Cedar Point announces that Mantis will be "squashed"

mlnem4s said:

Ouimet fully seems to embrace it where appropriate. I think a lot of employees and fans have been asking for this for years.

Mean Streak - appropriate, been asking for years.

Mantis - might be nice, doubt that it crossed too many peoples' minds. (besides the occasional"what ifs" from enthusiasts)

ApolloAndy said:

Six Flags marketed turning Freeze and B:TR backwards in multiple parks in multiple years. I will never say never when it comes to what the marketing dept. will count as a "new" ride.

So you're saying I shouldn't count Medusa and Bizarro at GAdv as two rides? ;~P

Tommytheduck- Cedar Fair is waiting for the Iron Horse exclusivity contract between Six Flags & Rocky Mountain Coasters to expire before addressing Mean Streak... ;0)

ApolloAndy said:

Six Flags marketed turning Freeze and B:TR backwards in multiple parks in multiple years. I will never say never when it comes to what the marketing dept. will count as a "new" ride.

That's it! Maybe Cedar Point will turn Mantis into the world's first backward standup ride!!

^Drayton has allowed riders on Shockwave to stand backwards *during events*.

http://coasterbuzz.com/Forums/Topic/eurood-162----drayton-manor-july-18

To be honest I hope they don't install floorless trains. I've been hoping for a long time CP would get a uniquely designed floorless coaster at some point. Wishful thinking? I just think it would be such a nice piece to the already wide array of puzzle pieces they have.

In a way, Mantis would be without a doubt one of the most uniquely-designed floorless coasters. It isn't nearly as inversion-based as most floorless coasters are. I dare say it would take the title of my favorite floorless away from Dominator if it kept its current layout.

Yea. My problem with Mantis isn't the layout. I'm sure a lot of people will agree. Mantis has an interesting and unique layout. How many coasters do you know of that offer a banked loop, or a swoop before the first drop to make the drop seem more airtime-y? And what about that helix drop thingie over the station? What a great layout!

No the problem I, and a lot of others have with Manis is the riding position. You can get the same kind of experience with a floorless, except that the forces are pushing on your butt instead of your legs. The rider's heads will probably be in the same location during the ride. It makes sense.

Have I ever mentioned that I started this rumor during a roller coaster event when I worked on Mantis for the day? That was 2001, I believe. lol That's kind of why I don't think this will happen. It would be cool though.

Serious question... is the "Six Flags/Rocky Mountain Coasters exclusivity contract" real or a Lemon Chill thing?

Somewhere in the PR materials for their announcements it was mentioned that it was exclusive to Six Flags parks. It took on a life of its own after someone pointed that out. I think you could easily take it to mean that it's exclusive to SF because they are the only ones that have installed the I-beam track to date.

IIRC, that rumor/conspiracy theory had its own life for several years prior to that SF announcement. RMC was a little company that *blew up* and now has 3-5x the coaster building/rebuilding capacity they had previously.

Given the secrecy and NDAs involved in many of these things, it could be another decade or more before we know for sure. Or, we may never know for sure (like the Big Bad Wolf/Schwarzkopf thing)....

Yeah that theory sounds very Thread the Needle-ish.

The Six Flags 2015 press release includes "The advanced technology, available exclusively at Six Flags..." in the Six Flags Magic Mountain section.

To me, "available exclusively" suggests a legal arrangement. If any park can sign on for an RMC make-over, then it's not "exclusively" available at Six Flags; Six Flags could describe it as "only at Six Flags" or "unique to Six Flags."

But: I am kind of hard-wired to be literal, and I do work with a very tough team of proof readers on event fliers, so maybe I'm just reading too much into it.

Yeah, you're being much too literal on this one.

If the only place you can find these rides is at Six Flags, then it's exclusively at Six Flags.

I'm not digging up the copy, but if I understand correctly, it never says the technology is exclusive to Six Flags, it says it is found exclusively at Six Flags parks.

Harrumph.

I don't care for their wording, but after extensive minutes of Internet research I have to conclude that you are correct.

I agree with Gonch. That's my interpretation of the current wording as well.

Assuming the track is staying (which I think it is), the control system and station obviously have to be replaced, but to verify, the gauge on the track from stand-up to sit-down is the same yes?

Damn you Google, why must you break my heart so?

SVLFever said:

but to verify, the gauge on the track from stand-up to sit-down is the same yes?

Even if it isn't, it wouldn't matter much since they're manufacturing new trains. They customize them if needed, right?

^Good question. I don't know, but I would think that it would behoove the manufacturer to standardize the track as much as possible (especially within the same type of coaster - suspended, sit-down, etc..), as standardized tracks, would mean standardized trains, which would make part replacement much more cost effective, rather than customized parts.

The question is if the gauge is standard between ride types (stand-up and sit-down in this case). If it is, then things like "clearance", ride-control, station design (different train types have different lengths for example) are the other things that have to be taken into consideration.

I remember on SDL at HP in the late 70s and early 80s that one of the train bogeys (I think it was rear right) had a "fin" that hung straight down from the bogey, and tripped the proximity sensors as trains went from block to block. I think those sensors were replaced when the ride received new trains recently, which means the ride system was altered. I am guessing that the original SDL train would run on a stock Anton though, assuming the other rides trains hadn't recieved the same makeover SDL did.

Sorry, I went on a tangent...

So I mocked up Mantis in No Limits 2. Then I switched it to Floorless trains.

Everybody died.

~Rob