Windjammer Surf Racers
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| The trains dueling each other, a rare occassion. | |||||||||||||||||
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| Manufacturer | Togo | ||||||||||||||||
| Type | Steel - Twin | ||||||||||||||||
| Model / product | Looping Mouse | ||||||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
| Propulsion | Chain lift hill | ||||||||||||||||
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Windjammer Surf Racers was a short-lived Togo twin roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, USA. It was a dueling Looping Wild Mouse that opened on March 26, 1997. The attraction was located in the park's Boardwalk section. The failure led to a lawsuit and Togo's eventual demise. The ride closed on March 2, 2000. Xcelerator now occupies the spot that Windjammer formerly occupied.
History
On September 26, 1996, Windjammer Surf Racers was announced. The ride debuted on March 26, 1997.[1]
On March 10, 2000, the park launched a lawsuit against Togo, alleging that Windjammer Surf Racers had major manufacturing defects which led to regular breakdowns and prevented the ride's operation during low winds. The defects included misaligned track, defective safety mechanisms, and wrinkles in the frame of the trains. The lawsuit claimed that Windjammer Surf Racers could not run even at wind levels as low as 3 mph. Some riders joked that the ride was called "windjammer" because it jammed up at any wind. In addition to this, the ride rarely ever dueled. The park also claimed to have spent over $2 million on repairs and inspections and was seeking damages of $16 million.[2]
Windjammer Surf Racers was demolished in July 2001.
Xcelerator opened where Windjammer Surf Racers previously stood on June 22, 2002.
The lawsuit was rejected in October 2003.[3]
Design
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Windjammer Surf Racers was a twin racing roller coaster. The ride's first drop led into a vertical loop. After the loop, the ride continued over multiple hills, including multiple brake runs. The ride featured over-the-shoulder restraints, which caused headbanging due to the roughness of the ride.
The station did not have an airgate system to keep queuing guests clear from advancing vehicles within the station. The ride was dressed as a tribute to the fabled Southern California beach culture, complete with towering palms trees, beach sand, a small lagoon, a scaled-down lifeguard watchtower, and other beach-worthy props. The on-ride photograph sales booth was built into the side of a scaled-down replica of a yacht.
References
- ↑ "Knott's Gets the Drop on Its Customers With New Coaster", The Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "Knott's Suing Windjammer Ride’s Maker". The Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-mar-15-me-8979-story.html.
- ↑ "Jury Rejects Knott's Lawsuit Against Coaster Designer", The Los Angeles Times.
External links
- Windjammer Surf Racers on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
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