Windseeker ride temporarily shut at 6 parks after California riders left hanging

BUENA PARK, Calif. – The Windseeker ride at Canada’s Wonderland north of Toronto is being temporarily shut down, along with those at five U.S. amusement parks, after an incident at a California park.<

The parent company of Southern California’s Knott’s Berry Farm says it’s temporarily shutting down all six of its Windseeker rides at parks in the U.S. and Canada after riders at Knott’s were stranded 90 metres in the air for 3 1/2 hours this week.

Sandusky, Ohio-based Cedar Fair said in a statement Friday it will conduct an internal review on the ride’s safety system. The U.S. parks are in California, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina.

Cedar Fair bought the attractions from Dutch-based Mondial Rides and opened them in 2011 and 2012 at parks including Ohio’s Cedar Point and Virginia’s Kings Dominion.

The ride at Knott’s has malfunctioned twice in the last month, most dramatically Wednesday when a frozen brake forced a shutdown and left 20 riders stranded until they could be safely brought down.