Courtesy of Jonathan Paula (of "Is It A Good Idea To Microwave This?" fame)...

They let him film POV, but even he can't wear glasses...on WindSeeker.

I do knott understand that place. Fortunately both the Disney Resort and Six Flags California are nearby, and I am knott tempted to subsidize such foolish behavior by park managers. My eyes are too important to risk because of their inanely stupid rules. I'm knott going there anytime soon.

I'm sure they don't mind glasses if they're "professionally mounted" to your head.

Shudder.

I notice they have the seats connected by some kind of band near the top of the pole? I wish I could describe it better. But they keep from the seats swinging back and forth too much I think.

I don't understand that either Terpy. A falling camera could do far more harm than a falling pair of eyeglasses. I've always wanted to visit that park, but I'm not sure I could deal with having to take my glasses off on every ride (by comparison, the only rides at KI that I take my glasses off on are Crypt, Firehawk and the water rides).

I notice they have the seats connected by some kind of band near the top of the pole? I wish I could describe it better. But they keep from the seats swinging back and forth too much I think.

They're shock absorbers For me they made quite the difference that they sit still a bit more when trying to get in/out of the seats when I was there. Personally, I'd like KI to install them on WindSeeker there, that's the one thing I hate most is fearing that middle piece on the seat >.>

I notice they have the seats connected by some kind of band near the top of the pole? I wish I could describe it better. But they keep from the seats swinging back and forth too much I think.

They're shock absorbers For me they made quite the difference that they sit still a bit more when trying to get in/out of the seats when I was there. Personally, I'd like KI to install them on WindSeeker there, that's the one thing I hate most is fearing that middle piece on the seat >.>

Yes, that band near the top of the pole is a row of shock absorbers, AKA hydraulic dampers. KI's, CP's, and CW's versions have hydraulic dampers as well, but they're smaller and not as noticeable. I took this photo of them at Cedar Point:

My guess is that the ones shown in this photo were determined to not be quite effective enough, so the ones seen at Knott's were developed. My guess is that the two new WindSeekers being built will have the Knott's version of the dampers, and I would not be surprised to see the WindSeekers at CP, CW, and KI get the Knott's version soon, possibly over this offseason (I haven't actually heard anything, just guessing here).

If I were to guess, I'd say the advantage with the Knott's dampers is that their strength is based on the position of the seats relative to one another, not on the position of each seat relative to the red carriage. In other words, the force each damper exerts increases as the seats near each other, which is something the KI, CP, and CW models don't address. They just dampen all movement in any direction, which

. I'd be willing to bet, too, that KBF's model has had fewer issues with operating in high winds.

It wouldn't surprise me if both the 2012 WindSeekers and KI's, CP's, and CW's models have these dampers come next spring, either.

EDIT: Just realized that jcgoble posted the same thing as the second half of my post... whoops! Great minds think alike, I guess.

I heard from one of the KI ride ops for WindSeeker they were just going to add a second set of absorbers to the other side of the arm. Who knows, maybe he just enjoys selling miniature ice cream balls?