Magnum Retracking

Why do we need to re-track every darn thing at the park? I'm pretty confident we are going to see a thread about RMC'ing Pinks and Midway Market soon.

If it ain't broke don't fix it applies here...

..Nahhhh....Pink's has at least 5 more years before it has to be RMC'd....LOL!!!!

I think I'll just stuck to Gemini, but thanks for the suggestion ;)

I don't see a need to touch it other than to redesign the station. I definitely don't want them to touch it (retracking or otherwise) if it raises the height requirement from 48 inches.

JUnderhill said:
I'm pretty confident we are going to see a thread about RMC'ing Pinks and Midway Market soon.
.

If RMC'ing Midway Market brings back cheeseburgers, pizza and the old taco and nacho bar then I'm all for it!

Flame the OP all you want but the fact remains that Magnum is brutal. Especially for anyone tall and/or over weight. Chance is just about the only company that could come in and retrack using the current support structure. The current supports/footers would not be adequate for heavier/larger track/trains. We are spoiled now by modern coasters with smooth track and comfy trains. It's like driving a CJ5 forever and then a brand new °.lllllll.° you don't realize what your missing until you experience the difference.

I completely disagree. Even in its worst seat, Magnum is not "brutal." The thing I love about Magnum is that when I hit the brakes, I know I have been on a coaster! It's not glass smooth, but I don't want it to be. The first half is all about the long climb up and then the views and sweeping drops. Then after the turnaround it is all about some of the best airtime I have ever found on a coaster. It looks and feels very 80s and I would miss that terribly if it were changed. Nothing needs to be done to the ride.

Augustmueller said:

...the fact remains that...

You're stating an opinion that Magnum is brutal. A fact would be something like 'Magnum is a steel coaster' What's brutal to you is your opinion, it may not be to others.

#TheMoreYouKnow

I'm tall and overweight (6'5" about 230) and have no issues with magnum.
Follow others advice and aim for a middle row seat and be sure and tighten the lap belt.

Seriously the difference between riding the middle row and riding on top of the wheels makes a huge difference.

So to get a less than brutal experience I should choose a specific seat and overly tighten the safety restraint? Ok, got it. I'll continue to enjoy the Intamin attractions that don't beat me up. Magnum, like most Arrow coasters, is rough, jarring, and brutal with the trains providing little space or comfort. Deny that all you want, it's a fact.

If you can't be bothered to choose one of six rows on the ride, then I don't know what to tell you, bud. If you sit in a middle row, I find that you don't even need to overly tighten the seatbelt. It's seriously not that difficult or outlandish of a thing to do in order to enjoy the ride.

Good thing is that we can all rest assured that Cedar Point is well aware that it is one of the most popular rides in the park and that people (generally) love it. It's not going anywhere.

However, I would love to see at least re-designed lap bars on Magnum. Anything other than the cylindrical bar across your lap would be better. Something with a bit more surface area that comes in contact with your thighs would be awesome.

Magnum has been at least partially retracked more than once. Ever notice that the spine of the track is larger on the turnaround knot than on he rest of the ride? That's because circa 1996 the entire turnaround was replaced and slightly reprofiled. The transitions into and out of the new track were so bad that mid season (the day after CoasterMania, in fact) the ride went down for a week or so to replace the transition pieces leading into and out of the replaced turnaround.

More recently, entire track sections were not changed out, but the rails have been replaced. If you dig deep enough on PointBuzz I think you can find an off season photo of Magnum's first drop with one or both of the rails missing.

Magnum isn't the only old Arrow coaster to get this kind of maintenance. Shortly after Cedar Fair took over, track rail sections were spotted under the Vortex at Kings Island.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I am personally not a fan of Magnum. But I am also one who doesn't think rides should have special tips or tricks for your riding posture to avoid getting the snot beat out of you. That said...

I think if there's one thing we can learn from off season 2015-16 is that if a ride gets enough wear and tear, it can be entirely retracked without it's layout being changed. See Incredible Hulk at IOA as an example.

To answer the OP's question, which someone hinted at but did not directly answer. Chance Morgan would be the best bet if Magnum were to get a complete retracking. They (Morgan) started as a direct off shoot from Arrow and many of their rides use similar trains and the track is also very similar. Morgan (before purchased by Chance, but I could be wrong on that) was the company to retrack and reprofile Steel Phantom, another painful Arrow hyper, although this ride had inversions.

As much as we as enthusiasts are sentimental over rides and have our pickle fights over who can take the roughest of rough rides like a champ, I think we need to remember all rides, even steel coasters do not have infinite life spans and will all either need to be retracked or removed and replaced. Just the nature of the business.

Personally, by biggest beef against Magnum is the train, I hate the coffin-like enclosed train with the staple lap bar. Maybe just new lap bars and new bodies that weren't so enclosed and I would enjoy the ride more.

The funny thing is maggie has been "retracked" in ways. During NDT during the off season if issues are found, they have pulled that section's steel out and replaced it. I used to have a picture somewhere that showed the rails removed from the spine & rail connectors. It wasn't reprofiled, which I think would be the better word, but there has been some reworking of the original steel.

I've been riding Magnum only since '98 so I didn't get to ride it when it was brand new, but to be honest, I don't think the roughness has increased much, if at all, in the last 18 years since I started riding it. The perception of roughness to some people who have grown up riding more Intamins and B&Ms is probably just different than it is for us old folk. :)

To be honest, the smoothest rides are actually the ones where the trims are off because it just glides through the pretzel without any side to side knocking around. You get strong, forceful airtime on the bunny hills, but this isn't the same as roughness. And yes, the middle of any car is the smoothest. My favorite seat is the second row of the back car. The front of any car is second best. The back row of any car is going to beat up you a bit more especially back of the first car and very back of the train.

I will say that I absolutely love the ejector seat, but most other seats are just meh to me. Also, Morgan hypers are way more enjoyable than magnum is for me. Theyre smoother and have more comfortable restraints with the same amount of airtime. Especially phantom's revenge.

Leave Magnum alone... well, at least (most of) the airtime hills.

First of all, a bit of history. Magnum was opened with a steeper exit to the ride's already-amazing third hill, which was reprofiled (near where the trims are today) to avoid a sudden slam-down onto your seat (unwary riders allegedly sometimes slammed their face onto the train body in front of them.

The pretzel turn also was retracked at some point.

I think that Magnum should be fully retracked from the exit of the third hill to the start of the second tunnel. This is the pretzel turn, combined with the transitions out of and into the "out" and "back" legs.

• The third hills should be steepened to its original specification, but with a pull-out that starts more gradually, perhaps into a small trench (not a tunnel.) This would give the airtime hill a bit more "longetivity"
• The trims should be relocated to this new trench (and kept as friction trims - I do NOT want to see magnetic trims on Magnum, especially if they are not adjustable/disable-able)
• The pretzel turn should be made a bit smoother
• The exit to the pretzel turn right now banks left as it pulls up. It doesn't usually cause problems, but on one ride, my friend and I bumped heads. This should be the last section to be retracked.

In addition, right after the third tunnel, the straight track containing the "safety brakes" should be made longer before the ride starts to turn. Stacking on Magnum is kind of unpleasant.

The lapbars should be given softer padding. They should NOT be replaced with hydraulic lap bars.

These are the most important minor reprofiling changes that should be made to Magnum.

Wasn't Magnum sinking? Just tear it down already!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

;) (in case any of ya'llz sarcasm detectors are broken)

Has anyone been on Lightning Run at Kentucky Kingdom? I wonder if the current and modern Chance trains are accommodating and comfortable? So it wold seem. It does appear that those restraints restrict leg motion per ankle cuffs, however.

One thing that always baffles my mind is that Magnum originally utilized Upstop skids in place of Upstop wheels. What? Even the retrofitted Upstop wheels appear amazingly small. I don't know, just seems silly that a ride designed with ejector style negative g elements would feature such a thing. Had to be an epic spark show.

Augustmueller said:
Has anyone been on Lightning Run at Kentucky Kingdom? I wonder if the current and modern Chance trains are accommodating and comfortable? So it wold seem. It does appear that those restraints restrict leg motion per ankle cuffs, however.

I was on Lightning Run this past Tuesday. Those restraints are extremely restrictive. I'm 6'2" 180lbs and I felt like I barely fit. I would hate to be of large size on that ride. Also the back rests are strange. They have a hard foam bump that protrudes into your lower back that feels completely unessessary, out-of-place, and uncomfortable. Not to mention the last few bunny hops are thigh destroyers. I've never really had a problem on Magnum, but LR hurt my thighs.