Magnum opening day

rpbobcat said:

When Magnum opened there was much more of an intimidation factor then there is today.

This is a great point. It was Magnum that made "tall coasters" a thing. 11 years later, people lined up for Millennium Force because of what Magnum started.

Vortex at Kings Island opened in '87 and was the tallest at 148 feet. Shockwave opened in '88 at a height of 170 feet. Both of those are/were multi-loopers. Magnum was something completely different.

I can't speak to how long the wait used to be back in the early days of it, but over the last 7 years And numerous visits to CP I have never seen the line any further than one or two rows of the queue below the staircase. That is a mighty large area of unused land. Same with Rougarou and a few other rides. I don't know, maybe it makes sense to be prepared to relieve congestion from the midways.

Are you suggesting they reclaim that land for something else? Because I’ve seen every queue full at some point. And others are literally inside the footprint of the ride.

jimmyburke said:

I can't speak to how long the wait used to be back in the early days of it, but over the last 7 years And numerous visits to CP I have never seen the line any further than one or two rows of the queue below the staircase. That is a mighty large area of unused land. Same with Rougarou...

The Rougaqueue (heh) on Ohio State day this year. Only a few open switchbacks...

It was literally the only open rollercoaster that day.

I can only imagine the crew had no idea how to handle that many people, I can count on one finger how many times I’ve seen a full Rougarou train.

My wife and I attempted to ride Dragster in its opening year on a visit in October. We waited about an hour when the ride was shut down, but we chose to wait it out hoping to get on as there was only an hour left at the park, and this was the only ride we had not been able to do that season. We waited out the hour in the station and, sure enough, no luck.

On our next trip that next May, we found ourselves in a similar position. Hour to closing, and into the line we go. Oh no! Another shut down....what to do? Wait it out, of course....only this time luck was on our side and just before closing the ride opened to give those of us who waited a great ride to end the day.

With 220 days between visits, we waited about 5,280 hours to get on Dragster.

It was worth it.

XS NightClub said:
It was literally the only open rollercoaster that day.

Yes, but that happens once or twice every season when they get one of those sunny, ridiculously windy days where tons of major rides close so it’s a good thing Rougarou has the queue space to support it. That’s my point, and actually Magnum was open that day too I believe since the wind was off the bay.

I doubt it filled it’s queue, but it would have if the exact same thing happened in... say... October.

Most queues are full during Halloweekends.

I was there on the Opening Day with my Friend. I was 8 yrs old. We ran to the Magnum, and waited to open it up. We were the 1st 2 people on the Ride in 1989. We got stuck 3 times on it. Just getting out of the station, Going up the Hill not even far from the Tunnel, and the last was getting out of the 3rd Tunnel. We were don't scared at all.

So wait, you were on the first ever public Magnum train?

That’s what he said.
I guess we don’t call him Mr. Cedar Point for nothin’.

I only go 1 time a week during each season. My friend and were the 1st 2 people on the MEAN STREAK in the year of 1991. Many people know me, and ask how I am. I don't really don't, but it is fun talking to them.

Was that some kind of rap?

No 10 hour wait.

1-1/2 to 2 hour wait.

Back then, inflatable beach balls was a main prize at the guess your weight game adjacent to the Magnum XL 200 entrance and people won them and inflated them and played volleyball while standing in line for Magnum XL 200.

Cedar Point didn't like the volleyball and frowned upon it, but it was a great way to pass the time away waiting for Magnum XL 200.

Rides were not hyped as much as they are today, not that Steel Vengeance didn't live up to the hype, it did, but back then the only way you heard about something was through the news paper, radio, or local television news channel. That is why the line was so long on opening day for Steel Vengeance, all the hype and it was well worth it.

Avalanche Run had a delay and didn’t open with the park that season. A good friend from Boston came to Ohio for his first visit ever to the park, and we were disappointed to know the new ride was still closed. They were testing through the day though, and as we happened to be walking by I asked the op if there was going to be any chance. He glanced around and said we should stand right there for about 10-15 minutes if we wanted to be the very first. No guarantees, but he was pretty sure. So, yes please. Gladly. Sure enough in a bit he got the sign to let in guests and Tommy and I were the first paying customers to ride CP’s new coaster.

No fanfare, no reporters, no social media. Maybe a supervisor or two. It’s odd to think about, now.

^Those are great stories\memories from both of you, Mr. CP & RCMAC.

Just wondering, does Tommy play a mean pinball?

Hmm. I like it. For the next new attraction just say nothing. Start building it, and then just open it one day around 1:30, maybe 2:00 in the afternoon, just because. No media day. No enthusiast day. No auction.

That is truly odd to imagine, but it would be fun to watch people losing their minds.

I can get an IRB submission typed up, and we can turn it into a psych. experiment.

Maybe they can skip naming it and advertising for it. Kinda like how Son of Beast sat defunct but very obviously existing for a while.

As a couple of others have said, opening day for Magnum wasn't that bad. I, too, remember weather being crappy. After only a couple of rides, I left early afternoon because of the rain.

I worked at the hotel that summer, so I would ride Magnum nearly everyday. I ended up with over 500 laps that year and the only I waited over 2 hours was due to breakdowns. The crew killed it for a new ride! Even with the auxiliary queues behind the restrooms and the line going back to Corkscrew, the wait was no more than 90 min (with no breakdowns). One time getting in line, the ride-op asked me to time the wait. She was on platform when I got there and thought I had jumped line thinking there was no way I got up there that quick. The throughput was crazy! But, of course, there weren't any bins either. No seatbelts. No airgates. I miss those days! :)