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King Cobra or Mantis and why


Steve
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Well guys, i lost my Cedar Point virginity and rode manits while i was there. My question is between the defunct king cobra and mantis, which did you prefer and why? I believe the mantis was a B&M and was a fun stand up coaster. i've never been on one before and am curious if you guys thought King Cobra topped it and why

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I would choose King Cobra over almost all the rides at Cedar Point. The airtime on the ride was incredible.

At the same time I'd probably rather ride any ride at CP or KI over Mantis. I very rarely enjoy B&M Standup Coasters. Far to intense. It no surprise that the last time a park bought a B&M Standup coaster was Georga Screecher in 1999.

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I've ridden both, and for pure thrills, I'd choose King Cobra. Maybe it was just me, but over those small hills right next to the station, it felt like the train was either going to fly off the tracks, or fall apart. Loved that ride.

I like Mantis, my only complaint would be that I always want to fidget with my seat height before it locks, and it always locks on me in a very uncomfortable position.

On a side note, how weird is it to see King Cobra and Son of Beast in the same shot? Definitely weird for me to see that, I thought KC was long gone before SoB was built, but that may have been during my self imposed "dark years."

KingKobra_GoingUp.jpg

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I've ridden both, and for pure thrills, I'd choose King Cobra. Maybe it was just me, but over those small hills right next to the station, it felt like the train was either going to fly off the tracks, or fall apart. Loved that ride.

I like Mantis, my only complaint would be that I always want to fidget with my seat height before it locks, and it always locks on me in a very uncomfortable position.

On a side note, how weird is it to see King Cobra and Son of Beast in the same shot? Definitely weird for me to see that, I thought KC was long gone before SoB was built, but that may have been during my self imposed "dark years."

KingKobra_GoingUp.jpg

Nah, SoB was Built in 2000, KC's last year of operation was 2001. When KC was removed it was replaced by Deleruim and Slingshot.

I have never ridden KC, but Mantis hurt every part of my body. I never knew my head, shoulders, leg muscles, and my male area could be in pain at the same time.

I call rides like that: "Look but don't Ride". SoB same.

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King Cobra was a thing of joy. During more than one park wide coaster ERT event, I found myself on King Cobra, often riding alone, ride after ride.

Mantis? I rode it last year. And once the year before. And so on.

That should tell you something.

You may want to go ride Shockwave at Kings Dominion and SkyRider at Canada's Wonderland. Though made of better steel, they, too, may not be around forever.

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I have been on both. The stand ups are my least favorite coasters although I try to ride them at least once. The only stand up I rode more than once and enjoyed is Riddler's Revenge. Georgia Scorcher is a decent stand up. The last stand up I rode was Vortex at Carowinds in 2007. Mantis was not very enjoyable for me anyway. I rode Mantis only twice. King Cobra was better. I think Shockwave was much better when I rode that in 1991. I think Shockwave is better than King Cobra. I rode King Cobra in 1991 also.

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Interesting debate. Honestly I love a good ride on Mantis but I also loved a good ride on King Cobra anytime. I will say biggest difference between the two. I can ride Mantis one and Im good even need a little time to recover. King Cobra on the other hand I could ride over and over and over. I would recomend anyone never able to ride KC to make a trip to KD and take a sping on ShockWave. Last time I was there I got 11 rides on it without getting off my bicycle seat.
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For me, the first time I rode Mantis, my whole body was numb. My legs were killing me, because it was my first stand up and I wasn't used to it. But now everytime I ride it, it does nothing to my body. That's the most frequent ride ridden by me when I'm there. The oblique loop is my favorite inversion on Mantis.

As for King Cobra, it was torn down before I was addicted to coasters. :mellow:

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I cannot say that I have enjoyed Mantis in the least bit. The G's while standing are pretty intense which makes for a really uncomfortable ride. However, I am unable to make a choice between which i like most/hate least due to my lack of ever riding KC. <_<

I have never been a fan of stand-ups and am glad to see that production of this style of coaster has ended.

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I haven't ridden KC, i would of been able to ride it in 2004 though cause that is when i was finally 54 inches tall! I have ridden Mantis- Great ride until the MCB's, after that it's just painful! Iron Wolf, Everything after the loop hurts except the banked S-bend airtime hill. Georgia Scorcher- Great ride, my favorite standup coaster, it proves that coasters don't have to be tall, fast, or have inversions to be good! Im trying to convince my dad to take me to Kings Dominion & BGE in 2009, so if i go then, ill get to ride my very first TOGO standup! :blink: Why am i excited to ride a TOGO!?

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^Probably because there are so few Togos still operating in North America. See here.

Of these three, I've ridden one, Manhattan Express. Not a very smooth ride! :blink:

Of course, having ridden KC, I've basically (sorry Terpy ;) ) ridden the others. When I went to Wonderland in 1996 & 1997, and KD in 2001, I chose not to ride SkyRider or Shockwave because I had the same coaster at KI. I wish I had now...

And to answer the original question, KC over Mantis. I don't dislike Mantis, I just like everything about KC better.

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King Cobra's gone and I don't miss it in the least. It was a bumpy painful experience. Mantis is ok, but I'm just not a big fan of stand up coasters.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

The few times I've been on a stand up coaster, I've come off with extremely sore calves. Doesn't make for a great experience trying to walk around a park.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow, to be honest that surprises me. The people I was with at Cedar Point said the Mantis was better and KC was "lame". I also had NO IDEA that Manhattan Express was a TOGO. haha I rode that in Vegas and looked in Pain on the ride photo it was so rough. So is the TOGO in Kings Domain similar to KC?

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^I've been on shockwave at Kings Dominion. It's pretty much the exact same ride as KC, but I liked the location of KC better. The camelback after the loop on KC is still one of my all time favorite elements on a coaster. RIP KC! :(

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