Magnum: is it THAT good?

I've had hundreds of laps on Magnum, and personally, I like Apollo's Chariot better.

However, Magnum has a lot of personality and charm. The ride has a lot of different feelings depending on the weather.

If you are an airtime whore, as many enthusiasts are, you must try the ejector seat... first car, third row. I can assure you that there are few coasters that deliver air the way Magnum does in that seat. It's just below the threshold of being uncomfortable.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

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LocoSpitz said:
"Oh it sucks. Wild Thing is much better...I'd rather be shot than ride it again."

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First of all....If CP didn't change the rules with Magnum, you wouldn't HAVE a Wild Thing. Second of all, are you kidding?
Let's compare the coasters point for point.....

First drops--TIE
195', 60 degrees, virtually identical.

Hill #2--Magnum
A decent 140-footer vs. WT's 110-foot 'floater' where you don't float if you're stapled or overweight. Morgan never built another floater hill after WT.

Turnaround--Magnum in a LANDSLIDE
Short,sweet and horizontal vs. this 2 hill and half a helix, 1000+ foot long boring sequence that just goes on wayyyyy too long. This is where people visiting from other parks start conversations with other riders. Morgan learned from this and never, ever, built a turnaround like it again.

Return run--WT ('96-'98), Magnum (now)
In the beginning, the sweet Morgan Air of WT easily beat Magnum's.....until VF choked up on the brake. Now you're just passing time getting back to the station. Magnum had violent air and still has it. Try the hop before the camera while in Row #3 and you'll swear the lapbar's broken.

The trains--Magnum
Magnum's short nose and small body provides far more excitement than the huge, bulky Morgans.

The view--Do you have to ask??
Lake Erie and 13 other coasters vs. Hwy 101 and an industrial park. Duh.

Please note that this comparison is written by a 6-year VF season passholder.

If you wanna pretend VF has one up on CP, try comparing Power Towers--where you could definitely score a win.

-CPlaya

I argree with much of what you say, but Morgan not building another floater hill after Wild Thing? I got AMAZING floating air on Mamba's second hill. The first few hills on SD2K look like amazing float time. (I'll let you know how it is in a few months :) )

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- Peabody

I did NOT like Magnum when I first rode it back in August of 2000. The only thing I really liked on it was the view. I have absolutely no idea why it wins awards. I tried every part of the train, the very front, the "ejector seat", and the back, and I still got NO air. This could be due to the horrid 20 lbs. lapbars though. The view alone is worth the wait though. So don't expect much...Gemini was a million times better IMO, with no wait.

-Raven_Rider

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"Hold on tight, with all your might, and enjoy your flight on the Raven!"

1266 rides in the past four seasons!

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magnumdan
'99 Magnum Count: 801

My wife and I were so looking forward to riding Magnum after hearing so much about it and I have to say that we both disliked (hated?) it. The lapbar (should be called thigh bar) was very painful and we both were very disappointed in the overall ride. There are numerous steel coasters we would rank above Magnum starting with MF, AC, RB and B:TR to name a few.

I can appreciate the historical aspect but it still comes down to the ride and it's not a good one for us.

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"I'm going off the rails on a crazy train." - Ozzie Osbourne

I've ridden Magnum, MF, and Raging Bull for hypers, and the bull sits in #3.

Magnum is mean in the same way that MF is quick. Maggie will toss you like a ragdoll if you let it.

Nothing beats riding just after twilight, when you pop over the second hill with the lake right in front of you, and everything is this velvety purple color, and you don't know where the sky ends and the water begins -- and all of a sudden you dive left and your train starts to think it wants you off and off *now*!

The Magnum is great, but I think it has always been a little over rated. Maybe it's cuz I worked at the Point for 3 summers (on the ORIGINAL before they screwed it up Blue Streak). Some of the things that make the Magnum so good are the lake and all the surroundings, and definitely the tunnels. And it's not "super smooth" and wimpy like some of the newer hyper coasters.

BUT as far as steel coasters go, my favorite is still the Mindbender in GA. It's fast and to the point, and no shoulder bars still! No one ever talks bout that ride anymore... The Shockwave in TX is up there too.

Like I said, I do like Apollo better, but in response to Raven Rider's comments, maybe you caught it on a bad day. That's the personality I was talking about. A strong head wind from the lake has a huge effect on the ride from the second drop to the pretzel, and that of course makes for a slow return.

I find it interesting that you thought Gemini was better, especially because it has the same lap bars, but different strokes I guess.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

I loved Magnum, and as they say, warts and all. Mind you I had ridden three other hypers S:ROS, Apollo's Chariot, and Steel Force beforehand. Yes I agree the ending can be a little rough on the thighs. If they changed the lapbars this problem could be easily solved. And people please learn how to spell the word "D E F I N I T E L Y". It was misspelled by two different people above and is consistently misspelled on this site. If you don't know how to spell a word use the spell check or refer to a dictionary like I do. Thank you.

To answer the original question, IMO, no, Magnum is not THAT good. It's not deserved of all the coaster awards it recieves. The reason I think it gets all this recognition is because people have a hard time letting go of things. Magnum at one point in time was the largest and fastest ever. People still remember those feelings from opening year. Fact is, the ride has changed. It's a lot rougher, IMO, and also, with the new breed of hypers out there (B&M's and Intamins) the Arrow designed hyper just seems pretty old hat. Call me spoiled or whatever, but out of the ten hypers I've ridden, Magnum comes in at about #8. Only behind are Steel Force and Wild Thing.

Now, it does sound like I'm ripping on Magnum, when in fact I do enjoy the coaster immensely. It used to be my #1 in 1996 and 1997 (admittedly, my track record included all of two or three parks back then). I remember having some rides that just BLEW me away, such as the last ride(s) of the year 1998. But overall, the new breed of hyper appeals to my tastes more than the older style like Magnum. Just my two cents, of course! That being said, I'll never pass up a night ride on Maggie. :)

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"No listenin', you hear me?"

Lots of different opinions of the ride I see. Now I REALLY want to ride this coaster, just to see how my wife and I will like it. June 14th can't get here fast enough. ;) Thanks for the comments everyone. Peace. :)

Magnum has history and Magnum has location...but that's it!!

The first drop is unsteep and unexciting, the trains are cramped and the lapbars are the worst ever created. Those silly tubes they call ''tunnels'' are BLAH!, and the pretzel is SO Arrow, very ''jerky. It is quite rough and I came home from my trip last August with a bruised pelvis, thanks to Magnum.

There are six coasters I refuse to ride ever again, due to sustained injuries, and Magnum is one of them. (The others being SFGAd's Viper, Cedar Point's Mean Streak, Gemini, and Mantis, and SFKK's Chang.)

-(rob-who is biting his tongue *very* hard on this topic...and Cedar Point's guest relations was *very* unsympathetic to my injury...:( )

PS- AVOID 1.3
*** This post was edited by RobCoasting on 4/25/2001. ***

The part that puzzled me about the awards was Magnum was voted best steel coaster. And yet, MF came away with Coaster of the Year. How does that work? Am I missing something?

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"And none may dare entreat further, for to invoke death is to utter the final prayer."

To summarize my feelings: It's a good ride, but definitely not that good. I really don't see why people get so excited over it. If you've been a member of this site for a while, you know my feelings on the subject.

As for your questions about the Coasters' Choice Awards, any coaster opening in 2000 wasn't eligible for "Best Steel Coaster," because results would be skewed by the number of people who haven't ridden it yet due to the fact it's only been open for one season. (Also, parks often alter rides [for good or bad] after the first year, so we'll come to know the ride better after two years.) "Coaster of the Year" was given to the best new-for-2000 coaster.

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Matt Lynch
Co-Webmaster, Kennywood Boulevard
http://kennywood.coasterbuzz.com *** This post was edited by Lynch on 4/26/2001. ***

If I had ridden it for the first time recently, I would probably feel different. But, for nine years it was the only hyper I had ridden, although I have about 8 others under my belt now, none are quite the same!

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- Peabody *** This post was edited by Peabody on 4/26/2001. ***

Thank you :)

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"And none may dare entreat further, for to invoke death is to utter the final prayer."

Legendary: "Listen, do you smell something?"

Secondly: Uhm....yes, it's that good...

Any RC that has lasted this long in the rankings is worth every 2 minutes of its ride (The Beast sure reviews this category well, doesn't it?) If it's not a great ride, then why is it in the top every year? A RC that lasted this long deserves every ounce of respect.

I love pain and Magnum sure gives it in seat 1-3 (ejector seat)...I won't ride it anywhere else.


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There's nothing like a woodie...


*** This post was edited by Woody on 4/26/2001. *** *** This post was edited by Woody on 4/26/2001. ***

How exactly do you get hurt on *Gemini*?

Slap hands with a guy who had a hook?
(Inside joke)

To summarize MY feelings:

1. Maggie has been my fav steel coaster since the first time I rode it four years ago. It is still heads and shoulders ahead of every steel ride I have ever ridden.

2. Many people agree with me, and most of those people are not represented on the internet. The vast majority of people represented here are very young, and most of them have bad taste.



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Don't touch the watch.