GwaziBSRider1 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 When I was a kid, I hated Magnum and I slowly started liking it more and more as I continued to ride it. About five years ago, I really started to love it. Lately, it has gotten more painful, but I still thoroughly enjoy it. It's been said before, but I'll say it again...if the lap bars had more padding, it would be more popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 If they just padded the restraints a little bit the ride would be a million times better but the fanboys would start a riot. I think the trains are fine besides the lap bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF15 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I have yet to ride to ride Magnum (I will this summer), but I think the reason that some people complain about roughness is because of how the ride was designed. It has some jerky looking transitions, and the airtime hills look kind of robotic as opposed to airtime hills on other hypercoasters that look more graceful. However, there are plenty of people that really like this ride, so I'm not really sure what to expect. Same thing could apply to Mean Streak because some say it's a decent ride while others swear it'll send you to a chiropractor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GwaziBSRider1 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I have yet to ride to ride Magnum (I will this summer), but I think the reason that some people complain about roughness is because of how the ride was designed. It has some jerky looking transitions, and the airtime hills look kind of robotic as opposed to airtime hills on other hypercoasters that look more graceful. However, there are plenty of people that really like this ride, so I'm not really sure what to expect. Same thing could apply to Mean Streak because some say it's a decent ride while others swear it'll send you to a chiropractor. Robotic is actually a really good description of those airtime hills. You get incredible ejector, but you legs slam into the bar (much like Skyrush, but not nearly as painful). The banking before and after the turnaround is very strange looking, but the trims prevent them from being a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnumFreak25 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Magnum definitely has gotten a little worse in the past few years. The turn on the first airtime hill is the only spot that I would call rough. Even with that it's my favorite steel coaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lareson Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I like Magnum, but it's certainly showing its age. If the trains were updated with a more ergonomic lapbar design, the ride would be much more comfortable. The trains have that late 80's space-age design that is unique to the ride, but the comfort level is certainly not up to new standards. Designing a new restraint system wouldn't be too bad while keeping the same look. I do wonder if Arrow gave Magnum a life expectancy. 30 years is sounding like it's the average lifetime that Arrow has given some of their rides, but of course CP will do what they can to keep this historic coaster up and running. Personally, I think if the company that made Lightning Run's trains were to create a retrofit model for Magnum with new wheel bogies and restrains, the ride would be much better. It's not out of the realm of possibility either, since the trains that are on Magnum were based on the same design as the ones used on Gemini (and essentially the mine train coasters) and not exactly sure how well they were meant to hold up to the forces that Magnum exhibits. Was a good move for them though to replace the padded upstops with wheels not long after the coaster was open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Magnum is a strange ride. To me it feels more like an oversized mine train than a hyper coaster. For having a top speed of 72 mph, it doesn't really feel that fast overall. My favorite part of the ride is the second drop into the first tunnel and the camelback hill that follows it. That's the part of the ride where you get a true sense of power and speed. While the airtime hills are fun, the pacing is so awkward with the triangle shaping that it kinda takes me out of the experience a bit. That being said, one of my favorite coaster memories was late night ERT at CoasterMania 2008. I must have rode Magnum around 6 or 7 times in the pitch black night without getting out of my seat. I just threw away all my complaints about the ride and let it do its thing. It was really awesome. It's a quirky and clunky ride, but there's something about that which makes it fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 The first half of Magnum is almost unrideable, feels like a knife going in your back especially on the turnaround and the bottom of the 2nd drop. The 2nd half definitely makes up for it though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christianscoasters Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 If you think Magnum is rough or uncomfortable, particularly on the airtime hills, just tighten your seatbelt as tight as you can. That's seriously the secret to making this ride incredible and thigh pain-free. Magnum is my favorite coaster at CP and this is why! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 That's an amazing idea... I'll try that next time we go to the park. I'm actually kind of annoyed that I never thought of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnumFreak25 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Or if you want a fun ride, leave it a little loose and sit in the back. It has one of the best first drops of any coaster back there. As for re tacking, I think they should leave the shaping and everything as is (Except maybe lowering the second hill for more airtime) but redesign the track to allow for all wheels to touch the track at the same time but leave a little of the shakiness, it adds to the ride IMO . Then redo the trains with Phantom's Revenge style lap-bars but keep the outer fiberglass shell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRice92 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Magnum is one of my favorite rides in the park, this past year It has really started to grow on me . What works for me is i just sit forward in the seat almost slouching so the lap bar falls onto my waist instead of thighs. I've found that to give a really comfortable ride. Also, my favorite seat is last row of car 5. The airtime going into the turnaround in that seat is the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcdude Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I really liked Magnum when I first rode it in 2008. I rode it a couple times last summer and while I didn't enjoy it quite as much it was still a pretty good ride (top five at Cedar Point). Even though the ride is a bit rough and uncomfortable, I somewhat hope it never changes simply because it shows how far roller coasters have come in less than thirty years. Besides, there are way worse coasters out there (even a few at Cedar Point). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I like Magnum too. It's not in my top 10, but close. I'd like it if they'd get new trains or just add a little padding to the seats. I'd be able to marathon it. Just my opinion. If they were to do anything, keep the trains and add padding. Personally, I don't find anything wrong with the trains and they are really photogenic so keeping the trains looking the way they are is fine with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 While we're on the topic of Magnum, here's a media day news package I just stumbled across. Note the LACK of any padding on the seat backs when it first opened. Ouch!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapfordakids Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 ^Nice find! I love nostalgia clips. Hope to ride magnum one day soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Note the LACK of any padding on the seat backs when it first opened. Ouch!! Indeed... Nice find! It would be interesting too see what people back then would think about TTD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasternut Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 That being said, one of my favorite coaster memories was late night ERT at CoasterMania 2008. I must have rode Magnum around 6 or 7 times in the pitch black night without getting out of my seat. I just threw away all my complaints about the ride and let it do its thing. It was really awesome. It's a quirky and clunky ride, but there's something about that which makes it fun. Some of my best times on Magnum were during Coastermania. They've had a tradition during the late night ERT to occasionally turn off the trims before the pretzel. Darkness around midnight, and no trims makes for just an amazing ride. A little painful, but it's the end of the night, so I just go with it. I still would like some padding / better lap bars... Then I could marathon her for real! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewRnR Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 And also when it opened... the trains didn't have upstop wheels (just upstop bars), the trims were in a different place (top of third hill) and the pretzel had a slightly different profile. It is a great ride - probably my favorite in the park. But more so than probably any other coaster it has its good days and its bad days. Sometime I get off swearing I'll never ride it again, other times I think no other coaster in the world comes close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolandmammoth Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I rode Magnum at least 100 times. In my opinion, its better than anything else at the park. But then again, I have a definitive soft spot for Arrows. I mean, the ejector air on the return run makes El Toro feel like a B&M hyper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I still would like some padding / better lap bars... Then I could marathon her for real! Agreed. What I find most painful about the ride is that the lap bars sit mid-thigh rather than at the waist. Upgrading the lap bars/trains would very well bump Magnum up a few spots on my list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-sychiatrist Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 The only part of Magnum that I find painful is when it slams into the brakes, it's a pretty brutal ending to an otherwise fantastic ride. I'm not sure how they can fix that without compromising the speed/airtime on the final bunny hops. I guess adding padding or changing the restraints would help. Cedar Fair has a pretty good reputation for preserving historical aspects of coasters, so even if they redesigned the trains the classic 80's look isn't going anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolandmammoth Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 If you slam into the brakes right outside of the tunnel, thats because there was a delay in advancing the train in the station. Its essentially an emergancy block that in perfect operation is never used. Id say it happens between 10-30 times a day. Look back in the discussion, we've discussed the functionality of the safety breaks in quite a bit of depth. Its actually considered down time when the train stops there and the train must be manually advanced by two seperate buttons on opposite sides of the station. An interesting quirk that the pretty terrible electrical design of Magnum has. Anyone know if other Arrows have a similar operation quirk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comeagain? Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 If you slam into the brakes right outside of the tunnel, thats because there was a delay in advancing the train in the station. Its essentially an emergancy block that in perfect operation is never used. Id say it happens between 10-30 times a day. Look back in the discussion, we've discussed the functionality of the safety breaks in quite a bit of depth. Its actually considered down time when the train stops there and the train must be manually advanced by two seperate buttons on opposite sides of the station. An interesting quirk that the pretty terrible electrical design of Magnum has. Anyone know if other Arrows have a similar operation quirk? Considering Magnum got a new control system, does that quirk still exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lareson Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 If you slam into the brakes right outside of the tunnel, that's because there was a delay in advancing the train in the station. Its essentially an emergency block that in perfect operation is never used. Id say it happens between 10-30 times a day. Look back in the discussion, we've discussed the functionality of the safety breaks in quite a bit of depth. Its actually considered down time when the train stops there and the train must be manually advanced by two separate buttons on opposite sides of the station. An interesting quirk that the pretty terrible electrical design of Magnum has. Anyone know if other Arrows have a similar operation quirk? Considering Magnum got a new control system, does that quirk still exist? Last I knew, the new control system has this all automatically done. I know that the old block set up system, which had someone run to a button on the brake run outside of the station and push to prevent it from setting up, that was fixed I believe sometime around 2010-ish as I know I didn't have to worry about it when I worked on it in 2012. This new system, from what I've heard, it's all ran like all new coasters are, no longer have to worry about a bunch of extra stuff like the old '89 system had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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