Sammy
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Untamed - Walibi Holland
Yes, that's right people, the day has finally arrived where we have to bid goodbye to the infamous Son Of Beast at Kings Island in Ohio.
Yes, this colossal 218' wooden Gerstlauer legend, the tallest wooden coaster in the world, is set to be torn down later this summer to make way for a future expansion of the park, after standing dormant for the last 3 years. At 7032' long the coaster is statistically also the 4th longest coaster in the world and the 2nd longest in the USA, after it's 'Father' coaster 'Beast' also at Kings Island.
When it originally opened, on the 26th May 2000, it was the only wooden coaster in the world to contain a vertical loop, however, this, along with several other factors, would later lead to several problems resulting in the coaster gaining its now infamous reputation among the enthusiast community!
The coaster then continued to operate from the start of the 2007 season, minus the loop, however in June 2009 after several more recurring problems, it was closed once again. And unfortunately after 3 years of speculation among enthusiasts as to the future of the ride, this article on Kings Island's own website confirms that the coaster will never operate again.
So, there we have it, the largest wooden coaster in the world, is soon to be no more! This begs questions along with recent projects by Rocky Mountain Construction, such as The New Texas Giant and more notably Silver Dollar City's Outlaw project for 2013... What is the future of huge wooden coasters such as this? Will we ever see a vertical loop on a wooden coaster again? Is it really possible to build so high using wood without serious problems?
I guess only time will tell!
Yes, this colossal 218' wooden Gerstlauer legend, the tallest wooden coaster in the world, is set to be torn down later this summer to make way for a future expansion of the park, after standing dormant for the last 3 years. At 7032' long the coaster is statistically also the 4th longest coaster in the world and the 2nd longest in the USA, after it's 'Father' coaster 'Beast' also at Kings Island.
When it originally opened, on the 26th May 2000, it was the only wooden coaster in the world to contain a vertical loop, however, this, along with several other factors, would later lead to several problems resulting in the coaster gaining its now infamous reputation among the enthusiast community!
RCDB said:The Son of Beast was originally built with a 118 foot tall vertical loop. Problems encountered during the 2006 season closed the ride for the remainder of the 2006 season. During the 2006/2007 off-season many changes were made, most notable was the removal of the loop. While the loop was not the direct cause of the 2006 problems, removing it allowed lighter trains to be used, which in turn was done to prevent the problems in 2006 from reoccurring.
The coaster then continued to operate from the start of the 2007 season, minus the loop, however in June 2009 after several more recurring problems, it was closed once again. And unfortunately after 3 years of speculation among enthusiasts as to the future of the ride, this article on Kings Island's own website confirms that the coaster will never operate again.
So, there we have it, the largest wooden coaster in the world, is soon to be no more! This begs questions along with recent projects by Rocky Mountain Construction, such as The New Texas Giant and more notably Silver Dollar City's Outlaw project for 2013... What is the future of huge wooden coasters such as this? Will we ever see a vertical loop on a wooden coaster again? Is it really possible to build so high using wood without serious problems?
I guess only time will tell!