go with these guys and save a ton of money..... What's the worst that could happen?!?"
I would love to see the complete set of numbers on this ride. How much did it cost to build? How much did they make? What's the estimated cost in profit loss for having the ride shut down so long? How much did the hospital bills cost? How much were all the repairs? And all the other financial questions I missed.... I can't imagine there being any significant profit at all from this whole thing.
@@since1876 damn dude, it's almost like there's a video that could've given you this information
the operators don't stop the trains.. there are sensors for that.. all they have is a go button and an emergency stop, should the ride malfunction
@@since1876 Im currently a ride operator at kings island, the park in this video. We make $15/hour, definitely not minimum wage
The Beast (original) is a rough coaster. But it owns it, throughout the entire ride, you feel like you're clinging to the back of a monster. A night ride on The Beast as it tears through the forest, with the trees whipping by you, and the cold air rushing through your hair is an amazing feeling.
The Son of Beast had none of that poetry, it was just a battering with no aesthetic appeal. I unfortunately never got to ride it with the loop so I only have negative memories. But it did help me realize that for coasters height doesn't always equal good.
What a visceral and evocative description - makes me want to ride The Beast right away, and I’m not even a coaster person myself
The Beast just received some extensive re-tracking recently, I hear it is much smoother, but slower. I haven't rode The Beast since it went to individual lap bars only when it had buzz bars... Which I was also lucky enough to ride hercules with the original buzz bars
I did a night ride on the beast! It really does give that running through the forest from danger vibe. The tunnel seems extra scary because the pitch black... But son seems like just a ride. Doesn't have Atmosphere like the OG
I’ve ridden the Son of Beast with the loop. Terrified me. It STILL terrifies me.
This is such an awesome description of Beast. It had an extensive re-track recently and I can attest it is a MUCH smoother ride as a result. It still has that amazing feeling though.
I actually remember waiting in line to get on this thing a while back with my dad and just when we were about to board the train, it started raining and the ride operators announced that the ride would be shutting down due to the weather and we never got the opportunity to try riding it again...looking back I can't help but think the sudden rain was divine intervention
I find that good and bad like now you can't brag that you you once went on the only wooden coaster with a loop but is good because you didn't get like injured lol (or did it not have the loop at that time?)
It was a sign from God
Divine intervention lol
In the beginning, God created Son and the Beast.
This exact thing almost happened to me. I was on 1 of the last 2 trains to leave the station before they shut it down. It was a 3 hour line. So yeah my first time on SofB was at night, in the rain, with the loop. Best ending to a day a KI ever.
When you got off the Son of Beast you literally felt like you had just gotten the shit kicked out of you by Mike Tyson in his prime. It wasn't even fun, it just hurt. But the regular Beast coaster is always a blast!
The Beast will never be equaled...and the red and blue Racers when they got air-time.
Depends on what year and time you rode Beast! I've rode both for several years, I've rode the Beast when I knew when to hold myself up out my seat a bit do to extreme beating.
I agree, rode in summer of 2000.
Even the Beast can be Beastly... I hope KI gives it the Racer treatment, the first half is so smooth now
Agreed
The best quote of all time is: “for those of you who are unfamiliar”. I legit cheer every time I hear that.
same, best part of any ETR video. i cry everytiem
Why do I hear block brake sound from just reading this comment?
LOL, it makes me smile every time as well.
You know you are in for a quality education when he drops that line.
say the line, ryan!
my dad was a welder for the kings island park for 12 years and he never let me ride son of the beast. he said it was to dangerous
Your father was a wise man!
@@whoohaaXL I agree-- to have a parent who would look out for your safety like that, I'd consider myself blessed.
wow
Before that accident, "dangerous" may have just been a euphemism for "trust me, it looks awesome but it's not a fun experience because of how rough it is"
Sounds like you have a good dad.
I rode SOB when I was a kid, after the loop was removed. I remember it being THE MOST intense ride experience I had ever had but still insanely fun. My aunt came off the ride with huge bruises on her arm from being jostled around in the car. I think being so young I avoided damage, just thought it was a sick coaster. Pretty sure I rode it the year before it closed permanently. This coaster had serious presence. Just looking at it from the ground you knew you were in for it
Gotta say, I really appreciate that both metric and imperial measurements are used throughout. Thanks from England.
I'm from the UK but still use Imperial
I appreciate it being in imperial because im a basic american and dont remember the difference between metric and imperial.
Imperial and US measurements aren't exactly the same (e.g. pints and gallons are different sizes).
It might be better to put the US/metric conversions on screen rather than reading them out every time though, to keep things moving along better.
I'm american but I love metric because I'm a huge minecraft nerd so I can visualize metric easier. HOWEVER when it comes to speed measurement I still depend on imperial. Probably because I'm a narcissist who likes hearing my name /j
USA doesn’t use “imperial” we use “customary” which is slightly different when discussing volume and tons. :)
Cincinnati media downplayed the danger of this ride like crazy. They pretty much treated it like a closing restaraunt. It was 'closed for construction' for a long time before it was just gone. Happy I got to ride it as a kid though. It was alot of fun.
The fact that when we used to ride this, we often talked about how crazy the headaches were.
I was not shocked about that accident, we had rode on long before that, and noted the violence and pain that ride caused as well.
Yeah that thing always gave me a headache but it was fun to ride
I really liked "the beast." When it went through the trees and such...very atmospheric.
This thing would shake your brain.
It felt like I walk off with a concussion
I went to kings island one time in 2011 and seeing this thing standing tall from the parking lot was indescribable, it didn't seem physically possible a wooden monster could be that massive.
I've never seen it in person, but just seeing it in this video gives me the creeps. It's just ominous in its massive size.
UA-cam recommendations: “you know how you have never watched a roller coaster video before? You’re about to watch a 40 min one... and love it!”
"over 2.5 million board feet"
*looks at current wood prices with concern*
Until this video, I had not o idea of the reputations of these coasters.I live in So Cal We had our problem coasters, but not like this. If we did, I was too young to remember. We did Disney and knots berry Farm. Although Disney had some casualties, Disneyland had a drowning, a ride operator killed and someone killed or seriously on Big Thunder Mountain. There were a few more. That would require much more solid research Skip.
That's what happens when you go for the lowest bidder without looking into the actual bids in detail.
if intamin had done this it probally would have cost 30 million
@@NickyD probably more because intamin takes massive design risks so even though it’s well designed they have to come back and fix it anyway
SOB was incredibly intense. Imagine if the Coney Island Cyclone was twice as fast and four times as high. I'm glad I got to experience the loop without too much bodily harm.
I'm not very experienced in roller coaster riding, but I have experienced the Cyclone, and was miserable on it. As you say, I can't even imagine how much worse it could be scaled up to SOB's size.
Imagine getting a concussion on a coaster and then still have over a minute of ride time left hahahahaha
Maybe not a minute left, but close enough...X2
Your laugh at the end is dark. Therefore I LOVE IT!
Hell yeh then get back on haha
My friend and I smashed our heads together on this ride it absolutely sucked.
@@jaredlucas4815162342 Him starting his statement with "Imagine" is also a very dark sign for the parrots of society.
i rode this when I was 11 in 2001. I'll never forget the guy in line pointing out the fact the the ENTIRE large chain lift hill swayed about 1 foot to the left when the train reached the top of the first turn. this ride was amazing though
All the hate it gets is sad. It was an amazing ride! Wish I had a chance to ride it again...I mean I'm used to The Mean Streak 🤣, with the old cars it wasn't horrible.
I also rode it when I was 11 in 07, I remember it being so rough though.
hi james we same age
I rode The Beast a couple months ago, and I’ve rode it many times in the last 5 years, but this time it was particularly rough. I ended up in urgent care with a strained shoulder. A couple days later I was on a KI subreddit and an employee commented on some braking issues with The Beast. Normally the rough, terrifying twists are part of the charm. Not this time. I was assaulted. I’ll definitely go on it again because I’m a masochist.
@@GangstarComputerGod woah hope your okay!
Summary: when you cheap out, you spend more.
Just like Texas’s snow storm crisis.
@@samwoloson1128 that’s because the grid is privatized so greedy people could make a profit off peoples pain
@@TrackhawkJack Or maybe because the local environment dictate what kind of of infrastructure you need - we in Hungary didnt build our stuff to withstand -30 celsius for example, because that EXTREMELY rare here - or use "green energy", because none of them effecient enough in the environment we actually living in (aka. their cost more to operate than their produce).
But i guess somes want to use all kind of tragedy/natural didaster to push their ideology/agenda instead of understanding the REAL problem. California's summer energy problem is way more serious issue (because guess what, we talk about california, you are supposed to be prepared to a hot summer), Texas may have a rough winter every 20 or 30 year, while California will ALWAYS have hot summers like the previous one - and if you believe in climate change it will get ONLY WORST in California's chase. Decide which one is really the bigger, more fundamental problem. Without partisan bias if possible (i know, its almost outlandish thing to ask from americans right now, thinking rationally instead of following the prescripted party buzzwords, what kind of lunacy is this!).
@@attilaedem101 god you said so much shit that’s false lmao I do not care
@@attilaedem101 LMAO, bro do you think rich people don’t have their lines buried for winter? Its not that much more expensive to do but no city wants to put in the infrastructure because they can fall on the excuse that “oh winter only happens for a day” despite numerous problems with tree branches freezing and falling on power lines well over 2 months before what happened in Texas happened. I was living in a state next to Texas and my power had been out for 1 month not because of any snow but because ice froze tree branches and caused 1/3 of the city to go out with the priority going to businesses over people’s homes with repairs. Buried lines aren’t just a winter thing there’s a plethora of reasons to have buried lines but because it’s privatized they’d rather have people have no power than put in the upfront costs of changing the lines because then they can get state money to spend on their infrastructure despite it being “private companies” that do power in most states. Who’d have thought even the libertarians need the states help running their private companies
It would be interesting to hear about the moment a park decides, "this is it, close her down." What exactly makes the park decide a coaster is in need or repair and what the last riders thought before the ride closed for repairs.
Paramount Pictures sold the park and the new owners taught it was just a liability since it had many lawsuits on people claiming back and neck injuries caused just by riding the ride not counting all the negative publicity the park was getting by the local news.
@@anaz5918 CF bought the park in 2006, it ran SOB until 2009 when the woman who had a blood vessel burst 2 weeks prior blamed the ride for her injury although it was not concluded SOB was the contributing factor since she waited so long, but there were other issues being found all the time and when you spend $45,000,000 building and maintaining a rollercoaster in just 9 years of operation it is time to cut your losses.
Just for reference, with what they spent on SOB they could have built 15 Knoebel's Twister Roller coasters (Twister cost $3,000,000).
For those who wanted KI to RMC it, I believe it was examined for an RMC treatment but deemed to expensive and most of the structure was complete garbage.
@@Whatchamawhozityeah id much rather have 15 twisters, that coaster is awesome
So glad it's gone. That coaster hurt so goddamn bad. Should've named it "Son of a Bitch" because that's all I was yelling the entire time 😂
Funny and I laughed from your comment. Your not wrong tho lol
You’re very correct. I used to race prerunners in the desert and this ride was like strapping in, removing the steering wheel, flooring it, and being beat with a rubber mallet by an angry gorilla while careening through the desert out of control.
Not the worst experience I’ve had, but waiting in line for hours to get my ass kicked was a one and done affair.
@@buttsexandbananapeels If this isn't the best possible description... 🤣
@@toritarantino187 thank you 🙂
You sound like a really fun person haha!
I got to ride the SOB in 2004 or 2005 when I was in elementary school. I rode it well after dark and it was terrifying, but not in an exciting way. I legitimately was terrified for my well-being, and that ride still haunts me.
It would go so fast you legitimately thought it would come off the track
So dramatic..
It wasn't fun scary It was just scary scary. Legit I feared for my life and I never felt that on any other coaster. Everett and lots of coasters and even coasters that were bumpy or jolting
I’m just amazed that human beings know how to build massive structures like this, whether they work correct,t or not. Especially out of wood.
Every time I ride The Beast I’m amazed at the effort it must take to maintain it.
The best part is we make them purely as devices of fun! Hope for the human race (Yes i know, there's financial motivation)
You haven't lived until you've ridden a bamboo coaster. They are as smooth as steel at 1/8 the cost... Probably why they don't exist
I kno...im still blown away that we can make things like this lmao damn im stuck
This is random but as a European I actually really appreciate that you always mention what it is in kilometers and meters as well because a lot of american youtubers don't do that and I end up having absolutely no clue how fast or how long something actually is so thanks
Why should America youtubers use the metric system?
@@12HpyPaws I don't think they should per se, I'm just saying I appreciate it when they do 🤷♂️
as an american ive had to learn and visualize the metric system to comprehend when the rest of the world uses it. just takes time
@@12HpyPaws Appeal to a bigger audience -> more views -> more money. I'm pretty sure most of the people on YT understand english well enough, but most have no idea how many feet a mile has or how much one pound is. (I know 7,000 feet is almost 1,000 Shaqs, so that's quite a lot, but is that 5 miles, or 2, or something in between, idk 🤷♂ )
I prefer bald eagles per baseball diamond 😂
Having ridden this, he is not wrong about how crazy this ride was.
I'm 70 miles from Kings Island. I worked there 20 years ago when the ride just came out. It was awesome but beat ya to death. KI has lot of rides like Vortex, King Cobra, etc that are gone like SOB
Wat year or season year did u work there? @Whitney Crawford
I actually am realizing I rode it but I blocked it out of my mind cause it was traumatic
@@phillipbutcher7615 they still have the vortex
@@johnbrand8366 nope, unfortunately it was removed. Hopefully a mach extreme spinner will replace it tho🤞🤞
I had the opportunity to ride this and I can testify to the fact that it was BRUTAL! The cars seemed to be designed purposefully too small to keep you tightly squeezed in place and it hurt your knees, back and neck. With that said, it was probably the most intense wooden coaster I have ridden.
just wait until you ride an intamin prefabricated wooden coaster. those things are ridiculous, although there’s only 4 in the entire world
So much I never knew! As a Cincinnatian, I rode this every year it existed. It was smooth the first year. Bumpy after that. SUPER rough after the loop was taken out. I loved this coaster all the same. The loop was ICONIC.
I rode it with loop and without I loved them both I love wooden coasters all wooden coasters are Brutal
Hahaha just The Beast itself beats the hell outta you when you hit the tunnels
@@kakishi8 fr tho and every year the beast gets more and more sketch
@@christhebrick1298 I rode the beast for Haunt in 2019 and while I’m glad I did , I definitely had times i thought those carts were going to flip.
I loved it when it first came out (though I do remember it being INTENSE), but it definitely got worse over time. My friend and I went to KI one day when it wasn't very busy, and rode almost every single coaster in one day. We were going strong, then Son of Beast was one of the last ones left. It was definitely rougher than when it was first built, but not awful until we had a huge jolt at the exit of the loop. The rest of the ride was not enjoyable and after we got off we could then feel all the coasters we had ridden that day. We skipped the last coaster or two and hobbled home. (We still did I think 10-12 coasters that day, so an excellent day all around). This was probably a year or two before they finally shut it down.
But I have to agree, the Beast after dark is one of my favorite things to do there!
*Edit*: after watching more of the video, and trying to remember what year I would have gone, this may have actually been **after** they removed the loop. So it was immediately after the former loop site where we had the jolt.
I think Boulder Dash in the dark is 100 times better than The Beast.
@@Whatchamawhozit in Connecticut? I've never ridden it. 100x seems improbable though.
I rode this a kid. My brother convinced me it wasn’t the one w the loop. Once we reached the top I followed the tracks and saw the loop coming. I cried the whole time. But totally glad I did it looking back on it.
I remember riding SoB in high school. We went to King's Island instead of going to prom. when we went, it was raining. Riding SoB in the rain was intense. It beat the crap out of you.
SoB was a real SOB from what I recall. I rode it once, and only once...
@@rhino202 dude but the actual beast is getting there every year it gets more and more sketchy
"the loop was good, it was the one redeeming part"
and the only non wood part LOL
and it got removed lol
@@jaymesgraham1013 That's the funniest part
well the track through the loop was made out of wood, the supports weren't though.
The loop was the only part that wasn't absolute hell. I only rode it once, but it wrecked me for an hour, couldn't move from the park bench I was laying on. Glad that thing was destroyed.
so that they said 'this is the only wooden coaster with a loop' is .. is it technically correct, or technically incorrect? The loop isn't wood, it's steel so.. the loop isn't wooden so it doesn't have a wooden loop and therefore it's misnomered.
I remember my dad taking me on this when I was about 12, so around 2008. I was a really skinny kid so I was always afraid of falling out. After climbing the first hill I hugged the lap bar as hard as I could and never let go till we stopped. That thing slammed you around like nobody's business.
When we would go on school trips to Kings Island we would call the beast “head smashers” because kids were known for getting concussions and headaches after, teachers would tell kids to ride it last is anything to avoid ruining the whole day for everyone 😭
Yes!! They definitely told us to ride it last if you had time because of the headache.
Oh yeah. It was brutal. I rode it post loop and it was extremely unpleasant.
@@ShenanigansGeek that's the son of beast. The beast didn't have a loop, and was much rougher
@@mikemcmullen5006 Did you watch the entirety of the video? It had a loop originally but they removed it.
@@ShenanigansGeek Well yes The Son of Beast had a loop but he's talking about the og Beast
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE lightly playing in the back ground.
Yeah I was wondering where I heard the background music was from lol
And appropriately "Killing in the name of"
@@StevenC88 Ironically a very popular song when the ride opened. Lol
The loop was ALREADY steel! Should just said, "screw it!", and repkaced the overtaxed load points with steel. Then told riders the change was to ensure the safety of ride patrons
That was the support structure of the loop, the track itself was wood. That is how it it is determined if a coaster is wood or steel, by the track. Coaster's such as Gemini, Iron Rattler, New Texas Giant, look like they are wooden coasters due to the wooden support structure, but these are steel coasters due to the fact that the track is steel. Believe it or not, much of the support structure of the Coney Island Cyclone is made of steel, but the track itself is wood, so it is a wooden coaster.
I’m a materials scientist, not a roller coaster enthusiast (though I did log like hundreds of hours in roller coaster tycoon as a kid) but this was a super interesting watch from my perspective. From a purely engineering perspective, I can’t think of a good reason to make a coaster out of wood in the 21st century. Let alone when you’re cutting corners and handing hugely important projects to the lowest bidder.
there are actually a few reasons parks like to build woodies.
first is cost. wooden coasters are typically cheaper than steel coasters not only due to the nature of the material but also how they’re built. steel coasters parts are prefabricated in steel workshops then shipped to the park. then they’re assembled like a gigantic lego set. while this does lead to a much smoother experience, more reliability, almost no need to be retracked, and a potentially larger coaster, it makes them extremely expensive. on the other hand, wooden coasters are typically built on-sight by skilled carpenters instead of machines. they’re also far easier and cheaper to retrack (i’ll touch on this in a second). this generally bumps the cost down by a few million dollars.
second is lifespan. wooden coasters will normally have a much longer lifespan than steel coasters. with steel coasters a park won’t have to retrack them for a few decades. however once they exceed their shell life the park will either have to remove it entirely or retrack it which is almost as expensive as rebuilding the coaster all over again. on the contrary, wooden coasters, in spite of having to be retracked every 1-2 years because wood will wear out much faster than steel, will outlive most steel coasters due to the fact that retracking them isn’t as difficult or as expensive as retracking a steel coaster. this is why wooden coasters like the beast and countless other woodies have been opened for well over 50 years while most steel coasters will close after around 30. and fun fact, the beast has actually outlived a couple steel coasters in the same park such as firehawk which originally opened in 2001 at six flags worlds of adventure before being transported to kings island in 2007 and then closed in 2018, and vortex which opened at kings island in 1987 and then closed in 2019.
and lastly, experiencing a wooden coaster is far different from a steel coaster. with modern steel coasters, the ride experience is often glass smooth with almost no bumps or jolts. however wooden coasters are usually far from smooth. for many, this gives wooden coasters a lot of character and makes them feel more unique. if every coaster in a park was a steel coaster the constant glassy smooth experience they offer would likely become repetitive or even boring after a while.
of course there are problems with building wooden coasters such as it being more complex, taking longer, are harder to operate, and can often lead to less than stellar results.
thank you for attending my ted talk
I agree with dibble i dont ride rollercoasters due to multiple reasons. But i have friends that are coaster crazies and a few take the feel of a wooden coaster anytime over a steel coaster. All my friends say that wooden coaster and steel coasters are differents beasts (pun intented). Not per se better but it matters to youre taste.
Living literally 5 mins from kings island I rode SoB a hell of a lot. Back when they had the metal loop it beat us up so bad they gave us free passes for 2 years. Had bruises and all, it was insane.
The vortex is sadly gone but i got stuck halfway through the lope
I loved SoB! I also lived in Cinti & rode it maaaaaany times, BUT: I once bonked the back of my head so hard the metal hair barrette I was wearing sliced my head open. I didn't even realize it (the cut I mean, definitely felt the bonk lol) until getting off & the dudes in the car behind us caught up & told me I had blood all down the back of my top. 😳
I rode SoB dozens of times. Nothing but smooth through the loop. The ride wasn't the same after.
“Son of Beast Survivor” 😂😂😂
This. 😂. Survivor here as well.
I'm sorry to anyone who rode this RCCA piece of garbage xD I hope your spine was able to recover since 2000
@@TonyKimtheamusementparkfan wait it was actually good in 2000 lol
How was the experience.
@@ArrowThrills omg it felt like death
I feel like every time Ryan meets someone, he goes, "Hey, my name's Ryan, and if you didn't know, a block zone...."
I wonder if he mentioned block zones in his marriage vows. 🤔🤔😄
SOB and banshee are literally polar opposites in my mind. SOB shakes harder than an epileptic chimpanzee at a skrillex concert, while banshee feels like driving on a fresh segment of road.
Epileptic chimpanzee at a Skrillex concert has to be one of the most creative smilies I've ever heard. Kudos
When you find out there’s a whole roller coaster community on UA-cam
Welcome
@@lfajg5575 Thank you. It's good to be here!
@@lfajg5575 thanks for having me 🙏
Welcome, there’s this guy bright sun films making a video about six flags New Orleans. Pretty cool.
Love watching these videos
I rode the Son of Beast during the tail end of its lifetime. I was a teenager at the time and found it to be a good ride, but i remember the next day I was sore around the shoulders and neck.
I rode it in the early days, both my hips were bruised, and I had a few bruises on my legs.
I will never forget my first ride on the Son Of Beast! It knocked my little brother out cold! We have a picture of my brother completely unconscious when they snap your picture 😆
GLOC?
That's not even funny. That's extremely dangerous and scary
@@awesomesauce33 it wasn’t funny at the time, but it’s been probably 20 years or more. So the fright that it gave us is now gone. All we are left with is a funny picture. But I see your point. When it happened it was funny at all. It was years later when we found the picture after a death in the family. It brought us, including my brother, a good laugh during a hard time.
@@drewmadenew3000 oh I didn't know. I apologize
I was to little at the time to ride it but just thinking about how shaky and bumpy the beast is and then people said times that by 2 i could not imagine how shaky it would be.
I've been a wooden coaster fan since my teen years back in the 70's. I have seen and ridden alot of them over the years. This was a very well done story of what could have been one of the greats. Thanks keep up the great work and I will do my best to keep riding.😁
"Disappointed by the rough ride" is an understatement. I rode it one time, and I'm surprised I didn't have brain damage with how brutal it was. Slams your head around and constantly Jerking your neck. I don't often get headaches, and with how bad I felt after it, I'm glad I don't.
I have brain damage AND whiplash in my neck so I'm losing it laughing imagining if I had to ride on this 😭😭😭
I rode it year 1 and remember coming off of it and having to sit down on the bench, and hold my head. And I was 16ish at the time.
It must of gotten a lot worse very rapidly because I remember the original Beast being a lot worse at the time I rode it. I thought my memory might be off but I've seen a couple comments here saying the same thing. My loose lap bar had me concerned about getting stuck upside down though.
Son of Beast was a manly thing, probably something you’re not used to.
@@paulpenwell77 Getting a concussion is so manly!! Woohoo! Testosterone!
I rode this coaster back in 2004. I’m a tall guy and was barely able to fold myself in like I’ve done many times. My knees were banging on the grab bar the entire ride. There is no exaggeration in this video, this is and will forever be the roughest coaster ever built. I wanted nothing but to get off this coaster once it started. My knees were busted and it was just a piece of crap coaster.
SOB sounds like it was so brutal
How tall are you
@@Local_commentor 6’8
@@jarodstolz6282 damn I am 6,2 but no wonder ur knees were killing you
@@Local_commentor 6" 10' (this is my alt account)
The reason the loop was so many people's favorite loop is
1. People didnt know there was a loop on this ride until they were already on it.
2. It was the only part that you werent getting clobbered.
People exaggerate how rough it was. I loved the ride and used to ride it several times in a single day.
@@zakharrison1244
Yes. I agree with you. I am not stating my opinions. I thought that the adventure Express was rougher. Lol
...how did they not know there was a loop? It was HUGE and RIGHT THERE. And like...”the world’s tallest, fastest, only LOOPING wooden roller coaster”
@@annamarie5014
They are not paying attention
@@Meatwad.Baggins 🙄🙄🙄 they are LAME
put this video on because it seems interesting, realized you were talking about kings island (my boyfriend is from ohio). i showed this to him and he excitedly told me that son of beast was one of his favorite coasters and he loved how much it shook you around. i told him i was happy he was alive and not concussed!
As a child, they let me ride this when I was technically too short. I almost fell out during the loop. Thank you random adult for grabbing my arm and keeping me in the cart
Bruh whoever the operator that day was oughta be fired for that.
Dramatic much. Nothing would have happened and you know it.
Edit: you know how I know? It’s called centripetal force. Literally you cannot “fall out” when you’re upside down, there is a force shoving you in the opposite direction. A lot stronger than a human too who apparently “had to hold you in”.
You’re welcome
That adult saved your life bruh
Having grown up in the city of Kings Mills where King’s Island is located, I’ve known a lot of employees from King’s Island. Having heard terrible stories of how incompetent workers are and the horror stories of the park, I don’t trust those parks like I used to.
How there are not more deaths in these parks amazes me.
Bro this is a full on documentary, and I’m here for it!
I’m going to show my kid your videos when putting together a book report. I appreciate the grounding of terms, sourcing, and historical contexts. Reminds me of 7th grade writing classes and learning how to put together a good story. Appreciate it. I may also have my son place paragraph brake zones.
Brake zones are always good.
Interesting. I loved this roller coaster and actually thought it was smoother (although not as fun) as it's predecessor the Beast. Hopping on the Beast after sunset is one of the coolest rollercoaster experiences.
I loved it when it first came out (though I do remember it being INTENSE), but it definitely got worse over time. My friend and I went to KI one day when it wasn't very busy, and rode almost every single coaster in one day. We were going strong, then Son of Beast was one of the last ones left. It was definitely rougher than when it was first built, but not awful until we had a huge jolt at the exit of the loop. The rest of the ride was not enjoyable and after we got off we could then feel all the coasters we had ridden that day. We skipped the last coaster or two and hobbled home. (We still did I think 10-12 coasters that day, so an excellent day all around). This was probably a year or two before they finally shut it down.
But I have to agree, the Beast after dark is one of my favorite things to do there!
*Edit*: after watching more of the video, and trying to remember what year I would have gone, this may have actually been **after** they removed the loop. So it was immediately after the former loop site where we had the jolt.
It was my favorite roller coaster. RIP Son of Beast.
Til this day, Son Of Beast remains the most visually imposing coaster I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen every coaster in the world over 300ft.
I was about 13 back then and remember feeling afraid to get on it. My uncle urged me to try it and after a two hour line in the sun, I was relieved to be at the front of the line. After the bone-jarring ride I was just happy that none of my teeth got cracked. The rest of Kings Island was rather enjoyable. They did the right thing taking SOB down.
You are roller coasters
What about that one at Cedar Point that is just (basically) one straight drop? I still haven't been on it.
I can't say I have nearly the experience as you, but I have to agree. Just the display this thing had as you approached it was amazing. The two huge sides that came down into the center where the loop was.
come to my park in rollercoaster tycoon :)
As a Canadian who goes to Canada’s Wonderland, this ride just seems like The Wild Beast and The Great Canadian Mine Buster had a baby,
Which they proceeded to drop down a concrete stairs
I was thinking about the wild beast while watching this! Thats a rough ride
Having been on both Wilde Beast (and it’s angry little cousin at Kings Dominion, Grizzly,) and SOB back in the day I can agree. Just imagine that level of roughness… at double the speed. It was terrifying.
I don't recall ever riding a wooden roller coaster that was smooth. I'm not an enthusiast, just my observation.
There's wooden roller coaster smooth. The beast, falling down the stairs of your deck, and then riding the son of beast. It was still fun though
If you ever get the chance, definitely check out El Toro at Great Adventure in New Jersey. Maybe the best modern wooden roller coaster out there
@@jameyseals3 beast was worse. I seriously thought about calling for help after getting off the last car by myself.
Wooden roller coasters always make me feel like I've been in a car accident 😐
El Toro in NJ beautiful ride. Also for a fun not to jerky ride is Boulder dash at Lake Coumpounce CT. Also home to probably THE most painful roller coaster Wild Cat! One of the oldest roller coasters in the world though.
In retrospect, it seems like the fact that they never ran three trains on this ride also in part prevented a catastrophic accident in 2006. Because if they only stopped the ride after the second train came into the station, that would mean if there was a third train it would already be in the Rose Bowl block, and presumably unstoppable until it reached the mid-course brake run, which would have been *after* the part of the track with the failure. Of course if they ran three trains normally, the failure probably would have occurred earlier than 2006 as well.
This is just art. It felt like I was watching a documentary by some famous journalist. Put this on Netflix or on TV. I wouldn't mind watching this on tv.
I think he speaks a bit too fast for TV. But it's still an outstanding video imo.
Probably a bit of production and style would make this work on Netflix. Some production elements: the style of reading, the editing, music.
Still a noble effort
I heard the words - save money - a few times in this video...as someone who hires design teams for buildings - one of the comments I heard early was the choice to not use an experienced coaster design company - honestly that decision at the beginning is the reason for all the other problems noted in the video...I've been faced with similar choices and ultimately used the best, most experienced teams and the results were always excellent - but I could see using lesser teams could have been much worse...just an observation.
I don’t know how UA-cam sent me here, but this was a wonderfully made video, very informative.
Kudos.
For every thousands suggestions UA-cam will eventually get one right
Wow that track swayed like a waterbed when the train passed through. 1:18 As incredible as this ride looks, I’m glad it was destroyed, it’s clearly not stable enough to continue running. Part of me hopes they will make a safer replica of this ride someday. It really does look magnificent, just the sheer scale of it all. Most intimidating coaster I’ve ever seen, visually.
The massive size of it just seems ominous to me. I feel terror just looking at it in this video.
I remember riding that as soon as it came out- it was so rough that me and my friends nicknamed it "tylenol" because we seriously needed some after riding.
holy shit lmao
fake story but ok go on
@@Dewtart yeah, like you were there when that occurred for them.....
@@Dewtart
Because no one on the internet lives anywhere else in the US with different pastimes
@@Dewtart
In any case, this ride did give you a mean headache
RCCA really said, "Lets see just how many corners we can cut"
Real Corner Cutting Assholes
Banshee at King's Island has a graveyard at its ride entrance and one of the tombstones references Son of Beast
Oh yeah, I forgot about that! That was a nice touch lol
Yep...because Banshee is built on ‘tainted soil’. The same ground that once stood The Bat and Son of Beast.
Ya I saw that.
I just went to kings island for the first time yesterday
@@partycattheoneandonly4563 awesome, what did you ride?
@@necrodaemus7523 The first and original The Bat 8nce stood on the ground where Vortex very recently once stood.
I was too young to actually ride SOB, but since I lived in the surrounding are around KI, we always got season passes to attend. As a kid I was always so curious why the ride was never on and why it seemed nobody would speak about this gargantuan structure. When I finally became tall enough to ride, it was when they tore it down. I always wanted to ride it even if it was rough just to say I had. For those who never saw it in person, It was absolutely massive. You could see it while riding nearby coasters. I‘m glad I now know the full story, it’s really a shame that it was so poorly built.
when ryan drops a video, DROP WHATEVER TF YOU ARE DOING AND WATCH
Kings Island is about 15 minutes away from where I live. As teenagers we would visit the park a multitude of times over the summer. I even worked there at one point and would ride various rides when on break. Son of Beast was a cool ride. That being said, we never rode it twice in one visit.
I just realized I haven't commented yet. This video is brilliant, and the research is amazing. Keep up the great work!
Have you done a video on this ride yet?
He hasn’t but that should be the next episode on the failed series
@@The8BitNerd 👍
When I said “should” I mean I would hope it is
Big fan man!
As an ode to Son of Beast, they have a sign next to the Banshee Entrance that says "Son of Beast 2000 - 20009" with its original logo. So gone, but certainly not forgotten.
I rode this monstrosity just after it first opened and before any changes were made to "improve" the ride. The portion where you are violently snapped left to right on the curve made my head feel like it was going to pop off my shoulders! I wasn't prepared for something like that and it effectively ruined the rest of the day at the park and I felt it for week after it happened. I did go back either later that year or the next and I knew where the jolt had occurred and I remember watching the people in front of me get snapped like a slingshot, but at least I was prepared for it that time. Yes, this was without doubt the roughest roller coaster I have ever been on and was glad when they tore that horrible ride down. I lived in Dayton and was only 35 miles away from King's Island.
I’m hoping that this isn’t what happens with World’s of Fun’s new 2023 wood coaster, Zambizi Zinger. They have a few fast “trick track” banks that are super snappy, and if it isn’t made very well, it could feel pretty horrible.
Why is this one of the most interesting things ive ever seen? i found my new youtube niche
"son of beast, or 'ess oh bee'" was NOT expecting that so late in the program
I rode SOB 4-5 times. Visually stunning, the views from the top of the lift hill were also great.
Thank goodness I was in my teens where my bones could withstand the constant beating from those helixes.
I remember when this ride opened. My brother and I rode it that same year and loved it. Then I remembered coming back a few years later and it was such a rough ride that you hurt getting off it.
I rode it June 2000. The things I remember are. The loop was one of the greatest loops I've ever been on. I've been on my fair share of coasters. I also remember the lap bar kept tightening itself throughout the ride. Near the end I actually was screaming in pain for it to stop(12 years old)
Son of beast: is built
Carpenter bees: it's free real estate
Funny you say that because my mom and sister got a nasty bee sting while riding this ride
wow sorry to hear but useful info as to why it deteriorated...
@@tonyp114 How did they get stung?
Termites, too.
I remember riding it, and the build up to it. The box that shook and growled in the little plaza near the carousel, and then was broken when it opened. How back then if you had a gold pass you could ride it two times in a row in select seats... I miss it sometimes but what they have built since has impressed me.
I rode this coaster in the early 2000s. It was a blast. Strangely, I rode another King's Island coaster in the 80s that was shut don a few weeks after I rode it. That coaster was called The Bat, and I believe it was the first (or one of the first) hanging coasters ever built.
I enjoyed both coasters a lot.
OMG The BAT . I think I rode that one time.. there were huge lines and the ride was underwhelming and honestly it had more downtime then up .. good riddance!
@@caelidhg6261 they rebuilt it
@@c328m they didn't rebuild it, they built a different hanging coaster, originally named Top Gun when Paramount still owned the park. When Cedar Fair bought it, the name changed to Flight Deck, and it's been renamed The Bat fairly recently.
The Vortex was removed last year too. I always loved that ride but there’s a brand new one that’s supposedly one of seven “super coasters.” Orion I think it’s called.
@Sean Price The original coaster named "The Bat" is completely different from "Flight Deck" and was torn down, but they renamed "Flight Deck" to "The Bat" a few years back.
Son Of Beast: The origininal problematic roller coaster
Sir, You really need to learn about the Flip Flap Railway. Also a looping wooden coaster.
And drachen fire.
And The Bat, also at Kings Island
@@Doctors_TARDIS is the loop made of wood🤔😮😱⚰️..??!?
And earlier rollercoasters in general. Son Of Beast is definitely not the original problematic rollercoaster.
I absolutely love the Beast, it is so growly and fun, I've ridden it back to back many times, but I think Son of Beast gave me an actual concussion. My head hurt so bad after the ride I threw up right outside the queue and had double vision, and I immediately left the park.
I rode Son of Beast with the second trains. The drop was incredible but it shook me so bad I had to go back to the hotel for the rest of the day. My head hurt awfully and I was literally concerned for my life. Such a shame because it was a mammoth of a sight
I rode it back in 2001-2002 and it was rough. I was ok with it at the time, but thinking back, I remember how intensely bumpy it was and how smooth the loop was in comparison to the rest of the ride. Great video! I learned a lot!
This brings back memories...
...of Rollercoaster Tycoon, Gold Edition, circa 2002
Roller coaster tycoon... we use to build roller coasters not completed so all the ppl would fly off n die lmao
Well, I love Planet Coaster :D
@@Korne127 son, get back from school, they're making you stupid.
OpenRCT2 all the way.
As terrible as this ride was, it is so satisfying seeing the train go around the course. A giant long train always is satisfying, especially on Tivoli coasters
Rode son of beast when i was tall enough and could convince my mom to wait in the long line on summer (probably 2006-2008)... lap bar doesn't come down low enough for a child that met the hight requirement. there were numerous times my mom had to hold me down as i was coming off the seat at everything to a point that i could almost straighten my tourso and could just slip out. Mom had only rode it right when it had opened prior and had no idea how rough it had become and as an adult the lap bar secured in the correct location for her. never rode again and we live close enough that we would go to the park numerous times each summer. I still had the vidid memory of when i almost flew out of the seat, the lap bars tightest place it would lock was 3 inches above my hips. i had marks in my arms from my moms nails as she held me down with as much force as she could. I remember telling other people never to ride it and then it closed down a couple years later. never ride a ride that goes upside down without over head restraighnts
I love how they blamed the rain for the delay of opening. Remember when you point a finger at someone, you have 3 fingers pointing back at yourself
thats why you blame the rain its not a person smh
Good point
Yeah, and especially considering that "one finger pointing" is to GOD who decides when the rain will start and stop! The Bible says not to temp God...gee...ya think this might be what it is talking about in many ways? Glad you are safe!
@@bettierusso5410 god also decided to give them free will to run it in the rain and kill people so technically it’s also gods fault they died
Love the implication that rain is a person
It's funny how the 3 examples of "tallest wooden roller coaster in the world" were all RMC'd.
Sadly there's no RMC SoB. Even if they can
And none of them are as tall or as fast as SOB was. Or as long.
I hadnt paid attention to Coasters for over a decade, and looking around now, it seems that building a wooden coaster over 100 feet high is a bad idea and maintenance nightmare. Its a bummer, Mean Streak, Texas Giant, Rattler, SoB, all great memories of out-of-control wood
lino yeah
@@scottyjbd Wooden roller coasters rule, steel coasters are TO smooth.
6:34 Looks like when you forget to smooth in Planet Coaster
[smooth all]
[smooth all]
LOL XD
Or if you are Joel from Vinesauce.
lol i love the RATM instrumentals playing in the background. great vid!
Imagine watching that pov of Rattler from 1992 and saying, “I want that company to build my roller coaster.”
Seriously though I never knew the original rattler was so gnarly
Idk why parks chose to build RCCA woodies after seeing that atrocity that was Six Flags Fiesta Texas' Rattler
Especially that tracking . What's up with the weird boards on the inside of the track?
@@CoasterFoxBradB I think it was used for lateral bracing. RCCA did that a lot; Sierra Tonante and Montezum have it too.
@@TonyKimtheamusementparkfan RCCA probably offered a much cheaper deal with say CCI or GCI
@@TheMrLebaron I'd still take CCI or even GCI in the year 2000. They knew what they were doing.
RMC greatly appreciated the wooden coasters portion of the coaster wars. Would have been interesting to see what they could have done if they got their hands on SOB.
But the structuring would've been in an awful condition thats why they didn't rmc rolling thunder
RMC was already working on their remodels - not to they level they are now, of course - when the decision was made to destroy SOB. It was still standing when New Texas Giant opened. The thing is, I think adding the extra weight of topper track to that already flawed structure might’ve been too much for it. My guess is, as long as SOB stood there unused, they had considered such an option and decided it was either cost or structurally prohibited.
"A heart stopping 200 mile an hour 15 story drop. Spine-cracking 90 degree turns! And the final plunge: 2 whole minutes....UNDERWATER!!!!"
The Devastator!!
Id ride it 🤷🏻♂️
I ain't afraid of no rollercoaster!
There better be plenty of jellyfish in that body of water
If they'd put you in a tube going into the water I'm in. Put some viaually appealing fake aquarium in there (even tapping on the glass will disturb real fish).
Still one of, if not the most aesthetically beautiful and imposing rollercoasters ever built. Even if there's a small chance, I hope one day they'll remake the Son of Beast with all issues fixed and all its best features returning, to finally redeem this infamous name and have it fulfill its destiny as a truly worthy and lasting heir to The Beast.
Wooden coasters are great for when you haven't had a headache in a while.
My wife and I rode it once when it first opened. Once. We felt like we had been in a car wreck. We have rode dozens and dozens of coasters, hundreds of times. I am glad we got to ride it while it was open with the loop, but man it was rough
I've only been to KI twice in my life. Rode it with and without the loop. Legendary ride
Lucky
Unfortunately without the loop it just wasn't the same, still liked it better than the og beast though.
I was able to ride SoB a handful of times both with the loop and without. When someone would talk about rough coaster experiences like Mean Streak, Ghostrider, etc, and they mentioned jackhammering, I never really understood what they meant. SoB was the one coaster that I finally understood 100%. The damn train felt like it was coasting over rocks on those helixes.