Mantis has received a partial paint change. A very tiny change, but maybe it is getting revamped finally?

Probably just new paint. I wouldn't hold my breath..Maybe a floorless but that rumor is ancient

It looks as if they replaced that section of track.

Wouldn't surprise me. That area does get work every now and then, especially the bearing there

Getting ready to transform it into #23 or is it #6.

That's two different segments of track, with the color change on just a small portion of each segment. Looks painted.

_{hmmm.... new paint job....maybe a new name?.... perhaps King James? After all, wasn't it said that a B&M would be changing forever...lol (how often does this coaster get the cramps?)}

The general speculation I've seen on Facebook leans toward either being the King James coaster, since green and yellow were his high school's colors, or a conversion to floorless trains. With regard to the latter, one guy here said that there is a rumor that that Mantis will be shutting down in September for the conversion.

Placing floorless trains on Mantis wouldn't exactly be a simple thing, seeing as Cedar Point is in Ohio. Then again, if B&M were to officially say that it is OK, I think a lot of the complexities of that would go away.

I hope they tear it down and build a B&M Flyer in its place.

It actually looks nice, two-toned like that. Silver spine, green stripe, orange rails... Not bad!

We'll see!

I kinda doubt that anything major (besides a paint job) would be happening to Mantis.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If they made it floorless and changed the name for 2015 it wouldn't be the worst decision in the world. Could be marketed as a new ride...

And a name like The King could be the best of all worlds... Of course, Mr. James' legal team might notice and request a conference.

I would love it if I had a coaster at the world's greatest amusement park named after me.

^ That's all well and good, but it probably won't happen. There are typically long periods of time between new coasters at Kennywood.

(I will clarify that I meant Cedar Point.)

Cedar Point certainly isn't going to use someone else's intellectual property without permission, especially as the name of a major attraction. If a ride is renamed "Kings James", or any variation of LeBron's brand, it would be with his full support.

I enjoy Mantis as is, but I'd certainly be glad to see any changes that would make it enjoyable for a wider demographic.

Mantis had a good layout but those B&M stand ups are too forceful in my opinion. They make my legs hurt as I'm trying to counter the physical forces. I'd take a sit down of any type over that.

I want a flyer. It would be awesome to have it fly over the water.

If they made it floorless and changed the name for 2015 it wouldn't be the worst decision in the world. Could be marketed as a new ride...

It was previously announced that their 2015 attraction would cater to "hardcore thrill-seekers"....

Wasn't the biggest problem with floorless conversion the fact that they sit lower than stand ups and it would adversely affect the heart line? Or is that a rumor?

^ Makes perfect sense. Sit down in a chair, then stand up. Your heart is lower when you're sitting than when you're standing. Simple as that.

I'm just curious about how the elements of the ride would affect your body sitting lower.

In theory, any offset between the standing heartline and the sitting heartline could be fixed by having a taller chassis so that the seats sit higher than the standard floorless trains' seats. Of course, any change in trains will require a change to the station, which I imagine would be a significant cost. I don't know if the price would be low enough for the park to want to do all that to an 18 year-old coaster that seems to work well enough and be popular enough as it is.

EDIT: Not to mention that the weight of the train would ideally (and probably should) be close to the weight of the stand-up trains, as the weight will affect the support structure, braking configuration, minimum operating temperature, minimum number of riders required to send a train, and overall service life of the ride.

Or you could just start referring to the heartline as a corkscrew and call it a day.

I want a flyer. It would be awesome to have it fly over the water.

I suggest you go to Carowinds sometime in the future.

Or you could just start referring to the heartline as a corkscrew and call it a day.

Not like a heartline roll element. They're talking physiologically.

^ Yeah, I'm not talking about the corkscrew, like goodyellowkorn said. I'm talking about the rider heartline, which is the axis that all track banking on the ride is based around.

Maybe B&M has a new stand up train in the works or something totally unique...maybe a new standup train with a spinning chassis. It would be a unique sensation, for sure, to be standing and spinning too...you think?