10 Incredible Roller Coasters You'll Never Get To Ride Ever Again

Location: Kings Island (Mason, Ohio)

Opened in 2000, Son of Beast was a sequel roller coaster to The Beast (also located in Kings Island). It set out to break world records and achieved this by being deliberately built with old-fashioned wood. At 218 feet long with a maximum speed of 78.4mph, it was the only wooden roller coaster nationally ranked in the top ten for track height, track length, drop length and speed. It was also the only wooden roller coaster to feature a vertical loop until 2007.

Unfortunately, the wooden construction was ultimately its downfall. There was a record of two incidents occurring on Son of Beast. The first instance was in 2006 when a structural failure formed a slight dip and caused a “pothole effect”. A train passed over on this part of the track and jolted the ride, leaving many riders with head and neck injuries. Thankfully, none of the incidents were life-threatening but management had to take action by shutting the ride down for repairs and investigation.

It was reopened a year later with many test and alteration procedures (such as the aforementioned vertical loop being removed) made for safety. In 2009, a woman claimed to have suffered from a burst blood vessel in her brain after riding Son of Beast and had to be rushed into intensive care afterwards. Spokesman Don Helbig said that this claim was made two weeks after her visit and there had been no record of going to first aid on that day of her visit in the park.

Son of Beast was temporarily shut down as a precaution. Investigations were made and there were no irregularities found within the ride. But to avoid any lawsuits, the roller coaster stayed closed and has since been demolished. Its ‘father’ roller coaster "The Beast" still remains active and popular in the Kings Island park.