20th anniversary of Magnum's announcement coming up.
It's nearly been twenty years since the name "Magnum XL-200" became part of of lives. Back then if someone said the word Magnum the Tom Selleck television show came to mind of the old Dirty Harry movie.
I remember where I was when I fisrt learned of the coming ride. I was at Frisch's Big Boy in Port Clinton with my aunts when I got one of the local papers to read and there it was. The stats of the ride really didn't register with me that much of than it was going to be over 200 feet. I was just thrilled that they were adding a new coaster. A few weeks later I went to the park and saw the sign near Gulliver's Grill announcing the new ride. It was the first time I had visited an amusement park when I knew what the new ride was.
The excitement of the ride led me to experience "roller coaster fever" like I had never experienced before. I joined ACE and bought as many old isuues of roller coaster magazine that I could afford and had planned to go to the park opening weekend but a major sinus headache prevented me from doing so. But I remember all of the media hype suurounding the ride. All of the local papers had articles and the USA Today had the Magnum as its lead story in the life section which I still have. Today its old hat for CP to get national attention but in 1989 not so much. .
I finally rode it during Magnum Mania on June 2nd and it was the greatest coaster I had ever experienced I rode it 12 times that day. A few weeks later there was a show on PBS with a segment of the coasters of northern Ohio and showed snippets of of the program in the ballroom during Magnum Mania.
I hope the park does up the 20th anniversary with signs and special souvenirs next season. Kings Island always did well celebrating anniversaries of the Beast maybe the Magnum can follow suit.
The Beast will be 30 next year by the way.