jcgoble3 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Nooooooooooooo. I love Mantis just as it is. It's one of my favorite coasters, and the only stand-up I've ever ridden. I really, really hope that they don't convert it to floorless. The fact you've ridden only one goes far in explaining why you like it. In my opinion, it's the second worst in America, better only than the aptly named Apocalypse at Six Flags America. What does that have to do with the fact that I find it to be a better coaster in general than the vast majority of coasters I've ridden? As of June 2012 (the last time I updated my coaster rankings on my profile page), Mantis was my #4 steel out of 24. Having ridden other stand-ups would not change the fact that I ranked Mantis (and still rank it) above major rides like Diamondback, Raptor, and Magnum, nor would it change the fact that I simply enjoy Mantis. Enjoyment of a ride is independent of what other rides you've have ridden. Or at least for me it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 ^I would agree with you to an extent. But perhaps it is not so much Mantis that you rank highly as it is the concept of a Standup coaster. If you rode one that was exponentially better, you could potentially begin to see Mantis as being less good, and since there would be a better coaster to give you the same novelty of a standup, Mantis would cease to be better than those others, as you can get what it once offered you elsewhere. I like to think of it like this. There was a time when I would have ranked Diamondback above the likes of Adventure Express and The Beast. However, as I rode more coasters (specifically hypercoasters) I realized that I really liked the IDEA of a hypercoaster, but began to see Diamondback as being a fairly weak representative of hypercoasters in general. So where it once sat in my list, it has been replaced with Maggie and/or Phantom's Revenge, and upon my realizing that it is a very mediocre hypercoaster, I no longer rank it above those coasters, as I no longer find it impressive. I'm sure that post made exactly zero sense, but whatever. It makes sense to me. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APE Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Mantis is junk to me. However i do not hate all stand ups. I was not looking forward to my ride on Vortex at Carowinds and it ended up being pretty enjoyable. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMAJrKY Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I've never ridden Mantis, but I rode Chang many times (front row far left was my favorite!). I always enjoyed Chang, but have noticed many people don't care for Mantis. The two rides are very similar, but people seem to complain more about roughness/head banging etc. on Mantis. I just always found it interesting that two stand-up coasters with very similar layouts built by the same manufacturer within a year of one another could give such different experiences. Then again, the newer Riddler's Revenge and Georgia Scorcher seem to be rated much higher than Mantis or Chang (Green Lantern). Maybe they just learned to make a better stand-up experience with each new project. My first and favorite was King Cobra - just a really unique, quirky ride, and lots of fun! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 If it's a good coaster standing, it would be a good coaster sitting, right? The opposite, I would guess, is no where near true! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBEW_Sparky Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 That is 100% correct, see the long defunct Screamroller at Worlds of Fun, that was (briefly) transformed into a standup and re-named EXT... Extremeroller. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TombRaiderFTW Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I've never ridden Mantis, but I rode Chang many times (front row far left was my favorite!). I always enjoyed Chang, but have noticed many people don't care for Mantis. The two rides are very similar, but people seem to complain more about roughness/head banging etc. on Mantis. I just always found it interesting that two stand-up coasters with very similar layouts built by the same manufacturer within a year of one another could give such different experiences. Then again, the newer Riddler's Revenge and Georgia Scorcher seem to be rated much higher than Mantis or Chang (Green Lantern). Maybe they just learned to make a better stand-up experience with each new project. My first and favorite was King Cobra - just a really unique, quirky ride, and lots of fun! At least one poster here prefers Mantis to Green Lantern, as GL headbanged more than Mantis when he rode it. GL's layout looks more interesting, but it rides worse. Georgia Scorcher underwhelmed me. There was hardly any headbanging, but it just didn't feel like it did anything interesting. Apocalypse was... very fitting for SFA, which I think should be called Land of Rides Rougher Than They Really Have Any Right Being. I'd honestly say my favorite stand-up is Vortex at Carowinds, followed by Shockwave at Kings Dominion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Shockwave gives you a good snap that most B&Ms don't. Like a chiropractor tired of his job. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBEASTunchained Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 That is 100% correct, see the long defunct Screamroller at Worlds of Fun, that was (briefly) transformed into a standup and re-named EXT... Extremeroller. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 POV videos didn't have quite the pizazz back then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 ...or maybe it was the coasters. I forget. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TombRaiderFTW Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Shockwave gives you a good snap that most B&Ms don't. Like a chiropractor tired of his job. Very true. That turn after the hill after the helix is pretty nasty. The rest of the ride, though, is surprisingly decent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goki32 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 At least if plans work out for this weekend. I'm riding Mantis as is before if there is actually a change and I will get a ride photo lol 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedevariouseffect Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 You won't get a ride photo.. That camera takes worse pictures than a Polaroid. I believe it's being neglected purposefully..hopefully You can't see anything from the picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Polaroid is a registered trademark, and, as such, is always capitalized here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goki32 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Are you serious Interpreter or are you messing with us. I'm mean the capitalization? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Unfortunately, I am VERY serious. It's even in the Terms of Service. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goki32 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Devariouseffect how long have the ride camera at Mantis been bad anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedevariouseffect Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Not sure, at least this season. They weren't bad bad in '11. I didn't ride in '12. '13 they were pretty faded last time I visited and rode. Now..it's..just..wow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malem Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 The Mantis photo booth is often closed, though it was operating on my last visit (7/18-19). The pictures on the CRT televisions were too bad to make out faces, but I can't say anything about the actual product being sold. I do enjoy Mantis, but only after learning how to ride it "correctly". Of course, that shouldn't be necessary for an amusement device. I'd like to ride another standup coaster at some point to compare. I'm determined to ride a TOGO standup before those disappear for good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedevariouseffect Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 It's not the displays..it's actually the camera..I'm sure the displays are just as bad, but the product is just as bad. Ask the merch op to show you a pic, it's bad haha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Perhaps the park wisely thinks it best that on this ride riders' faces be distorted such that determining their actual expressions and emotions is not possible. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride On_17 Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 My Mantis on-ride photo was the only on-ride photo that I looked like I was in pain. And for good reason. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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