Chang is one of my favorite rides, but I never hear anyone mention it or Riddler's Revenge or any other standup coaster. There hasn't been a standup coaster built since 1999 (according to RCDB), so I was wondering if these rides are just unpopular with the general public, if the novelty has worn off, or both?
P.S. Mantis with trims...Mantis without trims...not much of a difference to me. With the trims, there is less pressure on your legs and the loop is slower, so I kind of like it better.
I really never got the amazement behind a stand-up roller coaster. That said, I was left unimpressed with B:TE at Astroworld (though it wasn't near as rough as most people make it out to be). The stand-up aspect didn't really do anything for me except cause a pain loading. In fact, I think that ride would be better if it was a sit down (and had lapbars of course ;)).
They were hot stuff in the 80s with the Togos (I remember being blown away by MC at Kings Island when I first saw it in 84.) Iron Wolf was mind blowing stuff, but not for the stand-up aspect....first time I saw a steel coaster layout that made me confused (unlike the pretty straightforward Arrows). But, after a while, the novelty wore off....I'd rather ride the same layout sitting down :)
I enjoyed SkyRider at PCW for its bunny-hops (but hated the restrain design and long loading time). Mantis really wasn't that fun for me. I guess I'd just as soon ride sit down coasters instead.
Hard to pin it on just one thing, so I'll pin it on three:
The novelty wore off.
The restraints are so confining that the thrill of standing up is rendered practically moot.
Stand-ups don't do anything truly different from a typical sit-down looper.
I still contend that the multi-looper layout was the wrong way to go for the stand-up design. Put a stand-up train on a hyper, and that's thrilling.
I'd also contribute a 3a, that the B&M 4-abreast trains further contributed to the feeling of confinement. Stand-up trains ought to be as minimalistic as possible.
I personally love Iron Wolf. And I think it is because it is stand-up. There's nothing like that extra whip you get in a flat spin when you're that much further away from the track. That corkscrew is my personal favorite experience on any coaster I've ever ridden (which isn't substantial, but covers a wide variety of coaster types and elements.)
Actually, I've mentioned Chang a few times today, so to say that you don't hear anybody mention it means you need to get that wax outta your ear;).(disclaimer, I was only kidding and wasn't being rude:)).
I liked King Kobra. I like Shockwave @ PKD. I loved Chang.
I hate Vortex. I didn't dislike Iron Wolf, but it wasn't as good as a Togo or Chang.
As for Mantis, I'll tell you a week from Thursday...
:)
Edit: Note that I didn't always hate Vortex, when it was new it was great. But its aged to be rougher than any Arrow I've ever been on (and that includes Shockwave @ SFGAm). *** Edited 8/6/2004 4:36:02 AM UTC by TeknoScorpion***
A lot of it has to do with the layout for me. I've ridden 4 stand-ups: Riddler's Revenge, Georgia Scorcher, Mantis, and Chang. Love the first 2, generally dislike the last 2. With Riddler's, the pacing is good, the elements are fun, and it's not too heavy on G's. Scorcher is short and compact, with a cool layout not to mention the cool 90 degree bunny hill.
It's a neat sensation, but it is rather slow going. Then there's the other factor about their terrible capacity due to the loading difficulties. I'll wait in a line for the first ride on a new stand up, but not a second time. At SFoG, I usually only ride scorcher if there is a 3 train wait or less.
Clint - You probably have some bad associations with it, too. ;) I actually liked the ride more than many of the other B&M stand-ups (Iron Wolf, Vortex PGA in particular). Well, I liked it up to the final brake run. ;)
I've ridden Chang on many occasions and have never found anything wrong with it. There may be a few spot of mild banging but no more so than what's found on Riddler.
My favs:
1. Chang 2. Riddler 3. Iron Wolf 4. Mantis 5. King Cobra 6. Batman The Escape 7. Vortex 8. Shockwave
I like the idea of a standup hyper coaster. I'm the only one of my friends and family that likes Mantis and wants to ride it at least once at the expense of another trip on MF.
Riddler's Revenge is the only stand up coaster I've really liked. Probably because it's the only one that hasn't hurt me... the TOGO ones are painful. -R
Personally, stand ups are one of my favorite types of coaster. However, if not treated with serious TLC they can get pretty rough.
I love Georgia Scorcher, although it is starting to show some age (getting rougher) and I liked Chang.
The only one that I didn't like was Vortex at Carowinds. It's showing some serious age. It was very rough. I had been spoiled I guess by Scorcher cause when I got off of Vortex I was calling for the "head" of all standups! lol It's rough!
I Love Riddlers Revenge, it's exactly the coaster I was dreaming about when I was 10. Only the last corkscrew can be a little harsh on the legs when you're too far in the front or back of the train. Apart from that - the 100% perfect coaster (rode it last in 2000 though).
I generally do NOT like stand-ups simply because there is way too much stress on my back. The TOGO's are WAY too nasty for me, but some of the B&M's I can handle.
The heartline twist (they call it a rifle barrel spiral)on Shockwave at Drayton Manor is my favourite inversion of all time. Basically a zero-g roll, like those on Kumba and Dragon Khan, but taken standing up - stunning!
the only standup i rode was when B:TE(astroworld) was at SF Gadv and named Shockwave... let me say one telling thing about it... it was gone after 2 seasons. nothing spectacular and at SF GAdv if a ride leaves that fast that is what the GP reaction was or it was a pain for them to keep up.
I refused to wait 2.5 hours for mantis at CP last September. I wanted to ride as many of the coaster there in the one day i was there and no one i heard from said mantis was a must do like TTD, MF, Raptor and Magnum. yes those 4 did take a lot of the day to do since TTD was a 2 hour wait and MF was also 2 hours.
If I go to PKD this September I will try to ride Shockwave there.
On most standups I usually get off thinking about how much better the ride would have been as a sitdown. The one exception to that is the Scorcher, that was the only stand up that I got off of with that "wow" feeling.
