Mantis train?

I was just wondering when standing in line for Mantis always a long wait for it and I look under the station and the same train has been sitting there for over 2 years now why not put it to use instead of having a long line for the ride, and wasting all the money on it and not use it. It just doesn't make any sense to me as to why they won't use it, is there somehting wrong with it? Or do they just not want to use it for some reason?

Also the gemini , the lines never long for it but why not use it to make the lines go faster?

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The way I put it Six Flags needs more parks to keep up with the one and only Cedar Point :)

Mantis can't effectively operate 3 trains without stacking, because people are too stupid to stand on a stand-up coaster, and the trains take too long to load.

-Sam
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Avalanche Run - My first Roller Coaster.
Magnum XL-200 - The BEST Roller Coaster!

That is the best answer. I was there yesterday, and I could not believe how many people could not make up there minds on if they were going to get in, or chicken out. Then there are some that don't understand that they have to stand up to ride. It's like, hello? Didn't you read all the signs in the line? Geeze, it's no wonder why the line is always well over an hour.

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-Matthew
When it's good, it's very good...
When it's bad, it's wicked

Why do they have the other train under there?

Could building an unload station solve this problem. Train 1 will be loading, Train 2 will be going up the lift, Train 3 will be coming through the brakes and then unload in a different station than it loaded.

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CP Coaster Guide Ride Count
TTD: 1, WT: 9, MF: 4, Mantis: 3, Raptor: 6, Mean Streak: 5, Magnum: 5
*** This post was edited by TopThrillDragster03 6/30/2003 8:51:59 PM ***

An unload station wouldn't help because, like Avalanche Sam said, all the time is in getting stupid people to stand up straight with their feet against the back of the floor. Trains would still end up stacking.

It is def. becuase of the long load times, and mostly slowness of the guest to figure out yes you should stand up for the stand up rollercoaster you just waited for. Honestly it really would not of made that huge of a differance either way between 3 or two, it just sucks when we had one train down for reasons and we become stuck running with 1.

But hey it makes for great spare parts for both B&M's anyways.. ;)

Cheers!
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Mantis / Raptor Crew 2002
"Stand up straight with you feet flat and your heels against the back, if you find you self sitting stand up now as Cedar Point does not provide ice packs at the end of the ride for those who choose otherwise."

I disagree. It takes at least ten to 15 seconds to get people off the train. Having an unload would therefore make a difference by having a train arriving empty.

The problem is that you'd have to do a lot of retrofitting. I think the default configuration of the ride also requires that the train be outright stopped before the turn to the long brake run. That's not a comfortable thing.

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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

But would it help enough to stop stacking? And more importantly: Would Cedar Point ever want to invest in the ride again?

I'd be willing to bet you won't see that other station... But I'd like to see 3 train operation again. I never ride mantis anymore unless the line is only over the water or so. I hate waiting in that line, it's soo slow.

Another thing, what do you think the conidition of that 3rd train is now that it's just been sitting there on some cement blocks in a big saran wrap for a few years?

I would be surprised if they didn't rotate which train gets the shrinkwrap each year.

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It's not war, famine, or pestilence; it's only downtime.

This is a side question but I was curious if anyone thought it possible to retrofit the mantis station and change the cars to a floorless or some other train. Noticing that people can't stand on the ride (loading problems) and many complaining of sore legs, etc. I thought new cars could be a cool direction to go. Sorry if this has been discussed before.

When Mantis first opened, the ride ran three trains just fine. Now, they often stack running just two trains. What happened between when it first opened to now that causes the ride to take so much longer to load. I also seem to remember the load time lengthen about the time they added the seatbelts. Is this really the cause of the problem, or is it something else?

Luke i would love to see mantis as a sit-down looper atleast. Floorless would be a good way to go also.

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Ed Markey is my anti-drug.
Rollercoasters have proven to cause brain damage in stupid politicians. DAR-HOOT

trips to CP:6 Dragster:2 MFer:6 Magnum: 13 Its hot, the bugs are here, and everything has a line....AH CARP! ITS JULY!

First off, the shrink wraped train does get rotated every season to keep them fresh. The two major factors in not being able to use the three trains are, as said before, partly to blame on the seatbelts. The other factor is that they are much pickier about how people are standing than what they used to be. If I recall correctly, they didn't care how your legs were positioned as long as you weren't sitting with your legs bent.

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-Chris Woodard
"We got pop and Gatorade over here for $100 a bottle, so have your credit card ready. Seriously, the food here is so expensive, I just eat the condiments because I can't afford a meal." - MF que DJ 6/16/03

Would this be a very costly endeavor if Cedar Point were to build an unload station? I know it would require a little routing to get them from an unload station to the exit ramps. However what would this do to retrofitting the ride?(sensor movement, track modification) This would also require another control room to be placed on the unload station wouldn't it? Seems like more of a costly endeavor than Cedar Point would be willing to shell out in my opinion considering Cedar Point is not exactly losing money having you in line a little longer.

Mantis is a Stand-up coaster. I don't like hearing about it becoming a floorless. There is a perfectly fine floorless a little farther down the road. I wish I would have been paying attention to how many trains they were running on Riddler's Revenge at MM. But regardless, those trains were being dispatched at an unbelievably fast rate, it made my jaw drop. It seemed like they just locked the seats and sent them out. If you weren't standing up on the stand-up coaster, oh well, you'll remember to next time.;)

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Millennium Force Laps-112
**Vertigo Launches-21**
Dragster Launches-4

0g said:
When Mantis first opened, the ride ran three trains just fine.

Part of the reason for that is that it opened without the seat belt. It's not easy for most humans to be able to reach the belt and buckle it themselves, which causes far more of a delay than people who can't standup.

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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

That was because when mantis first opened it didn't have seatbelts. when the seatbelts were added, everyone became so focused on buckling the damn thing that no one will listen or just stand up. an unload station wouldn't help, the slowness is all with guest stupidity.

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Cat - MANTIS

But that's what I'm getting at here... it's not entirely that guests are stupid, it has a lot to do with the fact that the restraints suck. I've been on it a million times, it's easy for me to think to have the belt in hand before I pull the harness down. That's not obvious to John Q. Guest.

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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

My favorite are the riders who (not thinking) bend at the knees to try and reach the seatbelt! I've seen that happen a couple of times and I always laugh... and think "here's your sign".

Don't they have the ride ops latch the seatbelt for you now?

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3 TTD rides in 2 hours!