Out of the Loop: WindSeeker will take riders 300 feet up at four Cedar Fair parks

Column by Andy Guinigundo

Amusement park company Cedar Fair announced the addition of WindSeeker to its ride lineup at four Cedar Fair parks for 2011. The high spinning ride will grace the landscapes of Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio near Cleveland, Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio, Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., and Canada’s Wonderland Park near Toronto.

The $5 million Mondial-designed ride will be 301 feet tall or about 30 stories. Riders will sit in two-person seats with a lap bar and a seatbelt with their feet dangling. As the ride spins, it accelerates to 30 miles per hour; it simultaneously slowly ascends the tower over about 50 seconds. It will spin at the top for about a minutes and then descend in about 50 more seconds. While spinning, the seats will reach an angle of 45 degrees. Riders will need to be about 48 inches tall to ride.

The ride is expected to debut in spring of 2011 at all four parks.

Video: Rendering of WindSeeker at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio

A similar ride called Star Flyer can be found at Magical Midway on International Drive in Orlando.

• Andy Guinigundo is the author of the Out of The Loop column in “Orlando Attractions Magazine”. Out of the Loop keeps you up-to-date with attraction news outside of Central Florida. Andy lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and three daughters. He grew up frequenting theme parks around Ohio and making trips to Orlando with his family. While for most of the year, he’s out of the Orlando loop, he tries to visit Florida at least once a year.