May 6, 2020

CEDAR POINT, SANDUSKY, Ohio — Hailing from Cedar Point in Ohio, Magnum XL-200 debuted in 1989 as the world's first full-circuit roller coaster over 200 feet tall, officially classifying it as a hypercoaster; a title attributed to rides between 200 and 299 feet tall. In such a sophisticated chronology of roller coaster history, Magnum has emblazoned its presence as a hall-of-fame and trivializing attraction that aided in historically marking a gateway to a more manic and unpredictable future of coasters. From front to back, Magnum XL-200 pulses through pockets of fan-favorite and classic Arrow Dynamics elements while also acknowledging its sui generis abilities through its distinctly adventurous detours along the peninsula's coastline and other novel disparities laced throughout the 5,000+ feet of track and two-minute run-time; elemental incongruities and eclecticism that set Magnum XL-200 vastly apart from its comparatively predictable timely contemporaries.

Whether you are a rider enjoying the airtime bonanza in the "magic seat" or an inquisitive onlooker admiring from afar, the aloof setting and confident flow of elements that Magnum XL-200 exhibits remain as one of the most substantive and memorably-euphoric experiences one can relish at an amusement park. Furthermore, even in spite of how elements of the ride may have aged or retrogressed throughout the coaster's lifetime, Magnum still stands toe-to-toe with its modern coevals in a park with increasingly stark standards of greatness and novelty. This steel curtain that has long draped the lakefront skyline has become an immortal staple of the Cedar Point landscape even against the jungly backdrop of today's more predictive wood and steel structures. Between the dragging and gracefully sweeping banked-turns and the flawlessly arranged and grandiose finale of the minimal yet vehement, seat-slamming triangular airtime hills that relentlessly buck riders out of their seats boldly touches down on the ride's nostalgic yet sinister inner barbarity that has only progressed with the ride's age. Audibly, from the husky, grimy, and wheezing rumbles of the friction brakes to the intruding and jangly anti-rollback echo and the industrially distorted and ultra-bellicose screeches inside of each of the ride's three tunnels, the Magnum XL-200 experience has been delineated by more than just the ride with some of the most sonically recognizable and memorable earworms in the amusement industry. Even at night, the coaster's quest alongside the mystical Lake Eerie fuses the faint and somber vibe of the shore with the skeletal rattle of the trains and the hollowly ominous roar of the track; a Cedar Point experience in a league of its own.

Further unparalleled is Magnum's extensive list of accolades and sheer magnetism that seats it amongst the pantheon of the most illustrious and lauded roller coasters to date. Magnum XL-200 was the world's tallest full-circuit roller coaster from its opening in 1989 to 1994, and was the world's fastest roller coaster and bore the longest drop on a roller coaster from 1989 to 1991. From 1998 to 2000, Magnum XL-200 ranked as the number one roller coaster in the Golden Ticket Award's "Top Steel Roller Coasters" poll. Since then, Magnum has seen a consistent showing in the top twenty. This superlative run carried through the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA), where Magnum placed in the top three and as high as number two in their "Favorite Steel Roller Coaster" poll from 2005 to 2010. Among these matured showings, one of Magnum's most significant accomplishments was its designation as a Roller Coaster Landmark by the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) at the 27th Annual ACE Convention in June of 2004. Above all, Magnum XL-200 has been critically acclaimed by riders one decade after another, and Cedar Point instantly became one of the most in-demand parks in the world off the heels of Magnum's success.

The foundational and larger-than-life Magnum XL-200 was merely a glimpse into the future of thrill rides and fathered one of the grandest and most glamorous roller coaster innovation eras of all time. A daunting number of today's most freakishly monstrous and madman roller coasters loaded with such power-hungry energy are all extensions and over-worthy successors of Magnum's coaster-cultural footprint and risk-taking payoff. The shelf-life, sheer longevity, and iconography of rides like Magnum XL-200 were the beyond-context innovators and cutting-edge convoys to a new generation of roller coasters under the same umbrella as the classics yet of a more sharpened echelon and height of notoriety, exuberance, and thrill. This precursing historical significance has ultimately allowed Magnum's iconic profile to expand more substantially in scope than its profile as a ride, reinforcing preexisting ideas and perceptions to construct roller coasters more portentous and unfathomable than ever before. Such a star-studded, dynamic, and nuanced attraction for its time was a breath of fresh air and an eager peek behind the curtain into the maniacally apocalyptic and midway-dominating nature of modern roller coasters that have gone on to establish imperial thrones of their own. A conceptually complex and empirical idea turned prosperous reality, Magnum XL-200 continues to withstand the test of time as one of the amusement industry's most pivotal, epochal, and emblematic rides of all time.

Presented by XENITH.WAV on behalf of the coaster community and the fans of Cedar Point on the 31st anniversary of Magnum XL-200's world debut | May 6, 2020