Son Of Beast to be removed.

Shivering Timbers is incredible and provides some of the best air time of any coaster I've been on. So either Cedar Fair hasn't been keeping it up since I rode it last (2010?) or people equate airtime to roughness just like they do with the Magnum XL-200.

bholcomb said:
or people equate airtime to roughness just like they do with the Magnum XL-200.

Magnum does have some pretty good airtime (while also being rough). It's just that the restraints are terrible for having air time in. Rather than enjoying it, you just scream in pain.

Good riddance to SOB. Worst coaster I've ever been on. I wouldn't be sad if Mean Streak was next, but I get the feeling it won't be for a long time.

Is it possible to replace Magnums restraints? It would be so much much more enjoyable. I might be able to keep my arms up instead of holding onto the bar from crushing my thighs.

I never have problems on Magnum XL-200. Tighten your seat belt down. Don't mess with the restraints!

I was on Shivering Timbers last month. The air time in the front seat was incredible! I would compare the roughness of the ride to Blue Streak, tolerable. It didn't beat the hell out of you, totally re-rideable!

Shawn Meyer said:
^ From what I heard from different people at Coaster Mania this year, Mean Streak is tolerable compared to Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure. From what people were saying, they said they would ride Mean Streak any day over Shivering Timbers. So I guess we can consider Mean Streak decent especially with all the wood work they have done the last couple of seasons.

It's been a few years since I've been on ST, but unless something drastic happened to both coasters, there's no way I'd compare ST to MS in the roughness department. And even if they were comparable, at least you get a lot of enjoyment out of ST. That ride is pretty awesome.

Vette said:

TwistedWicker77 said:
You know, I never knew people had to explain themselves as to why they like a ride. But the reasons why I like Mean Streak is:

1) The look
2) The roar of the train passing by
3) The airtime provided on some hills
4) The location
5) The confusing layout
6) The parts that are retracked are smooth as glass IMO
7) Minus the trims, it gives a great ride (even after riding The Voyage)

What reasons do you lik El Torro?

You didn't post a single positive of Mean Streak that couldn't be emulated by a new Woodie.

However, you can't just judge a coaster by tangibles. Or else we would all be clamoring for rides that have mediocre stats for the year 2012 to be torn down. But Mean Streak doesn't really have many intangible benefits, most people will tell you they think its boring.

I stopped reading after the first sentence to gather myself. If I listed things emulated by a new woodie, just as Mean Streak, why get rid of it?

Boring or not, people still ride it. Cedar Point is out to please everybody. If there is the guest that likes the feel and ride of wooden coasters, they are going to keep Mean Streak. The End. Boring and low ridership does not play a part in whether a ride gets torn down, sorry. Look at DT now. And it hit 1,000,000 riders last season for the first time since 2005.

Low ridership certainly does play a role in whether a ride stays or goes. Especially if that ride has a high maintenance cost associated with it.

And it's not last year's numbers you have to look at, but what was the ridership like 4-7 years ago when ideas for its replacement were being hatched? Unfortunately, Cedar Point's website no longer has that information.

Mean Streak will never be removed unless it's part of a project to replace it, a la removing DT for the new wing coaster. Since we won't see a new coaster for 5 years possibly, that would be the earliest it could be removed. And even then I don't see it happening

JuggaLotus said:
Low ridership certainly does play a role in whether a ride stays or goes. Especially if that ride has a high maintenance cost associated with it.

And it's not last year's numbers you have to look at, but what was the ridership like 4-7 years ago when ideas for its replacement were being hatched? Unfortunately, Cedar Point's website no longer has that information.

If low ridership played an important role in a ride's removal, why hasn't Mean Streak been demolished yet? Same goes for Blue Streak. Space Spiral has been a maintenance nightmare, not to mention with very low ridership for the past 9 years. Why wasn't it removed sooner?

Are you one of the believers that WildCat was planned to be removed when Ouimet stated it wouldn't be there for the 2012 season for the expansion of Celebration Plaza? It seems as if Ouimet has been itching to get rid of DT since last season, therefore, what 4-7 year plans are you referring to? Too bad Cedar Point's coaster pages don't have the ridership stats anymore. I wish there was somewhere on here that could tell me.

When they did release the numbers, Mean Sreak was ahead of both Wildcat and Disaster Transport. It does have 3 trains after all.

We don't know the costs associated with Space Spiral. I wouldn't be surprised if it was on the "remove" list for a while now, this just seems to be the perfect time.

TwistedWicker77 said:
Are you one of the believers that WildCat was planned to be removed when Ouimet stated it wouldn't be there for the 2012 season for the expansion of Celebration Plaza? It seems as if Ouimet has been itching to get rid of DT since last season, therefore, what 4-7 year plans are you referring to? Too bad Cedar Point's coaster pages don't have the ridership stats anymore. I wish there was somewhere on here that could tell me.

I can tell you WildCat had a huge increase in ridership last year. It's amazing what happens when you have a crew that works hard.

SOB was a interesting idea to say the least, a looping wooded coaster (it cheated a bit by using steel for the loop) that contained many of the basic elements of the original Beast. Unfortunately, it was very rough ride. The name was something that would be extremely hard to live up to, and it lacked the entire "hidden in the woods" aspectn that made the Beast such a great ride.

I was able to ride SOB with (and without) it's signature loop, and I have to honestly admit, I won't miss it - and look forward to what will replace it.

If you were at K.I. twenty or so years ago, there were several coasters that were removed since that time. The Bat, King Cobra, and a shuttle coaster all were unique (at last at the time), and the park has survived without them just fine.

It was an intereting period to say the least - new ideas and concepts were being tried out as prototypes (some worked, some didn't). But we didn't see cookie cutter installations (i.e. Windseeker or Dino's) being installed at every park in the chain.

I think Magnum XL - 200 needs restraints like MF.

TwistedWicker77 said:
If low ridership played an important role in a ride's removal, why hasn't Mean Streak been demolished yet?

Ridership plays a role. But there are other factors. Maintenance cost, ride uniqueness, etc.

Great post SteveH. I never rode SOB but it is an intriguing situation. It is a product of aggressive and interesting ideas that was poorly executed. I'm sure Kings Island (and other parks) have learned from the SOB mistakes.

tcgolfer, WildCat definitely had an awesome year last year! That crew was unbelievably good with dispatching cars after cars.

djDaemon, thank you for showing it's not just ridership that plays a role (no sarcasm intended). However, Mean Streak, from what I remember hearing, is a pain when it comes to maintenance cost too.

All wooden coasters are a pain when it comes to maintenance costs.

CedarPointTaylor, the "larger" community would hate that. Magnum, (minus the seatbelts) is one of the few big coasters allowing "larger" guests.