Magnum: is it THAT good?

I've never actually experienced Magnum, and won't until June, but how deserving is it of all the awards it's won and continues to win? Is it really THAT good? Is a hypercoaster built in 1989 actually better than some of the newer ones, like S:ROS and Goliath? And what about Millenium Force? Is Magnum really better than the tallest and fastest coaster in the country? I'm really curious about other people's thoughts on the matter since I can't give an honest opinion yet. I really can't wait to experience both Magnum and MF in June, but I was wondering what everyone thought about the subject. I've heard a lot of conflicting reports on the ride. Thanks! Peace. :)

p.s.
Sorry if this topic has been brought up several times already, which I'm sure it probably has. :)

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Medusa at Marine World: the best coaster in the west!

I think Magnum is a good ride, certainly, and to be racing along the lakeshore adds a lot of excitement. Personally, though, I think the final bunnyhop hills are very hard on the thighs - very painful. I'll still go on, of course (you have to!), but maybe not as much as I once would have. Every coaster has it's great points, so I won't say that any other coaster is necessarily better, but Magnum is definately a classic either way.

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Po!nt of View: A different look at Roller Coasters.
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/index.html

I deffinatly like MF a ton better than Magnum. I like the first drop better, it has more speed, MF has more sustained airtime, and also has a twistier layout(I like twisters). Nothin will ever beat MF
-Charlie Weingartner

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You can't run and you can't hide...The Beast at PKI

Magnum was a fun ride, especially in the front. I can't see why its ranked #1 and I liked Millennium Force a ton better. It is a good coaster though and while the first 3 large hills don't provide much airtime, the bunny hops do.

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"I traded my soul for a ride on Millennium Force"
www.starcoasters.com

StarCoasters,

The first two hills don't provide much airtime...but what about the third hill?? This hill still gives me the longest sustained airtime I've ever had on a coaster...I count almost five seconds of it. Magnum is personally my favorite steel coaster, but I suppose that I just feel an attachment for it since I rode it in the second grade. Still, a great ride with a great layout, fully deserving of the title of top roller coaster in my opinion.

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Coasters...the best natural buzz available.

Magnum has a history, and is certainly a favorite to many of us who rode it that first year or two. The scene around Magnum that first year is unlike anything I've ever scene, including MF. It was a giant party, even at the exit!

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- Peabody

Not to bash or anything but I think that the
Magnum is a rough head-aching ride. Not as good to me as it is to others. Millenium Force is 50x better.

Coasterman,
First off, YES Magnum is a great ride. Rough at parts and painful on the thighs at a couple of spots, but it is still a great ride.
You have to bear in mind with these awards (which mean nothing to me), that there is always a 'sentimental' value placed on rides. Magnum was the first hyper/mega, people have been riding it for 12 years, so there is going to be some emotinal attachment to it. If you never rode something before and it didn't have any special meaning to you, and you compared it to something bigger and faster and smoother, than it would not win out.
My fiancee and I went to Cedar Point for the first time ever last year. We never rode a hyper before and the first thing we went on was MF. After that we went on Magnum, so naturally it felt rough and not as 'awe inspiring', we were disppointed with our reactions to it. BUT, we wanted to love it because we saw so much of it on all the TV shows and what people had said.
So, we gave it multiple re-rides and learned to love it. We don't like the ride because we had to, but we got accustomed to it, since it was not what we were used to, as first time riders.
There are many great apects of the ride that make it near and dear to my heart. The view of Lake Erie, the slow motion feeling cresting the 2nd hill. The insane ejector air leading into the pretzel loop, and the perfect placement of the tunnels.
Can I ride it as much as MF? No, but that is mainly the fault of the rolling stock, which is 12 years old.
Also, always remember that a ride is enhanced or decreased by the way you feel at a park and your experience there. Cedar Point is a fabulous park, and that is coming from someone who is a theme park ala DisneyWorld person, who expects top notch theming, visuals, etc. Cedar Point is an amusement/thrill park, and it still made us extremely happy.
Just like any ride, if you put it in a park you don't like or had bad experiences at, it will not mean nearly as much to you or the average person.
Do I like Magnum better than MF? I some respects YES and others NO. I don't really rate rides and like to take favorites. Magnum has FAR more airtime and MF does. MF has very little airtime to be honest, and it is very gentile (compared to SFNE:SROS)

Kevin Page

My daughter and I had never ridden Magnum until last summer. We both love it and rank it as one of the best. It's not Loch Ness Monster smooth, but it is not nearly as bad as many coasters that I have ridden. Certainly well within the acceptable range. The mixture of air time hills and tunnels is really exceptional.

The first hill on MF is the greatest adreniline rush on any coaster that I have ridden, but after the first hill Magnum is definately superior.

The locatoin and view is incredible, but the ride itself i think isn't that great. The first drop is ok, the pretzel loop is fun, the tunnels are good. the humps are lame, the ride is bumpy, and it isn't intense, and it isn't that exciting. If you go to cedar point ride it, but i am simply giving my opinion.

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RCman4

I love Magnum, but it's not the best coaster in the world, as far as I'm concerned. It really depends on what seat you're in, and how it's riding that day. I've had rides on Magnum that were good, and I've had rides on Magnum that are absolutely incredible. However, I'd say that MF is better than Magnum all around. MF absolutely blew me away, and the air over the third hill on MF is so fantastic! However, since you've not ridden either...ride Maggie first.

Jman

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. Seems most of you like Magnum, and a few like it more than MF. Everyone, especially Kevin Page, brought up some great points. One of the reasons I chose to go to CP in June over say, BGT or the Six Flags parks in the Northeast (SFGAdv, SFA, SFNE), was to experience the great CP rides that everyone raves about and be able to form my opinions based on our experience there. We really can't wait to experience the entire park. I'll take the advice of Jman and ride Magnum before MF, to get the full experience. I'll make sure to write up a trip report since we've never been to the park before. From my own point of view, well, the pov from America's Greatest Coasters DVD actually ;), Magnum looks like it is a great ride. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Thanks again everyone. Peace. :)

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Medusa at Marine World: the best coaster in the west!

Magnum is great if you haven't been on Millennium Force or Superman Ride of Steel or Apollo's Chariot or Raging Bull or Steel Force or... But I've been on all of those before my first Magnum ride. I don't have an attachment so it's a mere shadow. I prefer inverts anyway.

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PKI-Wooden, Helix, and Kiddie Coaster Capital of the World!
The First and Only Gigabuzzer bigger than Millie, rising Faster than Maggie, and pulls more BS than MS ever will!!!

Not as good as sex, but hey what do ya want?

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"Is Al still down there counting dimples and chads?"

Oh it sucks. Wild Thing is much better. So is mad mouse, and I hate that #@*! thing. Too rough, and just not fun.

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Magnum XL-200
I'd rather be shot than ride it again.

Didn't I hear something about Magnum that it's supposed to improve this year?

Wasn't something supposed to be replaced on the trains to make the ride a little more bearable??

If so... it should release some of the tension on the ride and make it an even more enjoyable experience!

Well then, perhaps I will have to change my opinion.

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Yeah, right.

LocoSpitz, did Magnum kill a relative of yours or something???

Anyway, if you like airtime then Magnum delivers in spades. Like someone already said the air on the third hill is just ridiculous. You can feel the upstops smash into the track when you crest the hill.

MF, while still one of my favorite rides, really doesn't have much air. The third hill only gives you a pop of air later in the day when the ride is running at its fastest. Even then, you have to be towards the front of the train to get the full effect. I will admit that the first drop gives some nice float-time and the "speed bump" after the second tunnel gives a nice little jolt. However, with Maggie, you get air on the third hill and every single bunny-hop on the way back to the station. And we're talking good-to-great airtime.

Magnum is easily my number 1 steel coaster. Really, nothing else even comes close for me. The setting, the tunnels, the airtime, and the physicality of the ride itself makes it heads and shoulders above all other steel coasters in the world.

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Don't touch the watch.

And one more thing:


Many, many people agree with me. A very small part of the coaster world is reperesented hear, and the ones that are bad mouthing maggie hear are few and far between out in the real world. Nothing against you cats that don't like it, though. ;)
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Don't touch the watch.