When Chang was first announced, it was actually called Banshee. Oh wait, wrong ride. At any rate, Chang is very similar to Mantis. It was actually built the following year and shares many of the same elements. The main difference is that Chang is a mirror image to Mantis and the second half of the ride features an extra corkscrew and the twisties are different. It is also a few feet taller, making it the world's largest stand-up, at least until Riddler's Revenge. The ride certainly stands out, being that is bright yellow. I don't think many other rides make such a statement with their color scheme alone.
Unlike stand-up coasters in recents preceding it, the Georgia Scorcher is not taller than the rest, loopier than the rest, or longer than the rest. In reality, it harkens back to the original B&M stand-up, Iron Wolf, at Six Flag's Great America. I say this because both share many features including one vertical loop, one corsckrew, and a dizzying array of twists and turns. What is unique about the ride is how the first drop is straight off the lift, no turns beforehand. Also, the ride features a couple turns that seem as if they're going to invert the train but are really just steep, twisted hills.
Opened May, 1999
Height 107 ft
Length 3,000 ft
Max Speed 54 mph
Inversions 1 Loop
1 Corkscrew
Trains 2
Capacity 32 riders per train
Iron Wolf is a very special coaster as it is the first ride designed solely by the masterminds at B&M. It opened to rave reviews back in 1991, mainly for its smoothness and wicked track design. Today it is considered pretty tame, but it still remainds a good stand-up coaster. The layout consists of a twisting first drop followed by a verticle loop, helix, corkscrew, and some more twists before hitting the station brakes.
Opened 1991
Height 100 ft
Length 2,600 ft ?
Max Speed 52 mph ?
Inversions 1 Loop
1 Corkscrews
Trains 2
Capacity 28 riders per train
Cost $10 million ?
When Mantis was first announced, it was actually called Banshee. Shortly thereafter, the name was changed to something more politically-correct. Cedar Point did not like the image, death, that was associated with a Banshee. At any rate, they came up with an excellent ride. This was the first of the large stand-up loopers that are common today. In a change from almost all other B&M rides, the first drop is straight. The trains fly through the vertical loop, the diving loop, a helix above the station, and the incline loop before hitting the midcourse brakes. A corscrew follows and the ride ends with a wonderful array of twists and turns before heading back into the station. Riddler's Revenge is the newest record-breaking stand-up roller coaster. It has a greater height, greater length, and more inversions than any other stand-up existing today. With its vibrant green structure, it towers over Batman: the Ride and Freefall nearby. The ride beings with a long left-hand dive into the tallest stand-up loop around. It then performs two diving loops, one to the left and immediately following that, one to the right. Next up is an incline loop and the mid-course brakes. The trains plummet into the first corkscew, whip through some turns, fly through another corkscrew, and finally hit the station brakes. Even though it shares its name with Vortex at PGA, this standup is complete different. At a time when left-hand drops were the norm, Vortex plunges 180 degrees to the right to start off the ride. A quick turnaround over the lift hill leads into an upward lefthand helix. A straight dive toward the water gives the trains speed, which fly through a corkscrew and then around a helix mere feet from the water below. Vortex was the second B&M stand-up
coaster after Iron Wolf. Their layouts are similar, though Vortex's is slightly shorter. It starts off with a dive to the left into the vertical loop, followed by a turnaround and a helix through the loop. A quick left-right jog throws the train in the corkscrew and the ride finishes with one more turnaround.
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Name Mantis
Opened May, 1996
Height 145 ft
(137 ft drop)
Length 3,900 ft
Loop 1 Corkscrew
Cost $15 million
Name Riddler's Revenge
Opened April 4, 1998
Height 156 ft
Length 4,370 ft
Max Speed 65 mph
Inversions 1 Vertical Loop
2 Diving Loops
Cost $13.2 million
Name Vortex
Opened March 14, 1992
Height 90 ft
Length 2,040 ft
Max Speed 50 mph
Inversions 1 Loop
1 Corkscrew
Trains 2
Capacity 28 riders per train
Cost $10.5 million
Name Vortex
Opened March, 1991
Height 91 ft
Length 1,920 ft
Max Speed 45 mph
Inversions 1 Loop
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