Seems to me there's a lot of jumping to conclusions here. The investigation is not yet complete. The company will evaluate alternatives and make a safe, prudent decision. These things take time.

We will soon see verrrry tall ladders nearby it.

Seems to me there's a lot of jumping to conclusions here. The investigation is not yet complete. The company will evaluate alternatives and make a safe, prudent decision. These things take time.

He's right. Come on everyone, we must never assume.

You know what happens when we assume?

Are we going to turn this into another SOB thread with all of this nonsense? Do we start to discuss this for any ride that is closed due to a malfunction? If that is the case, we will be overloaded with topics like that. Wait until the final report.

^ But I can see WindSeeker's seats on Google Maps! Clearly, KI just refuses to make a decision about the ride! Seriously, all those people complaining about how long it took to get the people down are sissies. They clearly just rode it on a bad day. I got stuck on WindSeeker once for like three hours. It was awesome. Best flat ride I've ever been on.

(Hopefully that's everything?)

EDIT: A clarification after reconsidering The Interpreter's post a page or two ago: I'm kidding.

Im not sure about anyone else but if I got stuck on WindSeeker for 3 hours, Im not sure I could ever ride another ride. I am not a huge fan of heights. I ride rides to help control and conquer my fear. Standing on the Eiffel Tower at KI makes my hands sweat and when the tower shakes I get super nervous. I usually dont like talking while in line for a new coaster and thought I was going to die when I rode Griffin at Busch Gardens, my wife made me ride the front seat, but the hanging scares me to death.

If I would ever get the nerve to ride WindSeeker (and I probably never will) and it got stuck for 3 hours, I would probably pass out, vomit, or even worse. I go to the parks to help conquer fears and to enjoy the thrill of saying "I rode that." I dont plan on a ride breaking down, and if a ride breaks down time after time after time... then well the park must do something to assure me that I will not be stuck up there.

If I got stuck on WindSeeker, I would demand my money back for my ticket/pass and would probably avoid theme parks for years... Im not kidding, when things like this break, and if Im on it, Im sure I would/will be freaking out.

I should probably also clarify that I didn't mean to make fun of people's fears/complaints about the WindSeeker breakdowns. I was just playing at translating all the SoB topics of conversation from the last three years to being about WindSeeker. I love coasters, but being at any significant height for an extended amount of time (e.g. most observation or Drop Towers) makes me fairly nervous, to the place where my hands sweat pretty severely and I have to hold onto something or stay as close to the center of the observation deck as possible. I would not enjoy being stuck at the top of WindSeeker for any amount of time, and I definitely agree with the sentiment that it shouldn't take hours and hours to get people off the ride when it breaks down. With the minimalist seats and restraints, that would be terrifying, at least for me--there's nowhere to lean that would make me feel any more comfortable about being stuck 301 feet in the air with my feet dangling freely.

Disclaimer: i am usually 99% tongue-in-cheek on this site and very rarely take a serious counter-point to someone's view- and I don't mean to make an issue of this but wanted to take a moment to chime in on this.

If a ride such as WS were to stall out at 300'... there has to be a quicker way to bring them down to earth. Personally I have been on the ride 3-4 times this year- enjoy the ride (no my favorite, but a decent ride). My digestive system is such that if I were "trapped" in a situation and not able to get out for 3 hours... there'd be problems. I've had these problems most of my 39 year life and have learned to manage them- 3 hours is outside my manageable time frame. So, as to say, people who may have issue with the length of time getting down aren't sissies as stated. I know that you're probably not looking at it from this perspective- but this issue, while probably doesn't affect the overall "safety" of the ride, it will affect my decision making process when determining "if" I will ride again.

Hopefully their "investigation" goes into contingency plans of how to bring the gondola down quicker- or I may have possibly taken my last ride on WS.

Just thoughts from the balcony.

TR I got your joke, and my point was just my personal thoughts on it, not connected to yours. I do applaud your effort at getting every SOB talking point into one post (had you done that over at the SOB page, it might be 40 pages shorter).

Dwight, Im with you. 3 hours makes me rethink about climbing into the ride. If Vortex breaks down, or The Beast, you get climb down a set of stairs (which is super frightening for me anyways), but it would be done and over. 3 hours waiting for someone to use a hand crank... yeah not cool

If you sat up there three hours during the latest Knott's incident, you'd still have had about 40 more minutes to wait. Imagine all the things going through your mind at three hours, as you wouldn't know for sure how much longer it may be...ten minutes? Three more hours? All while nervously hoping for a safe rescue, perhaps sitting embarrassed in a puddle or worse, having children on the ground perhaps, missed a ride home from the park or a wedding or even a funeral...all manner of things. Imagine the pacts with the Almighty. Lord, if I get down from here safely, I'll....

May I remind everyone that if WindSeeker is fixed, the chances of being stuck for three hours is very slim. The chances of being on the gondola, as well, is even slimmer.

Yea I know, but I just never thought the ride had much point, because not many people liked it( I thought it was alright), if I remember right there was nothing wrong with KI's WS just all the others didn't properly work.

So,they shut it down for safety

Yea I know, but I just never thought the ride had much point, because not many people liked it( I thought it was alright), if I remember right there was nothing wrong with KI's WS just all the others didn't properly work.

Well, I wonder-the last time I was on it, it wasn't right. Perhaps the same issue was close to presenting itself on KI's-and the evacuation time is totally unacceptable in my eyes. Keeping them closed is a good idea at this point.

They should exchange their WindSeekers for some Giant Wheels. I think a ferris wheel would be a nice addition.

They should exchange their WindSeekers for some Giant Wheels. I think a ferris wheel would be a nice addition.

One like CP has and maybe a smaller one for the kids

Who hasn't heard of Rat Race?

That would be myself.

I never even heard of it before I Googled it.

'Rat Race' has now peaked my interest. Any good?

I'm with Dwight Shrute. I like WindSeeker, but these issues are concering to me as well. I'm a type 1 diabetic, am on an insulin pump, and occasionally, bad things happen. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it would feel like if something were to go wrong while I was stuck, in a seat, 300' in the air, with my emergency medical supplies in a bag many stories below. I've always tried to keep this in the back of my head, and usually, when I ride on any ride that could have a significantly long evac time, I carry a bag of skittles in my pocket, just in case. That however, wouldn't last for four hours if my blood sugar levels were to drop.

To me, a ratrace is going into the trailer at the Santa Fe Zoo in Gainesville, FL. and while in this trailer, being surrounded by hundreds of rats, and the smell of their urine, and fecal material in the hot Florida sun, in a hot trailer. ( Did I mention that it's hot in there? ) And reaching your hand down into a cage full of these rats to select One. And why would I do this? It's dinnertime, of course.

Okay, I know its somewhat out of context, but just wanted to make sure:

Were they stuck for almost 4 hours at the top while seated at a 45^o angle, or in the position in which the ride starts (straight down)?

The swings rely on centripital force to swing outwards away from the tower. Because they were stopped on the tower, there is no outward force exerted on the swings, therefore they were dangling vertically.

Haha @browntggrr it's really good and funny watch it!!

I know you guys want WindSeeker removed, but I like the WindSeeker. It's one of the few rides my dad can still ride. Please Cedar Fair, don't remove these rides!!

I am only nervous with heights in California. Although, my last WS ride was a close second.

I really don't think Cedar Fair would consider taking out the ride unless someone was injured or God forbid killed and lawsuits were going to fly. You have to give the manufactuer a chance to make corrections. If the problems can't be fixed on a long term basis they might consider taking them out but they would cover their rear ends by letting the builder try to make fixes first. That lets CF make a case when they would file the eventual lawsuits.

Like wize, brand new attraction to any park in the world. Of course it's going to have problems. Not be built to the correct specs of a ride. People don't understand that when a ride breaks down for a period of time that it will never run again.

If it did, it would be a stupid skyline addition to only run for almost 2 years. Besides, it's cold season anyways. It'll be the least busiest attraction at the park.

I don't think any of the sentences in that paragraph have anything to do with the sentences surrounding them, and I can't make heads or tails of a single one individually.

Like wize, brand new attraction to any park in the world.

Of course it's going to have problems.

Not be built to the correct specs of a ride.

People don't understand that when a ride breaks down for a period of time that it will never run again.

If it did, it would be a stupid skyline addition to only run for almost 2 years.

Besides, it's cold season anyways.

It'll be the least busiest attraction at the park.

There is nothing omitted. The quotes above are all of your sentences, copied exactly, in order. I am absolutely clueless.

^At least the misspellings were kept to a minimum.

I really don't think Cedar Fair would consider taking out the ride unless someone was injured or God forbid killed and lawsuits were going to fly.

CF already shut all the rides down and there were no injuries, you really believe an injury with a lawsuit will sway the decision to stay or go?

This WS issue is a PR nightmare for CF that spans North America. The publicity already received from these incidents makes CF look incompetent, anymore bad press surrounding WS & the rumor mongering WILL include injuries & fatalities when in reality, none ever existed.

Mondial has to guarantee similar recovery times have been eliminated. Anything less & all WS will be removed.

Not to mention that no one knows or can know at this point if or how many lawsuits may be filed for incidents/injuries/economic loss attributed to these rides and occurring prior to now.

Browntggrr has it exactly, more so than whatever is causing these rides to shut down, it is the multi-hour rescues that are a serious, unacceptable problem for the parks, riders, and the manufacturer. Such waits are not just publicity nightmares, they are unacceptable in many, many ways; including safety, customer experiences, and now even from a litigation exposure standpoint.

Typically, litigation is not filed until just prior to the expiration of statutes of limitation. If and when that happens, there will be more publicity.

Especially in California, I'd not assume none of the riders will be litigating.

Terp, who is not engaged in the private practice of law in Georgia, California, Ohio, any other United State nor in Canada. There is no legal advice pertaining to any specific situation or client contained herein. Consult a competent attorney in your jurisdiction if you have or think you may have a legal problem.

No matter how much I think about it, I just can't seem to see why Cedar Fair invested in so many WindSeekers. It doesn't seem to be anyone's "favorite" ride...it doesn't deliver much of a thrill (unless you have a fear of heights, and I many - not all - with an acute fear of heights don't climb on a 300' swing ride) and it's not a ride you go to the park knowing that you're going to get right in line for. I've rode it once, and it was enough for me to know that I didn't need to ride it again.

The only reason I'd hate to see it go is CF's money that was lost with it.