Kings Island ride flawed, engineer says

[PKIDelirium 70]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/entertainme...ays-391708.html

[jondrewfoo 0]

and this is why this should have never gone to trial...

[standbyme 0]

Schmizze said they would have needed a computer model in order to correctly fix the defects.

 

When Kings Island’s attorney Chip Finke cross-examined Schmizze, he admitted he couldn’t say for certain a computer model would have prevented the accident.

 

I personally think that even if the park did know that the strucure had flaws that they did TRY and fix them so that they thought it was safe...I don't think that they would knowingly risk people's health...or a lawsuit.

 

But, maybe I am naive.

[TheKlockster 0]

I'm not surprised.

Edited November 9, 2009 by TheKlockster

[PKIDelirium 70]

Engineer: Owners Knew Son Of Beast Was Flawed

http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/En...3hw4FVfovg.cspx

[The Interpreter 2]

...The initial investment in the ride and the ensuing repairs have likely cost about $30 million, and experts said it would be a huge undertaking to dismantle Son of Beast.

 

"But on the other hand, in going forward, if it's going to continue to be a liability for the park, they're going to have to make a difficult decision on whether to keep it or take it down," said amusement park expert Dennis Spiegel.

 

Schmizze said Kings Island had all the necessary information to make a sound decision about the Son of Beast coaster.

 

"In my opinion, they didn't make the correct decision," he said.

 

http://www.wlwt.com/news/21564970/detail.html

[calakapepe 0]

Tear it down, wait 2-3 years... build a Gravity Group ride. Or Intamin.. or GCI...

[Diamondback Dude 0]

I could not agree more with you calakapepe.

[calakapepe 0]

http://www.thegravitygroup.com/services_support.html

 

If only we would've though of this in 2004.

[TheSkipper 0]

Maybe Kings Island can hire the Gravity Group to perform dynamic and structural analysis to ensure that the Son of Beast will still be a high-speed thrill ride and still be safe.

[The Interpreter 2]

Oh, I can assure you the ride has been through many, many dynamic and even forensic tests by now. . . and by many experts.

[Thundercracker 0]

I remember that! when paramount fired them it was very hush hush at the time ... I hope they don't tear it down it's such a beautiful strecture and an amazing ride reguradless of what non-thrill junkies and SoBhaters think.

[xVekomax 0]

I vote Timberliners!!!! how cool would it be for two coasters to get a new set of Timberliner trains??? ( since the Voyage is getting them )if theyre as great as they sound, imagine how much better the ride might be. with it being such a forceful coaster, if the Timberliners are as what they are supposed to be then maybe just maybe that could change everything. well maybe not the structure part, but the ride part. idk. im just not a hater of this coaster. i like it and i dont want to see it go down. i keep having nightmares about that actually.

[Thundercracker 0]

Sadly, xVekomax so have I ! :(

[Mini_Cooper 0]

Sad thing is, some months back I had a weird dream that they tore down Son of Beast and built Chang from 6 Flags KY Kingdom in it's place. Funny thing about that is Son of Beast is closed now with an uncertain future and Chang has been removed from KY Kingdom with no announced place to go. I hope that my dream was wrong.

 

PS: Anyone who has more info than me can correct me about the Chang's furture placement.

[GoodYellowKoRn182 0]

PS: Anyone who has more info than me can correct me about the Chang's furture placement.

 

Chang's pieces (or the pieces of another B&M stand-up) are on-site at Six Flags Great America in Illinois. Of course, it may be a different B&M standup... But considering I don't think they've even made anymore and one was just removed from another Six Flags park, I can't see how it wouldn't be Chang. Besides, as many have said, stand-ups were kind of a 'fad," like suspended coasters. They were new and innovative, and now it seems that all that will be made, have been made. I think the only way we'd get one is if it's decided to bring the TOGO one from Kings Dominion, etc. And to be honest, I'd rather have Delirium.

Edited November 13, 2009 by GoodYellowKoRn182

[DiSab 0]

I just can't see them pouring more money into this pile of matchsticks. Given the current economy and the amount of debt CF is still in, dumping even more money into fixing this ride just seems dumb. Especially since whatever they do, the problem may not be entirely fixed. At this point, I think the best thing to do is bring in the wrecking ball, get rid of this massive eyesore, and plan for the future of the ride area.

 

And I don't think we'll be seeing Chang at KI. First, we would need to buy the ride, which I don't think they would want to do. Plus, the ride site of SoB is much too hilly to put Chang there without major land forming. And if CF were to obtain Chang, I can think of a few other parks that could use a ride of that caliber much more than us - Michigan's Adventure, Valleyfair!, and CGA come to mind immediately.

[standbyme 0]

^I agree with EVERYTHING you said...EXCEPT where you called it an eyesore! :)

[GoodYellowKoRn182 0]

^I agree with EVERYTHING you said...EXCEPT where you called it an eyesore! :)

 

 

True. Love or hate the ride experience, it's a beautiful sight. We're finding out that it may not be mathematically perfect, but it's definitely a very picturesque structure. And also, I think all the people who are randomly spouting "tear it down!" "bring in the wrecking ball!" and other [non-helpful] comments fail to realize that it's not like "We don't wanna spend money on it, so we're tearing it down." No. The sentence leading up to Son of Beast's destruction would be "We have $10,000,000 extra dollars, so we might as well tear it down."

 

It's not like if HUGE roller coasters don't work they just ask someone to come get rid of it. We're literally talking about the largest single collection of wood on Earth, and you think it would be cheap to tear it down? We could honestly get a brand new suspended top spin and another small flat ride for what it would cost to tear down Son of Beast and (and people forget this part) haul it off somewhere. It would be an undertaking nearly as extensive as the rides construction, likely being dismantled one section at a time - you can't just implode a giant wooden roller coaster that's within 20 feet of two other roller coasters at the park. It doesn't work like that.

 

I'd happily have an announcement made that the ride is no more, but leave it SBNO for a few years in favor of a new flat ride. That being said, I would like at least an announcement one way or another.

[Mini_Cooper 0]

^I agree with EVERYTHING you said...EXCEPT where you called it an eyesore! :)

That being said, I would like at least an announcement one way or another.

 

I agree with you man. I just wish that they would go ahead and make some kind of announcement. Just leaving the public in limbo and letting the media walk all over the park is not necessarily the best thing to do when attracting new guest.

[The Interpreter 2]

And now the speculation begins in print:

 

Coaster's future in doubt

Kings Island 'Son of Beast' may have taken last ride...

 

Wright said she would not have accepted the settlement unless the video testimony of forensic engineer Richard Schimizze were made public.

 

In his testimony, the engineer said that Kings Island officials knew about extensive problems with the ride since 2000 and attempted to fix the issues on a case-by-case basis that increased stresses on certain components of the ride, leading to wooden supports snapping and causing accidents that injured Wright, and a reported 27 others, on July 9, 2006.

 

"I would feel like garbage if I held on to this information and then a year from now somebody was really hurt bad," said Wright, struggling to control her voice through tears. "I'm not saying that's going to happen, I'm just saying, 'What if?'"...

 

Wright said her pursuit of her case was never about money and she isn't leading a "crusade" against Cedar Fair. She is sympathetic to the company in that it inherited Son of Beast from Kings Island's former owner, Paramount Parks, a subsidiary of Viacom.

 

What Wright wants, she said, is to make sure what happened to her and others doesn't happen again....

 

(emphasis added)

 

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2009111...future+in+doubt

 

MOST terms of a settlement are never made public. There may have been other terms of this settlement that may affect the future. Or not.

[rollercoastermom 0]

I hope for the best for the ride! The question is that are they able to fix the flaws or will they tear down the Son of Beast and start fresh?

[GoodYellowKoRn182 0]

^

I certainly feel that the right company could indeed fix Son of Beast's problems - the only thing is, the better the fix, the more it costs. I'm not sure that management wouldn't try to cut corners, while still advertising it as a "Reborn" Son of Beast, even if there's been very minimal trackwork and re-structuring. Many folks think the best bet would be Intamin and their pre-fab track system, but again, that would probably suck up any budget were should've expected for a new ride in 2012 or 2013... The other issue is, regardless of what company would be contacted to perform the work, it would be the largest scale project ever undertaken. Intamin, GCI, CCI, no matter who was brought in, they'd be working on a scale larger than anything they'd ever done. So that's a very frightening thought for all but the most aggressive companies. Son of Beast can be fixed, like anything can be fixed, given time, money, and dedication. I think that the real discussion amongst theme park folk is, is it worth saving? Is the name spoiled and unable to be redeemed? I say "yes" and "no" respectively, but it's really for the public to decide. Although, the publics opinion may not play that much of a role at all based on some past decisions. :P

 

The park clearly knows what its plans are. At this point, an announcement could easily be made, and chances are, the information they're withholding isn't "We're reopening the ride exactly as it was! Hope no one gets sue-happy!" Rather, I imagine at this point it would be in their best interest (to shift the direction of the press) and ours to hear either "We've decided to suspend operation of Son of Beast for the 2010 season," or "We've decided to perform extensive trackwork by bringing in so-and-so to improve and change the ride," or "We've decided that Son of Beast has come to the end of its operational life."

 

Having a public decision that at LEAST covers the parks Son of Beast work for next season would shift the media in a positive direction ("Son of Beast Finds New Life," "Son of Beast Retired For 2010, To Be Born Again 2011," or "Son of Beast is Dead." Truly, any of those directions would at least put the PARK in charge of what the public is saying instead of leaving the media to speculate and spew out incorrect information.

Edited November 15, 2009 by GoodYellowKoRn182