Make no mistake, if your idea of excitement is Xbox 2, Son of Beast will rough you up, steal your lunch money, and send you home crying for momma. It is a serious ride for serious thrill-seekers. Although I would not recommend it for everyone, it deserves to be THE destination coaster for the hardy traditionalist seeking the outer limits of the wood coaster experience. From start to finish, it is absolute mayhem. What it lacks in airtime and variety it makes up for with the insanity of its first (make that second) drop, breakneck speed, and relentless pacing. Nevertheless, the ride wont shake out your fillings like the late, rarely-lamented Hercules (which felt as if its wheels had corners and every bolt had been loosened to its last thread) nor send you to the chiropractor like any number of Vekoma SLCs.
Look, reasonable people can disagree over what they want in a coaster. If you want a smooth, swoopy ride with lots of inversions, or if you dont have the patience to traverse a lift hill, good for you. Nobodys stopping you from enjoying your B&Ms and Intamins. In fact, with every trip to Six Flags or Cedar Point, the traditional coaster enthusisasts subsidize the research, development, and construction of your favorite rides. Now, finally, when the wood coaster loyalists have a new ride worth living for, every kid whos ever cut his teeth on Medusa is screaming for PKI to tear it down.
Dont listen to them, PKI. Stay the course. We, the faithful, will back you. Youve seen how we responded to the Beast, and youve rewarded our loyalty and patience. Withhold your trim brakes and stay the reprofilers hand from its progeny. The souls of countless dead trees will cry out for justice should you repeat the infamy that has turned a legion of wood coasters from thrill ride to environmental tragedy.
For those of you whose sensibilities were ruffled by Son of Beast, I will only say that youre not hurting for alternatives. Know your limits and educate yourselves, and you need never have an unpleasant coaster experience. And when you come across that rare roller coaster that actually demands something of you, keep walking. Theres a another B&M floorless coming to a park near you.
***UPDATE: 21 May 2006***
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The Son of Beast fan club, never very large, has now decreased by one. Ive taken a few lumps for my vigorous support of this ride, but based on my experience in October 2004, I was proud to champion what I truly believed to be a daring and successful effort to redefine the limits of the modern wooden roller coaster. In the intervening months, I have been very eager to revisit this ride. The steady tirade of criticism against Son of Beast from nearly all corners of the learned coaster community could not easily be dismissed. A classic, I understood, needs to display staying power, not just the odd and unlikely moment of brilliance.
Having now ridden Son of Beast again, I have no choice but suspend my support. As of yesterday, this was a coaster trying to tear itself apart. Ive been riding wooden roller coasters of virtually every age and description since 1978, and never have I been on a ride and seriously considered the possibility that it would fail to remain intact until my train reached the station...until now. The lateral shaking of the train and spine-compressing pothole sensations from the track were so intense and persistent that I had to wonder if karma had caught up to me for misleading the coaster faithful. I began to imagine that I was to was to be part of that fateful circuit in which Son of Beast finally self-destructed and buried its riders, still immovably wedged in the vice-like grip of their Premier Rides restraints, in a monumental heap of lumber and steel.
I will say this. The experience had a sort of terrible beauty, like watching Keith Moon or Bon Scott at their frenzied hei
|