17 replies to this topic

[JJ2K]

Once again cedar point is experiencing more problems with their Mondial made windseeker. Lets recap here before everyone gets into a confused tizzy. The windseeker and the skyscreamer while similar are EXTREMELY different in design and made by two different companies. Cedar Fair wanted to build the tallest and reached out to (at the time) the only designer of the ride Funtime. To build the model....many rumors swirl about exactly what went down between funtime and cedar fair. Some people say funtime did wind tests at cedar point and concluded that a model over 200' would not be feasible....others say cedar point asked for a higher capacity version but funtime said there would be no way to safely accomodate more seats due to the above average wind gusts on the cedar point peninsula....some say it was both of these issues. Whatever the case may be Cedar Point didn't like what they heard from funtime so they played the field of flat ride designers until they found a company that said they would give them what they were asking for. That company was Mondial....not a very well known flat ride company but they have been around awhile and do have some quality products. When this was announced funtime actually threatened to sue mondial and I think they did....but I'm not certain what happened with the lawsuit.

Anywho Cedar Fair is probably realizing now what funtime was saying all along. The windseekers have been plagued with issues from the start. One such incident happened yesterday morning when a large gust of wind pushed the cable of the ride out of its normal alignment while the ride was on its descent....it got caught in the circular motion of the machine and literally got twisted around and torn apart. Guests report of seeing pieces of plastic and rubber flying all over the place and the ride came to a screaching hault at about 200 feet in the air. It took the park 2 hours to safely bring the riders down from the tower. Now if this concerns you about our skyscreamer please be rest assured our model was designed by the original maker of the ride funtime whom have been making them for YEARS with no major issues! Here is a pic of the damage to windseeker at cedar point:

[Yoshi]

Weren't there also problems with the cars hitting each other last year too? It would really be miserable to be stuck on a ride for 2 hours and I really hope Dorney doesn't get one of these next year. They already have enough problems with faulty rides.

[Christian]

God I love breaking this out again

[Kingda R]

I can see where this might go, let the SF vs. CF flame war begin! But seriously, I'm just glad no one was hurt. I definitely would not want to be suspended helplessly that high for 2hrs.

[CoastToCoaster]

At least the people facing the park got a great view for 2 hours!

[SFNEKid13]

I hope nobody had to go to the bathroom.

[DiveMachine]

Cedar Fair has got to be kicking themselves at this point about these windseekers. First the ride has problems all over mechanically, then the seats hit each other, then they decide they will go with another round of them and this happens. If they add more of these to their parks until the problems can be sorted out somehow, they will officially have one of the dumbest management teams around.

[Larry]

Wow - that's scary. One of the SFNEOnline mods was there just 2 weeks ago for ACE's Spring Conference too...

[CycloneMan]

My best friend rode it this four days ago and told me how much she liked it. I'm going to Knott's at the end of the month and have been warned I'm being dragged on this kicking and screaming (I wont ride Sky Screamer either btw). I then proceeded to post this on her Facebook wall

-Dainan "I'm seriously terrified of these rides" Rafferty

[RollingToro95]

Yeah, it's very interesting how this turned out, although I never really hear about Windseeker issues from the other parks. I think the main reason Cedar Point's been having issues is because of the lakeside location, so I feel Dorney Park would be safe in getting a Windseeker. If not, Cedar Fair could always come crawling back to Funtime!

[Sfguy]

^^ I just went on SkyScreamer for the first time today. The beginning of the ascent is a bit nerve-wracking, but then it's really fun. Especially because I rode it in the rain.

At least the people facing the park got a great view for 2 hours!

Oh man, I'd be terrified. Big gusts of wind and stuck 200 feet in the air with nothing below you in a ride that just had its cable torn apart? Noooo thanks.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

Cedar Fair has got to be kicking themselves at this point about these windseekers. First the ride has problems all over mechanically, then the seats hit each other, then they decide they will go with another round of them and this happens. If they add more of these to their parks until the problems can be sorted out somehow, they will officially have one of the dumbest management teams around.

At the time of windseeker's opening last year it was after all a prototype & with prototypes come problems no matter who the manufacturer is,they did learn from last year's problems & installed dampers to keep the seats stable but this is a bit different.

As anyone who has ridden the ride knows there is a cable that rides in a guide track on the tower with the plastic tracks on it tosupply power to the carousel that rotates the ride as the lift cables are above that area....it appears that the wind gusts were strong enough to rip the cable out of it's guide track where it got tangled up in the carousel holding the seats...what I'd like to know is how did a gust of wind cause the cable to come out like that & will they be making changes to the ride as a result? KD's windseeker was running just fine saturday as I was at the park & rode it during the late afternoon/early evening with the only problem appearing to be a couple of closed seats.

[Yoshi]

http://www.wsoctv.co...tuck-air/nPs9J/
Carowinds' Windseeker broke down with riders stuck for almost 3 hours.

[palmer]

^Great....I'm suppose to go to Carowinds Monday. It says it should be operating by then, but I'm a bit on the skeptical side. I'll probably ride it if there isn't a line and if the weather isn't bad.

[Yoshi]

And now Knott's:
http://www.ocregiste...windseeker.html