The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[Blue Fire Guy]

^ If it were as serious, then it would already be all over the news. Hopefully, having dealt with this before, the park can get it running again by WCB. And like you said earlier, it puts me at ease to be riding on a brand new cable come WCB.

[philliplc]

2009 accident:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was the photographer for those 2 above shots. A third -

 

[thrillseeker4552]

Any word on the incident? I'm hoping it will open before WCB... *fingers crossed*

[adamd]

I was on my way home from Vegas today and getting on the 91W from the 15S about 7 minutes on I noticed these brown supports (Corona area heading West which is toward Knotts and both Six Flags parks). For those not from CA the distance is about 25 mins to Knotts, 80 mins to Magic Mtn and about 7 hours to SFDK. I realize these could be for anything, BUT I cant think of anything other than a coaster where you would use brown as a primary color for a support.

 

If by all means you know what these are please let me know.

[XYZ]

Posted onto Screamscape:

 

(8/12/13) Crazy rumor time, but this one is spreading so fast in locations involving the two parks involved… it just might be true. Which parks.? Lets start with Knott’s Berry Farm… it’s well know that they’ve had a couple of technical problems with their Windseeker ride… but the same could be said for every park with a Windseeker.

However Knott’s Berry Farm’s Windseeker has sat closed for nearly 11 months now, ever since it hit the national news when riders became stranded at the top of the ride for nearly 4 hours on September 19. This was the second breakdown that month, where riders were stuck for a couple of hours less than two weeks prior on Sept. 7. The fallout from these two incidents saw all Windseeker rides at Cedar Fair parks across the nation shut down until the 2013 season… and all of them have since reopened… except the Knott’s ride.

At first Knott’s excuse for not opening Windseeker was that they were busy with their big Boardwalk expansion, which featured three new rides, plus the complete refurbishment and updating of the park’s famous Timber Mountain Log Ride. It made sense that their hands were a bit full for the first half of the year, but with the busy Summer season coming to an end in a few weeks as the park gears up for their huge Halloween Haunt event, it seems odd Windseeker is still just sitting there, forgotten.

According to the latest scuttlebutt, CAL/OSHA has re-inspected Windseeker and the new evacuation system and is rumored to have refused to sign off on it, despite the fact the system has been approved for use at the other Windseeker rides across the country. This has left Cedar Fair will really no other choice than to remove Windseeker from Knott’s Berry Farm.

So what is Cedar Fair to do with a nearly brand-new Windseeker ride? Install it in one of their parks that has yet to get a Windseeker yet… and if all the rumors are correct, we may see the ride sent to Worlds of Fun for the 2014 season.

 

^If those are coaster supports, it might be for Adventure City's new coaster.

[kbfbest]

^I don't think that's they are going to remove windweeker, they have been working on it as far as I know.

[Dom497]

Ya but what could holding up WS at Knott's when all the other models have reopened.

[Garet]

Ya but what could holding up WS at Knott's when all the other models have reopened.

 

Isn't California a lot stricter than other states on clearing rides for use when it comes to having all the boxes checked? Screamscape says the state hasn't approved the evac system, could it be similiar to how some of the rides in disney California weren't cleared whereas the same ones in Orlando had no problems?

[Wes]

^ More or less, yes. If Cal-OSHA won't sign off on the evac rig, they'd either have to come up with another solution which would cost more time and money, or they could send it to WOF, wash their hands of the mess, and build something better.

[DJeXeL]

Ya but what could holding up WS at Knott's when all the other models have reopened.

 

DOSH/CAL-OSHA is the reason their WS hasn't been given clearance to open yet. The EVAC rig isn't the issue. When the EVAC-rig was in the process of getting "approved" something else was discovered that needed to be addressed.

[robbalvey]

^I don't think that's they are going to remove windweeker, they have been working on it as far as I know.

And nobody would have ever thought Dollywood would remove Adventure Mountain after two seasons either. Stranger things have happened in the theme park business, and this is one of those decisions that would totally make sense. If they couldn't get the ride up and running due to state restrictions or issues, it would totally make sense for them to move the ride to a park where they don't have these issues.

[simon8899]

Sad to hear that Windseekers have so many problems.

 

Never experienced anything like this on a Funtime Flyer. 3 times when I was riding (2x Hansapark, 1x Holidaypark) the ride stopped while all the way up - but according to the Hansa-Park operator you only have to make a hard reset on the control box, during system check the control box "sees" that the passenger compartment is in the wrong place and slowly lowers it down into parking position - the whole procedure is over after about 1-2 minutes. After that the ride resumes normally...

[larrygator]

^I don't think that's they are going to remove windweeker, they have been working on it as far as I know.

And nobody would have ever thought Dollywood would remove Adventure Mountain after two seasons either. Stranger things have happened in the theme park business, and this is one of those decisions that would totally make sense. If they couldn't get the ride up and running due to state restrictions or issues, it would totally make sense for them to move the ride to a park where they don't have these issues.

 

Great point Robb.

 

One unfortunate outcome could be that this gives Senator Markey ammunition in his fight for national standards.

[Koasterking48]

What about Dorney? Don't they have an area prepped and ready for a Windseeker?

[DougMJr]

If this rumor is true that is really a bum deal for Cedar Fair and Knotts. Really curious what the reason would be for CAL/OSHA to not sign off.

Edited August 12, 2013 by DougMJr

[Sir Clinksalot]

^^ Does Dorney have a height restriction?

 

^^^ I don't think that would necessarily be true. Markey is on a one-man mission and most people, when shown the hard evidence, realize that there is nothing "broken" in the industry and the way they inspect their rides.

 

Cal-OSHA isn't just about rides and parks. If it was a Cal-OSHA issue it probably had something to do with employee safety vs. rider safety, probably similar to the issues Disney's been having recently and the issue SFMM had prior to Full Throttle opening on Media Day.

 

As for Windseeker closing, no big loss IMO. It was fun but not fun enough to where I'd want them to spend millions of dollars fixing it when it doesn't need fixing. I guess it's a good thing they didn't close the Sky Tower now.

 

Guess now the speculation on what kind of flat ride will go in that spot can begin.

[Garet]

^ More or less, yes. If Cal-OSHA won't sign off on the evac rig, they'd either have to come up with another solution which would cost more time and money, or they could send it to WOF, wash their hands of the mess, and build something better.

 

Out of interest because I really don't know, is it Cedar Fair who has to pay to develop and make a solution like the evac rig for evacuation? I had just always assumed it was up to mondial to have to design and make it since it was their ride and design.

 

^^ Does Dorney have a height restriction?

 

^^^ I don't think that would necessarily be true. Markey is on a one-man mission and most people, when shown the hard evidence, realize that there is nothing "broken" in the industry and the way they inspect their rides.

 

Cal-OSHA isn't just about rides and parks. If it was a Cal-OSHA issue it probably had something to do with employee safety vs. rider safety, probably similar to the issues Disney's been having recently and the issue SFMM had prior to YOLOcoaster opening on Media Day.

 

As for Windseeker closing, no big loss IMO. It was fun but not fun enough to where I'd want them to spend millions of dollars fixing it when it doesn't need fixing. I guess it's a good thing they didn't close the Sky Tower now.

 

Guess now the speculation on what kind of flat ride will go in that spot can begin.

 

Obviously a topple tower would be the perfect ride to replace windseeker. .

[DJeXeL]

Mondial foot the bill for the EVAC platforms.

[gisco]

No loss if the remove WS. It was an ok ride but I thought it rotated way to fast for you to get a good look at the surrounding area.

[CoasterTimmy]

Everyone's so fast to say "get rid of windseeker" but do you really think there going to put anything better in her spot knowing how the GM is and how the park has turned more towards families, it would be a small flat ride or food again sorry but I don't get to travel much so KBF windseeker is all I got!

[chickenbowl]

Windseeker is alright. I think they're mildly fun rides, but I mostly just enjoy the views. But if it's going to be nonoperational for months at a time (It's been 11 months), I'd rather have something more reliable, some other flat ride.

 

But if they do get rid or it, the park will have not had any type of thrilling attraction since Silver Bullet in 2004. Which leads me to my theory/pipe dream. Move Wipeout to Windseekers old spot (I imagine the area can be re-purposed nicely and Wipeout re-themed). Move Boomerang to a different park or scrap it. Tear down Sky Tower. Lastly, put in a decent coaster in the newly opened Boardwalk area where those 3 rides were.

Edited August 12, 2013 by chickenbowl

[Jew]

No point in sinking so much time, effort, and money into a lost cause.

[Koasterking48]

The only Windseeker that's worth keeping is CP's just because of its location right by the water. Even then, I wouldn't care if it got removed like Knotts' and be replaced with a more reliable mild thrill ride.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Koasterking48

[arby]

Parks do need a collection of mild thrill rides to appeal to the masses and continue to help bring in revenue. Without that revenue they can't continue to build new more aggressive thrill rides.

[scbt]

^^ Does Dorney have a height restriction?

 

I'm not sure, but the town zoning board is rather strict with the park. This past year they rejected the parks proposal to do nightly fireworks. However, I don't think they would have already laid out a pad if they weren't going to be able to build one.