WindSeeker Closed

Due to the inccidents at Knott's, all six WindSeekers were closed until further notice.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-knotts-windseeker-riders-stuck-09201221,0,1284072.story

Listed as Standing but not Operating (SBNO) on Wiki :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WindSeeker

I hope they still have these signs somewhere...

http://flic.kr/p/9SshQz

I wonder if Funtime is giggling in delight. ;)

Let the WindBreaker jokes ensue...

I hope they re-open, I like Windseeker!

Ffej said:
I wonder if Funtime is giggling in delight. ;)

Has Funtime built one that is comparable in height to the WindSeekers?

Taller. The capacity of theirs is about 1/3 though.

Just one? That's not exactly a large sample size. :)

I'll be interested to see how Funtime's version fares at similar heights in various locations.

I didn't think their 400 foot model was even open yet, right? Weren't all the others shorter than the Windseekers?

I don't think the height is really a factor here. Windseeker would have similar problems if it were 50' tall, it just wouldn't be as newsworthy.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

SFOT is opening a 400 foot one next year.

RideMan said:
I don't think the height is really a factor here.

So, do you know the failure mode, or are you speculating?

But didn't CF go with Windseeker over Starflyer due to the location? I thought I saw something once that said since the Starflyers have chains, it would be down a lot due to the location right on the beach (windy).

Thats what they thought was true but the opposite has happened.

Haha yeah. But I do love how WS looks at night, I'll give them credit for that. However I think having a 400 foot Starflyer would have been better, especially with all the unexpected downtime and problems all the WS have had.

I personally think the Starflyer looks very cheap (like a carnival ride). The capacity per hour is only around 350, compared to Windseeker's 960 (theoretical I assume). Since Cedar Fair actually cares about hourly capacity, I don't think a Starflyer would have been suitable.

But how much is that capacity really needed though? Almost every time I've been on Windseeker, the ride is only a small fraction full. As a result, it appears that they have to worry about balancing the load by directing riders to particular seats.

The lower capacity might have worked out better on a majority of the days, and it seems that people find the Starflyers more thrilling, as the ride was intended to be.

As far as appearance, WindSeeker does win there, especially at night. Though I do find the Starflyers to look pretty awesome at max height in the day. It looks like the riders are just being flung through the air by nothing but a string.

Starflyer's 350 hourly capacity is way better than Windseeker's 0 per hour.

Will the WINDSEEKER Open up at CP before the Final Day OCT. 28th? My brother hasn't rode it yet, and would like to know. He lives in Idaho and is coming home for a few weeks and wants too ride it.

No one knows the answer to that but I really don't think we'll see WindSeeker open again this season. I think they'll really take a hard look at this.