Magnum XL-200

Magnum XL-200, colloquially known as simply Magnum, is a steel roller coaster built by Arrow Dynamics at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. When it opened in 1989, it was the tallest, fastest, and steepest complete-circuit roller coaster in the world as well as the first hypercoaster – a roller coaster that exceeds 200 ft in height.[1] Some have credited Magnum with starting a period in the industry known as the roller coaster wars, in which amusement parks competed with one another at a rapid pace to build the next tallest and fastest roller coaster.[2][3] More than 40 million people had ridden Magnum by 2009.

Magnum XL-200 held the title of tallest roller coaster in the world until 1994 when The Big One opened at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in the United Kingdom, as well as the title of longest drop and fastest speed until surpassed two years later by Steel Phantom at Kennywood Park outside Pittsburgh. Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards ranked the ride as the best steel roller coaster each year from 1998 to 2000. Magnum XL-200 continues to rank among the top 50 steel roller coasters; as of 2022, it was ranked 25th in the world.

History

Ride experience

Layout

After the train departs the station, it travels over the resort gate walkway, down a slight decline into a 90-degree turn to the right and engages the chain, which operates at a speed of 6 mi/h, to begin the 205 ft climb to the top of the lift hill. The train descends 194.7 ft at a 60-degree angle, reaching a top speed of 72 mph. The train then ascends a 157 ft camelback hill, curving to the left into the first tunnel. Coming out of the tunnel, the train ascends a third, 80 ft-tall hill. After the third hill, it enters a set of trim brakes and a pretzel-shaped turnaround where it curves to the left toward the beach and then left again into another tunnel. The train then traverses over seven airtime hills and a third tunnel into a mid-course brake run. The train turns left and goes back over the walkway to Cedar Point Shores. It then turns right and enters the brake run, followed by a 90-degree right turn back into the station.[2][18][19] One cycle of the ride lasts about 2 minutes.[1]

Trains

Magnum XL-200 has three white-and-black trains. Each train has red, black or blue striping at the front.[20] Each train has six cars; riders are arranged two-across in three rows for a total of 36 riders per train.[10] Riders are secured by an individual ratcheting lap bar and a seat belt.

When Magnum XL-200 opened, it used up-stop pads similar to those still in use on Gemini, as well as Cedar Creek Mine Ride. Shortly after its debut, however, these up-stop plates were replaced with more traditional up-stop wheels that stops excess wear and tear.[21]

Track

Magnum XL-200's steel track is 5106 ft in length, and its main hill is approximately 205 ft high.[1] The track consists of a tubular steel spine connected by struts to tubular steel running rails.[22] Like other Arrow coasters at the time, sections of Magnum's track were hand-welded together in place without the assistance of computer-aided design, leading to bumpy, non-smooth transitions throughout the course of the ride.[23] Each track section's measurement ranges from 2 to 200 ft, and 157 structural columns are used for support.[7]

type	Steel
location	Cedar Point
section	Gemini Midway
coordinates	41.48535°N, -82.68611°W
manufacturer	Arrow Dynamics
designer	Ron Toomer
model	Hyper Coaster
track	Out and Back
lift	Chain lift hill
status	Operating
opened	May 6, 1989
height ft	205
drop ft	194.7
length ft	5106
speed mph	72
inversions	0
duration	2:00
angle	60
capacity	2,000
cost	US$8,000,000
restriction in	48
trains	3
carspertrain	6
rowspercar	3
ridersperrow	2
virtual queue name	Fast Lane
virtual queue image	Cedar_Fair_Fast_Lane_availability_icon.svg
virtual queue status	available
rcdb number	11

History

Construction and opening

Ride experience

Layout

Trains

Track

Incidents

Awards and rankings

Records

External links

References