Rougareviews

Agreed, only really noticeable from the front row of seats.

My kids and I rode towards the Back on Sunday evening. We basically walked onto the ride, and I do not think the trim brakes were used while we rode. We had head banging around 4 times, and I had a headache afterwards. I only rode the Mantis once back in the late 1990's and will say it is a major improvement on comfort for a 6'4" 240lb man. Overall, I will give it another go if the lines are short, which is more than I could say about the Mantis.

I give it a pretty big thumbs up.

It seems very smooth (sat in first and last rows, middle-right and outside-left respectively, did not notice head-banging and I'm 5'9" so I often do). I'm also pretty sure the trim on the first drop was completely off, because it felt noticeably faster than Mantis (the trim was the main thing I disliked about Mantis, so this is what I was hoping for, and it made a big difference to me). In the back row, the first drop was *really* nice, too.

Like other floorless coasters, unless you're in the front row, the lack of a floor doesn't really seem to make a difference to the ride experience. But that's fine, as that just means it rides like a great B&M sit-down looper.

I would think this will turn out to be a great investment for CP. It turned an unpopular coaster, which was taking up a lot of space in the center of the park and lowering the overall coaster quality, into a really worthwhile ride, without the cost of a new coaster (which means those funds are freed up for the next major coaster investment, I'd think).

Just rode yesterday night.

I liked the station, the floor is pretty cool, and the trains are beautiful.

First drop had some nice power to it and those positive G's at the bottom are still strong as hell.

The incline loop was probably the best element because of the forces and speed. Mantis never took that element anywhere near the speed that these trains do.

Two complaints:

1) I still HATE the second half of the ride after the MCBR. Boring. Don't even know what the ride is doing besides half a helix and a couple s-curves. Maybe if it had more speed during these elements I'd appreciate it more..

2) It's a headbanger. Had to sit with my hands between the OTSR and my head. I wasn't the only rider to do this, multiple others did.

What was the reasoning behind not being able to use the vests?

magdrag95 said:

the second half of the ride after the MCBR

BINGO! I have filled my unnecessary-coaster-acronym-usage Bingo card with a diagonal line of MCBRs!

Btw, "second half after MCBR" is pretty redundant.

Not if there was more than one mid-course block.

I keep hearing that B&M does have an answer for a looper non-OTSR restraint. That's the word on the street.

But there's only one on Roogieroo, and it's halfway.

Wow, B&M looper non-OTSR restraints would be a dream come true! I wonder, though, if maybe they'd only be on floored coasters, rather than floorless?

I rode Rougarou for the first time yesterday. It was a great ride. Lots of force and it was fast. I personally did not experience any head banging at all and I am short. Thumbs up for Rougarou from me.

I've been on Rougarou about 8 times now and I haven't experienced any head banging yet. The front seat is great, tried that for the first time yesterday and it was a completely different experience - I would highly recommend waiting the extra 10-15 minutes to give it a shot. Overall I think the conversion was a huge success for CP.

If anyone does experience headbanging, don't hold your head back by the headrest. Tilt your head forward a bit away from the headrest and all of the headbanging should disappear.

I've found that keeping my head back by the headrest is the best possible way to ride.

I really, really like Rougarou. It's a solid, solid ride.

The group of 4 I was with found Rougarou to be a much better ride than Mantis. We all really enjoyed the first half of the ride. The second half isn't too exciting but is where more headbanging would be possible. I ride it the same way I have always ridden Raptor and Mantis which is with my head forward, as Pete has also suggested.
Maverick is absolutely awesome with the new restraints. Can't believe they waited so long to change them.

Jeff said:

Not if there was more than one mid-course block.

I keep hearing that B&M does have an answer for a looper non-OTSR restraint. That's the word on the street.

I think if B&M decides to make a non-OSTR looping coaster train, they will use shin guards like they did for SD2K.

If you like a good headbanging than this is the ride for you! I don't know why they didn't put the new restraints on from Maverick. It made such a difference and is so much better now. I've rode rougarou once and never feel the need to ride again!!!

It's an old-school B&M ride. What do you expect? Aside from some head snaps, the ride is incredible. I actually think I might like it more than Raptor now.

Heresy! :-)

I'll give it another shot in the front half of the train, but man, riding in row 6 was rough.

I'll be there tomorrow and am hoping that I can try out a few different spots on the train. I think we rode closer to the back on preview night. I'm also going to try Pete's suggestion and see if that helps. I've always loved the intensity of the first drop on this track even when it was Mantis.

Figured out how to ride it today. I'm starting to love it. The front row is fantastic.

I remember waiting for my first ride on Mantis in 1996 as a kid. Raptor blew my mind, and I knew Mantis was from the same company. I loved King Cobra at Kings Island, so I thought Mantis was just going to be incredible. I remember Alanis Morissette - Ironic, Friends theme song, Hootie & the Blowfish - Only Wanna Be with You, and other songs playing in loop on the big screen as the time seemed to crawl in that first line. I finally got to ride Mantis, and I was beyond disappointed. It was the first time I rode a coaster that I disliked so much that it made me angry. It caused an awful pain in my legs and banged my head to the point that I said something like, "I can't wait until they tear that ride down" upon exit.

(I learned a riding style that improved Mantis over the years, but it was always among my least favorite coasters, and one that I skipped most visits.)

Fast forward 19 years, and while I didn't exactly get my childhood wish of it being torn down, Mantis was squashed, and Rougarou awaited. I entered the queue in the dark on Rougarou's media day, and it was a very odd feeling. I kept reminiscing of that very first time in the Mantis queue in 1996, and I could hear those songs playing through my head as I walked past what used to be the big screen. Yes, there was some new paint, trains, fog, lights, and sound effects, but the ride still mostly looked and sounded like Mantis roaring through its course. As I loaded the train, I thought, "Will this 'new' ride burn me a second time?"

It didn't. It actually exceeded my expectations. I really like Rougarou! It felt faster to me than Mantis, and I enjoyed it from start to finish. I never once banged my head on the restraint (I rode it about a dozen times in various seats throughout the train), and my heart didn't explode! Though it has some spots that shake a bit, I found the ride to be smooth and comfortable overall, with some delightful snappiness. While the first drop (without trim) and loop is great, I really like the snappy elements of the second half, and I feel like they're more pronounced with the floorless trains. Also, there's no more slamming into the brakes at the end; I'm assuming these are new magnetic brakes, and they feel much better. Rougarou is probably my 6th favorite coaster at CP (I like it more than Gatekeeper) from about dead last as Mantis, and it'll be on my ride list every trip.

This coaster definitely works best as a floorless, so thank you CP/B&M for listening to guests and working on a solution to improve the ride experience. Finally I can let go of that bitter childhood memory of Mantis in 1996 and enjoy the ride as it was intended.