Magnum policy change?

With the death of the idiot box, can world peace be that far off?

Magnum has always had lockers located close to the ride. They are across the midway from the exit. I don't get the overeggageration of the cost of a locker. It's $2. You spent how much to go on your trip. Magnum is the worst loose article ride you could go on. Get over it.

I always like to stay onpoint for a few days at a time. This way I only have to carry a phone and wallet. Those fit safely in my pocket. My car keys are in the room or my camper. Not that I'll be camping there again since their recent remodeling. But of course I don't fit with into the mold of the "common general public".

As for whether or not the quarterly dividend has an effect on my visit. YES!! It does. I love going to the point and seeing that their company is making money and putting money in my pocket. I invested money and expect a return. It's part of my retirement. In the past 4 years I've probably spent just as much in cash at CP and KI as my dividends have paid me. But that's just cash money I've had to spend. The dividends go into my retirement funds. I like seeing lines for fastlane and the other things they've done to increase revenues. You shouldn't envy me for having money to invest.

You don't need $2 to rent a locker. It's your choice. You just can't take loose articles on Magnum.

Count me in the smug group of people that have never, ever used a bin on a ride platform to store something. You can also put me in the category of unfashionable people who buy a pair or two of shorts with extra pockets in them each summer, just for the purpose of making sure I don't lose my important stuff on a ride or get it taken out of a bin.

You can also put me in the group of people who hesitate to buy things like souvenir bottles for drinks. Before I make a purchase or play a game at a park I ask myself how it will affect my day in general- do I really want to carry this thing around with me all day? I don't understand the implication that making these choices for myself (I really don't care what the rest of you do) makes me an out of touch enthusiast.

As a non-bin user I observe how their use affects ride operations. It's true that some platforms are more conducive to their use. It's also true that on rides like Magnum the exit area is narrow and causes bottlenecks. I was at a different park last week and I saw more than once where, on their inverted coaster, someone would be putting their things in the bin and someone else would spot the open seat, take it, and lock the restraint. When the rightful passenger returned and found their seat occupied the ride op had to be called, the restraints unlocked, the gates reopened, and everything re-checked. Ugh.

How decisions like this impact a park's bottom line is hard to say. Will they sell more lockers? Sure. Will they sell fewer bottles? Probably. But I think it's safe to say that decisions like this are from an operations standpoint, not a money grabbing one. In the case of Magnum it may be as simple as making life for the ride op easier and safer. I know for myself I'd rather face a few confused or upset customers at the entrance than deal with storage bin hassles and shenanigans all day.

This is a little bit of a pain. I got one of the souvenir cups, and now the 99c refill is going to cost me a lot more because I have to lock this thing up every time. I never carry anything onto the ride except for this. I have a fanny pack that works fine for my stuff, but what do I do with this cup.

I hate that GK does not let you do the cups either. It's such a cost. ugg.. not happy.

This is really going to "stoke the fire," "stir the pot," or what ever you want to call it: the park should charge an extra fee for using the bins. You know like the airlines are now charging for carry-on luggage. Pay the fee and get a wrist band. Without the wrist band you cannot carry loose articles past the ride entrance. Oh, about $25, $50 on Saturdays, ought to do it.

I rode Magnum last week; it literally took double the amount of time it used to park the train in the station than it did in years past. The train enters the station at a much slower speed and pauses 3/4 the way in. The bin was near the exit of the station this year, rather than the middle, making it a huge bottleneck. If the station had two smaller bin locations in it, it would have probably solved the bottleneck problem.

RCMAC said:
I was at a different park last week and I saw more than once where, on their inverted coaster, someone would be putting their things in the bin and someone else would spot the open seat, take it, and lock the restraint. When the rightful passenger returned and found their seat occupied the ride op had to be called, the restraints unlocked, the gates reopened, and everything re-checked.

I have experienced this first hand at multiple parks, mainly with inverts and floorless coasters. I typically never bring anything to parks with me but on occasion a Ride Host will notice my sandals and ask me to put them in a bin. When I return I find that someone has already jumped in my seat, ignoring the fact that my girlfriend has even told them someone is sitting there.

When you have trains constantly stopping on the safety brakes then you have an operational problem that I'm very glad the park is addressing. Magnum is too good of a ride to be hobbled with two train operation like they did with Mantis. A big +1 to park operations to do the right thing and keep capacity up on Magnum.

^^ RCMAC: very well said.

Well said Pete. I agree completely.

coolkid - I didn't notice that the bins had moved. Your suggestion of two smaller sets of bins is a good one, but with the control booth and the elevator up at the front of the station, I'm not sure there's any better spot to put the bins than right where they had them. What MIGHT have helped, although probably not much, would have been to add an additional exit point BEHIND the bins and merge it with the old one farther down the ramp to get people out of there quicker - especially if they didn't need to deal with the bins.

I am not sure if the new control system is causing them to have less time to get the train ready in the station or more. If it is making any difference at all, it is certainly just a few seconds better or worse than it was before and definitely not the cause of some new problem that just started this year. In other words, it isn't the difference between hitting interval (80 seconds from last dispatch) and setting up a train outside the third tunnel which is close to 30 seconds after the interval point (top of 2nd hill is about an 80 second interval and the Soak City curve right before the bunny hops is the point where if the next train isn't underway yet, you're going to set up and that is close to 110 seconds from last dispatch). My timings might even be a bit off now because I think the lift is a bit slower than it used to be which would give them even more time before setting up. I used a combination of my memory and the POV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nPG4l9-LkM)

When I went opening weekend, they were only running two trains so I didn't get to see how things work with three trains, but I did see them manage to stack a train a couple times on the ready brakes behind the station, which would be the same as would happen every time when running three trains. I noticed the train stops farther up in the brakes than it used to (the back car isn't at an angle now) This is probably a good thing since it puts the train closer to the station so theoretically it should get there slightly quicker than before. This might be negated if it's parking slower in the station though. I did notice the pause at 3/4 of the way in and it seems like something that should probably be tweaked. It's no where near as bad as Mine Ride is (or at least WAS a few years back - I haven't ridden it in a while)

On the definite positive side of the new system, the trains seemed to be much more under control in the safety brakes - consistently getting smoothly slowed and controlled before it finally let them go over the midway to the readies. Not sure if this is just because of all new brake pads and compressed air plumbing up there or a programming thing. In the past, the speed of trains through there varied too much depending on various factors like how fast they arrived, weather, alignment of the stars, etc. I also noticed the platform gates open right away when the train parks with no delay.

Rode Saturday afternoon, and IMO, the new policy is absolutely causing the lines to move quicker. Props to CP for the change.

Because of this change, I will most likely not get a souvenir cup this year.

Ah, but will you still buy soft drinks? That's the part that really matters to Cedar Fair.

I just keep sucking down the little glasses of water.

I like the idea of bins, but do see the chaos created with them as well. Maybe CP needs to re-think the process to make it more efficient. I also see the advantage of lockers, but we, the paying customers, already spent A LOT of money to get in. So now I might have to possibly pay more to store my personal belongings in a locker? Whats funny is all the 'extra baggage' people carry with them, and probably never gets used. I've literally seen young ladies pull out full size hair products and make-up cases out of their bags to freshen up!Why? Go ride a roller coaster, mess up that hair & have fun !!! If it doesn't fit securely in your pockets(cargo shorts)- don't take it !

Captain Bob said:
Ah, but will you still buy soft drinks? That's the part that really matters to Cedar Fair.

Possibly, yes. But with the bins being removed on another ride, if I were to get a souvenir cup, I would need to rent a locker. Since it costs about $15 to get a cup, 99 cent refills and will possibly need to rent a locker, I don't see the value in it. It'll really never pay for itself.

Why don't they solve the real problem, which is that the new control system brings the trains into the station a lot more slowly than the old one did. What used to take about 20 seconds (dispatch to next-train lap bar unlock) now takes more than twice as long. That time is lost from the station dwell time.

They need to not park the train on the transfer table (so it holds farther back, meaning a longer, and thus faster, roll into the station), and when the time comes to start that roll the brakes need to open fully and let the train come in a little faster.

If a 25-year-old PLC could park the train without stopping two car lengths short and inching up, an all-new system ought to be able to handle it easily.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Aww, you've gone and ruined ruined the "removing bins will fix everything" circlejerk!

Yeah, curse you and your logic!

Janeen Harris said:
I also see the advantage of lockers, but we, the paying customers, already spent A LOT of money to get in.

I will never be sympathetic to an entitlement argument of any kind.

Control issues are a straw man argument. The "real problem" can be both controls and crap storage. They're not mutually exclusive problems.

The problems are not mutually exclusive, however, the amount of time needed to deal with crap storage was not a problem, or at least was not as serious of a problem, when the trains came in quicker.

Sure, two different problems. But one of the problems wasn't such a problem last season.

It could also be easily argued that the addition of the elevator was also a significant factor because the need for a level platform reduced the traffic space on the loading platform, which in turn confuses traffic flow. But again, elevator and crap storage were both factors last season and running the trains on time was demonstrably less of a problem than it is this season.

(Or so I assume. In truth, on the days I have been in the park this year, Magnum downtime has been as much of an issue as whatever is going on with the platform...)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.