The Worlds Best Roller Coaster - Magnum XL 200 Comprehensive Review

[@TonyKimtheamusementparkfan]

Magnum's pre-computer design is what makes it so cool in my opinion. You can feel that this was a first attempt at a hyper coaster, and the fact that it's so raw and hand built really shows how much personality it has. It has some of the most insane ejector airtime that you'll ever feel.

[@cedarflags]

That third hill is one of the most insane moments on any cedar point coaster! Love magnum and its style!

[@aaronheldt736]

Great video and footage! I worked Magnum in 2009 and had a blast. I believe we were the last crew (or one of the last crews) to have to run to the safety brakes for a "set-up". I think the modification took place in 2010 or 2011. Also, she slide through the brakes in the rain in 2007. It was the same day Maverick have it's media day. The news crews were already there to cover the accident. Sad day but thankfully no one was seriously hurt.

[@CoasterCollege2]

Thanks, yeah I missed the date, was going off memory lol

[@MotJ949]

I was just telling people how amazing this roller coaster is yesterday!

[@MotJ949]

Now I feel old seeing all the queue switchbacks empty and people walking right into the train 😂

[@KIorio809]

Magnum is still my favorite coaster in the world too, and I've been on like 900

[@FunkAndFluff]

Few rides make me laugh as much as Magnum does. It more than deserves it's spot in my top 10!

[@Bnizzofashizzo]

I loved this review as i listened to during lunch. Your unassuming thorough description was fantastic! These days it’s almost tough to tell if the vlogger even enjoys coasters at all. You do. Thank you for this. The music was perfect.

[@chuck4714]

Its the best bang for your buck of amazing ride to short wait ratio in the whole park, if not the world

[@mikewalker4950]

Magnum was definitely a grower for me. I didn’t really get it when I rode in the 90s and even through the 2010’s. I just thought it was rough and janky and I preferred the more floaty feelings of airtime since I could still get the stomach drop and butterfly sensation. Now I’m super desensitized and we’ve been to CP a lot over the last few years so I’ve been able to understand the hype. I’m a row 3 rider. Love how you can get a little room in the lap bars and the airtime is just so ridiculously strong that I can’t help but to just laugh through the final hills. It used to be in the bottom half of coasters at CP IMO but now it’s in my top 3 with SV and TT2 and I prefer it to MF and Maverick. Borderline top 10 overall of over 200. And also - Micah who was an op on magnum the last couple years may be my favorite of all time. Absolutely hilarious with the mic and never tried to squish me in with the restraint like one particular op who I won’t name out of respect.

[@Bnizzofashizzo]

Alllll this !!!

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Yeah, Micah is the best. Hilarious when he's on the mic in the station. We love getting to know the ride ops, especially the ones that return for multiple seasons. We bring bags of candy to our favorite ride crews at the end of the year.

[@maverick114e9]

This thing is like a really fun mix between a mine train and a hyper. I would even facetiously say it is my favorite mine train

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Well the Magnum trains are mine trains. Its no doubt this lovely hyper feels like a mine train. Thats the best part!

[@Bnizzofashizzo]

I LOVE the Magnum love!!!

[@dubvuchyea502]

I marathoned her in July of 2021. Its my favorite as well

[@lornetyndale7974]

For me, Arrow coasters are still my favourite, so that is a plus for Magnum. Yes, I'm the type of person who - at the end of the day if I only have time to ride one more coaster at a park and I have a choice of either a B&M or an Arrow, I'll take the Arrow every time. There is something about the feel they have that I love.

[@TonyKimtheamusementparkfan]

You can tell that this was Arrow's first attempt at a hyper coaster, and the fact that this was built by hand, without computers, without the proper G-force calculations, the continuous radii for all curves, it's sure to give you a feel that is not like modern coasters, which is very welcome today.

[@Videos_N_Stuff]

4:15 the first time I rode Magnum I rode in row 3. Yes, that was the most ejector I’ve ever been on, but thrusting against that mine train-thin lapbar with no padding made it ungodly painful. I rode it in the back in front when I marathoned later that day.

[@hoosiercoasterfan2655]

It’s my #1 currently operating roller coaster at Cedar Point (my #1 coaster I ever rode at Cedar Point is still Top Thrill Dragster). I believe that the layout after the first giant camel back was designed for the originally proposed 187ft tall coaster, which is why it runs so fast, the last run of airtime hills were intended to be taken slower, kinda like Geminis last airtime hills (which are similarly shaped). The decision to up the height to 205ft created a truly unique ride experience that even the other Arrow hyper coasters couldn’t measure up to.

[@XWillette0]

Hell yeah, would love to see more coaster and ride reviews in the future great vid as always

[@ot.bot.249]

Wow! This is an amazing video and i love how much information was in it! Thanks!

[@MichaelDery-z7h]

I remember when Magnum first opened and how it just towered over the skyline and then waiting in a line that stretched to Corkscrew's turn/lift approach. Good times! The ride is probably close to needing a full refurbishment soon. What if Chance did a reprofile ala Phantom's Revenge on the return leg?

[@BamaRailfan]

I love Magnum and it's a must ride when we visit the park. I did not know train 1 was new. I did notice that I had some of the smoothest rides this year though. Now I know why. And, yes, row 17 is incredible. If new to the ride, though, and want the smoothest experience, I recommend row 11.

[@CoasterCollege2]

Row 11 is also a solid mix of smoothness and forces!

[@jamesmcmanus1206]

Excellent insight, learned a lot about a ride I thought I knew well!

[@CoasterCollege2]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@f1fan112]

Finally a KZbinr understands that 6-1 (or row 16) is better than 1-3

[@CoasterCollege2]

Very underrated in that seat!

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Row 5 is the best or row 3, with the easy ride of row 17. Love it!

[@Skyla286]

Magum always a good time.

[@RideManDave]

You should know better! In addition to the red/blue/black stripes on the sides of the lead car, there is also a color stripe on the *bottom* of the lead car, under the nosepiece, presumably so that if you're standing under the station you can tell which train you're looking at. The current entrance has always been the ride entrance, but back in the early days if the entire queue was full, they would double it back from the entrance and down a couple of switchbacks behind the restroom building, with the queue entrance on the other side of the restrooms. That was overflow, not the usual ride entrance. Not that it mattered much as there was no signage whatsoever at the queue entrance for many, many years. I'm not sure that Magnum ever got a new lift motor from another ride, but for the rainy CoasterMania '97, Magnum and Disaster Transport were both down all day, and anyone who bothered to look could see that Magnum was missing its lift motor. That night they got Magnum running for ERT, but the lift was running at high speed without the usual speed ramping. Rumor was that they borrowed Disaster Transport's lift motor to get the ride running for ERT, but i have never received any confirmation of that rumor. I think it was for the 1996 season that they replaced the track in the turnaround; the new track has a greater wall thickness, a larger spine, and in all is just heavier than the original track. The ride opened as usual, then closed for a couple of days right after CoasterMania. During the event, there were two additional track sections staged under the transition point. In your review you complain about the transition coming out of the knot; believe it or not, it was much worse after the knot was replaced. A maintenance official noted that they were getting some "excessive wheel wear" becaue of that transition; a friend of mine noted that it was causing "excessive *rider* wear. So they shut the ride down and installed the two additional track sections in early June, and that helped a bit. Still not perfect. Magnum is really the last of the old-school coasters, engineered by hand and designed in AutoCAD, with a certain level of organic flow and human imperfection that seems missing from later rides, even from rides like Steel Force. Today's rides will take you smoothly to zero Gz or slightly negative, but it isn't the same. Either you're riding the lap bar all the way down as on Steel Vengeance, or you barely notice it as on Apollo's Chariot. Magnum kicks you hard at a non-trivial -Gz for just a few milliseconds then rises rapidly to 0G for the rest of the drop. You get kicked from your seat to a displacement of just a couple of inches, but unlike Steel Vengeance (which continues pulling) you then get to float through the element until the bottom of the drop where you get re-planted once again in your seat. Since Magnum they've made coasters taller, faster, wilder, and weirder, but I'm not convinced that they've made them any better. If i am in the park around closing time, you'll probably find me taking a few laps up front in Row #3.

[@mikebrilhart1992]

This, much like my favorite coaster (Knoebels Phoenix) are ones that have grown on me. I think I’m finally okay with saying this is my favorite ride at Cedar Point, as good as Maverick is. Magnum is special.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Magnum is SUCH a great ride! Sit in the middle row of a car for a not so painful ride. Rows 2, 5,8, give the best rides. My wife prefers 14, or 17.

[@RiffRaff654]

Magnum is the best. Other coaster are fun, but magnum always makes me smile. Row 16 IS the best, I agree!

[@VelocityRides31]

I love this new type of video format you're doing, although I think you should probably do it on your main channel. Magnum has always been my favorite ride at cedar point, keep it up man!

[@CoasterCollege2]

@@VelocityRides31 I'd rather not clog up the main channel with videos like this.

[@blathersb]

​​@@CoasterCollege2Clog?? This wouldn't clog! I think it would be fine on the main channel but hey I still got it recommended it to me so I'll take it

[@IRDeady]

9:45 two years ago I was riding Steele vengeance amd the guy I say next told me to look straight ahead on the first drop rather than down. I never even thought to try it before but it is definitely more intense, it's like it tricks your brain into thinking you're falling.

[@Stagnant_Gravy]

2:54 this makes sense, I rode in row 17 in this train a couple months ago and was still genuinely shocked how smooth it was running. I’m used to riding Phantom’s Revenge at my home park, a coaster that’s known for being glass smooth while still being an Arrow at its core, and it was gliding along the track besides the usual Magnum shuffle.

[@CoasterCollege2]

Yeah that's probably the smoothest seat possible on the ride at the moment, fingers crossed it gets the other trains replaced soon!

[@coastercube838]

@@CoasterCollege2no trains were actually replaced for this year, where did you hear that

[@michaelcarter8020]

To me, this ride beats the B&M hypers and Gigas that I’ve experienced. Hard to choose between magnum, maverick, Millie and Steel vengeance for top ride at cedar point.

[@CoasterCollege2]

@@michaelcarter8020 all are really good!

[@michaelcarter8020]

@@CoasterCollege2I find the modern B&M’s are alright, I still prefer Millie over them. B&M inverts on the other hand, they are powerhouses. B&M dives are mediocre and wing coasters are blah.

[@diveloopthrills7613]

Magnum is easily in my top 3 at Cedar point.

[@Largebutnotincharge]

I ride magnum twice a year just so I ride everything at the park but I feel like a B&M hyper would be a suitable replacement. The views are amazing and a copy hyper that's smoother and more reliable would be a good replacement IMO

[@mikeyg9958]

Bring back triangular airtime hills!

[@dindog22]

I always get slightly freaked out cresting over the second hill because of the way it turns, you sort of feel like you're going to fly right into the lake for a second. you can really see how tiny those upstop wheels are if you use the Magnum gate to the beach and a train is rolling over head when you walk under the track. Does Gemini have upstop wheels or pads?

[@CoasterCollege2]

Gemini still uses pads!

[@EllenJacob-Oliver]

Cool

[@TheCoasterSerpent]

The best coaster at Cedar Point, but overall, I still like Diamondback more.

[@CoasterCollege2]

Diamondback is fantastic too, but magnum does have stronger forces.

[@Duffster115]

Where dose Phantom’s Revenge at Kennywood rank for you?

[@CoasterCollege2]

I don't rank any rides outside of my 3 favorites

[@Duffster115]

@@CoasterCollege2 fair. Kennywood is my home park and im so proud to call it my home park and love the whole park and all of its coasters, but although I want to travel and experience more parks ive never gotten the opportunity.

[@summermazur3064]

​​​@@Duffster115 I'm from Pittsburgh. I think Phantom's Revenge is a good ride, but the air time can't compare with the Magnum. Honestly, I think the best air time at Kennywood is on the Sky Rocket.

[@kevinkelley3906]

Sorry but you can't the Project 305 coaster at King's Dominion

[@CoasterCollege2]

@@kevinkelley3906 too intense

[@ThousanWhite]

I love row 11 and 14 mysef

[@summermazur3064]

I don't see the point in riding anywhere but rows 16-18.

[@Coastervisuals98]

Magnum is fantastic and it's in my top 25 out of over 900 but there are definitely some better rides out there like Boss Boulderdash and Expedition GeForce

[@nohands3255]

Disaster transport used a dc motor magnum is ac, the motor is original to the ride but is interchangeable with several arrows.

[@CoasterCollege2]

The current motor is definitely not original, but it's likely the same design as the original. I threw the disaster transport mention in there as it's something I had heard but never been able to confirm, thanks for clearing it up.

[@Cheezbat]

Hardly the best. Sure, it started the coaster wars, but it hasn’t aged well….id take a good 100 or so coasters over this one.

[@garywillis7253]

This ride is far from the best. I'd like to see S&S retrack it and modernize the trains keeping the lapbars.. It's just to rough,the wheels are triangles.

[@tractorgt]

This is a heavy opinion considering it's probably the jankiest coaster I can think of.

[@BlaineBasil]

You’re crazy for thinking magnum is the best it’s literally the worst coaster at cedar point it’s beyond rough and not even able to enjoy wish magnum would just be taken out

[@CoasterCollege2]

Try a smoother row

[@BlaineBasil]

@ I’ve tried every row

[@andyroman8223]

It feels perfectly comfortable in row 17.

[@BlaineBasil]

@ definitely doesn’t

[@ryancommenter-r7o]

*worst coaster in the world it’s just mid, I could list like 20 different coasters that are better than this crappy arrow

[@CoasterCollege2]

You're welcome to your opinion

[@danielardale8615]

Magnum is absolute GARBAGE. Horrible ride…trains are extremely uncomfortable and rough, nothing smooth about it and beats the crap out of you. I’d be 100% ok with it being dismantled and a new Intamin Hyper in its place. Phantoms Revenge destroys Magnum. Gave it another try this summer and never again.

[@timothywait9457]

danielardale i prefer Phantoms revenge and this magnam is my 4th favourite in the park

[@summermazur3064]

Absolutely the best air time on any coaster. And such a unique quality of rough and smooth. Nothing else like it! It will always be my #1 coaster. 🎢