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New for 2011 Windseeker!


Sergeant Pepper
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It would be nice if they do build it in commanders former site to occupy some of the vacant land. I remember back in 96 walking by seeing a sign hinting on a drop ride for 97 but Drop Zone didn't open until 99 and in a different spot.

The reason that sign was up was because they had originally planned on putting the Drop Tower on Flight Commanders ride pad. If memory serves me correctly, the original Drop Tower/Drop Zone was planned to be around 200ft until another park broke that record. Paramount then determined that it was necessary to relocate the ride to a site that would accommodate the weight of the tower.

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Okay...I shoot photography and I'm on my laptop which doesn't have my photo editing software, so, the free paint will have to do. LOL.

I wanted to put my two cents in. I think that they'll redevelope the land and give it a more open feeling.

1. They'll put up a security fence by racers.

2. They'll move the bathrooms closer to the midway.

3. They'll fill in the area with grass and hills, just like they did Stunt Coaster, which was flat for antique cars.

4. They'll have you enter close to the Midway but exit toward the back near SB queue line. Maybe you'll go there next and those going to SB will walk past the ride.

5. They'll make the WS queue line large enough to keep crowds off the midway and moving back and around.

6. They'll move Eurobubble up and either keep it or make up for it somewhere else in the park and use that space for an observation area for those waiting for friends and love ones.

DON'T SHOOT ME DOWN YA'LL. I JUST WANTED TO HAVE FUN AND GIVE IT A TRY. I'M EXCITED LIKE THE REST OF YOU. ENJOY.

WindSeekerKI.jpg

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I like everything about that ground plan except for taking out the path directly in front of Eurobubbles. With that plan in place, it creates a bottleneck at the end of Coney Mall to where it will be hard to maneuver by the entrance to Vortex. It'll make things worse come Haunt time next year when Urgent Scare opens back up and three big attractions are ten feet away from each other (US, Seeker, and Tex). Not unless they take out the last garden block and the two smaller blocks next to Tex's queue.

But I do love the idea of having that bathroom moved up from its prior location. It'll make the walk from Firehawk/Flight of Fear to the nearest restroom that much more bearable .

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In my opinion whatever Foundation existed for Flight Commander is likely unable to support the structure for WindSeeker. That means that it would have to be removed and redone completely. The cheaper option is probably to put it somewhere else - what would be the benefit of using the old spot if it causes an attraction to be removed and costs more?

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How do we know that the map is correct? As I recall, there were quite a few mistakes with that map when the new site debuted earlier this year, and the site still doesn't even mention Action Theater (not under Shows, not under Thrill Rides, not under Family Rides, not even indicated with a marker on the park map...). We will just have to wait and see where they choose to put it.

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330u006.jpg

I think it'd be cool, after the queue with all the switch backs, to have an elevated pathway bordering the euro bubbles next to The Racer. You could watch a bunch of people tumbling and falling, watch The Racers... race by, or watch Firehawk from a new perspective!

And if you're going to say that it would confuse tourist by having the entrance so far away from the actual ride... Then they could have two pathways bordering the eruo bubbles. One heading towards the switch back queue; and one going towards the ride. And on off days they could have a switch back so you don't have to go back and fourth.

Look at the scale on the bottom of the image, keep in mind this ride is 110 ft. in diameter at swing so this ride has to have a fairly large base.

Thank you! Seriously if you think about the ride.. it will need a bigger footprint than Drop Tower... and, well, there really is no room in the old SkyLab area. The only places it looks like it could go is either; where action theater is (think about it.. they announced a new maze for this year, replacement for next year, eh?) or that space between The Beast and Vortex ... and lets hope its not there. That second hill, the one coming out of the tunnel... would be ruined.. so much of that ride is the atmosphere. Think about that hill with very thin trees.. and HUGE spotlights beaming on this huge tower right beside it...

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It would be nice if they do build it in commanders former site to occupy some of the vacant land. I remember back in 96 walking by seeing a sign hinting on a drop ride for 97 but Drop Zone didn't open until 99 and in a different spot.

The reason that sign was up was because they had originally planned on putting the Drop Tower on Flight Commanders ride pad. If memory serves me correctly, the original Drop Tower/Drop Zone was planned to be around 200ft until another park broke that record. Paramount then determined that it was necessary to relocate the ride to a site that would accommodate the weight of the tower.

The Drop Zone tower planned for KI in 1997 was installed at Canada's Wonderland. KI made the decision, after initially promoting the Drop Tower in park, to expand the waterpark instead. Cedar Point was also expanding their waterpark (Soak City) in 1997 and KI opted to directly compete with them.

The decision to install the gyro drop in what is now Action Zone, was not made until the 1998 season when Al Webber pushed to renovate the Adventure Villiage section of the park. This decision came in preperation for the future install of SOB and as a desire to re-invigorate that area of the park. The weight of the tower had little to do with the placement change. No matter where it would have gone, the immense steel girders would have had to be pounded into the ground to support it. The re-theme of the area is what promted it's install location.

Shaggy

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Shaggy I love reading your post. Great insight. Its amazing to think what the park would like if all the things that were close to happening did. Maybe someone could draw it up.

Thanks.

There's a ton of *speculation* as to the actual location of the new 2011 attraction. My personal belief is that WindSeeker will be placed directly next to The Racer in the general area of the now removed Lazer tag dome. IMO, that's why the dome was removed in the first place. Cedar Fair has a long history of "preparing" areas seasons ahead of time. So from the time I heard that the dome was removed, I immediately figured the site was being prepped for a future attraction.

I've not seen the Euro Balls, or whatever they are called, but doubt they have much bearing on the location of the install. A temporary, upcharge can easily give way to a new permanent install.

Finally, IMO, it wouldn't seem wise to install WindSeeker in a tucked-away corner next to a busy coaster exit. Perhaps I am very wrong, but placement behind Vortex just wouldn't seem *right* to me. Locating it in the fomer Lazer Tag/Flight Commander site - directly on the midway - seems much more esthetically correct to me.

Shaggy

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So. I just noticed this. If you go to the WindSeeker page and look in the photo gallery... The third picture sort of shows it's location. If the photos are correct, which I assume they are, it will be sitting next to The Racer and Eurobobbles as opposed to where it's positioned on the map.

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Finally, IMO, it wouldn't seem wise to install WindSeeker in a tucked-away corner next to a busy coaster exit. Perhaps I am very wrong, but placement behind Vortex just wouldn't seem *right* to me. Locating it in the fomer Lazer Tag/Flight Commander site - directly on the midway - seems much more esthetically correct to me.

Shaggy

Just a question - how often has CF/KI done what you consider "right" and "correct". Maybe that tells us where it is going?:D

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It would be nice if they do build it in commanders former site to occupy some of the vacant land. I remember back in 96 walking by seeing a sign hinting on a drop ride for 97 but Drop Zone didn't open until 99 and in a different spot.

The reason that sign was up was because they had originally planned on putting the Drop Tower on Flight Commanders ride pad. If memory serves me correctly, the original Drop Tower/Drop Zone was planned to be around 200ft until another park broke that record. Paramount then determined that it was necessary to relocate the ride to a site that would accommodate the weight of the tower.

The Drop Zone tower planned for KI in 1997 was installed at Canada's Wonderland. KI made the decision, after initially promoting the Drop Tower in park, to expand the waterpark instead. Cedar Point was also expanding their waterpark (Soak City) in 1997 and KI opted to directly compete with them.

The decision to install the gyro drop in what is now Action Zone, was not made until the 1998 season when Al Webber pushed to renovate the Adventure Villiage section of the park. This decision came in preperation for the future install of SOB and as a desire to re-invigorate that area of the park. The weight of the tower had little to do with the placement change. No matter where it would have gone, the immense steel girders would have had to be pounded into the ground to support it. The re-theme of the area is what promted it's install location.

Shaggy

That's very insightful info! smile.gif I can't help but laugh when I read the facts behind decisions that were made by park executives vs the stories that we employees were told. I suppose at one point there was an element of truth in what stories made their way around the staff at KI, but several ambiguous assumptions obviously took presence.

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A little bit ago my friend and I were leaving action theater. There were 4 people standing under the tunnel under racer, two people were from KI the other two were from some company called kaman's air supplies, one guy had a camera and the other was talking to the guys from KI. I heard her say word for word "the only problem with putting it here is there is not a lot of traffic back here." I have no idea what to take from that, but I thought you all might want to know.

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Kaman's is the art shoppe that supplies the caricature artists and photographers at Kings Island. They were probably talking about moving a stand back there...

Well.. that makes sense.. but the shirt definitely did not say shoppes. I probably mistook art for air.. but I know for certain it said supplies. So was the company ever called by that name? I don't know much about it..

Who knows.. maybe they are hoping a certain new ride will draw more attention back there... lol

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Once upon a time, a relatively new company to the theme park business announced two new coasters with this really strange linear induction motor launch system. . .

One in Doswell, Virginia, the other in Mason, Ohio...and that ended pretty well, once the restraint system was changed...

Backlot Stunt Coaster? :P

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Once upon a time, a relatively new company to the theme park business announced two new coasters with this really strange linear induction motor launch system. . .

One in Doswell, Virginia, the other in Mason, Ohio...and that ended pretty well, once the restraint system was changed...

Backlot Stunt Coaster? :P

Har, har, har...but that would have been three coasters, and that company by then wasn't that new to the business...

But that same company also announced Hypersonic XLC and Son of Beast...how'd those end?

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