I thought some of you guys might appreciate this.

As much as we all like to rip on Son of Beast (myself included), I have to say, yesterday I acquired a new respect for what this ride is really all about and what it could be if they put a little love into it. Something as simple as trains that are the correct width for the track so they don't shuffle side to side could make this ride back into what it once was and what it could be again.

For Kings Island's first enthusiast event, Ride Warriors Coaster Weekend, all participants were invited on a behind-the-scenes tour of three coasters - The Beast, The Racer, and Son of Beast. I'll admit, I wasn't all that interested in the Son of Beast tour, but was curious, so decided I'd go along on it. During the Racer and Beast tours, the group was very loud - lots of laughter, yelling, talking, etc. During the Son of Beast tour, once we got to the site of the coaster, it was eerily quiet. I think everyone was just absorbing how amazing this coaster is and what a feat of engineering it was to assemble this massive wooden structure. It's hard to appreciate just how big and amazing it is until you are standing directly under the lift hill looking up.

We headed backstage by the Invertigo entrance, and went behind Congo Falls and Timberwolf Ampitheater, and then across the bridge you walk under in the Son of Beast queue and under the lift hill. We were allowed to roam in the large area between the lift hill and the hill leading to the rose bowl, and between the second helix and third helix.

I wanted to share some of the photos and videos I got while back there. It really is amazing just to look at and appreciate.

Lift Hill:








(looking straight up at the track at it's highest point)


From inside the circuit:

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05.16, 05.17, 05.18, 06.05, 06.06: Cedar Point
05.25.09-06.01.09: KD, SFA, BGE, SFGAdv, Morey's & More!
06.18.09: Holiday World
2009 Diamondback laps: 41

And the videos:

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05.16, 05.17, 05.18, 06.05, 06.06: Cedar Point
05.25.09-06.01.09: KD, SFA, BGE, SFGAdv, Morey's & More!
06.18.09: Holiday World
2009 Diamondback laps: 41

I haven't been able to ride SOB since they removed the loop - I had surgery and I have one more year to wait. I have always been amazed by the structure and even though the ride was rough, I thought "Hey - it's a wooden coaster and it should be rough." But this thread isn't abuout if you like or don't like the ride, it's about how it was designed and built. Yes, a little tweaking here and there could make it really sweet and a tunnel or two could add character to the ride. There's also a lot of vacant space that extra track could be added and maybe that mcbr could be eliminated. How about some underground tricks? You've got this big expensive machine that would be a waste to just tear down - so why not just "give it a little love" like you said and really make it special? It seems that quite a few of us on this site fail to realize that it took MILLIONS of dollars to build this thing - not just some pocket change and you just don't throw it away like a disposable BIC pen. You treat it like an expensive CROSS pen - buy refills, fix it when it needs repair, and it will last a lifetime.

This wasn't the first all club event they had other all club events before, it might be wiht them using that name but they have done other events.
BTW your pictures and video's are great.

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Old coaster riders never Die..................They just go downhill!
Mark
RCBI member (77-86 Defunct)
ACE Member (79-present)
Napha Member (81- Present)