...Knott's officials said then that work on the WindSeeker would start in fall, with the ride scheduled to open next summer.

Now, Knott's managers aren't sure where the ride's new home will be, Knott's spokeswoman Jennifer Blazey said, and no date has been set for construction.

"The tower is still being considered, but it may move elsewhere," Blazey said.

A decision has not been made; it may come when Cedar Fair Chief Executive Officer Richard L. Kinzel visits the park in January. Ohio-based Cedar Fair owns Knott's Berry Farm....

http://www.ocregiste...eker-knott.html

Something here doesn't ring true.

SO they may not get it at all now?

And a decision may "come" when Mr. Kinzel visits the park...Cedar Fair...empowerment....something is up here...

I think they're talking about it's specific location within the park, but I may be wrong.

Can you say Demon Drop?

Ah, I stand corrected. I hope it ends up being built at all, I'd hate to see it lost in the confusion.

Well the quote from the PR person is worded oddly. The ride is still being considered but it may be moved elsewhere? That seems really odd. Announce a new ride and then decide not to put it in where originally considered. Is the SkyCabin at Knott`s still open? Could they be trying to find a location that does not force the removal of that ride? And why may a decision be made after Kinzel visits? Aren`t these decisions dependent on more than just one person? I would certainly hope so. I think its safe to say the ride will end up at a Cedar Fair park somewhere in 2011. Although, it may not end up at Knott`s in 2011...

Well, its clear that Knott`s WindSeeker will not be the first to open. And even though KI has a late opening day in 2011, if WindSeeker is ready at Kings Island, it looks as if KI`s will be the first one to open. Speaking of Kings Island`s have we seen any updates from Coney Mall/the site of the new ride recently? Have any parts of the ride started showing up yet? If the foundations for the ride aren`t under construction yet, I`d imagine they would be getting close to starting. Granted, this has been an exceptionally snowy December. We normally only get about 3.5 inches of snow, and we`ve had about 13" (with more potentially on the way for Friday).

I wonder what that ride would do in a earthquake.

...perhaps someone else had the same question...

...or the costs to deal with that made this very close to prohibitively expensive...

Things are seldom what they seem...

Skim milk masquerades as cream.

But, wouldn`t they have done their due diligence on this BEFORE they made the announcement? Could they have encountered some costly design changes/unforseen circumstances to make the ride compliant with California seismic regulations? I would say cost would likely be a bigger factor than overcoming engineering challenges.

As an aside, seismic loads on buildings are treated much like wind loads. They are lateral forces that act on buildings. The United States is divided into a map of seismic zones. These zones stipulate what loads you must account for when designing your structure to safely withstand these loads. These zones and design information are compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey. In most locations, with the exception of California, or areas where there is a none fault line, wind loads are the controlling lateral load. In short, in most locations, structures are designed for wind loads because these loads are higher than what would be anticipated from seismic loads. Enough of an architecture/structural engineering lesson.

I believe you mean a "known" fault line.

Something is up here...I don't think this is just a theoretical discussion at the California park.

Robbie Got a Tweet from the Park today.

"Big ol hole in the ground in Coney Mall where the new 301' tall WindSkeeker ride will be located."

I hope they meant a big NEW hole in the ground!

And yes, I meant known. Not none. They`d have a hard time getting the structure through permitting if they designed it like there was no fault line and there was in fact one in close proximity.

Good to know there is a hole. And as Terpy said, hopefully it is a new hole, and not an old hole, lol. I`d imagine that the new ride is using piles with a pile cap, so the hole may not actually be that deep. (Drop Tower uses piles with a pile cap). Essentially both rides are really big flag poles.

Some day, if we live long enough, there will probably be six of them over Kings Island...(not just over Coney Mall).

Fault lines or flag poles?

Are are you referring to a certain company that is headed by a guy that got his start in the business at none other than Coney Island? Its amazing how small of a world it really is!

I was referring to six rides that may be considered to be large flag poles...but if the shoe fits...

20110111....

Another step, but towards what exactly?

Work on WindSeeker begins at Knott's:

The debate has ended.

Knott's Berry Farm crews this week started clearing a corner in Fiesta Village to make way for WindSeeker, the park's newest ride.

WindSeeker will be located between the Fiesta Village carousel and the main entrance to Jaguar. Work began this week to remove trees and the Fiesta BBQ Mexican Food restaurant to make way for the new, $5 million ride. ...

http://www.ocregiste.../-283239--.html

So which Wind Seeker will be the first one to open? KI`s or Knott`s? Assuming that none of them have any unforeseen technical issues (they are prototypes after all).

We are a month ahead of them already, and they have to alter another ride. I think it will still be Kings Island's.

KI's is much further along then Knotts construction wise, but you never really can tell. We do live in Ohio, after all, and our weather is known to be less then cooperative at times.

And to site the article that Terpy linked to, Knott`s hopes to open their WindSeeker sometime between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. From everything I`ve heard, KI`s is slated to open with the park on April 30th, which means KI`s will be the first one to actually open of the four. And with the new location of the ride at Knott`s, they are having to relocate a support for Silver Bullet. Which I imagine is not a cheap endeavor in its own right. Likely means they had to do some work with B&M.