Windseeker Testing

Ensign Smith said:
I never actually saw the gondola move at all. Sometimes I would look, and it'd be on the ground -- just sitting there, or at the top -- also not moving, or about halfway up -- (ding ding ding, you guessed it!)

Well if you would not have been so occupied with stroking the chickens maybe you would have seen it move:)

^That made me laugh so hard it brought tears to my eyes. :)

As did your original comment in the "2012" thread to me. I wasn't sure if you intended it to read that way but it sure made me laugh.

Shades said:
As did your original comment in the "2012" thread to me. I wasn't sure if you intended it to read that way but it sure made me laugh.

Do you mean the Planet Snoopy ride reference I made?

No, your comment about the petting zoo and the stray chicken.

Ah. No, it wasn't originally intended as such, though I knew I was getting into joke-worthy territory. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynUX1o19GHQ

Since you all seem to know way more about this ride can someone tell me what the red parts are that are on the ground? Thank you in advance.

It appears that those are the backs of the seats.

Thank you, I was trying to figure out what they were, so obvious, guess I need to go back to sleep.

So did the Canada's Wonderland WindSeeker actually run with guests earlier this week? Their Facebook page declared the ride open but the parts on the ground suggest otherwise.

It did open but something went wrong and that's why it's not open. Boy oh boy, what a Greek tragedy!:) Sure hope this is something that can now be avoided at KI and CP.

So... Just wondering, Adam if you still think this is all weather related? ;)

I love the reason given to the guy, "The ride was not coming down in the right spot." Now I'm not surprised that that was the statement given, but do you think that might not actually be the real reason. You know with the seat backs off and all...just saying. :P

I would think that the ride not coming down in the right spot would have something to do with the gondola or lift system not the seats.

Actually, that could very well be the reason, as it looks like some (if not all) of the restraint system is behind the seat-back covers. If the ride is not properly parking itself, then the restraints may not be opening and could even cause the ride to fault itself, causing quite a few headaches. A similar problem is what was causing a lot of the issues with maXair the first two seasons. The ride system was set on a very narrow "home" position, but the gondola would often not stop precisely there, or the arm would remain a little "loose" after parking, so it caused an error and the restraints would not unlock (I believe this required a restart, although I don't remember exactly). They rectified this eventually mostly by widening the "home" position. This could very well be an issue with WindSeeker, and if they are having to adjust the restraint systems individually as a result, it would certainly explain the backs being off.

Ah, forgot that that could happen. Now I feel like an idiot. :P

That theory does make perfect sense though. Hope they don't run into this problem with the other three that are yet to open.

Since the designs are identical, I fully expect the others will have the same problem. However, they will be able to implement the fix learned from Wonderland before they open for operation.

Looks like Wonderland is the path finder for design/operation issues for the product line. Maybe next time when CF buys multiple copies of a new design, they should have the manufacturer build a path finder model at their facility (leave off the non-essential components like lights, paint, etc.) to validate the major systems before starting "production". Sure would save on having in-park rides that don't work once built and maybe help in getting them operational at the start of the season. (Not cost effective for one-offs like STR).

PrawoJazdy said:
So... Just wondering, Adam if you still think this is all weather related? ;)

lol I was wondering when you'd chime in with this. :)
In all honesty, given these new "developments", it still might not have made opening day even if they had plenty of time to finish construction. Of course they couldn't have predicted these holdups until testing began. Except for, maybe, the dampers.

At least one is "operating" and bringing up these issues so they can be dealt with at the other parks before they rush into things. I'd rather have more time taken to get the problems ironed out BEFORE testing and opening so that it can have a better chance of running with minimal downtime.

Let alone, doooooowwwwwwntime... ;)

Actually Adam, CW's ran for a day and after issues with it not lowering to the right position, it is down again.

I have a feeling CP's wont open this weekend.....was planning on going this weekend too :(