For those of you who have never ridden Mantis!!

Mantis happens to be one of my favorite rides at CP-the problem with it however seems to be one tiny thing:
STACKING STACKING STACKING
this stacking for the most part occurs when people are not getting in and out of the ride in a timely matter-where by causing back ups-and for any of us who have hit those trim brakes right before the station KNOW how painful that is!
So I came across an idea here-
and if I forget anything someone please feel free to add-I think you'll all get the idea of why I am doing this.
There are NO "example" cars of Mantis during your wait to ride-there is however a pretty cool video that does briefly tell you how to properly prepare yourself to ride-but no one ever pays attention to the videos anyway. When you first step into Mantis' cars-they stand 4 across-the "seats" are just like bike seats-you will have to (shorter people anyway) push down the seat to place your heiny on it-or just sit on it and it will move up and down. At this time you will notice that the seat does move-DO NOT FREAK-the seat will lock after everyone is strapped in.
You take the over head shoulder restraints and place them over your head (duh) and lock them in with the seat belt type lock.
Now here is the most important thing:
Do NOT bend your knees-
keep your feet FLAT on the floor
heels BACK
stand up STRAIGHT
and let the seat fit you "comfortably" you know where
When the ride ops give the "thumbs up" the control person will "lock" all the seats-at that time you can pull the shoulder restrait tighter to you (I personally like mine real loose) and it should lock up alittle tighter if you felt it was too loose.
If you are not comfortable when the seats are locked-you can tell the ride op and they will unlock the seat and re-adjust it for you-
Then hold on (I dont) and enjoy the ride-Mantis is really alot of fun (at night especially) and I am very curious to see the different view this year wit ?? ????? ????? ????????????????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?????????? ???????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??????????????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ???????????? ???? ????? ???? ??????????? ???????? ???????? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ?????????? ??? ??????????? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ? ?????????????????????????????????? ???? ?????? ?????????? ??? ???? ??????????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ????????? ?? ???? ? ???

I think the problem has more to do with people fumbling with those seat belts than anything else. People used to ride the coaster, perhaps incorrectly, before them, and they generally didn't stack trains that badly.

I hear what you mean about the example, and I've been saying this for years. Put a seat with a dummy at the base of, or at the top of the stairs (where it won't be vandalized).

-------------
Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point

Last year on Mantis my dad didn't know how to work the seatbelts, and when we came back to the station I got out and started saying how great a ride it was. I started walking back down the ramp, thinking he was right behind me but he wasn't. The train had already left the station, so I waited for the train to come back. When it did, there was my dad-he had gotten to ride it two times in a row, and considering we had waited 1 1/2 hours to go on it I thought he was lucky! He said one of the ride ops made him go again to not hold up the line. I guess absentmindedness paid off for my dad there, I should have done it too! :)

I kinda like that sudden stop at the end :)

I have to agree with LuvRaptor, that makes me so mad when the trains are stacked. And what is this with people thinking that it is better to ride it with your knee's bent. The first time I rode it my knee's were bent and I got leg cramps during the ride. Man not a fun thing..Then I rode it standing straight up and it was perfect. I know that most of the hold ups was from bent knees when i was there last year. I remember when in line many times hearing the ride op's tell others to stand straight, and they would have to unlock the seats and do it again. So to everyone out there stand up straight!!!

-------------
Welcome back Millennium Force riders...We all want to know how was your RIDE!!!!!

Personally, I couldn't care less. I really don't like the Mantis. Despite several attempts to keep my legs straight, I still get those dang leg cramps. The ride's more painful than it is enjoyable. It has some good "flinging" effects that get your feet coming off the floor but the ride is just way too painful to be considered fun. Refering to train stacking, I thought the best part was the hard stop at the end. Keep stacking those trains! :) j/k.

To ride it correctly, look here:
http://www.guidetothepoint.com/thepoint/rides/mantis.asp

The stacking last year could only be attributed one-third to the guests. The other thirds went to the seat belts and the crew that hated their jobs.

-------------
Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point

I personally do not care much for stand-up coasters. I actually sit on the seat on Mantis (and Riddler's Revenge and Iron Wolf, etc.) and lift my legs off the floor to get the negitive g's. A sit down train on Mantis (like Kumba) would make it a better ride as well as speed up the dispatch time. But, it is what it is, and many people love it. I'll ride it once a day and then head back to Magnum (maybe now MF?) for as many rides as I can get on the best in the world.

The leg cramps are often caused because riders stand with their feet *in front of them* instead of directly below. This is understandable, as the crummy design of the seat makes it difficult to put your legs straight up and down without the back edge of the seat digging into the back of your legs.

In my case, because I have large-diameter and rather solid thighs (bicycling and park-hopping will do that to you) I have to keep the seat low, almost down at kneecap level, because the train is too narrow for me to stand with my feet further apart (which would be the better solution. This means that when I pull the shoulder bar down, it digs into my shoulders and it is darned near impossible to fasten the safety belt, which besides being too damned short is also impossible to reach once the bar is down...it really needs to be stiffer. The combination means that while I am of fairly normal proportions, I almost don't fit in the Mantis train anymore, and have endured more than one argument with the attendants on proper seat fit.

Quite frankly, I don't enjoy Mantis. If the seat were narrower; if there were room to put my feet further apart; if the thing were designed to accommodate real people, I might like it better. But for the most part, I simply don't ride it anymore.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Haha, I never had any problems with cramping on Mantis and I rode it at least 10 times just circling around the queue one night right before closing. Honestly, I tried it with both a little bend in my knees and straight up and down and it didn't make much of a difference. I found that the only slightly uncomfortable aspect is the lateral movement in your upper body causing your shoulders to slam into the restraints. I really do think Mantis is a good ride and I was disappointed to hear that it had seatbelts and a bad crew last year. Hopefully this year it will be better - at least the crew...


-------------
-Matt
What could be better than Y2K @ Cedar Point - America's Rockin' Rollercoast?

I found the crew very snooty last season (what else is new?) but that might've been a bad crop of workers. I think Mantis is OK, but unfortunealtey CP got caught up in the B&M Coaster spree fad in the middle '90's. (Inverted's, Standups)

-------------
Brian
Greensburg PA
Hometown parks: Kennywood, Cedar Point!
93 days until the real "Millennium

I LOVE Mantis
its no Raptor but love it none the less!
-------------
Welcome back Raptor riders-how was your flight??

Believe me. I've tried everything!! Even those "tips" in the ride section but my legs STILL cramp up. It's awful. I can't express to you how much pain I experience. At first I'm screamin and having fun but after the second inversion or so, the pain takes over and I'm suffering. I'd honestly rather sit down if they'd let me.

Here's another tip: (from me) Don't stand stiff on the ride like you're superglued to the bottom! Have your knees bend just a bit, so it reduces the strain on what most likely is huting you: your knees

-------------
Brian
Greensburg PA
Hometown parks: Kennywood, Cedar Point!
93 days until the real "Millennium

Interesting take on things...

My thing is this: If you pull your feet up, you could theoretically pull your calf muscles because you're fighting major G's. When riding Face/Off at PKI in the front seat (the ride is inverted, feet dangling, boomerang), I tried to pull up my toes going in to that first inversion. When I got off the ride, my calves were killing me. I tried to fight 4.5 G's there and lost. Mantis, in the turns and inversions, is the same way.

By bending your legs, you have to support your body weight, or at the very least, the weight of your legs if you're sitting on the seat. I don't know what kind of forces that thing pulls, but you're looking at supporting several times your normal weight, and that's gonna hurt if you bend your legs.

My position, that works every time for me... pull the harness down so it's about an inch off of your shoulders, feet all the way back, knees straight, lean in to the harness away from the back, put your hands up, and enjoy!

-------------
Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point
*** This post was edited by Jeff on 2/10/00. ***

I've found that for me, standing rigidly places all my weight directly on the joints in my knee. So... I stand with my feet slightly forward and let the seat do some of the work, too.

It's not in the knees. It's definately in the calves. I've tried both way. Bent knees and straight legs. It feels like tremendous swelling of the calves. Feels like my calves are balloons that are overinflated or something. Almost as if it's just too much blood rushing down into my skinny calves and their swelling from the pressure. (Yes, I realize how illogical/irrational/and just plain stupid that is but I'm simply explaining what it feels like). *** This post was edited by RockDown2G on 2/11/00. ***

Actually, there's a good chance that's exactly what's happening.

I've only ridden Mantis one time... I blacked out! My tip is don't lock your knees! You will be knocked out quicker than you can say tbditl (that is correct spelling)! It's not a pleasant experience! Although the ride attendants were very nice to me. That happened this year, so when I go back it's gonna be the last thing I do and I'll be sure to relax!

I don't have a problem on Mantis either.