I was just there last week and got my first ride on ice breaker, definitely agree that the ride would be much better without those collars. I still wouldn't wait more than 10 minutes to ride it no matter the restraints.
Also rode Mako again, not sure if they have been off for awhile now cause I hadn't been on the ride for a few years but the screens above the ride that use to show water with sharks swimming around was off.
Mako is still such a fun ride, it's amazing that every time I've been there it always takes longer to walk through the queue than to wait for an actual train to get on.
The new stand up really changes the front entrance of the park when you're walking to security / ticket entrance. I didn't realize that's where they were putting it but it looks like a fun layout and gets down near the water too.