The History of Mantis

From 1996 to 2015, Mantis was one of the tallest stand-up roller coasters in the world, a ride you took on your feet. It later became the floorless coaster Rougarou.

The stand-up giant

Mantis opened in 1996 as a Bolliger and Mabillard stand-up coaster, a design where riders are secured in a standing position rather than seated. At its debut it held the stand-up world records for height, speed, and length, at 145 feet and sixty miles per hour, and it was the first stand-up coaster to feature both a dive loop and an inclined loop among its four inversions. Standing up through a loop was the whole novelty.

The name that was almost Banshee

The coaster nearly opened under a different name. It was originally to be called Banshee, after the wailing spirit of legend whose cry warns of death, but the name drew a negative reaction and Cedar Point changed it to Mantis before opening. Over time stand-up coasters fell out of favor, widely considered uncomfortable, and in 2014 Cedar Point kept the track and structure but swapped the standing trains for floorless ones, reopening the ride as Rougarou.

One thing to know

Mantis was almost named Banshee, a name scrapped over its death-omen meaning, which is notable because Cedar Point later embraced exactly that kind of dark mythology with Valravn and with Rougarou, the very ride Mantis became.

Mantis is one chapter in the history of Cedar Point.

Mantis at a glance