Trip Report: Fun Forest

Well, that's what the song says, anyway. I wouldn't know, as I didn't see those alleged blue skies. I cruised on into town in search of Fun Forest. I found it easily enough, but proceeded to drive right past it. A concrete structure 30' up and a couple of miles long got my attention and I followed the span into downtown, then parked the little red wagon Footnote 1 in a more-or-less convenient garage. Fifteen minutes and $2.50 later, I was awaiting the arrival of the mighty Alweg, the 40-mph legacy of the 1962 Expo. I am referring, of course, to Seattle's famous monorail. The line is a shuttle, with trains operating on two parallel tracks. Downtown, though, the single platform is on one side, so a clever arrangement of retractable bridges allows passengers to board a train on either track. The monorail has an advertised top speed of 70 mph, "making it the world's fastest transit monorail," but cruising speed in Seattle is about 40 mph according to the operator's speedometer.

At the Seattle Center, the station platform is more like a subway station, with platforms on both sides for exiting and a load platform between the two tracks. Because it is the end of the line, the platforms are all connected at the one end of the station. A long ramp leads down to the Expo Center.

On the other side of the monorail station are the rides for the big kids. I bought some tickets, and headed for the Windstorm. I have no idea whether this Windstorm is an SDC, an S&MC, or a Zamperla...but it is a Windstorm, it was operating, and for a portable coaster, it is about as good as you can get without a nameplate. This particular Windstorm runs brakeless and wild, with its two 3-car trains. I took rides in rows 1 and 5.

The ride has no first drop to speak of, but the lackluster drops at the beginning all lead up to one of the most insane moments on any non-inverting steel coaster. I am referring, of course, to that drop in the middle of the ride where the train heads up to the top of a spiral and nearly stops...but then tips over nearly horizontal and just falls off the edge of the Earth (or at least feels like it) and into the spirals for the end of the ride. The Windstorm is a lot of fun. I've been on two of these now, this one, and the one at Old Town down in Kissimmee, Florida. My understanding is that those two are among the best ones running. This one is no slouch, and it runs smooth and fast, clearly a favorite of the few people wandering the "midway".

All of the rides at Fun Forest are portable, and most are unusual. For the second time ever, I saw a Soriani & Moser Loop-On-Top ride, and for the second time ever I saw a Soriani & Moser Loop On Top ride that was down mechanical. I had planned to take a ride on the Orbiter, but I decided to ride the Windstorm again instead. Next to the coaster is an SDC (I think) Music Express (a copy of a Mack Music Express). I never got to see the ride operate, so I don't know which direction it was going, but what got my attention was the chamber and orchestral music coming from the ride's impressive sound system. Just a little unexpected from a midway piece! I toured the grounds and took some pictures, and here is what I saw--

Having explored the grounds at Fun Forest, I went around to the other areas of the Seattle Center. My timing was good, because a major food festval was going on...Seattle Bites or something like that...with lots of food vendors and live music on two stages. I had a really good piece of strawberry shortcake as I walked the grounds in the rain. The weather seemed to be deteriorating as it was getting colder and wetter as it got darker. I decided to go up the tower (the Space Needle) and take a look.