Son of Beast

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	Closed Due To Accident
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	3:00
Max vertical angle	55°
Capacity	1000 riders per hour
G-force	4.5
Son of Beast at RCDB

Son of Beast is a record breaking wooden roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, United States, outside of Cincinnati. 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 typically 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 loop was not directly related to the incident, but was removed to allow for lighter trains, thus reducing the chances of the 2006 incident's re-occurrence.

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. Interestingly, a similar marketing campaign has been used for many of Cedar Fair's roller coaster announcements since they came into ownership of Kings Island and thus Son of Beast, including Prowler, Diamondback, and Intimidator.

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 (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 Pavilion.

Theme

The broken crate at the entrance to the attraction

The ride was developed with a movie-like storyline during its debut from then-owner, Paramount Pictures. 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

Son of Beast's track layout after the loop was removed

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 (tunnel added in 2010), 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.

Materials used

• Main Structure: Southern Yellow Pine
• Track Piles: Douglas Fir
• Loop Structure: Steel (removed Dec, 2006)
• Loop Track: Wood
• Timber used: 2.5 million board feet
• Acres of Timber used: 300-417 (Estimated based on a board feet harvest of 6,000-8,335 per acre.)
• Tunnel Structure: Steel

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. 2nd drop record now held by Colossos at Heide-Park Soltau in Germany.)
• Longest looping roller coaster (Until 2006; California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventure Park now holds that record)
• Most wooden coaster track at one park (17,847ft.)
• World's first and only wooden hypercoaster (over 200 feet high)

Incidents

Main article: Incidents at Cedar Fair parks

2006

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. 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.

Beginning in December 2006, the park removed the loop portion of the ride to enable the use of lighter trains, replacing it is a straight segment of track featuring the on-ride photo camera; the park anticipated the ride would be open for the 2007 season. Two Gerstlauer trains from the demolished Hurricane: Category 5 coaster at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion were relocated to serve as lighter replacement trains for Son of Beast, the belief being that lighter trains would cause less stress on the wooden structure. The loop, then, was removed so that the lighter trains could complete the circuit.

In late June, reports circulated that the ride had once again begun testing with the new Gerstlauer trains. 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 in June 2006. Despite the lack of the vertical loop, the coaster continued to hold the record as tallest and fastest wooden coaster in the world. The next fastest wooden coaster is Colossos in Heide Park located in Germany. The former Premier trains are still owned by Kings Island, and are used as decorations of a "crashed" coaster at Kings Island's Halloween Haunt event.

2009

On June 16, 2009, a woman claimed to have suffered a head injury from riding 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.

The ride was investigated, and was found that there were no "irregularities" with the ride. However, the ride remained closed for the remainder of the 2009 season because park officials have "not decided what steps they plan to take concerning the ride". The fate of the ride still remains unclear, according to an investigation summary released Wednesday July 29th.

Future

On March 16 2010, General Manager for Kings Island, Greg Scheid, stated that the ride has cost nearly $30 million so far for the park, and that there were no immediate plans to open the ride although the park may open it later in the season. Park officials said they are working with engineering firms to come up with a long-term fix making the ride more enjoyable.

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