Magnum XL-200

When Magnum opened, I first saw it from the Marblehead peninsula, the land seen way in the distance in this image.  From my vantage point across Sandusky Bay, Magnum's slender support structure was nearly invisible.  Since most coasters of that era used large supports, I was astonished that the world's tallest roller coaster could be carried by such a flimsy-looking structure.

The tall metal structure on the left is the 180-foot-tall Ripcord skycoaster.  It operated here in Challenge Park from 1996 to 2016.  For the 2017 season, it was removed from this location next to Magnum and erected on the site formerly occupied by the Shoot the Rapids water ride.  It is now called Professor Delbert's Frontier Fling, a reference to the animated character on the Paddlewheel Excursions ride who tried to take flight in his pedal-driven airplane.  The professor and his flying contraption were also relocated and sit at the skycoaster's new location.

©2017 by Joel A. Rogers.