Quick – was the is the first thing you think about when I say Las Vegas? If you answered “amusement park rides”, you’re not normal. Vegas is a funhouse, but not that kind of funhouse. Still, it does have several interesting rides, and being a fan of amusement parks with some free time, I spent my afternoon exploring one of the many fun sides of Vegas.
My first stop was The Roller Coaster at New York New York. Since it was basically across the street from my hotel, the MGM Grand, it only took fifteen minutes to get from my room to the coaster. (I’m exaggerating slightly – it was probably more like twelve minutes.) I prefer the original name, The Manhattan Express. But, it wasn’t up to me. Perhaps they should have called it “The Letdown Express.” For $14 a ride, I expected more, like naked ladies and free shots at the end. Sadly, neither of those were provided. The ride itself was fine, though jerky. The worst part was the lack of a view. Sitting in the 2nd row, the height of the seats prevented me from seeing the track ahead. Unless you’re a coaster fanatic on a hot streak at the craps table, or you have a free ride, I would advise skipping it.
I made a trip to the Stratosphere for the three thrill rides atop it. At over 900 feet above the desert floor, the location alone sets them apart from ordinary rides. My first ride was X-Scream. A simple concept, X-Scream is a teeter-totter mechanism that launches the ride car over the edge of the tower, giving its riders a nice view of the ground waaaaaayyyyy below. And I have to admit, it was scary. Not underwear-changing scary, but it is a level above any ride I’ve ridden before, and that includes monsters such as the Tilt-A-Whirl.
My second Stratosphere ride was The Big Shot, which shoots riders a hundred feet straight up. I’ve ridden similar rides as the awesomeness that is Cedar Point – the Power Tower is much bigger – and at Disney’s California Adventure, but the fact that I was almost 1,000 above the ground put it on a different level.
Unfortunately, the third ride, Insanity, closed just before I arrived, so that challenge will have to be conquered on a future trip. I was looking forward to that one too, since it hangs riders out over the edge of the tower and then spins them around. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? I had bought three rides, so my third ticket was used to ride Big Shot again.
As for getting to the rides, I stayed at the MGM Grand, at the south end of the Strip. The Stratosphere is several miles north on Las Vegas Boulevard, considered by most to be the end of the Strip. That was too far to walk and still have time to hang out at the pool to enjoy the warm Vegas weather, so I took the monorail, which was very convenient. The MGM Grand has a station attached to the hotel, and it ends at the Sahara, a few blocks south of the Stratosphere. Very convenient. And the $5 one-way charge is much cheaper than comparable cab fare.