Mantis' Third Train DOES Make a Difference

No Jo.. they never actually SHOW how to get on Mantis on the screens..

They DO a voiceover if I remember..

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VertiGo Rides - 82 (2001)
And looking forward to more!!!

Personally, I found the Mantis lines much longer last year.  I rode Mantis the least amount of times ever in a year last year simply because the line was so long whenever I wanted to ride it.  But I don't know, I only go to the park a fraction of the number of times that you do, Rob...
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They do have at least one sign around the stairs showing how to ride, but it's pretty small, and they show the worse way to ride. They show it with the head all the way bak against the head rest instead of leaning into the harness. It absorbs any bumps, and making the ride much more enjoyable. If they made the signs bigger, and more frequent in the queue, I think it might be more effective. They also have to fix that TV so that people can observe how to get in properly. They could even play a whole new video that has the addition of seatbelts that it didn't have the first few years, while they repaint the ride this year...

All i have to say about the sign or signs is they don't help. Many people don't care about the signs around the park they are to busy doing other stuff to care. They need to have a voice in the line the keeps going every so often (but not to close together or that just sucks). But one little sign, I know the one you are talking about does not help.

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CoastFreak said:
"They have diagrams once you reach the final stairs, that explain quite well how to stand...the dang thing still gives me a calf worskout everytime...not that thats bad...but is there any way to solve it?

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Yes, there is a way to solve it. Unfortunately it isn't shown on the diagram.

Make sure that your feet are DIRECTLY BELOW YOU. I know it sounds stupid, but most people have the natural tendency to lean against the seat back and put their feet forward in the footwell. That will cause calf strains. The easiest way to make sure you are doing this right is to make sure that you DON'T lean against the seat back. If you're not leaning, your feet must be directly below you or you will fall down!

I know it worked for me back when I could ride Mantis. Now I just wish the belt were a few inches longer so that I could ride it again. That, or the seat were narrower, or the space between the seat and the shoulder bar pivot were larger, or the space between seats were larger so that I could stand with my legs farther apart, or........ :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr
Who actually liked Mantis, but can't ride anymore

What I ask is who's messed up design of the train was it to have the portion of the train that catched onto the chain raised from the rest of the floor? This is the reason I hate the middle two seats. Not only can you not have both feet flat on the floor, (one has to be bent so more pressure is on your straight leg) or you can have your feet flat on the floor, but they can't be directly below you so that you can't stand straight! Whoever designed that should be smacked! Is it really that hard to raise the rest of the floor 1-2 inches?

I pull the harness down as far as I can, and straddle the seat so that it locks where the OTSR is just touching my shoulders. I keep my feet all the way back, lean forward intot the harness, and have a good ride. Sometimes I have fun on the loop and diving loop when the trim is on. With the airtime on those inversions, I can pull my legs up and plant them before the trains starts back down. It adds another thrill to the ride.

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MF count: 23

The middle has nothing to do with the chain, that center piece is the backbone to every B&M train. What's different about the stand-ups is that apparently they didn't want a level floor even two inches higher.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

That would have required some re-engineering since the stand-up trains are essentially the B&M sit-down trains (ala Kumba, etc) and I'm sure that since it's close enough to perfect they didn't want to mess around too much.

I figured that they were all like that, but it definitely affects the re-rideability of the ride because you either are standing awkward while riding, or all of you weight is on one foot. It definitely fatigues the legs more than it would if the floor was all level.