Mantis opened at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, on May 11, 1996, as a Bolliger & Mabillard stand-up steel roller coaster designed by engineer Werner Stengel. At its debut, Mantis set world records among stand-up coasters for height (145 feet), speed (60 mph), and length (3,900 feet), quickly earning a reputation as one of the most intense rides of its era.
See where Mantis fits among every coaster Cedar Point has ever run on our Cedar Point roller coaster history timeline.
The $12 million ride packed four inversions into its layout, including the first dive loop and inclined loop ever built on a stand-up coaster, along with a 52-degree first drop. Mantis operated for 18 seasons before Cedar Point closed it in October 2014 and rebuilt its structure into the floorless coaster Rougarou, which opened in May 2015 reusing much of Mantis’s original track.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Cedar Point
- Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard
- Opened: May 11, 1996
- Closed: October 19, 2014
- Height: 145 feet
- Top speed: 60 mph
- Length: 3,900 feet
- Inversions: 4
The Ride Experience
Riders on Mantis stood upright in bicycle-style seats rather than sitting, a format that intensified every drop and inversion. After a 145-foot lift hill, the train plunged at a 52-degree angle before racing through a 119-foot vertical loop, a 103-foot dive loop, an 83-foot inclined loop, and a 360-degree flat spin. The stand-up trains, each with eight cars seating four riders per row, made the forces feel sharper and more disorienting than on a traditional seated coaster.
Cedar Point ran Mantis with two trains along roughly 3,900 feet of track, giving it enough capacity to handle the crowds drawn by its record-setting stats. The ride’s height, speed, and inversion count made it a marquee attraction throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, even as taller hypercoasters were later added elsewhere in the park.
Records, Legacy, and the Move to Rougarou
When it opened, Mantis briefly held the title of tallest, fastest, and longest stand-up roller coaster in the world, and it was the first of its kind to feature a dive loop and an inclined loop. Those records eventually fell to newer stand-up designs, but Mantis remained a fan favorite for its unusually rough, high-intensity ride experience.
In September 2014, Cedar Point announced Mantis would close, and speculation followed about whether the structure would be demolished. Instead, the park converted the ride into Rougarou, a floorless coaster that reused Mantis’s steel track and layout but replaced the standing restraints with dangling floorless seats, reopening on May 9, 2015.
Explore more: Explore more legendary roller coasters.
Mantis Photo Archive: 2002–2007
These are original ThrillZing photos of Mantis taken at Cedar Point between 2002 and 2007, restored and upscaled from the original camera files. They show B&M’s stand-up coaster in its original yellow-and-blue Mantis colors — the entrance sign, the 145-foot lift and vertical loop, the dive loop and inclined loop over the lagoon, and trains of standing riders — before the ride was rebuilt with floorless trains as Rougarou in 2015. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
September 2007
May 2005
July 2003
May 2002
Rub-on sunscreen that fits in a pocket — reapply in the queue without greasy hands on the lap bar.
Folds into its own pocket. Pop it on when the storm rolls in and the rides reopen to short lines.
Keeps your phone strapped to you, not in a loose-article bin. Zip it before the lift hill and walk straight off the exit ramp.
Mantis FAQs
Is Mantis still open at Cedar Point?
No. Mantis closed on October 19, 2014, and Cedar Point rebuilt it into the floorless roller coaster Rougarou, which opened on May 9, 2015 using much of the original structure.
What company built Mantis?
Mantis was designed and built by Bolliger & Mabillard, with the layout engineered by Werner Stengel, and it opened on May 11, 1996.
What records did Mantis hold?
When it debuted, Mantis was the tallest (145 feet), fastest (60 mph), and longest (3,900 feet) stand-up roller coaster in the world, and it was the first stand-up coaster with a dive loop and an inclined loop.
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