Manta complete circuit.

I haven't seen any recent discussion of Manta at Sea World Orlando.

I saw this pic on RCDB which looks pretty sweet with the dark blue. You can also see on the left side where the track skims right over the water (yet to be filled in).

It starts out like S:UF clones but after the pretzel loop, it becomes custom.

It looks sweet and that's without the theming set up on it yet.

Not a fan of the pretzel loop. I guess I'm not really a fan of the flying coasters period. It's just not a very comfortable kind of intensity.

I drive by it almost everyday and it looks really good in person. It really has changed the skyline of the park and will for sure change the atmosphere at the entrance to the park.

I have to agree with you Jeff, I really don't find pretzel loops all that thrilling. I much prefer a standard vertical loop like that on X-Flight and Batwing.

I do like flying coasters, I just think they need to utilize the layouts a bit better and start making up and using some new elements!

^B&M use new elements? what?

But yeah I'm definitely not a fan of the pretzel loop either. One thing that I do want to see though is how B&M figured out how to do a splashdown on a flying coaster and how it is going to look. :)

Orlando needed another B&M like Shamu needs a bicycle... ;)

^ lol. actually not true though. There are only 3 so far with Manta being the fourth. So there are not too many just yet.

4 B&M's is 3 too many. :)

(some would argue that it's four too many and that's also an acceptable answer ;) )

Boring & Monotonous?

B&M has a sort of strangehold on the state of Florida now. I travel I-4 weekly, and between Universal, BGA, and Seaworld the number is pretty epic.

BGA- 3
Universal-3 (if you count DD as two)
Seaworld- 2

All literally within a 75-mile stretch.

All of them seem to be the "basic" B&M layout.

Mamoosh said:
Boring & Monotonous?

B&M's are the coaster equivalent of top 40 music. Easy to stomach and accessible to the masses. That's not necessarily a bad thing. They appeal to the widest possible audience.

I have to say it kind of looks short and boring. Again I know its impossible to really tell till you ride it but that is my first impression of it.

Hatham Al-Shabibi said:
All of them seem to be the "basic" B&M layout.

I'd say the three at IOA, at least, are some of the most unique coasters B&M has ever built.

Then again only one of them is really super good. I actually think some of B&M's best rides are also some of their most B&M-ish. I get why a lot of them end up being similar.

Not impressed with the coaster itself, but I think you need to look beyond just the ride itself. They are creating an "experience", like a zoo adding a new animal section...with the ride being the end of your adventure. I would compare the ride to something you might find at Disney...I think that was what they were going for. That is, not a Cedar Point-esque thriller that will blow you away.

Lord Gonchar said:B&M's are the coaster equivalent of top 40 music. Easy to stomach and accessible to the masses. That's not necessarily a bad thing. They appeal to the widest possible audience.

Which is why if I were the one BUYING the ride for MY park, it would probably be a Beemer...they cast a wide demographic net. Hehe, maybe it was an *appropriate* choice for Sea World, given the marine analogy. :)

I was under the impression that most people like Tatsu a whole lot. Can another custom flyer be that bad?

Gonch sez:

B&M's are the coaster equivalent of top 40 music. Easy to stomach and accessible to the masses. That's not necessarily a bad thing. They appeal to the widest possible audience.

I like that analogy* and agree with Gator: for mass-appeal one can hardly go wrong with B&M. Regardless if enthusiasts are fans or not they make smooth, reliable rides that are people-pleasers. If I owned a park I'd have a few of their coasters in my line-up as well.

mOOSHIE (*insert 'anal' joke here)

Not bad, Andy, just not "exciting". In the original post, Scott mentioned that there was a lack of discussion about the ride. Tatsu (apparently) proved that B&M flyers could be more than simple clones of the S:UFs, but let's face it, the flying position hasn't exactly received rave reviews. Add in the fact that FL already has too much of the "same old, same old", and it's relatively easy to see why most of the discussion here has been about RRR over at Universal - something we have NOT seen before around these parts. :)

I'll be interested to see the real capacity of this ride once it gets going. With split stations, a mid-course, and what appears to be at least two blocks before the stations, at full efficiency, I'd imagine they could dispatch a new train as soon as the one in front rolls off.

As OhioStater pointed out, it will be much more then just the ride itself.

I don't have a prob with flyers even though they aren't in my top selection.

Just with this flyer, you are going to have stingray shaped trains and what looks to be a cool splash down. The spectating of this ride should be pretty sweet in itself.