Banshee/Mantis: The official word

We can stop speculating, as this is the official word from CP marketing on the Mantis name change:

"Shortly after the announcement of Banshee, a local newspaper printed several definitions of the word 'banshee' and one included a 'wailing female spirit warning upon impending death.' Obviously, this is not the definition that we at Cedar Point were going to use when promoting Banshee, but after it was printed in the newspaper, we did not feel comfortable with that definition in people's mind and associated with our new roller coaster. For sensitivity reasons, we decided to change it to Mantis, which was on an original short list of names for the ride."

And there you have it. May the speculation cease.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point

*** This post was edited by Jeff on 1/7/00. ***

It's interesting to note that in 1995 before any coaster announcement was made, some employees were under the impression that the name would be Mantis. When they went to Mantis after Banshee, I recalled that it was a name that had already made its rounds through employee rumor circles.

I assumed that this issue was in past archives. I remember hearing about the name change on the local Cleveland news and why they changed it back in 96. I would have posted it, but I just assumed it was old news by now. I remember how uncomfortable CP was with the name and how quickly they changed it to avoid controversy...even though CP loved it and meant nothing by it.

thanks for clearing that up, Jeff...as i said in my post about the MF name, it was second-hand info i had, but now that i know the real story, i can say with certainty it was PROBABLY more than that...third, fourth or fifth hand, probably...

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"I think I scrambled my brain!!"

I still say that the 'official' story sounds like "spin". It just doesn't make sense. Why not? Because Cedar Point normally knows EXACTLY what it is doing. I find it hard to believe that Cedar Point's marketing folks "were not aware" of the definition of "Banshee."

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

They should have named the dam thing Suckubus!

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Do we have bad languageor what. I agree I think they changed the name for another reason also. I mean what did they think the name Banshee meant?

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...We hope you have a great day here at Cedar Point America's Rockin' Roller Coast

ever hear the phrase "screaming like a banshee"?
maybe they were somehow hoping the GP would just automatically associate the two. never mind that the average GP is usually about as sharp as a marble when it comes to things like that. so maybe a lot of folks were asking what "Banshee" signified and the newspapers or someone blew it out of proportion?

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"I think I scrambled my brain!!"