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Mantis @ Cedar Point | Coaster Reviews
Mantis Preys on Riders, Gives an Uncomfortable Ride
I never thought I’d see the day I would give a Bolliger & Mabillard designed coaster such a low rating. I like, if not love, all of their installations. Their coasters offer the smoothest rides while still delivering thrilling and innovative manuevers. Well, now I have to say that I love “almost all” of their coasters.The Mantis opens with a straight 130 foot drop. Next you enter a massive vertical loop that offers some g-forces, but nothing too intense. The dive loop is pretty smooth then you rise up and swoop back down for the inclined loop. That’s where things go wrong. The rest of the ride there was this pressure in my legs and feet that was pretty painful. Add to that some pretty substantial headbang on turns and in the last inversion (corkscrew). For the last two-thirds of the ride I was just waiting for it to end. A feeling I’ve never had on a B&M coaster.
Even the older B&M’s and the stand-ups like the Georgia Scorcher at Six Flags Over Georgia and even Vortex at Carowinds didn’t beat me up or leave me with such a negative impression. Maybe a different seat would’ve offered a better ride, but this was by far one of my worst experiences on a steel coaster. Luckily Scorcher and Chang make the case for fun stand-up coasters. Because after you
feel that pain in your legs you wonder why they don’t just through some sitdown trains on that track. The look of the ride, location, and the relatively fun opening third save Mantis from an inconceivable ‘3′. Final Rating – 4.0 (Below Average)Check out the rest of my rating scale here. Also, check out this roller coaster video of Mantis.
What’s Your Take?
Did you have a similar experience on Mantis? Leave a comment below.
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My dad, who’s about 6′1″, does not enjoy this ride due to its roughness, but my cousin, who’s about 5′1″, loves it. Maybe the designers were short. o-o
They should have replaced this with the Maverick, not the log flume. That was one of my “old favorites”.
sry, but this is probably one of the rates that makes no sense to me. I am 6′2″, and i LOVED Mantis. there was some pressure on my calf muscles, i admit, but despite that, this ride was AWESOME. i don’t see whats so bad about this ride atall.
I have to disagree with your 4 rating here. I’ve probably ridden Mantis 10 times and I have never felt excessive pressure in my legs. There a chance that your seat wasn’t quite adjusted right and you didn’t have enough of your weight supported by the small seat. I’ll agree that it does bang your head around at times, but I think the huge first loop along with a few of the twists at the end make this coaster a good time. Sure its not great, but I have to argue that a high average score like a 6 would be more appropriate.
i always wanted to go on this coaster. my uncle came back from cedar point. he told me in these exact words. NEVER RIDE MANTIS. that explains it all.
My dad and best friend agree…This ride JERKS and HURTS. The park employee says this has the most g-forces IN THE PARK 2nd only to Max-Air…! My dad hurt his back on this ride. My friend passed out. I probably would have died. NEVER RIDE THIS.
Yep. It was probably one of the most uncomfortable rides I’ve ever experienced on a steel coaster.
Shorter lines for me. Yippee!
speaking of rough steel coasters, could you make a top 3 thursady on the most rough steelies.
Speaking of standups, I saw in your chang review that It was your favorite standup. Was Riddlers Revenge any good or was it kind of painful like mantis? Oh and mantis was kinda rough but I like it better than the vortex because vortex is too short.
Riddler’s Revenge was very close to Chang. They have a similar, but not identical layout or at least share a number of elements. Chang was also such a surprise because the surrounding park was so sub par.
CC, you mentioned Vortex at Carowinds and Georgia Scorcher at SFOG. How do those compare with the average stand-up? Can you do a review on them soon, or maybe give a Top 3 stand-ups week? I’ve only been on Vortex (above) when it comes to stand-ups, and I want to know more.
I’d say Vortex at Carowinds is an average stand-up coaster. Georgia Scorcher is short, but above average in part because it’s newer and smoother. Then you’ve got Riddler’s Revenge and Chang at the top and Mantis and Shockwave at the bottom. I can’t believe I haven’t done a Top 3 stand-ups, but then again I haven’t ridden that many. I’ll make it my next T3T CFC. Thanks for the suggestion.
I’d say Vortex is a pretty good stand-up considering it’s B&M’s third coaster since striking out on their own.