Mantis Haters, Are You Crazy?

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Phyter said:

I've never had a problem with standups 'hurting my junk'. The ops want you to standup straight, but you can get away with some slight knee bending. When the lock the restraints stand up and your weight will be on your feet, not the seat. That's the way to ride a standup and enjoy it.

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Read that quote again...then again. Live it, learn it, love it.

Kudos to you Phyter - I agree with that statement so much that it's like you took the words out of my head.

With that said, I'm very indifferent on Mantis. It was the very first coaster I really followed ahead of time (I was far from an enthusiast back in 1996). It's not a spectacular ride, but it hardly sucks. If the line is short or you get a hand stamp for it - it's certainly worth a ride.

I never found it painful (head or 'junk' banging - in fact, Acrophobia put more pressure on my 'junk' than any stand-up has) - I usually ride with my hands up - no biggie.

Lean into the restraints a bit (I do think this is discouraged somewhat), make sure you're standing, and enjoy. The problem comes from the position of the "seat" - that's the whole key. Last season CP was pretty militant (at least when we rode) about standing straight and back. This is not the best position for comfort, but I'd imagine it's a safety thing.

At any rate, I think the discomfort comes from the riding style.

I am *not* a Mantis hater....I do prefer most every other stand-up out there to it though....my first rides on Mantis were very good, but the deterioration of the ride had been pretty noticeable, and constant (as always, YMMV)....didn't ride it this past year, and only one or two laps in '02.

Chang is about even for me, the Vortexes rank a little below it, and Sh**wave, well...

If ANY park still wants a new B&M stand-up, Scorcher is the one to clone...:)

Mantis by day has a mighty fine drop, great hang in the first loop and then lulls me to sleep.

Mantis by night has a mighty fine drop and then Owie Ow Ow OW That's my Head CUT THAT OUT!!!

-'Playa

I disagree, gator. Riddler is where it's at.

Although, take that opinion with a grain of salt as I haven't been to SFoG since Viper opened there.

Ahhh, as one who has ridden both RR and Scorcher, I have to give the nod to RR - it's really a great ride...stand-up "gimmick" or not.

Scorcher is very, very good. But Riddler is a great ride.

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Lord Gonchar said:
I'm very indifferent on Mantis.

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That's the word I was looking for, Gonch! Indifferent. I guess I'm not really impressed by the stand-up gimmick because, at least on B&M rides, you're so confined as to render the standing up aspect of the ride very... er... not thrilling. No better example of that than Riddler. Excellent ride, and it might as well be a sit-down.

Gonch'-

I'd have to say that Riddler would be a great ride no matter what B&M trains you'd put on it. The layout is just *that good*. Although, it'd be a little too much for a flyer.

Mantis Good and Bad:

Mantis is Good...when the trim brakes are OFF. Totally different ride, just like Mean Streak. When the breaks are off my head stays back from all the G's and thus no headbanging (I'm 6'2 also.) Plus the speed on the direction changes is good while standing up.

Mantis is Bad...when they add the trim brakes. I find the trains to "shimmy" more when it's braked and find more head complaints when it is.

Problem being...When they don't have the trim brakes on. People can BARELY stand it (no pun intended.) After walking a lot all day at CP then riding Mantis with a TON of G's made for A LOT of people complaining at the end of the day. I'm seen CP medics treating peoples legs on quite a few occasions at night early on. In basic terms it's like trying to run without stretching and you or they can get cramps. So I see and partly agree with CP trimming it since it's less complaints and probably easier to maintain.

Then you also have the seatbelt issue. Since they added them they only run 2 trains now. 2 trains at CP makes for A LOT longer of wait. Longer wait means your legs get tired from standing, which leads to a intense ride with tired legs, and on and on.

You can always throw in the changing of the que entrance too if you want to discuss how that effects the ride (ie. if the train was coming by at the old entrance, then people would pass the entrance by...making it shorter for those coming after it ;) ) Speaking of which, has any other CP entrances been moved from original entrances. The only one I can think of, right off is Blue Streak.

Personally I wish Mantis would take of the trim brakes, and have BUNNY HOPS!! Only the good stand ups have bunny hops!! Other than that Mantis does remind me of a good sit down also.

"The Future of Roller Coasters"
-RollerCoasterGod
http://OhioThemeParks.com

As another who has ridden Riddler and Mantis, I do not find Mantis to "suck" in any way shape or form. Riddler was great, that's true, but I give it the same rating in my book. Riddler suffers sort of the Alpie problem of its first three inversions being too big to provide much force - you glide through them.

Mantis' inversions are quick and forceful, and the whips in the lead to the mid-course, as well as all through the second half are to me the entire reason that stand-ups exist. As a sitdown, this thing would need a medic standing by for the headbanging because of those side-to-side transitions, but as a standup, swinging from side to side like that while you're standing up moving forwards at 35-40 mph is rather wild and is the only time that I can really "tell the difference" between standing up and sitting down. Flyers have their pretzels and looking at the ground, inverters have their barrel rolls and footchoppers, standups have side-to-side, that's the gimmick.

I think Mantis gets a bum rap because of its surroundings. If it was located in a smaller park which had fewer coasters (and therefore probably a shorter, quicker moving line) it would get better reviews. *** Edited 1/11/2004 4:01:07 PM UTC by Impulse-ive***

I also thought Mantis was the finer coasters at Cedar Point. I loved it. Standups (B&M) in general might just be my favorite type of coaster, that or the inverter of course. If a ride has inversions, it must have strong G's in my opinion. Thats why I wasn't a big fan of Kraken of S:UF. The force a standup dishes out is quite possibly my favorite part of coasterdom.

Back in 1996, I thought Mantis was the best coaster at CP. Those first two weeks or so after opening provided some amazing and very intense rides.

When CP added the trim on the first drop, I actually liked the ride better as it seemed to run a lot smoother. Over the past few years though I usually only ride Mantis once or twice a year. It seems to have good days and bad days. Kind of what seems to be the case when I visit SFGAm and ride Iron Wolf. Even though Iron Wolf's ending is almost identical (layout wise) to Mantis's last half, I find it almost too brutal for re-rides.

My last Mantis ride for the season was almost totally brakeless and provided that old intense feeling from 1996. I loved it. The train was zooming around the last part of that ride like mad.

Riddler is a great ride as well and I never have compared it with Mantis or any other stand-up

Riddler's is just in a class by itself. ;-) I don't know what it is really. To me it just *feels* better, without losing any of it's intensity.

How one *feels* during and after riding one coaster may not be what the next person feels.

Sorta like doing drugs I guess.....how one person's body reacts may be totally different than another's.

I know, not the best comparison in the world but you guys know what I mean. LOL! Being that I am 5'4, I sometimes have trouble with OTSR's anyway (intense headbanging) unless the coaster is exceptionally smooth. Usually my temples are in direct contact with the sides of the OTSR's. Mantis and Chang I have had problems with it. Riddler's I haven't. I don't remember having those problems with Iron Wolf BUT I did with the Carowinds Vortex. Ditto with the two TOGO's I have been on.

-Tina

*** Edited 1/11/2004 7:09:20 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

For those who say RRv is *the* stand-up to consider cloning, I'll say this: look at how the other stand-ups have AGED....none too gracefully, IMO.

I know Scorcher is still pretty new, but I'm *hopeful* (and not without justification, mind you) that it will age better than the "uber-standup" at SFMM. I've had ERT sessions on both, and while *FOR NOW* I think RRv is the best one going, as time takes its toll on both rides, my BELIEF is that RRv will become as bad as Mantis and/or Chang within the next few years...Scorcher's *simplicity* IMO should help it maintain the QUALITY of the ride....or so I keep telling myself, LOL.

I have been wrong before, and I'd be very happy to admit it again in 3-5 years if RRv maintains its smoothness and re-rideability...

edit: I think Tina may have been beaten into unconscsiousness by IW and therefore just doesn't *remember* the abuse...I've heard the subconscious can often *protect* us from such traumatic memories...;)
*** Edited 1/11/2004 7:10:55 PM UTC by rollergator***

LOL! I should never by hypnotized then. Oh the HORRORS!

-Tina

I have also ridden both Mantis and The Riddler's Revenge. I had heard a lot about Mantis being incredibly painful prior to riding, but when I rode it, I was very surprised. I enjoyed it a lot. The Riddler's Revenge pulls ahead of Mantis by just a little. And yes, Mantis is a really pretty ride.

Yes but haven ridden every B&M stand-up in the USA, with the exception of Vortex, RRv just appeared to me as "let's see how many loops we can throw in here." I guess I just prefer the simplicity of the Scorcher to the "loop after loop after loop after loop..." The directional changes on Scorcher make the ride.

Mantis is a great ride. I liked it back when I could ride it.

But it has LOUSY seats on it. I was never able to ride it comfortably because the seat is too @#$! wide, the seats are too close together, and it was painful before the ride even started. The ride is great. The train stinks.

A few years later, they added the safety belts. That made it *impossible* for me to ride the coaster, and I haven't been on it in several years now. If they tore the thing down the only thing I would notice is how quiet the park got and that there was now a place to put a good coaster.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Dave, I'm a good amount smaller than you are and I still have issues with the seats. The seat is too wide between the crotch. It makes it so that if I stand as the ride-ops force you to (not as the sign at the entrance to the station says) it causes a good amount of pain to my thighs, which aren't small enough to gracefully navigate themselves around the seat.

And I'm 5'9" and 210#. I'm not that big.

The seatbelts on the standups since they were installed have made it more difficult to get into but its still managable even with someone my size (6ft 3 in., 240/lbs.). The B&M standups are the only B&M coasters where it is snug to fit. However, I don't experience any discomfort on them even with the insane twisted steel known as Iron Wolf.

Been on 3 B&M standups (Iron Wolf, Mantis, and Chang). Chang is by far the better of the 3 IMO.

I guess since RRv is local to me, I was really used to the smoothness and grace that the first 4 elements are taken. Therefore that's what I "expect" from other standups, and so far, none delivered that. For the record I've also been on Mantis, PGA Vortex, PKI King Cobra, and B:TE at SFAW (also as Shockwave at SFMM).

I have only one Mantis lap to my credit, and I was already pissed off that I was denied a front row ride, despite being a single rider, and there being an empty seat in the front row. Anyway, it was defiantely "too tight" for my taste in a stander. I'm certianly willing to give it another shot, but for now if I had to give the Siskel & Ebert review, I give it a thumbs down, along with all other standups that are not Riddler's Revenge.

From the sound of things, Scorcher may be worth a whirl.