Tony Clark: "major announcement on 9/2 at high noon"

[BoddaH1994]

But there is no story here. How can the media run a story on a 30 second video with no press release?

Sure there is.

"Cedar Point release a video via their YouTube channel today implying that The Mantis roller coaster will be 'squashed' on October 19th. Speculation is abound as to what the true meaning of the video is. "Rumors have circulated for years that Mantis would be converted into a floorless design" said Jeff Putz, administrator on Pointbuzz.com "The stand-up trains were popular in the 80's and early 90's, but it's time for a change." Park spokesperson Brian Edwards refused to comment further. Cedar Point season passes are on sale now for the lowest advertised price of the season."

There you go.

Please note that I just made up the Jeff Putz quote as well as the rest of the article.

[Hendrick]

A little nostalgia for Mantis.

youtu.be/z4lCoOiGl_E

I never realized that was the tag line for Mantis. I like that they used it in it's "farewell" video.

[Gplez90]

I love floorless coasters, but i feel like a floorless conversion would be sort or weird. Raptor and Gatekeeper already give riders the sensation of dangling feet.

[BoddaH1994]

I love floorless coasters, but i feel like a floorless conversion would be sort or weird. Raptor and Gatekeeper already give riders the sensation of dangling feet.

But this does make sense. The stand up thing as an ironic twist for a while, but it was just a gimmick. Nobody's favorite type of a coaster is a stand up. Yeah, I get that floorless is kind of gimmicky too, but at least it'll breath new life into the ride.

I, for one, am in favor.

Of course, that's still assuming that the floorless thing is true....

[The Interpreter]

The role of public relations is to generate favorable publicity.

Mission accomplished.

And now on to Phase II.

"How quickly they forget."

Drive safely.

See the USA in your [subaru?]

[BoddaH1994]

But there is no story here. How can the media run a story on a 30 second video with no press release?

Sure there is.

"Cedar Point release a video via their YouTube channel today implying that The Mantis roller coaster will be 'squashed' on October 19th. Speculation is abound as to what the true meaning of the video is. "Rumors have circulated for years that Mantis would be converted into a floorless design" said Jeff Putz, administrator on Pointbuzz.com "The stand-up trains were popular in the 80's and early 90's, but it's time for a change." Park spokesperson Brian Edwards refused to comment further. Cedar Point season passes are on sale now for the lowest advertised price of the season."

There you go.

Please note that I just made up the Jeff Putz quote as well as the rest of the article.

...and the article I made up on the fly and whipped out in 90 seconds is now basically for real:

http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/features/2014/09/02/cedar-point-reveals-2015-plans/14962773/

[PyroKinesis]

The role of public relations is to generate favorable publicity.

Mission accomplished.

Really? I see nothing but confused and negative comments here, on PointBuzz, on FaceBook, and on Twitter.

[The Interpreter]

Stay tuned.

Yes, really.

[Gplez90]

In an interesting move, the video has been removed from their YouTube channel......

Stay tuned indeed....

[WindingSon]

Between this and SkyRider, that's two standup coasters gone within the CF chain this year. Unless Mantis is getting converted, doesn't look good for the rest of 'em.

[PhantomTheater]

In an interesting move, the video has been removed from their YouTube channel......

Stay tuned indeed....

It's still there for me.

[BoddaH1994]

Between this and SkyRider, that's two standup coasters gone within the CF chain this year. Unless Mantis is getting converted, doesn't look good for the rest of 'em.

If this goes successfully (the conversion), I wouldn't be surprised to see it done elsewhere.

I must add that I do like the production value of the video.

[Gplez90]

^^ Check that, my internet was just having a slow moment.

[Existential]

The Good news is that if Mantis is removed...the wait times just increased [even if just a fraction] at every other coaster there.

New and improved wait times for 2015!

[shark6495]

Could someone anyone please point me in the direction of a standup that has been made floorless... I'm confused and what it will look like

[BoddaH1994]

Could someone anyone please point me in the direction of a standup that has been made floorless... I'm confused and what it will look like

I don't know that it has been done. That has, however, been the rumor for Mantis for a long time.

[gad198]

Seems interesting that the ride is closing two weeks before the end of the season. Is it possible that if the floorless conversion does happen that there would be a change in the actual layout of the coaster? I'm sure the station would need to be modified to accommodate the new trains, but that would still only take a fraction of the offseason to do. This to me is actually more interesting now than it was an hour ago!

[Voicetek]

And the teasing continues...

https://twitter.com/TonyClarkCP/status/506467064803254272/photo/1

LOT going on today. A LOT going on. #Mondays pic.twitter.com/hqkdfp2f3t

It's interesting that this list mentions relocating Mantis. I wonder what that could mean?

[BoddaH1994]

Seems interesting that the ride is closing two weeks before the end of the season. Is it possible that if the floorless conversion does happen that there would be a change in the actual layout of the coaster? I'm sure the station would need to be modified to accommodate the new trains, but that would still only take a fraction of the offseason to do. This to me is actually more interesting now than it was an hour ago!

Or it's part of the ploy.

Why close it two weeks early?

Because closing it at the end of the season would be too obvious.

Personally?

I think they want extra time to paint it. Winter in Sandusky ain't like it is here. They may need those valuable spring days for testing.

[shark6495]

So it would be a floorless standup or just a sit down floorless?

Are there such things ?

[BoddaH1994]

So it would be a floorless standup or just a sit down floorless?

Are there such things ?

Probably just floorless.

[Existential]

I'm starting to think that maybe a 'Guardian' might take over that area.

But Mantis holds some very prime real estate and location. Something aside from a building would be better there.

[BoddaH1994]

I'm starting to think that maybe a 'Guardian' might take over that area.

But Mantis holds some very prime real estate and location. Something aside from a building would be better there.

But this way they can market it as a new ride and spend a fraction of the capital.

[CharleyTheDinosaur]

If it does get a floorless make over, I wonder if the train will have the typical hard over the shoulder restraints or the soft vest type on Banshee and Gatekeeper.

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[BoddaH1994]

If it does get a floorless make over, I wonder if the train will have the typical hard over the shoulder restraints or the soft vest type on Banshee and Gatekeeper.

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I was thinking the same thing. I'd bet anything they design the trains with the soft vests.

I love those things.

[Goki32]

I hope the ride is just being reconverted.

[upstop]

Darkness Falls On #12.:

Centurion, anyone?

[LoraX]

I rode Mantis yesterday since it has been rumored to change soon. I am not a huge fan of stand ups (I loved Chang at Kentucky Kingdom for some reason.) I love the layout of Mantis though. I cannot imagine how they can do a floorless without having to change some of the elements. If the conversion is successful, maybe they will do the same to Shockwave at Kings Dominion.

[WindingSon]

I rode Mantis yesterday since it has been rumored to change soon. I am not a huge fan of stand ups (I loved Chang at Kentucky Kingdom for some reason.) I love the layout of Mantis though. I cannot imagine how they can do a floorless without having to change some of the elements. If the conversion is successful, maybe they will do the same to Shockwave at Kings Dominion.

It's a TOGO, so I don't know if I'd expect them to do anything with it but tear it down.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BoddaH1994]

I rode Mantis yesterday since it has been rumored to change soon. I am not a huge fan of stand ups (I loved Chang at Kentucky Kingdom for some reason.) I love the layout of Mantis though. I cannot imagine how they can do a floorless without having to change some of the elements. If the conversion is successful, maybe they will do the same to Shockwave at Kings Dominion.

I don't think that's likely. This is converting a B&M to a different type of B&M - which (at least in my opinion) is what makes this make sense.

Shockwave is a decades-old TOGO - which are slowly disappearing, as the company's American operations went out of business long ago.

I mean, with enough money (nearly) everything is possible, but I think it would be more likely to see other B&Ms converted.

It's quite possible that they use the same-gauge track as well as other similar components.

EDIT: yep ^