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Well, this was a trip for firsts. We wanted to do everything we had missed
during our first trip last April. Unfortunately the weather forecasts didn't sound
very promising. El Nino was going to be bearing down harder than a Dave
Althoff lap bar nightmare. So it seemed imperative that Desperado be at the
top of our hit list.
First thing we did was drive to Primm. We got there early and had a chance to
walk around and videotape the Desperado doing it's test runs. The security
folks let us go into a restricted area right smack in front of the tunnel and we
got to videotape the train cresting the lift, down the first hill and BLAM!!! out of
the tunnel and up the second hill.
Photo courtesy of Kevin's Top 15 |
This was our first time on Desperado and I must say I loved it!!! The first drop
was just awesome, and the back seat had some of the strongest G's I've ever
felt. I can usually keep my arms up but there was no way from the back seat.
Between the G's and that head chopper into the tunnel there was no way! The
head chopper effect was even more phenomenal from the front! The whole first
drop experience is just a blur, much like Steel Phantom's second drop. And
we got *major* airtime over the camelbacks, the kind that make you go
UUUUHHH!!! I didn't think the tilt at the top of the second hill was quite as
good as the tilt at Magnum's turnaround - it just didn't have quite the same
fall-out effect. But overall this is just an awesome coaster, much better than
some of the naysayers would have you believe. It knocks you around and
throws you out of your seat, and you come away feeling like you're supposed
to feel after riding a world-class hyper: completely thrilled. |
Unfortunately Turbo Drop was down for maintenance :( and we were told it
might rain that day, so we decided not to purchase an all day pass for
Desperado, but still got in 3 rides - 2 rides in the front seat and 1 next to the
back. We wanted to get back in time to ride the Express. And it's a good
thing we did as it turned out to be our only chance to ride it! We had planned
to ride both the Express and High Roller at night, but it rained. We also rode
past the Lightning Bolt on MGM/Bally's monorail but because of the rain we
didn't have time to ride it, the Skyscreamer or the Canyon Blaster.
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NYNY was an excellent place to stay - we *loved* it!!! Our room was in the
Century Tower on the 28th floor, with a great view of the Manhattan Express.
You know, I read a lot of negative reviews about NYNY on a LV newsgroup and
I just don't get it! The service was excellent, the room was really nice, great
view, great casino, great coaster! That twist and dive element is the best!!! I
would definitely stay there again.
We did a lot of cool things - went to Red Rock Canyon and hiked, ate dinner at
the Cheesecake Factory at Caesars Palace, went to "Mystere" at Treasure
Island, saw a Carnivale show outside at Harrah's, went to In-N-Out Burger
(mmmm....), M&M World, MGM Grand, Mirage, Treasure Island, Bally's, Rio,
The Hilton, The Stardust, and The Hard Rock, where I got some unidentified
rock star on videotape. I was shooting Elton John's piano when he walked into
my shot. He tried to get me to give him the videotape but I was nice and
assured him I was focused on the piano and not him. He finally chilled but
wouldn't tell me who he was (I'm sure somebody will be able to identify him for
me though). |
Photo courtesy of Joyrides
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We went to Star Trek: The Experience but it was Saturday afternoon and the
line was an hour and a half..... just for tickets!!! So we stayed and gambled in
the Space Quest casino which is just amazing. It's like gambling on board a
giant Enterprise and all of the slot machines are futuristic. Instead of pulling a
handle all of the machines have lasers that you pass your hand through to
activate the spin. We had so much fun we ended up staying for over three
hours, and by the time we left the line for tickets was even longer (you also
have to wait in an even longer line once you purchase your tickets). So a tip
for Dana next week: avoid Saturdays and go early!
Photo courtesy of Joyrides
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Roz, you will *not* believe this. Our last day the Big Shot was running!!! It
was supposed to be down for maintenance until the day we left. I called the
Stratosphere and the guy said they finished early and it would be running all
day! But we decided to wait and ride it after dinner so we could have a great
view of Las Vegas at night. Besides there were *so* many things we had
planned to do and just didn't have time, so we figured we'd hit those places
during the day and ride Manhattan Express and the Big Shot at night. Well,
we went to Rio for dinner and decided to watch the Masquerade Show in the
Sky. It was *so* cool!! Susan caught some beads and I got the whole thing
on videotape. I called the Stratosphere and they said the Big Shot would be
running until 1:00 a.m. unless it rained. So after the show we decided to catch
the exploding volcano at Mirage, then ride the Manhattan Express one more
time, then head downtown. Well, it started raining during the volcano eruption
and both the Express and Big Shot shut down for the rest of the night.
Bwaaaaah!!! |
Oh well, the main thing we wanted to do during this trip was hit everything we
missed during our trip in April, and we definitely did that! Desperado,
"Mystere," Caesars Palace, Hard Rock, Red Rock Canyon, Rio's Masquerade
Show in the Sky, In-N-Out Burger, M&M World - all of those things were new
to us. And we got to use our video camera at a surprising number of casinos -
NYNY, MGM, Bally's, Mirage, Hard Rock and Star Trek. Susan even got me
on videotape right as I hit the jackpot at both Bally's and the Star Trek casino!
We got back last night and I am completely exhausted. We stayed up every
night until 4:00 and were up by 7:00 a.m. I have blisters upon blisters. Las
Vegas is an incredible city and the area is just filled with an endless amount of
attractions. For those of you who haven't been to Las Vegas it's a marvelous
area, even if you don't like to gamble. For me, Las Vegas is the perfect
vacation place. It's got everything but the ocean, and someday they'll probably
figure out a way to simulate that. I LOVED NYNY and I LOVE DESPERADO!
And I LOVE LAS VEGAS!!!
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