The End of Son Of Beast: Confirmed

[cwgator]

Well...they are about to tear it down!

SON OF BEAST TO BE REMOVED

SON OF BEAST TO BE REMOVED

After a lengthy evaluation of all alternatives, Kings Island announced today the decision to remove the Son of Beast roller coaster to make room for future park expansion.

Son of Beast opened with great fanfare in May 2000, and sported a 218' lift hill, 214' first drop and included a 118' tall vertical steel loop. During the 2006/2007 off-season, many changes were made, most notably, the removal of the loop.

The dismantling of the ride, which last operated in 2009, will begin later this summer.

 

[grizzlybarely]

Not a surprise TBH. They had so many problems with it. It was neat to have a looping woodie for a while but it wasn't worth the pain. I never rode it, but I can't say I particularly wanted to either.

 

[Andy]

Rib cages and upper body muscles around the world are celebrating right now.

 

[BJCool]

This video shows a massive section of the coaster literally falling to the ground: http://www.telly.com/I2BGW?fromtwitvid=1


Additionally, some great pics have been posted on Theme Park Review:

 

[BJCool]

Want a memento from the now demolished Son of Beast? Well now you can, for a price of nearly $100!

From MasonBuzz....

Own a piece of KI’s Son of Beast​

Fans of Kings Island’s Son of Beast roller coaster now have the chance to take home a memento of the shuttered ride.

The Mason theme park announced today it is offering limited edition plaques featuring a piece of track from the coaster for $99.99. The park is also selling authentic pieces of the wood structure for $49.99 and structural bolts for $24.99.

Son of Beast was heralded as the world’s tallest, fastest and only looping wooden roller coaster when it opened in 2000. The track climbs to a 218-foot peak, followed by a 214-foot drop; its trains would reach speeds of 78 mph.

But its history was troubled from the start. A string of accidents, closings, repairs, five lawsuits, settlements and one trial would ultimately shutter the $10 million ride.

Construction crews began work last month to demolish the troubled coaster.

It will take several months to fully dismantle the $10 million ride, which includes 53 concrete pilings, about 6,000 feet of steel track, 50,000 pounds of nails, 225,000 bolts and 1.65 million board feet of wood, said park spokesman Don Helbig.

Officials don’t yet know what they intend to do with the 12 acres that Son of Beast will vacate in the park’s north end. Once the ride is removed, crews will begin surveying the land and evaluating ideas.

“There’s plenty of room to work with and we’re excited about that opportunity as we look towards the future,” said Helbig.

To order, call 513-754-5776 between 9 a.m.-5 p.m. M-F.

 

[BJCool]

From @KingsIslandPR

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Good riddance, IMHO. Such a waste, never lived up to expectations.

 

[StarTrekGeek]

So the season started, and construction walls surround the area that was once Son of Beast and Thunder Alley (Thunder Alley was also removed recently as well as the Action Zone water tower).

"Brandon Winkle" tweeted this a few hours ago (Screamscape also retweeted this):

https://twitter.com/BrandonWinkle/status/327979502753955841/photo/1

KICentral Facebook also posted pics from earlier today (first one is the construction wall, and the other is the area where Thunder Alley was):

More here. Very interesting.

 

[justinmb98]

Just went today, it's definitely interesting to see that fence. Kings Island is in for something very big in 2014. :happy:

 

[IOA Explorer]

I'll be heading out next week and snap some pics!

 

[justinmb98]

I'll be heading out next week and snap some pics!

A fellow Ohioan? Hello there!

You need to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and get some overhead pictures of the land where Son of Beast was.

 

[IOA Explorer]

A fellow Ohioan? Hello there!

You need to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and get some overhead pictures of the land where Son of Beast was.

20 minutes outside of Cincy actually haha. Always good to see other Ohioans on here. I'll try to keep this thread alive with construction updates. I have a gold pass and normally hit up KI a few times a month!

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I'm highly optimistic on whats to be added here. I'm really excited.

 

[justinmb98]

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Already placing footers for next year?

Starting totally unsubstantiated fake rumor: 500 ft coaster!

 

[Andy]

Giga?

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Giga?

Wouldn't surprise me to see a similar concept to Intimidator at KD.

 

[maxairmike]

Hope they figured out the issue with the wheel compounds since Intimidator! Of course, I'm wondering why they had that serious of an issue to begin with considering they already had Millennium Force.

 

[StarTrekGeek]

Kings Island will be announcing the new 2014 ride on August 8th (from their Twitter a few days ago):

"@KingsIslandPR: We will unveil plans for a new world record-breaking attraction August 8 at 10pm. You don't want to miss it!"

A video of what looks to be blueprints for the new ride (including a map of the footers and a track layout from above) has also appeared on YouTube. The layout resembles a B&M Invert (what this ride is rumored to be):

[video=youtube;jutM1lIZ1A0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jutM1lIZ1A0[/video]

The name is apparently going to be "Banshee." This photo from Mason Buzz (by the Cincinnati Enquirer) seems to back this up: