i tell you what, i rode magnum for the first time in 2000, AFTER i just got off millenium force. and magnum kicked MF on the arse! to me, coasters are a poem for your nervous system. as you go through its course, you should feel the ride speaking to you, revealing its personality. a coaster with a strong first drop makes a fine impression, but a boring remainder does not endear one to a coaster. lack of substance and nuance is a regrettable trait. it is this reason that i went home thinking more of magnum than mf. mf, IMHO, was too contained, its persona a bit of a queen, frankly. perfect and powerful, but restrained and conservative. magnum on the other hand, actually kinda scared me in a few places. the design has plenty personality from the drawing board (read: bizarre arrow engineering), and it has also "aged" into some charactor as well. put simply, it is a righteously paced and fascinating ride! for instance, there is a mean little bunny hop inside of a tunnel near the end. its pretty nasty! as you finish in the station, you have the footprint in your mind of that unexpected pitch black airtime, and you find that you are breathless with a big smile on your face. the first and second hill were both fantastic, fun and fast. the bunny hills feel out of control and the shakey ride is out of this world. it feels somewhat like a woody. i think in fact the woody renaissance of the nineties was brought about due to this ride. this ride ended the dreadful eighties era of loops loops and more loops, bringing attention back to layouts, sheer drops, lap bars and negative Gs. as of now, magnum is the only thing calling me back to CP.
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