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Cedar Point | News and Rumor Topic | New talk Page 42

1st clue: site talks about kids spinning in the wind.
2nd clue: link to kids dinosaur site
GM John H says he doesn't think he will ride this? Skyline depends on your perspective (like if you were really short) Site is near planet snoopy.
Sounds like a kids ride to me.
 
Hm... The first clue goes to "Windy Weather" on the website "Utah Education Week" while the second link features on of the largest dinosaurs ever at 50 feet tall. Yes the dinosaur is on a kids site, but we already know this ride is for thrill seekers, so it's not anything kiddy.

Still thinking either a ball coaster or swing ride are possible.
 
Here's some news that is unrelated to 2011:

1. Skyhawk is closed due to mechanical problems again. It's the same swing as always; the one closest to Cedar Creek Mine Ride.

2. Millennium Force is running extremely well. The ride is noticeably faster. You can see the difference in speed when it's going over the second hill. It doesn't seem to have that crawl like it used to. The ride also offers some decent floater now as well. Whatever they did, if anything, it sure is a good change. The line is also moving extremely fast. The crew is really putting people through. The line was back past the vending machines, usually a good hour and a half wait, and the line was only 45 minutes.

3. Shoot the Rapids is now being loaded differently. They opened up the previously closed back row and closed the third row. You definitely don't get as wet as you used to.
 
And news related to 2011:

Sandusky Register said:
The fate of Cedar Point’s new ride could already be up in the air as a patent war brews between two ride manufacturers.

Brian Mirfin, of Australian ride manufacturer Funtime Group, said the new ride will be the Wind Seeker, made by Dutch-based manufacturer Mondial.

The Wind Seeker, however, is a patent-infringing copy of the StarFlyer — a tower ride the Funtime Group made and owns a patent on, Mirfin said.

Both rides are tower rides that spin riders around as they extend high in the air.

The StarFlyer pulls seats attached to a chain. The Mondial design is similar but uses arms instead of chains.

In its news announcement in early February, Mondial said it came up with the new ride “following requests from clients who wanted a StarFlyer-style ride they could still operate within normal wind conditions.”

“It’s almost like Mondial’s plagiarizing our idea,” said Mirfin, director of the Funtime Group and owner of Cottingham Agencies, which holds the patent for StarFlyer. “It makes us very, very angry.”

Executives at Mondial did not return an e-mail from a reporter seeking comment.

Dick Kinzel, president, chairman and CEO for Cedar Fair, said Wednesday night he had no comment. He repeated that the company plans to make an announcement at 2 p.m. Tuesday about the new ride for 2011.

Mirfin said his company, which has built 22 StarFlyers so far, thought it had a deal to build one for Cedar Point after amusement park executives flew to Orlando, Fla., several months ago to look at a StarFlyer at the Magical Midway.

Mirfin said his company planned to build a StarFlyer for Cedar Point that would be 400 feet tall — even bigger than the StarFlyer at Prater Park in Vienna, which stands 384 feet tall.

Instead, Funtime learned Cedar Point was buying a similar ride from Mondial, Mirfin said

“Now, not only do we not get the contract, now we’ve got to get into litigation,” Mirfin said. “The ones that we’ll be suing will be Cedar Point and not Mondial.”

Funtime’s U.S. patent for StarFlyer — patent No. 7666103 — was granted Feb. 23.

Tony Handal, the Connecticut attorney who filed the patent, said he believes the Mondial ride would be a patent infringement on the StarFlyer.

“It looks pretty much like the same thing to me,” Handal said, adding that he doubts litigation will be necessary.

“I think Cedar Point will not go forward without a license,” Handal said. “They can either do that or they can have the ride built by a licensed company.”

Well, spoiler alert :lol:

But holy ****aki mushrooms, 400 ft? You're on a Star Flyer almost as tall as TTD? That's freaking INSANE!!!

Oh, and I smell a lawsuit :wink:
 
^ That stands in line with previous rumors that the ride would stand between the height of Power Tower and TTD.

This ride will be gnarly.

Also, the Sandusky Register may be in trouble with CP on posting this article before CP's announcement.
 
NOW I'm excited. 400ft tall? Holy balls. Not as scary as Insanity on the Stratosphere.. but damn close I bet.
 
On Insanity I didn't really get a feel for how high up I really was. X-Scream most definitely, but Insanity not so much. I think with this tower ride that sense of height will be more prevalent, though you're still spinning pretty fast at 40 mph.
 
Sorry, but I'm willing to bet that the solid-arm design takes away quite a lot from the original chain design.

The scare factor, for me at least (and I know a fair few others), comes from the apparent flimsiness of design and the affect of wind on the chains. With a solid arm, all you've got to work with is the height. Yeah, sure that's high and will scare a fair few people, but the "safe" feeling to the thing will ruin a lot of what the starflyers offer.
 
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4TCZySY0m8&feature=sub[/youtube] video about windseeker

its only 300 or 275 feat
 
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