WindSeeker facts for kids

Quick facts for kids WindSeeker
WindSeeker at Cedar Point
Canada's Wonderland Area Action Zone Coordinates 43°50′26.40″N 79°32′32.89″W / 43.8406667°N 79.5424694°W / 43.8406667; -79.5424694 Status {{{status}}} Cost US$5 million Opening date May 24, 2011 Replaced Jet Scream
Carowinds Area Crossroads Coordinates 35°06′7.60″N 80°56′28.85″W / 35.1021111°N 80.9413472°W / 35.1021111; -80.9413472 Status {{{status}}} Cost $6.5 million Soft opening date March 30, 2012 Opening date March 31, 2012
Cedar Point Area Beach Front – Next to Beach Entrance Coordinates 41°28′57.99″N 82°40′50.35″W / 41.4827750°N 82.6806528°W / 41.4827750; -82.6806528 Status {{{status}}} Cost $5 million Opening date June 14, 2011 Replaced Ocean Motion
Kings Dominion Area Candy Apple Grove Coordinates 37°50′13.98″N 77°26′47.02″W / 37.8372167°N 77.4463944°W / 37.8372167; -77.4463944 Status {{{status}}} Cost $6.5 million Opening date April 6, 2012 Replaced El Dorado Hypersonic XLC
Kings Island Area Coney Mall Coordinates 39°20′26.62″N 84°15′49.83″W / 39.3407278°N 84.2638417°W / 39.3407278; -84.2638417 Status {{{status}}} Cost $5 million Opening date June 21, 2011
Knott's Berry Farm Area Fiesta Village Status {{{status}}} Cost $5 million Opening date Mid-August 2011 Closing date September 19, 2012 Replaced Fiesta BBQ (Restaurant) Replaced by Sol Spin
Worlds of Fun Area Americana Coordinates 39°10′27.27″N 94°29′21.25″W / 39.1742417°N 94.4892361°W / 39.1742417; -94.4892361 Status {{{status}}} Opening date 2014
Ride statistics
Attraction type	Tower swinger
Manufacturer	Mondial
Model	Wind Seeker
Height	301 ft (92 m)
Speed	30 mph (48 km/h)
G-force	1.5
Capacity	960 riders per hour
Vehicles	32
Riders per vehicle	2
Duration	3 minutes
Height restriction	52 in (132 cm)
Fast Lane available at all parks

The WindSeeker is a super tall swing ride found at several Cedar Fair amusement parks. It's so high, it's like swinging at the top of a skyscraper! At Worlds of Fun, this ride is known as SteelHawk.

These amazing rides are made by a company called Mondial. The first WindSeekers opened in 2011 at Canada's Wonderland, Cedar Point, Kings Island, and Knott's Berry Farm. More WindSeekers opened in 2012 at Carowinds and Kings Dominion. Each ride cost millions of dollars to build! In 2014, the WindSeeker from Knott's Berry Farm moved to Worlds of Fun and got its new name, SteelHawk.

The ride lasts about three minutes. It has 32 sets of twin seats, so 64 people can ride at once! As you swing high in the sky, special LED lights on the arms and tower light up the night.

Canada's Wonderland was the first park to open its WindSeeker in 2011. It had a few small issues at first but was soon fixed. Other WindSeekers opened later that year and in 2012. In 2012, all WindSeekers were temporarily closed after a couple of times the ride stopped unexpectedly at Knott's Berry Farm. After checks, all but the Knott's Berry Farm ride reopened. The Knott's Berry Farm WindSeeker was later moved to Worlds of Fun.

Building the WindSeeker Rides

In 2010, several Cedar Fair parks hinted about new rides for 2011. On August 24, 2010, Canada's Wonderland, Cedar Point, Kings Island, and Knott's Berry Farm all announced they would get a Mondial WindSeeker. They were set to open in spring 2011.

Construction started in late 2010. To make space, some older rides were moved or removed. For example, Jet Scream was removed at Canada's Wonderland. Cedar Point's Ocean Motion ride was moved to a new spot. At Knott's Berry Farm, the WindSeeker was planned for a different area than first thought.

Kings Island's WindSeeker was supposed to open first, but bad weather caused delays. It finally opened on June 21, 2011. It was also the first WindSeeker to use the Fast Lane program, which lets you skip the regular line.

WindSeeker in operation at Canada's Wonderland.

Canada's Wonderland's WindSeeker opened on May 24, 2011. It had some mechanical issues at first, causing it to close and reopen a few times. These issues were fixed. Later, special parts called hydraulic dampers were added to help stop the swings from moving too much.

Cedar Point's WindSeeker also faced delays due to bad weather. It opened on June 14, 2011.

The WindSeeker at Knott's Berry Farm was originally going to look like the others. But because it was placed in the Fiesta Village section, it got special orange, purple, and yellow colors to match the area's theme. It opened in mid-August 2011. This ride also had a few times it stopped unexpectedly high up. Because of this, all WindSeekers were checked. The Knott's Berry Farm ride was later taken down and sent to Worlds of Fun.

WindSeeker and Sky Tower in operation at Carowinds

In 2011, Carowinds and Kings Dominion announced they would get WindSeekers too. These rides would look similar to the ones at Canada's Wonderland, Cedar Point, and Kings Island. Construction began in late 2011. At Kings Dominion, an old ride called El Dorado was removed to make space for the WindSeeker. Carowinds' WindSeeker opened on March 31, 2012, and Kings Dominion's opened on April 6, 2012.

On August 30, 2013, Worlds of Fun announced that they would be getting the WindSeeker from Knott's Berry Farm. It was renamed SteelHawk.

How the WindSeeker is Built

All six WindSeeker rides are built in the same way. The main tower is about 301-foot-tall (92 m). It's made of eight large parts. The bottom part supports the whole tower. At the very top, there's a platform for workers to check the ride and do maintenance. Above this platform is a special part often called the "red UFO" or the "Crown."

The part you sit in, called the gondola, has wheels that help it spin as it moves up and down the tower. Strong cables lift and lower the gondola. These cables are connected to yellow wheels at the top of the tower. Special hydraulic dampers were added to all WindSeekers. These help to keep the swings from moving too much while you're riding.

A breakdown of the structure of WindSeeker at Kings Island, showing the full tower (left) and a close-up of the top (right).

Your Ride Experience

WindSeeker at Knott's Berry Farm. Note the difference in the colors

When you ride WindSeeker, you sit in one of 64 seats around the central tower. A safety bar comes down over your lap to keep you secure. There's also a seat belt for extra safety.

Once the operators say it's safe, the gondola starts to rise. It slowly spins as it goes up, and music plays. As you get higher, it spins faster, reaching about 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) at the top! You stay at the top for about a minute, enjoying the amazing views. Then, the gondola slowly comes back down, stopping its spin as it reaches the bottom. The whole ride takes about three minutes.

Cool Ride Features

All WindSeekers have speakers built into the gondola. They play fun music, including themes from movies like Harry Potter, E.T., Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Superman.

At Cedar Point and Kings Island, the WindSeeker sign changes colors at night. At Cedar Point, the LED lights at the top of the tower turn off as the gondola goes up, making the tower seem to disappear! But the lights on the gondola stay lit. When the gondola comes down, the tower lights come back on. At Canada's Wonderland, the tower lights stay on the whole time.

Different WindSeeker signs (Knott's on left and Kings Island's on right).

The WindSeeker at Knott's Berry Farm was a bit different from the others. Instead of white, blue, and green, its tower had orange, purple, and yellow colors. This matched the Spanish California theme of the Fiesta Village area. Also, the tower at Knott's didn't have lights at the very top, and its sign had a Mexican theme that didn't light up.