A Vegas Trip Report !
Associated parks:
None
Well I JUST came back from a 3 day stay at Las Vegas. A four hour drive from Los Angeles, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Because I'm quite tired, I'm just going to review & rate the rides, how they were, so on so on. The rating is on a scale from 0-5, 0 being the worst, 5 being the best.
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Desperado
• Location: Buffalo Bills Hotel & Casino
• What: 209 FT, 80 MPH Arrow Dynamics Hyper-Coaster
• Pros: First Drop, Tunnel, Tunneling Helix
• Cons: Very jerky, Rough Transitions
• Rating: +1/5
• In My Own Words: This ride was not at all what I had expected. It was surprisingly painful and bumpy. The bunny hops are oddly angular at the tips making for a sharp body slamming into the lap bar. Very rough transitions through elements. Very discouraging to say the least. I enjoyed neighboring ride Turbo Drop better. That must mean something.
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Speed : The Ride
• Location: Nascar Cafe @ The Sahara Hotel & Casino
• What: 224 FT, 70 MPH Premier LIM Shuttle Coaster
• Pros: Tunnel, Powerful Acceleration, Vertical Spike, Smooth
• Cons: Too Short, Few Sharp Turns
• Rating: +3/5
• In My Own Words: This ride was quite enjoyable although it left me a bit light-headed afterwards. Th $8 for 2 ride deal was also very nice. The loop taken in reverse was one of the better parts of the ride.
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Canyon Blaster
• Location: The Adventuredome @ Circus Circus Hotel & Casino
• What: Four Inversion, Indoor Arrow Dynamics Multi-Element coaster
• Pros: First Drop, Tunneling, Intense, Airtime
• Cons: Can sometimes get jerky in 2nd half.
• Rating: +3/5
• In My Own Words: This ride is NOW a blast. I used to despise this one though. New trains have allowed it to run smoother than ever before, therefore explaining my riding it 10 times during that visit. The ride is very intense, giving riders no time for a breather. Riders are blasted through two vertical loops, a double corkscrew, a helix tunneling into the "canyon wall" in just under a minute in a half. Quite a good ride considering it's an indoor coaster.
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Turbo Drop
• Location: Buffalo Bills Hotel & Casino
• What: World's First Turbo Drop Tower Attraction; 185 FT, 45 MPH, Drop Tower
• Pros: Airtime, Anticipation Of Surprise
• Cons: Ascends Too Quickly
• Rating: +3/5
• In My Own Words: Your typical standard (& the first) Turbo Drop tower. The cars climb the tower at a very rapid rate compared to the other Turbo Drop attractions I've ridden before. Provides good airtime, speed, thrill, and exhileration.
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Manhattan Express
• Location: New York New York Hotel & Casino
• What: 203 FT, 67 MPH, two inversion Togo coaster
• Pros: Decent Drops, Heartline Dive, Helix
• Cons: Bumpy, Shaky Trains, Few Rough Transitions
• Rating: +2/5
• In My Own Words: A semi-rough roller coaster. Your typical Togo ride. The ride's 203 FT lift hill only is followed by a 75 FT first drop, very ridiculous usage of track. Largest drop is the second one at 144 FT high. Heartline dive gives good moment of zero Gs.
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High Roller
• Location: The Stratosphere Tower @ The Stratosphere Hotel & Casino
• What: Steel Tubular Track Roller Coaster
• Pros: N/A
• Cons: N/A
• Rating: N/A
• In My Own Words: This ride was operating during my visit (is down majority of the time), but I did not take the effort to ride such a thing. I've read reviews about this 35 MPH helicing coaster. Not enough to make me spend $X for a ride to circle a building.
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The Big Shot
• Location: The Stratosphere Tower @ The Stratosphere Hotel & Casino
• What: A single 160 FT Space Shot tower on top of a 921 FT concrete structure. Yes, you're shot 45 MPH vertically over a 1,000 FT up.
• Pros: Incredible view, Killer Anticipation Build-up, Airtime, Powerful Gs
• Cons: Lacks Sense Of Surprise
• Rating: +4/5
• In My Own Words: This ride is absolutely amazing. Not so much as terrifying, but quite exhilerating. Just waiting to be blasted up was more terrifying than the ride itself. It's like nothing I've ever done before. Feels like you're taking off into outer space.
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*** This post was edited by kRaXLeRidAh on 6/24/2001. ***
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Desperado
• Location: Buffalo Bills Hotel & Casino
• What: 209 FT, 80 MPH Arrow Dynamics Hyper-Coaster
• Pros: First Drop, Tunnel, Tunneling Helix
• Cons: Very jerky, Rough Transitions
• Rating: +1/5
• In My Own Words: This ride was not at all what I had expected. It was surprisingly painful and bumpy. The bunny hops are oddly angular at the tips making for a sharp body slamming into the lap bar. Very rough transitions through elements. Very discouraging to say the least. I enjoyed neighboring ride Turbo Drop better. That must mean something.
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Speed : The Ride
• Location: Nascar Cafe @ The Sahara Hotel & Casino
• What: 224 FT, 70 MPH Premier LIM Shuttle Coaster
• Pros: Tunnel, Powerful Acceleration, Vertical Spike, Smooth
• Cons: Too Short, Few Sharp Turns
• Rating: +3/5
• In My Own Words: This ride was quite enjoyable although it left me a bit light-headed afterwards. Th $8 for 2 ride deal was also very nice. The loop taken in reverse was one of the better parts of the ride.
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Canyon Blaster
• Location: The Adventuredome @ Circus Circus Hotel & Casino
• What: Four Inversion, Indoor Arrow Dynamics Multi-Element coaster
• Pros: First Drop, Tunneling, Intense, Airtime
• Cons: Can sometimes get jerky in 2nd half.
• Rating: +3/5
• In My Own Words: This ride is NOW a blast. I used to despise this one though. New trains have allowed it to run smoother than ever before, therefore explaining my riding it 10 times during that visit. The ride is very intense, giving riders no time for a breather. Riders are blasted through two vertical loops, a double corkscrew, a helix tunneling into the "canyon wall" in just under a minute in a half. Quite a good ride considering it's an indoor coaster.
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Turbo Drop
• Location: Buffalo Bills Hotel & Casino
• What: World's First Turbo Drop Tower Attraction; 185 FT, 45 MPH, Drop Tower
• Pros: Airtime, Anticipation Of Surprise
• Cons: Ascends Too Quickly
• Rating: +3/5
• In My Own Words: Your typical standard (& the first) Turbo Drop tower. The cars climb the tower at a very rapid rate compared to the other Turbo Drop attractions I've ridden before. Provides good airtime, speed, thrill, and exhileration.
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Manhattan Express
• Location: New York New York Hotel & Casino
• What: 203 FT, 67 MPH, two inversion Togo coaster
• Pros: Decent Drops, Heartline Dive, Helix
• Cons: Bumpy, Shaky Trains, Few Rough Transitions
• Rating: +2/5
• In My Own Words: A semi-rough roller coaster. Your typical Togo ride. The ride's 203 FT lift hill only is followed by a 75 FT first drop, very ridiculous usage of track. Largest drop is the second one at 144 FT high. Heartline dive gives good moment of zero Gs.
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High Roller
• Location: The Stratosphere Tower @ The Stratosphere Hotel & Casino
• What: Steel Tubular Track Roller Coaster
• Pros: N/A
• Cons: N/A
• Rating: N/A
• In My Own Words: This ride was operating during my visit (is down majority of the time), but I did not take the effort to ride such a thing. I've read reviews about this 35 MPH helicing coaster. Not enough to make me spend $X for a ride to circle a building.
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The Big Shot
• Location: The Stratosphere Tower @ The Stratosphere Hotel & Casino
• What: A single 160 FT Space Shot tower on top of a 921 FT concrete structure. Yes, you're shot 45 MPH vertically over a 1,000 FT up.
• Pros: Incredible view, Killer Anticipation Build-up, Airtime, Powerful Gs
• Cons: Lacks Sense Of Surprise
• Rating: +4/5
• In My Own Words: This ride is absolutely amazing. Not so much as terrifying, but quite exhilerating. Just waiting to be blasted up was more terrifying than the ride itself. It's like nothing I've ever done before. Feels like you're taking off into outer space.
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*** This post was edited by kRaXLeRidAh on 6/24/2001. ***
Yes it's called the Lightning Bolt. I was lucky enough to ride it last summer before MGM management made the choice to scrap their theme park. All that is left of that park is the remaining 250 FT SkyScreamer SkyCoaster attraction. But it is not available to the public. It only gives rides to people who have scheduled to hold special company meetings or the such. Or we can just call it the VIP SkyCoaster now huh?
The Lightning Bolt used to be way shorter and totally indoors when it first opened, it may have been called something else. I was one of the few extremely unlucky souls who shelled out $25 to go to MGM Grand Adventures when it first opened, and after about 2 hours in the park I hung around a magician the rest of the day, watching him do cool sleight-of-hand tricks up close. The rides were that bad, the only mildly decent thing was a river raft ride that went through several scenes.
Not much love for Desperado, huh? My last rides on it were in January, I thought it was much better and faster than in years past.
You are right about the bunnyhops and transitions, but that is what Arrow Hypers are all about. At least there are no OSTR's, I can take all the roughness that Arrow can dish out, as long as there are no OSTR's to bash your brain.
Good report.
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"X" marks the spot in 2001!
You are right about the bunnyhops and transitions, but that is what Arrow Hypers are all about. At least there are no OSTR's, I can take all the roughness that Arrow can dish out, as long as there are no OSTR's to bash your brain.
Good report.
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"X" marks the spot in 2001!
Bruce, High Roller was built by Premiere.
I was "lucky" enough to attend MGM Grand Adventures last year, and I've got to agree, it's not much of a park. Lightning Bolt was barely above a kiddie coaster, and while the River Raft ride was great, everything else was pretty stupid. It's too bad that SkyScreamer isn't open to the public anymore, I thought it was incredible last year.
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Steuks!!
I was "lucky" enough to attend MGM Grand Adventures last year, and I've got to agree, it's not much of a park. Lightning Bolt was barely above a kiddie coaster, and while the River Raft ride was great, everything else was pretty stupid. It's too bad that SkyScreamer isn't open to the public anymore, I thought it was incredible last year.
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Steuks!!
So they re-opened Turbo Drop at Buffalo Bills? I went there last April and it was all taken apart like it would never come back.
I dunno, I like Desperado. You're way high up, it once held the height record, goes fast, and is alot of fun. I know it can be a little rough, but at least there is no headbashing.
I also got to visit the MGM park a few years ago, and I'll agree, the rides blew. The roller coaster was a kiddie ride. I was so let down. You enter this park thinking there will be cool rides and things to do, but it turns out to be nothing but shops, games, and a giant sky coaster in the middle. If they had built 1 major attraction per year, the park would have worked, and they had the room to do it. That's what's so frustrating, they have everything in place (meaning the park itself), now they need a couple major roller coasters and some other new rides like S:UE (V2). And what's worse is that they could still do this now, but won't.
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Robin Fox - "I see Stars, Can You See Them Too?"
I dunno, I like Desperado. You're way high up, it once held the height record, goes fast, and is alot of fun. I know it can be a little rough, but at least there is no headbashing.
I also got to visit the MGM park a few years ago, and I'll agree, the rides blew. The roller coaster was a kiddie ride. I was so let down. You enter this park thinking there will be cool rides and things to do, but it turns out to be nothing but shops, games, and a giant sky coaster in the middle. If they had built 1 major attraction per year, the park would have worked, and they had the room to do it. That's what's so frustrating, they have everything in place (meaning the park itself), now they need a couple major roller coasters and some other new rides like S:UE (V2). And what's worse is that they could still do this now, but won't.
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Robin Fox - "I see Stars, Can You See Them Too?"
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