Son of Beast
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2008) |
| Son of Beast | |
|---|---|
 Son of Beast operating in June, 2005; the ride had a loop at the time. | |
| Kings Island | |
| Location | Kings Island |
| Park section | Action Zone |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | May 26, 2000 |
| Cost | $20,000,000 USD (estimated) |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Wood |
| Manufacturer | Roller Coaster Corporation of America |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Track layout | Terrain |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Inversions | 0 (2007-present), 1 (2000-2006) |
| Duration | 2:20 |
| Max vertical angle | 55° |
| Capacity | 1000 riders per hour |
| G-force | 4.5 |
| Son of Beast at RCDB | |
Son of Beast is a wooden roller coaster located at Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Son of Beast is billed as the sequel to The Beast. At the time of its introduction in 2000, Son of Beast was the only wooden roller coaster in the top 10 categories (worldwide) that are dominated by steel-based coasters for track length, height, speed, and drop. It was also the only wooden roller coaster to feature a vertical loop, which was removed in 2006 after an incident in which 27 people were injured.
The sign located at the entrance of the ride features a large wooden box covered with chains, rope, and metal straps. The front of the box is ripped open, suggesting a large creature of some sort tore its way out. The words, "Son of Beast" are located in the center of the hole. As part of a marketing campaign for the ride before its début, the same box was placed next to a footpath in the park. Beastly growling and snarling noises came from inside the box and it shook violently, as if something inside was trying to escape.
Included in its many world records, Son of Beast is the world's tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster, the only modern wooden roller coaster in the world to successfully incorporate a vertical loop, and the second longest wooden roller coaster on Earth (second only to its predecessor, The Beast, also located at Kings Island). This second place record was planned, as to leave the Beast with its 30+ year world record as the longest wooden coaster.
Prior to the removal of the loop, the ride originally operated with three Premier Rides designed trains. In 2007, they were replaced with two Gerstlauer trains from the defunct Hurricane: Category 5 roller coaster at Myrtle Beach.
Theme
The Beast is located in the park's Rivertown section, and the storyline for that coaster is that a quaint town is hiding a deadly secret. Directly behind the country store façades, back in the woods, there lies an old, run down mill, terrorized by the Beast and falling into disarray, which acts as the station for that coaster. However, for Son of Beast, located in the Action Zone across the park from The Beast, there is an entirely different story. The government has captured the Son of Beast and taken it to a highly classified laboratory, letting it roam free inside a giant enclosure, where it silently grows. Entering under the same "high security" sign as guests riding Flight Deck, guests climb to a station filled with bright red and blue flashing lights. They board "high security" trains to travel up and around the Son of Beast's cage to scout for him. However, as with many theme park attraction story-lines, something goes horribly wrong and car races down the perimeter and into the enclosure, where the Son of Beast unceremoniously rips the car apart, sending it flying through the air and twisting and turning.
Layout
Upon loading the train, it leaves the station and makes a left hand drop into a series of short hops before turning onto the 218 foot tall lift hill. Upon cresting the lift hill, the track makes a snaking left hand turn over to the first drop, where it drops 214 feet to the ground, before rising almost 168 feet in a right hand curve into a left hand double helix known as the "Rose Bowl". Coming out of the helix, the ride passes through a mid-course brake run, and then makes a drop into a straight section of track (this was where the vertical loop was prior to 2006), before making another helix, a series of short hills, and finally hitting the ending brakes.
World records set
- Fastest wooden roller coaster
- Only looping wooden roller coaster (The loop was removed after the 2006 season.)
- Tallest wooden roller coaster
- Tallest wooden roller coaster drop (1st and 2nd drops beat the previous record)
- Longest looping roller coaster (Steel or wooden)
- Most wooden coaster track at one park (17,847ft.)
Incidents
2006
 | This section needs to be updated. |
On July 9 2006 at 4:45 pm, a structural failure that created a bump on the track in the Rose Bowl caused 27 injuries and required rescue units to enter the scene. Most of the injuries were of the chest or neck. 17 people were released from hospitals within five hours of the accident and 2 were admitted. None of the injuries were life-threatening. The ride was shut down until the State of Ohio completed its investigation. After an inspection the following day, the park stated that the accident was caused by a crack or split in the wood.[1] The park completed repairs of the ride but the state asked for extensive testing to be done to ensure it would not happen again. The park indicated that the ride would not reopen until the 2007 season.[2]
Beginning in December 2006, the park removed the loop portion of the ride to enable the use of lighter trains; the park anticipated the ride would be open for the 2007 season. Replacing it is a straight segment of track. [3] The two Gerstlauer trains from the now demolished Hurricane: Category 5 coaster from the former Myrtle Beach Pavilion were long rumored as the lighter replacement trains for the ride.[4][5]
In late June, reports circulated that the ride had once again begun testing. Eyewitnesses reported seeing both a red and a blue train running on the track with test dummies in the seats. On July 4, 2007, Son of Beast re-opened for the first time since the accident[6] with the previously rumored Gerstlauer trains in place. Despite the lack of the vertical loop, the coaster is still the tallest and fastest wooden coaster in the world. The next fastest wooden coaster is Colossos in Heide Park located in Germany.[7]
2009
On June 16, 2009, a 60-year-old woman claimed that she suffered a head injury from riding the Son of Beast. Her visit to the park was on May 31, 2009, but the first Kings Island officials did not hear of the incident until June 16. She said that she suffered from a burst blood vessel in her brain and was put in intensive care. "The first we heard of this was on June 16. Her visit was on May 31 and there's no record of going to first aid for anything here at the park," said Don Helbig, public relations manager for Kings Island. Helbig also said that there have been no other reports of injury on the ride this year. The Son of Beast was shut down as a precaution during the investigation. "At this point it would be inappropriate to speculate on an exact date when the ride may reopen. We're going to do a thorough maintenance review. We're going to work with the state of Ohio on that," said Helbig.[8]
The ride remains closed with no time estimate on when it will reopen. There is a chance it could remain closed for the rest of the season.[9]
References
External links
- Son of Beast Preview and Construction Photos of the construction on Ultimate Rollercoaster.com
- Son of Beast news and pictures from Coastergallery.com
- Kings Island Central information - Alternate source of details and stats
- Son Of Beast P.O.V. (with loop) - Youtube
- Son Of Beast P.O.V. (without loop) - Youtube