Mantis removal or transformation?
I can only imagine that the demolition costs on a ride like Mantis would be incredibly expensive. The cost to transport the tons of steel and equipment out of the park? Even more so.
Building a new coaster? Also expensive. So is converting the ride.
The question that CP had to answer is which alternative would result in the best cost to benefit ratio. Let's say it costs $25 million to build a brand new coaster and $5 million to rehab Mantis into a new ride. CP could spend $30 million and have 2 coasters, or $25 million and have one. Either way they're spending a lot of money and having 2 coasters gives them greater capacity for ridership and more diversity in their lineup - not to mention they don't lose a ride in their total coaster count.
If, on the other hand, the space that Mantis occupies is essential to fulfilling their master plan and the rehab costs on Mantis were closer to that of a newer, small coaster (say around $10 million) then perhaps it would make more sense to sell it for scrap or to one of the other parks.
I personally think that there is some opportunity to do something fun and interesting with a refurb but, like everyone else, I've never seen the costs associated with a conversion (nor do I even know if it is possible) so it may be completely implausible.
thedevariouseffect said:
Sigh..noone is reading all the posts are they
What's a noone?
Jeff - Advocate of Great Great Tunnels™ - Co-Publisher - PointBuzz - CoasterBuzz - Blog - Music
Jeff said:
thedevariouseffect said:
Sigh..noone is reading all the posts are theyWhat's a noone?
Well today's announcement was at noone, right?
Sorry, forgot the space there, my bad
Corkscrew, Power Tower, Magnum, & Monster/ Witches Wheel Crew 2011
Snowboarder said:
Until that twitter post by Dorney Park I was expecting a re-train of mantis to a floorless, but now seems it really is gone.Time will tell, but closing it early makes me think it's to allow the extra time for removal.
I still think news is coming about Mean Streak, the numbered hint 111, 1880 on the CP blog was directly related as far as I can tell. (with the numbers subtracted equaling the year Mean Streak opened)
As far as the dark ride rumors, just don't see it IMO. They announced it would be a "thrill ride aimed at teens and other hard-core thrill seekers". I just don't see a dark ride being considered this. Can someone point me in the direction of a dark ride that would entice a "hard- core thrill seeker"? Again, just my opinion but I don't see it fitting the bill.
What tweet?
Wayyyyyyyyyy back on one of the first pages. There have seriously been too many posts to this topic in the amount of time it has existed.
Marek2011 said:
My question is why did they wait for the summer season to end before they said that Mantis will get "squashed?" I won't be attending Halloweekends this year, and I didn't care for Mantis, but I would have rode it when I was at the park in mid August if I had known that the ride will be no more.
Maybe they are trying to get people in a similar situation as yours another incentive to visit once more during halloweekends.
I'm not capable of keeping up with this thread, but in case it hasn't been mentioned, just a few quick observations:
1) Tony. I've never met you personally, but your performance (and everyone else's) was simply hysterical.
2) This was nicely orchestrated. Everyone else on the planet has their announcements while Cedar Point waits in the wings somewhat mysteriously. Then they have a relatively low-key announcement that suddenly gets the whole industry and coaster-related forums in an absolute tizzy about what they have up their sleeve.
I'm excited to see what's next, and to be perfectly honest this little announcement-but-not-really-an-announcement has me much more interested in what's coming in the near future than I was a week ago.
Promoter of fog.
noggin said:
If the park is going to go to that much expense, why not just build a new coaster?
Oh come on......You really think if they retrofit new trains on Mantis it would cast as much as a new coaster? They are getting a "new coaster" (if that's what they are doing)for way less then the cost of a new one!
Not sure if this has been mentioned but going back to the "test paint" on mantis.... It looks like they were trying to compare paint on the existing coaster (freshly test painted) along with the same color new paint on an L shaped piece of steel placed next to it. This leads me to believe they want to keep some of the old track and then add some new track (layout change) and want to make sure the old track will exactly match the new...
^^coasterJay,
I was referring to the previous post, which suggested adding new elements and enclosing part of the ride in a mountain or structure.
If the park were to simply trade out standing trains for seated trains, then they aren't really getting a new coaster. They'd be getting the same coaster with different, well, seats, unlike SFOT or SFNE etc, which got/will get coasters that incorporate new elements to the layout.
I hope we figure out what is going to happen to Mantis specifically before the ride closes, but it seems like October 19th is the best day for them to do that while they are in the spotlight.
I don't understand why some suggest the park will relocate the ride. Bryan Edwards again is quoted as saying explicitly the ride is not a favorite of park goers saying "people vote with their feet, the numbers aren't there." If the park admits its not popular anymore, why send it somewhere else?
Firehawk/Xflight, etc. are all exceptions. They were relocated from a CLOSED theme park. Invertigo/Stinger was moved to Dorney under the rumor of the sale of the park and Cedar Fair was trying to take what was valuable before selling it off.
With Mantis, there is absolutely no sign anywhere of any park in the chain digging footers and clearing land for our 145' standup.
Snowboarder said:
NWLB said:
What tweet?This one
I can't even fool myself into thinking that means they are relocating.
Heck while possible the relocation theory smells more like hope for a megagiga coaster for 15 than anything based in likely reality.
For next year I see Mantis going floor less no doubt about it. But that might not be all. Just getting new trains for a ride isn't all that exciting. the new trains can't cost more than like $5mil which is a low investment for the park. Just because the video today was only about one ride doesn't mean that's all. Maybe the four space picture from Tony is for 2015.
1.) Mantis refurb
2.) RMC?
3.) Flat Ride
4.) BS Midway revamp
In a way it does seen like a lot to tackle but maybe all of it won't be finished until 2016. If Cedar Point just spent millions on their hotels, their obviously planning for something huge that attractions lots of visitors? Breaking the 500' boundary could possibly be a part of the 4 renovations but it could be a long project not finished until 2016/17. This all seems like a long shot but it could be possible.
Closed topic. Archived.