Windseeker construction cam up!

Erik Lee said:
I know it's easier to blame the foul weather for another project not to be running on time. But, the Windseeker site sat vacant with absolutely nothing going on for a couple months earlier in the winter. And don't say they couldn't pour the concrete because it was too cold. Construstion crews do it all the time. And despite misconceptions tall buildings get built in crappy weather all the time.

Easier to blame? We're blaming the weather because the undeniable fact is that the weather HAS been the reason for the delays. I don't get what's hard to understand about that.

Those "vacant months" in winter were when the tower sections were still in transit. So there wasn't much to do until they arrived.....wouldn't you agree? And while there ARE conditions that aren't ideal to pour concrete, this was not the case here since the base was poured a LONG time before the tower sections were even in transit or at the park.

And while building DO get built in crappy weather, when you decide to build a 300' tower right next to a beach located on the eleventh largest lake in the world, you're going to get very strong gusts coming from said lake. Those gusts make it VERY dangerous to lift multi-ton sections of steel. So you either risk lives, an expensive piece of steel and possibly break OSHA safety regulations (of which I'm not too familiar with) or you wait for calm days that ARE safe.

So, yes what I said was fair to say, especially after the Intamin fiasco's of previous years. I would have thought they would have been done and testing by now to be on the safe side.

I still don't think it is. Your post basically said this is the manufacturers fault......which it REALLY isn't. The delays we saw with Maverick and STR have been related to the design and resulting performance. In those cases, yes Intamin was to blame (in one way or another). But this is not, not, not, not the case with Windseeker.

And until you're a foreman or part of the crew on the site who knows what's going on, I would suggest not putting them on the hot seat. As Rodney Dangerfield would say "No respect!"

::UPDATE:: Looks like they're going to working into the night. There's a crew in the scaffolding and the tower lights are on. What slackers! ;)

TTD, that was a lucid well thought out rebuttal. Objection overruled Mr. Lee.

Just trying to clear some of the small amounts of ignorance on this site. :D

As of 10:35 P.M. a worker is still there. All Nighter!

The undenialable fact is Windseeker will most likely be another project that won't open on time. And, no I don't blame the manufacturer, I blame this just in time delivery system that everyone seems to function in now-a-days. Where I work we call just in time delivery from our suppliers just in time for us to get laid off for a few weeks while waiting for suppliers to ship us parts so we can meet our deadlines. All I am saying is you would have thought that CP after their past epic fails with rides not opening on time would have made sure that this one would open on time without any hitches.

And, for the record I hope it does open on time. And, in the real world when businesses don't get contracts done on time year after year, people may get fired for it, and people like me have a right to complain about said rides not opening on time. But, in mamby-pamby land you can do stuff like this year after year.

I have to agree with Adam. If in fact Windseeker is delayed, it would be due to the weather. I'm sure the General Public would be very understanding of this if they knew it was weather related. In my opinion, its hard to point fingers at the construction crew when they are working around the clock 24-7, 6 days a week. Cedar Point I'm sure probably had to wait for the right temperature and the right weather to pour concrete. Also Cedar Point had to wait for the tower pieces to come in from Holland which took a while to get here as well. So I highly doubt anybody would get fired over Windseeker getting delayed if in fact it does become delayed.

Erik Lee said:
The undenialable fact is Windseeker will most likely be another project that won't open on time.

How is that an undeniable fact? It's more of an assertive guess made by a pessimistic. At this point, it's still on time to open by the 14th/13th. They have a schedule for these things and sometimes things are just out of their control.

And, no I don't blame the manufacturer, I blame this just in time delivery system that everyone seems to function in now-a-days. All I am saying is you would have thought that CP after their past epic fails with rides not opening on time would have made sure that this one would open on time without any hitches.

Then why make reference to them in regards to Mav and STR? Those past delays were not due to parts arriving late. They were design flaws. Maverick and STR WOULD have opened on time if it wasn't for those hiccups. Like I said, you can't always count on things going smoothly 100% of the time.

And, for the record I hope it does open on time. And, in the real world when businesses don't get contracts done on time year after year, people may get fired for it, and people like me have a right to complain about said rides not opening on time. But, in mamby-pamby land you can do stuff like this year after year.

And guess what, you're not the only one! We all want it to open when the season starts, Cedar Point MOST of all! To have this notion that the enthusiast community is the only group that gets upset by these things is asinine. If you spent millions into an attraction, I'm pretty certain you would try your hardest to get it open on time.

After all, at no point, have they ever promised that Windseeker would open on time (go ahead and try to prove me wrong). They can't since you can't really make that kind of promise. Even though the Toledo Blade used the word "promise", I think that was the editors decision to put that in when the quotes from Clark Culbertson never had the word in it. So in actuality, even if it is delayed, you have no real reason to be angry at them for making a promise they never made. Just be glad they're going to extra lengths to make sure it gets done right.

Because I'd think it's smarter to say that a persons job would be more in jeopardy if they "get it done quick and miss things that might cause serious problems" rather than "get it done right but have a later opening". The sad truth is a schedule can change......it's not written in stone.

Erik Lee said:
All I am saying is you would have thought that CP after their past epic fails with rides not opening on time would have made sure that this one would open on time without any hitches.

how are they epic fails when they eventually get the rides running? Epic Fails to me is more like Vertigo at CP, Vertigo at Walibi World, even the Bat at Kings Island. Rides not opening on time is not a big of a deal, at least to me anyways. after all it could be like Batman & Robin at SFGAdv opening a whole year late.

Followed by a retracking......followed by complete demolition. ;)

P.S.- Looks like those slackers are working late into the night again. ;)

Would anybody happen to know if they might be close to hanging the swings? Just curious.

It's hard to tell just how close they are. They need power to be hooked up to the gondola as well as the cables so they can lift it and hang the arms. My guess is early in this week like maybe Tuesday. From there it's the long process of wiring the other stuff in the tower and the LEDs. And if Kings Islands Windseeker is any indication, that's a VERY time consuming deal.

Erik Lee said:
The undenialable fact is Windseeker will most likely be another project that won't open on time.

And guess what? In a couple years... heck, later this year, no one (aside from perhaps a couple entitled, whiny enthusiasts, of course) will care when the ride opened. WindSeeker either will or won't be ready for opening day. Either way, I think it's a safe assumption that life will go on.

Two more section gaps to go and then it's nearly time to set up the lift cables! We're about 70% done!;)

djDaemon said:

Erik Lee said:
The undenialable fact is Windseeker will most likely be another project that won't open on time.

And guess what? In a couple years... heck, later this year, no one (aside from perhaps a couple entitled, whiny enthusiasts, of course) will care when the ride opened. WindSeeker either will or won't be ready for opening day. Either way, I think it's a safe assumption that life will go on.

Really? Life wasn't going to end if Windseeker wasn't running. Dang and to think I have been planning for it to end. Thanks, for the information on life.

Oh don't worry about him, he's the answer to the question no one asked.

I also don't think Windseeker is going to open on time. Everyone keeps blaming the weather and in the same post saying that they had to wait for pieces to show up. I blame whomever was in charge of getting this thing going. So either CP or Mondial.

Erik Lee said:
The undenialable fact is Windseeker will most likely be another project that won't open on time.

This is definitely the best quote I've read on this site...

Maybe. ;)

PrawoJazdy said:
I also don't think Windseeker is going to open on time. Everyone keeps blaming the weather and in the same post saying that they had to wait for pieces to show up. I blame whomever was in charge of getting this thing going. So either CP or Mondial.

Well IF you read things correctly, you would understand why they were both used in context. For one, yes the pieces showed up later than would have probably been desired. Is anyone at fault for that? Who knows and, more importantly, who CARES!? Second, even though they still had plenty of time to get the ride done when the pieces arrived it was then the weather that postponed putting up said pieces. So don't try to say those contradicted each other because they don't.

Why (and I cant stress that "why" enough)is it that it's a "someone" who HAS to be a fault when it's a "something".......i.e. THE WEATHER!

This "bad weather vs person(s) at fault" debate is like a "evolution vs intelligent design" debate. And much like that kind of debate.....this one will probably never end as well.

Is anyone at fault for that? Who knows and, more importantly, who CARES!?

Obviously you care to pour so much time and effort into responses.

This "bad weather vs person(s) at fault" debate is like a "evolution vs intelligent design" debate. And much like that kind of debate.....this one will probably never end as well.

What?! How is a debate about who is at fault in the delay of a ride like a Scientific Theory vs. Religious Stance debate?

I don't care about Windseeker anymore. I want to know how those two correlate.

I'm saying that much like that kind of debate, this one will never be resolved. There's no real "correlation" between the topics in the 2 different debates (I realize that). It's more of the stance that people take. So much like that kind of debate who have radicals on both sides, this debate does as well. Thus this will continue on each season, and every time a new ride shows up.

And yes I do care....to point out when something gets misconstrued or things start to go the route of ignorance. And so that is why that sentence is in there. I'm trying to prove the point that no ones to "blame" for the weather and slower than desired delivery which would cause the possible delay. Things (like ships) can only go so fast and are also at the mercy of storms. So if the ship had to postpone his/her route due to weather or there was a sequence in which the parts were shipped (like in order of parks) then how can there be someone to blame.

So is it just human nature to point fingers and not consider alternatives when something doesn't go to their expectations? Or am I crazy?

Time to end this

It says new in 2011 season, nothing about, ready opening day

If it is ready opening day, awesome...If not oh well...It'll be ready soon, it's not like this is going to take a year to put up...

Sorry for the language, but everyone needs to stop their bitching, relax, & wait and watch to see the progress of the ride. If there are delays. Go ride another one of the numerous rides there this season. Maybe go ride it's smaller counterpart near maverick lol

Jesus I have never seen so many strong emotions over the opening of a yoyo on 'roids lols