Magnum recording is back again...

Just got back from the park...

Magnum's auto-spiel is back, and it is stupider than ever.

Who comes up with this crap? Has the person in question ever even seen the ride in question? Consider this:

"Sit upright, keeping your head, back and shoulders against the seatback at all times." Huh? On Magnum XL-200, this is mechanically impossible. But more important...

Magnum XL-200 operates on about a 75-second interval. This is a known fact. Magnum has been operating this way for fifteen years. A train leaves the station, it takes about twelve seconds to get out, after thirty seconds or so, the next train parks and unloads. That leaves about 45 seconds of dwell time for the train to sit in the station before it goes away. This is consistent, it's been consistent for fifteen years, and anybody who has spent any time on the Magnum platform knows it.

So what kind of a brain surgeon comes up with an informational recording that runs longer than 45 seconds? The recording starts as the train enters the station, and resets when the next train arrives, so I never did hear how it ends...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Dammit!

I was looking forward to getting to the park while they were still spieling the trains. I wanted to ride just once more when the train full of people comes back and people actually cheer because they are prompted to. It is absolutely mindboggling for the spiel to be cut off for every train since it completely compromises the whole reason for an autospiel because they don't even get through all that legal crap. Last year the spiel was at the right length, but it was my goal in controls to cut the spiel off at the with the next train because that meant that we were kicking our interval's ass.

*** Edited 7/23/2005 6:24:37 AM UTC by CP_bound***

Maybe the autospiel is not just meant for the trains. Don't forget that there are other people in the station that hear the full thing.......sometimes even getting mad at it for hearing it so many times.

I just tune it out. :)

I was told by one of the Magnum's crew members that it even cuts off on a 2 train operation. The only time you get to hear the end of it is when they setup. They brought it back on Monday Rideman.
*** Edited 7/23/2005 7:40:57 AM UTC by ChrisR82***

You beat me to it Dave. I was gonna come on here and gripe about it. It sucks royally. The life is sucked completely out of that ride again.

Speaking of setups, I counted about 7 of them today. Ugh, more ranting later in a TR.
*** Edited 7/23/2005 9:13:20 AM UTC by bholcomb***

I don't think the spiel is anything to get angry with and throw a fit. This is the 21st century, automation is nothing new these days.

That's disappointing. :( I was hoping someone important would notice the increased enthusiasm in the station and think it was a good thing. But I guess people having fun is no longer a good thing to the people making these decisions.

At one point I timed it and told them exactly how long the spiel can be. It was somewhere around 52 seconds or something, starting from when the train is about 2/3rds into the station (when the spiel starts) to when the train is dispatched at the proper interval. Last year, as the train was leaving, it would be saying, "if you do not understand these instructions, or need clarification, contact a ride host." By the time it said, "thank you for riding Magnum XL-200 and enjoy the rest of your day at America's Rollercoast, Cedar Point" the train was already long gone.

I wonder how many of the seemingly big increase in setups is due to allowing people to put their junk off to the side? I guess I can see this causing problems hitting interval, but I don't think it should cause enough delay to cause a setup. That's like an extra 30 seconds. Having ridden Magnum hundreds of times and worked the ride for three years, I've been on the train for only one setup. The worst day I ever remember working the ride was nine setups - that was a day when everyone had ponchos, right after they put the no loose article policy into effect. Normal days last year had no more than two and we had a fair number of days with none. If one guest is seeing seven happen on a regular old day, something is wrong. I've heard reports of much higher setup numbers than that this year too.

At least I know that with all these setups and them not being allowed to pack trains, our numbers from last year will be safe. ;) I know some people on the crew and I want them to do well, but at the same time, part of me is hoping that the numbers will be really bad so that management can see how their poorly thought out changes have messed up the ride.

OK, I can understand the disappointment ... but, I don't know about sucking the life out of the ride, Ben. My favorite part of Magnum was never the station. It was always the actual ride.

*** Edited 7/23/2005 1:08:07 PM UTC by Walt***

It's about the whole package Walt.

Magnum is my fave and always has been; I wouldn't say it sucks the life out of the ride, as it is a great ride, but it makes the enthusiasm for the riders lessen significantly. I always loved to come back to the station and hear "HOW WAS THAT RIDE?!?!?!!" and everyone would scream. Oh well, as kylepark said, automation is nothing new. It's sad, but life goes on and I'll love it still when I ride it.

If it's about the whole package, do you refuse to ride Magnum when there's an ill-timed auto-spiel?

Again, is it disappointing, yes. But it's still Magnum.

In 1990, I visited the park and rode Magnum. I didn't return to the park (for various reasons) until 2000.

When I returned a decade later, I noticed the changes to Magnum right away (the lack of the warnings on riding thing that had played in the line was a biggie).

Did that make the ride different? No. But the expierence had changed. I do not like the recorded auto spiels. On any ride.

MrScott

I won't refuse to ride the ride - it's the greatest ride in the world and the number one reason I go to CP in the first place, but since I have less fun these days when I visit CP, I don't make it as much of a point to get there.

Maybe I should go visit Great America instead. They have good rides too. Great Adventure does too. The service is what has always set CP apart from other parks with good rides. The service is why I have made the effort to get to the park several times each summer. They think their collection of rides is what keeps people coming back. Maybe that is part of it, but service is important too. I still like going, but why am I going to drive 4 or 5 hours a bunch of times for a place that isn't as good as it was a few years back? And isn't any different from any other park with good rides.

I couldn't disagree with you more.

I'm sorry that Cedar Point is a one ride park for you. For me, it's the unmatched atmosphere, tradition, location and history tied together with the coasters, rides, resorts, shows, etc., etc. If you really think you can get that same experience at Great America, I hope you have a good time.

I'm reading and listening, but it still sounds disgruntled.

Matt,

That is true with many things. Everywhere, it's "Cut Costs!". The same is for Amusement Parks.

Guest service is a bullseye on the target.

Tis sad, but true. And it won't end until we stop going.

MrScott

Not meaning any disrepect, but it seems to me some of you are way to close to this stuff. I've got to believe that the only people that know or care about the auto spiel have posted here - which amounts to a microscopic percentage of the amount of people who ride it daily.

While I agree that it's stupid, it doesn't change the ride experiance a bit for me. I guess I'm paying more attention to my family and friends when I'm boarding.

It sure won't make me want to stop going.

Chaindog, why do you think people go to CP? I think it is because of the great time they had in the past or the great time they think they will have because of what they have heard. Those little things add up as said on other threads. Those little things make me fork over $300-400 to go for a few days. Thats why it matters.

I guess I should have said "The life is sucked out of the station"

Although my ride on Magnum wasn't a great one yesterday. It went down mechanical maintenance request right after I got off it, and I never made it back there.

I know at least 2 setups were due to guest illness, so you can't really count that against the crew. I just saw many things around the park yesterday that annoyed me.

Like on a hot, mid season summer day... Sky Ride was only running 20 cabins because of 'budget cuts'. That's bullcrap. Gemini kept stacking the one train it had because ride ops couldn't stop chatting on platform. This is the middle of July. Stupid stuff like this shouldn't be happening.

I finally rode Corkscrew for the first time this year, and all the problems with that have been chronicled, so I won't go into it.. But why bother running 3 trains?

There is credit to be given, however. The Millennium Force crew was doing a pretty good job of pushing people through, as was the Dragster crew.

Matt, I think Raptor is gonna really blow away Magnum this year in numbers.

I was at the park all day yesterday. I didn't notice any problems like those that you mentioned. Granted, I wasn't looking for them, but we had a lot of fun nevertheless.

You and I seem to pick the same days to visit the park.