Son of Beast (roller coaster)

Infobox roller coaster
name=Son of Beast

---

caption=Son of Beast operating in June, 2005; the ride had a loop at the time.
location=Kings Island
section=Action Zone
type=Wood
type2=
type3=
status=Operating
opened=May 26, 2000
manufacturer=Roller Coaster Corporation of America
designer=Werner Stengel
model=
track=Terrain
lift=Chain lift hill
height=218
drop=214
length=7032
speed=78
inversions=
duration=2:20
angle=55.7
capacity=1000
cost=$20,000,000 USD (estimated)
acceleration=
gforce=4.5
restriction=48
rcdb_number=584

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. Son of Beast has been considered by many roller coaster buffs as one of the biggest "busts" of all-time, due to its massive bumpiness and jerkiness throughout the ride. This is, however, typical of wooden roller coasters and can only be expected on one of the massive size and speed exhibited by Son of Beast. Despite the somewhat uncomfortable ride, most days see a queue wait time of 45 minutes, often more.

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 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 debut, 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 it's many world records, Son of Beast is the world's tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster, the only wooden roller coaster in the world to successfully incorporate a vertical loop, and the second longest wooden roller coaster on Earth (second only to it's predecessor, The Beast, also located at Kings Island. This second place record was planned, as to leave the Beast with it's 30+ year world record as the longest wooden coaster.

Theme

The Beast is located in the park's "Rivertown" section, where a quaint town is hiding a deadly secretly. Directly behind the cute country store facades, back in the woods, there lies an old, run down mill, terrorized by the Beast and falling into disarray, which acts as the rides station. However, the Son of Beast, located in the park's "Action Zone" area, has 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's silently growing. Entering under the same high security sign as guests riding Flight Deck, guests climb to a station filled with bright red and blue and red flashing lights. They board high security trains to travel up and around the Son of Beasts cage to scout for him. However, in true theme park ideology, 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.

Facts

Design team

*Designer: Werner Stengel
*Construction: Roller Coaster Corporation of America
*Current Trains: Gerstlauer
*Original Train Design & Manufacturer: Premier Rides

tatistics

*Official debut: April 27th, 2000
*Height: 218 ft
*1st drop: 214 ft at a 55.7 degree angle
*2nd drop: 164 ft (50 m) at a 43.4 degree angle
*3rd drop: 150 ft (45.7 m) at a 37.3 degree angle
*Top speed: 78 mph (126 km/h)
*Acceleration: 4.5 g (44 m/s²)
*Inversions: 1 x 118 ft (36 m) vertical loop (removed December, 2006)
*Helixes: 2 x 540 degree Helixes (one left, one right; hills/valleys incorporated in both)
*Max banking of helixes: 68.9 degrees
*Track length: 7,032 ft (2143 m)
*Duration: 2 minutes, 40 seconds
*Current Number of trains: 2 (24 passengers each)
*Original Number of trains: 3 (36 passengers each)
*Passenger's restraints (cars): Wide lap bar
*Hourly capacity: 1000 guests
*Land area: 12 acres (49,000 m²)
*Timber used: 1.65 million board feet (3,900 m³)
*Cost: $20,000,000 USD (estimated cost, park officials won't confirm actual cost)

Materials used

*Main Structure: Southern Yellow Pine
*Track Piles: Douglas Fir
*Loop Structure: Steel
*Loop Track: Wood

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.)

2006 Incident

On July 9 2006 at 4:45 PM, a structural failure that created a bump in the track 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 done the following day, the park stated that the accident was caused by a crack or split in the wood. [http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200607/154/] 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 may not reopen until the 2007 season. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13793802/]

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. [http://www.middletownjournal.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/12/13/121406sonofbeast.html] The two Gerstlauer trains from the now demolished coaster from the former Myrtle Beach Pavilion were long rumored as the lighter replacement trains for the ride. [http://www.aceonline.org/ACENewsNOW/] [http://www.screamscape.com/html/kings_island.htm]

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 4th, 2007, Son of Beast re-opened for the first time since the accident [http://www.local12.com/content/breaking_news/story.aspx?content_id=839f0cdb-736e-475c-ba64-ce0006b1a3a6] with the previously rumored Gerstlauer trains in place. King's Island still claims that the coaster is indeed the fastest wooden coaster in the world. The next fastest wooden coaster is Colossos in Heide Park located in Germany. [http://www.rcdb.com/rhr.htm?statistic=0&type=2]

External links

* [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/new00/pki_sob/ Son of Beast Preview and Construction] Photos of the construction on Ultimate Rollercoaster.com
* [http://www.coastergallery.com/2000T/pki.html Son of Beast news and pictures from Coastergallery.com]
* [http://www.kicentral.com/attractions/sonofbeast.php Kings Island Central information] - Alternate source of details and stats
* [http://www.amusementvideo.com/view_video.php?viewkey=2ad1094d42f4ef36764f&page=1&viewtype=&category=mrA P.O.V. video of son of beast] (BROKEN LINK)
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GPmIW629e4 Alternate P.O.V. video of son of beast]