Amusement park riders spend hours stuck at 300 feet
BUENA PARK, Calif. (AP) - Twenty riders expecting a three-minute thrill were left dangling at 300 feet for nearly four hours when the Windseeker ride at Southern California's Knott's Berry Farm amusement park stalled.
Knott's said in a statement that the ride, which lifts fun-seekers high over the park with their legs dangling and spins them in a circle, came to a stop when its security system activated at about 4 p.m. Wednesday.
TV cameras showed riders sitting calmly as they dangled and the sun set, some casually swinging their legs.
Maintenance workers brought all the riders safely to the ground between 7:30 and 8, long after the park had closed and night had fallen.
Knott's says the ride, which also left riders hanging on Sept. 7, will remain closed while the cause is investigated.
Knott's said in a statement that the ride, which lifts fun-seekers high over the park with their legs dangling and spins them in a circle, came to a stop when its security system activated at about 4 p.m. Wednesday.
TV cameras showed riders sitting calmly as they dangled and the sun set, some casually swinging their legs.
Maintenance workers brought all the riders safely to the ground between 7:30 and 8, long after the park had closed and night had fallen.
Knott's says the ride, which also left riders hanging on Sept. 7, will remain closed while the cause is investigated.
least it wasn't raining...
At least you can see the ocean from there!
Well, they got their money's worth.
I bet it was a gorgeous sunset!! Glad everybody is okay, and I hope they all went to the bathroom before they got on the ride...
@dancingnights999 That would be bad to have to go while stuck up there...
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Hate to have that happen to our ferris wheel!
Uh uh! I don't like heights and am scared to death of rides like this for this very reason. You never know when something is going to happen.
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At least they got a beautiful sunset out of the ordeal.
I would totally dig that, until I needed the restroom. Â Spouse would freak out though. Â Actually, he would never go up, so no problem. Â
 @Doxie I'd be down on the ground with your husband.  If for some reason I was insane enough to get on there, I certainly wouldn't be sitting there calmly!
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 @stamperzann Well, I guess I would refrain from being one of the leg swingers if you were that scared........there's sure a lot of people terrified of heights!  I posted a picture of facebook of him having a bad time up on a monument in Paris and every response was like yours.
@Doxie I got to go pee. Awwwh come on just one more ride. Well ok.
 @mstipton  @Doxie LOL!  Famous last words.
@Doxie If I was a guy and I was stuck up there, I'd just pee. I wonder if a guy can write his name 300 feet up? LOL
 @Tattooed_Angel  @Doxie I wonder if it would evaporate - they could always try!  We were in Paris last week and climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe (284 steps) and the picture of us with the Eiffel Tower behind us also has my husband's  white knuckles hanging on to a pole near my shoulder.  It is so funny.  You either like heights or are terrified by them apparently.
@Mr. H Man or woman?
 @Mr. H  @Doxie  @Tattooed_Angel He's probably not the first - there are millions of people in Beijing alone!
@Doxie @Tattooed_Angel One of my friends pee'd off of the Great Wall of China....LOL
I would imagine the "casually swinging their legs" was more like "oh man I gotta go, I gotta go!!!"  lol  Glad everyone got down safely.
Not cool