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Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

p. 832: Camp Snoopy announced for 2024!

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Let us hope this incident may happen again?

 

 

"A fire scare shuts down a ride Sunday afternoon at Kings Island. Park officials say two guests reported a smell of smoke on the Son of Beast ride. There was no sign of fire.. but firefighters were called as a precaution. The ride was inspected, and no source of smoke was found.The ride was operational by 5:35 Sunday afternoon."

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25677&highlight=son+beast

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Didn't a large section of this coaster collapse during construction?

 

All the retracking in the world won't help this thing if the supporting structure is crap. You can see why the trend is toward hybrid structures like GG is designing and factory prefab structures from Intamin, it takes somes of the shoddy workmanship variables out and the coasters perform much closer to the design predictions.

 

Structure movement and deflection doesn't always cause problems in a ride if designed properly, in many cases there's trouble if things aren't allowed to flex.

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I believe there is a pattern here. The company has built several of the rides that is on the "bottom" of most people's list. Wonder how may projects these folks have been involved in...hmmm

 

 

"Structural engineering for the giant wooden structure was performed by William H. Childress, P. E., Wood Structures, Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia"

 

Link: http://www.rcca.com/RCCA/history.html

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I know there is no standard of who is responsible for ride inspections, but the Department of Agriculture?

 

RCCA? Hey they made the woodie at Yomiuriland, too. It all becomes clearer.

 

 

^How about the one for Virginia.

"Board of Housing and Community Development".

http://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/BCAR/Virginia%20Amusement%20Device%20Regulations.htm

Sorry for the double posts......

 

This would confirm another post in that the park paid to fix some problems with the structure in the past as well as lawsuits against its former contractors.

Link: http://www.rideaccidents.com/

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All the retracking in the world won't help this thing if the supporting structure is crap. You can see why the trend is toward hybrid structures like GG is designing and factory prefab structures from Intamin, it takes somes of the shoddy workmanship variables out and the coasters perform much closer to the design predictions.

 

I mean, for the height of the ride....why the hell would they use wooden supports? I mean you think it shouldn't matter, but a coaster with this height (wood) that has never been built before, it really just doesn't make sense. Imagine how much money they could save if they went with steel supports. Also, does anyone know how long it took to build the ride?

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I mean, for the height of the ride....why the hell would they use wooden supports? I mean you think it shouldn't matter, but a coaster with this height (wood) that has never been built before, it really just doesn't make sense. Imagine how much money they could save if they went with steel supports. Also, does anyone know how long it took to build the ride?

 

It is for that reason that despite the Intamin name on the nameplate, I think El Toro, within 3 or 4 years without proper maintenance, is on the path towards becoming Son of Beast II. There are eerie similarities in both height and speed, and wood is TERRIBLE in fatigue. Since woodies at SFGAdv aren't exactly known for their maintenance, SoBII = El Toro.

 

Paul

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Colossos at Heide-Park Soltau is taller and has been in operation for 5 years and isn't super rough. I could have ridden Son of Beast a couple weeks after it opened but I didn't because my aunt wouldn't ride it with me and I was scared of the height at the time. I wish I did. Now, the only way I'll get on it is if the switch to PTC trains.

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Confusion in mainstream media has led to a number of inaccuracies and conspiracy theories about Sunday's events. The following is a list of questions and answers provided by Maureen Kaiser at PKI.

 

Q: What happened? When? What were early reports?

A: On Sunday, July 9, at 4:45 p.m., a Son of Beast train rolled into the station after completing a full cycle. Some guests complained of discomfort. The Kings Island safety team, as well as Mason Fire and Safety immediately responded. 27 guests were transported to area hospitals. 25 were treated and released that evening. 2 were admitted to the hospital.

 

Q: Other reports say there were more guests at the hospital. What’s the deal?

A: We transported 27 guests from PKI. I don’t know about the number of guests who may have walked in on their own.

 

Q: Who is inspecting the ride?

A: On Monday, the Ohio Department of Agriculture and OSHA ride inspectors, as well as industry experts, arrived at the park to begin their inspection process.

 

Q: How is PKI assisting with the inspection?

A: We are cooperating fully with the Department of Agriculture. In addition, engineers and safety managers from Cedar Fair and PKI, as well as PKI ride maintenance technicians are assisting with the inspection.

 

Q: What have you learned from the inspection?

A: Preliminary evidence indicates there is a cracked vertical wooden post. Preliminary reports also indicate that this would not have been found by our pre-opening inspections and likely happened just before or right as the incident occurred.

 

Q: How long will the inspection take?

A: It could take weeks.

 

Q: When will the ride reopen?

A: The ride will remain closed until we are completely satisfied that the ride is safe.

 

Q: Where is the cracked wooden post?

A: In the rosebowl.

 

Q: Is the loop separating?

A: No.

 

Q: Is the loop dangerous?

A: No.

 

Q: Why is a train stopped on the tracks?

A: Two trains can’t be in the station at the same time. Therefore, to get the guests out of one train, another must leave the station.

 

Q: Were guests in the stopped train? Did they have to walk down the hill?

A: No. The train was empty.

 

Q: Why is it still there?

A: The inspection is in its early stages and we don’t want to jeopardize it by sending a train through a complete cycle.

 

Q: Why were empty cars sent out of the station before this incident occurred?

A: We had a biohazard incident earlier, and our park protocol for this insists that checks must be conducted before we can load guests again.

 

Q: How many board feet of lumber will the Department of Agriculture inspect?

A: 2.5 million board feet of lumber will be inspected.

 

Q: What is the daily maintenance done on Son of Beast? A:

1) Mechanical (PKI Maintenance)

2) Electrical (PKI Maintenance)

3) Operational (PKI Rides Operations)

 

Park maintenance technicians walk every inch of wooden track to complete the daily inspection.

 

During daily inspections, workers look for anything unusual including loose fasteners, deteriorating wood, misalignment of steel and wood connections. They will also test all safety systems and thoroughly review the trains to insure they are operating correctly.

 

All inspection processes are based on master check lists, developed specifically for Son of Beast.

 

A boom lift is used by the park for the sole purpose of inspecting the loop on Son of Beast every day.

 

Q: Didn’t PKI file suit against the manufacturer of Son of Beast?

A: Yes

 

Q: Wasn’t a part of the suit regarding sub grade wood?

A: Yes. However, all lumber determined to be sub grade was replaced or reinforced before the ride opened in 2000.

 

Q: Was any of the wood mentioned above in the area we’re focused on now?

A: No.

 

Q: Did PKI get a hefty sum of money when the lawsuit was finished? Some $20 million? Why wasn’t this reinvested in the ride?

A: We have received a judgment on this case, and we are in the process of recovering a portion of the money promised. At this time, we have received no money as a result of this lawsuit.

 

Q: How many guests does each train hold?

A: 30 guests. Five cars to a train.

 

Q: How many guests have ridden this attraction since it opened?

A: We have provided nearly 6 million safe rides since the ride opened in 2000.

 

Q: Why didn’t the ride open with the park on Sunday?

A: As mentioned above, wood coasters require extensive inspection before they can open. If irregularities are found, we tend to them immediately. This can take time. There was work down in a different area of the ride than the area in question.

 

Q: Does maintenance happen daily?

A: Yes. Safety is our top priority at PKI, there is no doubt about that. We will never open a ride to our guests unless we are completely confident that the ride is safe.

 

Q: What about the work done over the winter?

A: We did an extensive amount of work during the off season to improve the comfort of the ride experience.

 

Q: When was the ride certified by the state?

A: May 19

 

Q: Is there wood hanging from the track?

A: No.

 

Q: Did Cedar Fair voluntarily close the ride Sunday?

A: Yes. Our ride operators were fantastic. They recognized the issue and took steps to ensure safety. This set the wheels in motion at PKI. We responded immediately and continue to respond to guest needs.

 

Q: Have you talked directly with the media at all? Or are you just releasing statements and stonewalling them?

A: We held a press conference on Sunday night. I did interviews with news crews all day yesterday. My job is to keep people informed and I will do that until this story is complete. We utilize a variety of methods to do this – statements, press conferences, one-on-one interviews.

 

Q: Am I safe on roller coasters?

A: YES

 

Q: Am I safe at PKI?

A: YES!! I can’t stress enough how important safety is to our guests. Any hint that we’re not serious about that is, frankly, ridiculous and horribly untrue. We exist to provide safe and memorable experiences for our guests and will do everything in our power to provide just that.

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Regardless of how much the ride sucks, these types of situations really do hurt parks in their local markets, and a large part of that is caused by stupid rumors fueled by the retarded media.

 

I think think this statement was a smart move by the park, and I hope everyone who watches the news gets a chance to read it.

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^ Good Point Mforce.

 

PKI's marketing and PR departments are doing the best they can, in my opinion. I think this is a new incident they had not experienced before (unless there is some evidence this did occur before) and the PR staff is being as straightforward as possible based on the facts that are coming in. I think this isn't the end and the local inspectors will surely release its final report/findings when the inspection(s) are completed. Which, as stated, could take several weeks.

 

As others have noted on this site in another "media" post/topics, the information released by news outlets provide generalizations on the incident based on information that is available and written to conform to... "what sells newspapers". Our society, in general, has been somewhat 'brainwashed' into the drama-queen scenario that news/media outlets will post what sells papers..its the almighty dollar.

 

Several concrete examples:

Recent article regarding Alton Towers incident:

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26790

 

The Valleyfair incident...

And...look at the posts regarding the Disney Mission Space incident(s) and pending/current lawsuit topics....and so on..and so on.

 

Although varied opinions regarding the quality of the ride experience(s) on SOB is to each person preference, it should be noted that we all should respect those preferences (either love or hate the ride). I believe it is paramount that SOB is operating to the safest level the park can make it. I recal many opinions regarding CP's Mean Streak and that ride appears to still be standing and operating. But, is it operating under 'unsafe' conditions? Highly unlikely.

-Just a thought.

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I wonder if that is the 'politically correct' version of saying....someone upchucked/threw-up/spilled-the-beans.

 

Yes thats nice way PKI tells everyone in line. I was tould today while in line for IJSC a biohazard incident was in the car and they had to clean it. Also the cherry picker they use to check the loop on SOB is parked under the Top Gun track.

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I thought Valleyfair did a very good job of handling the PR fallout from the Wild Thing crash.

 

And as for the biohazard, that is the PC version for someone having ridden the coaster one too many times. When we were at BGT, that happened right when we were going to get on Kumba.

 

Paul

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Well. Those recent posts certainly say it all now..lol

I don't ever remember calling it a "biohazard" incident back in the days of BGE ride ops. We just cleared out the section/car/coach...spray 'kitty-litter' on it.....run the ride a couple of cycles, hose it down and disinfect the harness/seats and then put the peeps in.

 

With today's politically correct version, it almost sounds like a nuclear power plant incident occured. I almost can imagine the bio-hazard team now, dressed in yellow or orange suits with their masks on carrying kitty-litter bags. Then again, some of the incidents I had witnessed over the years, it may have been a nuclear power plant incident (don't you just hate when you 'see' what the person ate for lunch?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry to rebump this thread again, but a fairly recent news article was written about the SOB and perhaps provided some interesting viewpoints on its possible future (although it is all speculation at this point).

 

Highlights:

Last Updated: 1:33 pm | Monday, July 17, 2006

 

Will Son of Beast return?

Some experts say it's time for a new coaster

BY JESSICA BROWN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

MASON - Son of Beast broke five world records and drew roller-coaster fans from across the country to Kings Island when it burst from its lair in 2000.

 

The ride was born during an era when amusement parks nationwide vied for the hearts of thrill seekers by building the longest, tallest, fastest, scariest - and most expensive - coasters in the world.

 

The Son of Beast closed July 9 after an extremely rough ride sent 27 people to the hospital with minor injuries.

 

Now, some wonder about the future of the wooden giant. Will it reopen? If not, will the park get a new coaster to take its place?

 

Kings Island has built two roller coasters since Son of Beast - The Italian Job: Stunt Track and the Rugrats Runaway Reptar - neither of which broke records.

 

Some roller-coaster fans think the park is due for another big coaster project.

 

For the rest of the story...

Credit link: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060717/NEWS01/607170344/1056/rss02

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