Thoughts on Las Vegas coasters??

[carolinacoasterfreak]

I went to Vegas a year back and rode The Roller Coaster at the New York, New York Hotel and Casino and also Speed at the Sahara. On my way to California I also got to ride Desperado at Buffalo Bill's Hotel and Casino on the boarder of Nevada and California. Personally I thought that Speed and The Roller Coaster were great with using the space the have wisely and also making the coaster interesting and worth paying for. Desperado however was a big disappointment. I heard different things about the ride and that it was a really good coaster, but it was very painful. The coaster was not designed well and I didn't enjoy it at all. Has anyone else rode any of these coasters? If so, what do you think?

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

There aren't too many people on here who have been on the Vegas coasters I don't think, but I have heard pretty crappy things about almost all of them but Speed, and to an extent, Desparado. Apparantly the Roller Coaster at New York Casino is one of the biggest piles of crap ever to grace the coaster industry.

My dad has been talking about going to Vegas so hopefully I'll get to ride them sometime soon.

 

[Snoo]

I'll tell you in about a week.

 

[Ketchup]

I went to Vegas last Summer and didn't even bother going on them as none of them looked like they were worth the cash to go on!

I don't think Speed was even running anyway.

 

[Tomatron]

Manhattan Express was pretty terrible, Canyon Blaster was a typical Arrow looper that happened to be indoors, Speed was pretty good, and Desperado was mostly awful but with some moments of crazy airtime.

 

[Hyde]

Speed is a good quality launch coaster.

I enjoyed Canyon Blaster. It was the standard double loop double corkscrew bit from Arrow, but the surrounding faux rockface environment does make it a fun ride.

Manhattan Express was bearable. I rode it right before the new trains were installed, though I feel those trains wouldn't make much of a difference.

The best Vegas rides though dwell atop the Stratosphere tower.

Between Insanity and X-Scream, you will have a reason to cry for your mother. :razz:

 

[bezzzzzer]

I missed out on High Roller because it was broken down when we bought our tickets, but when we got to the top the bugger was testing! But since we had to go to the base of the tower, then pay for our High Roller ticket and queue to get back up the tower again we didn't bother to ride it (much to my regret now, I was 12 at the time. I would've just paid for it if it was now!).

Manhatten Express was just.....crap. It didn't offer anything exciting, bar that wierd in-line-twist half loop thing, which was more an experience than exciting anyway. The rest of it was just dire. It just wasn't cool, but, in my opinion, worth riding just to see what a Togo machine of that calibre is like, and just expand your coaster experience and knowledge.

Speed was cool. I remember really enjoying it, and felt quite disheartend with all the closure rumours going round, but luckily they haven't seemed to be true so that's cool. Then slight complaint of that I have is that I swear we rode in pairs (as in, you paid-per-ride, so when the ride finished you stopped in the station for a tad then they just launched off the train again, and around you went). Obviously cool because you get two rides, but i felt it took the tension away from the launch, and the general novelty from the ride. Mind you, that's quite a picky criticism!

Canyon Blaster at the Adventuredome was our most ridden, since we bought a wristband and the only ride's we really liked were that, the Chaos, and the Funhouse Express simulator for some reason. It's a cool ride, nothing spectactular, but cool and re-rideable.

Didn't get to Desperrado, quite guttingly. Plus, on a Vegas note, I really have no intention of going back anytime soon. As a whole, the place really seems to have taken a down turn, and lost it's originality of themed hotels and focussed more on the bog-standard, golf course-esque hotels, if you know what I mean. An extreme shame, because there are so many amazingly themed hotels, but they just don't bring in hotels like that anymore.

Which is horrid, because otherwise I'd be straight there to ride those X-Treme rides ontop of the Stratosphere.

 

[Antinos]

I rode everything except Canyon Blaster, which was undergoing welding(go figure).

Desperado: I thought it was a very rough ride, but I did like the airtime it had as well as the layout and how it went around the casino. The ending was interesting traveling over the entrance.

Manhattan Express: I rode this just after the new trains were installed, and I didn't think it was all that bad. It was for the most part smooth and comfortable. There was one portion at the bottom of the first drop where the lateral gs are too high. The only problem is that there are these shoulder bars, that act like OTSRs, but they are more painful than effective.

Speed: Easily the best ride on the strip. I got six rides in a row in around a half hour to forty five minutes.

Insanity: My favorite flat ride. I was actually nervous getting on this. I knew I would be fine, but still, the thought of being suspended 1,100 feet above the ground affects your mind more than you think.

Xscream: This was still good, especially when you're tilted forward and you drop further like you broke away from the ride.

Big Shot: After riding the first two, this was a waste. It was hard to get to as well.

 

[carolinacoasterfreak]

I rode everything except Canyon Blaster, which was undergoing welding(go figure).

Desperado: I thought it was a very rough ride, but I did like the airtime it had as well as the layout and how it went around the casino. The ending was interesting traveling over the entrance.

Manhattan Express: I rode this just after the new trains were installed, and I didn't think it was all that bad. It was for the most part smooth and comfortable. There was one portion at the bottom of the first drop where the lateral gs are too high. The only problem is that there are these shoulder bars, that act like OTSRs, but they are more painful than effective.

Speed: Easily the best ride on the strip. I got six rides in a row in around a half hour to forty five minutes.

Insanity: My favorite flat ride. I was actually nervous getting on this. I knew I would be fine, but still, the thought of being suspended 1,100 feet above the ground affects your mind more than you think.

Xscream: This was still good, especially when you're tilted forward and you drop further like you broke away from the ride.

Big Shot: After riding the first two, this was a waste. It was hard to get to as well.

I agree. Manhattan Express had it's points that could be fixed, but it wasn't terrible. Speed, like everyone has been saying, is the best on the strip. As far as Big Shot and those rides go, I rode Big Shot first which got the adreneline pumping and then Xscream and Insanity about killed me with that thought that you said, of hanging that high off the ground.

 

[10ryansmith]

Speed was the best when I went.
Canyon Blaster was nothing special.
ME was crap all the way, way to rough.
All the rides at the top of the Stratosphere are the best. Big shot is the most exiting thing in Vegas, thrill wise.

 

[Snoo]

Manhatten Express sucked.. plain and simple.

I'll be going to ride Desperado and Speed today.. so yay!

 

[CreditCrazy]

I rode Desperado, Manhattan Express, Canyon Blaster and Speed one time each all last year.

Desperado: An okay ride. It is really, really, REALLY rough but the layout is fun and unique, plus you can get some air-time.

Manhattan Express: Underrated! Still a bad ride but not as bad as everyone says. The shoulder restraints are uncomfortable but the ride basically crawls through the layout so it isn't too rough. The dive-loop-thing is the best inversion ever!

Canyon Blaster: I didn't like Canyon Blaster, I thought you went through each element much too fast causing some headbanging. The helix in the canyon is fun though.

Speed The Ride: Best ride in Vegas. The second launch is cool and it's just a really fun ride.

 

[M_Force_4_ever]

Speed is the best coaster in Vegas (IMO) closely followed by Desperado (ok technically it's not in Vegas)

But I think all the coasters in Vegas are pretty good.
Canyon Blaster is pretty standard but the trains are awesome.

 

[Ben]

Speed is absolutely terrible and should be destroyed.

Manhattan Express is fine, a bit rough, but quite cool.

Desperado is REALLY cool, and has some great airtime.

Canyon Blaster is "just" an Arrow, but, a pretty damn fine example of one.

The coolest things there though are probably the flats at the top of the Stratosphere!

 

[ECG]

I disagree with Ben once again.
Speed is the best coaster of the lot. The kid & I purchased wristbands ($19) and rode it multiple times during the day & night. It's smooth & fun - simple as. We particularly enjoyed the 2nd launch & the slow reverse crawl through the loop that almost leaves you hanging at the top of the oval.
The only thing bad about Speed is that the new owner has mandated that they launch the train every 15 minutes, regardless of how many people are waiting to ride. This new rule has only been in effect for a little over a month, but is likely to remain in effect pertinently according to the ride ops I spoke with.

I also disagree with Ben about Desperado. It does have some incredible airtime, but is way to jerky & painful to be cool. Since only the kid & I were riding, the operator offered us another free ride when two other people showed up right after we returned to the station. Aidan declined because the ride 'sucked' (as he put it), but I gave it another try in the back seats just to confirm Aidan's opinion.

But Desperado is a great coaster compared to Manhattan Express, which has no redeeming qualities (especially that horrid dive loop with a straight angle at the bottom - OUCH!). Plus $14 a ride is downright disgraceful. At least they offer re-rides for $7 a pop, which you can use anytime throughout the day & allow you to skip the line when you return for another dose of pain. (The kid refused the re-ride again, but I did it in order to get a day time & night time POV.)

I enjoyed Canyon Blaster for all the reasons people have already mentioned, but Aidan thought it was a bit rough.

The Stratsophere is a must-do over any of the coasters. Big Shot is the most fun that we've ever had on a drop tower. The kid was actually nervous about riding in the front seats on Xscream & Insanity was loads of fun. I just wish it didn't spin as fast as it does so that it would feel more like you're about to fall out of your seat & you could get a better look around.

 

[Snoo]

Desperado hurt my back.. those seats were horrible.

 

[Anonymous]

Stratosphere tower is insane, Manhattan Express is ok but unconfortable, Speed was closed, Canyon blaster is lots of fun.

Adventure dome is definately worth a vist. Good value for money too.
If you are going up startoshere tower you may as well get the wristband it doesn't cost much more than a set of tickets for 1 go on each ride.

 

[Anonymous]

They are debatable. Canyon Blaster is ok but the adventure dome is abit of a dump. Speeds ride maintenance is terrible they only launch once every 10 mins or so. Manhattan Express (Or whatever it is called now) is TERRIBLE. If you want the experience then sit in a washing machine for a few mins. The stratosphere in general is very average, Insanity is very scary and fun but the other two are, just ok. Desperado gave me a nose bleed. NO - BANKED - TURNS. Dragon Coaster is the most fun <3<3<3<3

 

[rollermonkey]

All comments are IMHO:

Speed is the best coaster of the bunch, but considering the others, that isn't actually saying a lot. I liked it, but I don't find it amazing.

Canyon Blaster: One of the best Arrow loopers ever made. It's smooth and has a unique setting. It's still just a smallish Arrow looper when all is said and done.

Manhattan Express: (It still has signs that say that as of March 2009, so I still call it that.) I liked it. Is it a great coaster? No, but it's got a lot of interesting features about it. I never found it all that rough.

Desperado: This was an amazing coaster when first built. Now, with 15 years of development and progress, it's an example of the kind of lousy design that we as coaster enthusiasts used to think was quality. (Yes, this is an insult to Magnum inserted into a topic about Nevada coasters.)

Lightning Bolt was mediocre at best in both of it's forms.

High Roller: Never rode it, and for the same reason why I tend to dislike ALL of the Nevada coasters:

Way too damn expensive for what you're getting.

The one time I went to Vegas while High Roller was still in operation, it was @$30 to ride up to the top of the tower, plus $12 to ride the coaster. If you wanted a 'value package', you could have the elevator ride plus one go on each of the two rides for like $45. Yeah, no thank you. That coaster, if sitting on the ground would be the equivalent of a Rollerskater. I wouldn't pay $42 or $45 to ride a rollerskater, even now. (I believe it's cheaper to go up there now.)

 

[Ben]

Desperado gave me a nose bleed. NO - BANKED - TURNS.

At least it's not PMBO! I think I only enjoyed it cause I was going "YES, it's not PMBO" :wink: