This month, Theme Park Adventure paid a visit to Las Vegas after work and crazy schedules kept us away from Sin City for all of 2014! Yikes! As you might imagine, we were itching and twitching to get back to The Strip as well as downtown, to get caught up on all of the sights, sounds, and new things that have opened since our last dash across the Mojave at the end of 2013!
We covered a lot of ground – and so we won’t bore you (or incriminate ourselves) with all of the details, but rather, share some highlights of our trip and offer some insight on what’s new and should be seen the next time you visit Las Vegas!
The resort we usually stay at it Luxor. Theme Park Adventure has a very long-standing relationship with Luxor, beginning in 1994, when the second issue of our printed publication (this was way before the internet or our online presence) featured the pyramid’s First Anniversary. Of course, back in the day, Luxor featured an amazing array of cutting-edge attractions, from the Nile River boat/flume barge around the interior of the resort, to the second floor’s “attractions level” which featured the Secrets of the Luxor trilogy by industry legend Doug Trumbull. Those attractions are all long gone today, but architectural remnants remain – as do our fond memories of those things and a Luxor of the early ’90s.
Luxor is still impressive, although the property is absolutely showing its age. We always stay in the main pyramid itself, and taking a ride on the inclinator (the diagonal-running elevators) and then looking down into the massive atrium never gets old, even 20 years later. The furniture in our room was in fairly rough shape, with most of the larger pieces being original from the resort’s opening in 1993. An amusing note about that – we’ve been told that during construction, the rooms were furnished before the doorways were completed, so that the large cabinets, etc. could be placed. Now, the only way to get that older furniture out of the rooms is to either destroy it and reduce it to pieces, or remove the entire door jam and entry of each room. That is why the original furniture has remained so long; what a mess! The rooms definitely need to be upgraded, and the resort’s food offerings need to be vastly improved; Pyramid Cafe is good when it’s ever open. Other than that, the staff is always very friendly, we enjoyed really good Old Fashioned cocktails (we also had some really horrible Old Fashioned drinks during the trip elsewhere) at the Aurora and Centra bars, and the valet team is always very pleasant.
From our room, we could see Delano, which is the newly re-branded resort at Mandalay Bay, formerly known as The Hotel. We didn’t venture in to Delano this trip, as there’s not much in the way for anyone to see unless they’re guests there or going to one of the new restaurants/bars specifically. We did have a nice view of Delano from our room at Luxor, and so, that’s as close as we got this time around. Honestly, we’re not huge Mandalay Bay fans casino-wise, so we rarely hit that property up when we are in Vegas.
One of the most impressive stops on our trip this month was Excalibur’s vastly-improved buffet, called (drum roll) The Buffet. Less-than-enticing name aside, we were super stoked for our friends at Excalibur. One of the city’s first mega-resorts, the buffet space at Excalibur is pretty enormous – and by today’s standards, was pretty dated and lacking prior to its renovation at the end of 2014. To call what’s happened to The Buffet a “renovation” is a bit misleading. To be clear, Excalibur received a completely new buffet re-design, which not only includes front of house and facade; the remodel also included a new kitchen, as well as employee dining room (EDR), which they definitely needed at this point. The food quality of The Buffet is much improved from the old offerings, and while it’s of course no Wicked Spoon or Spice Market, it definitely holds its own and is perfect for the property and its guests. A particularly nice touch was The Buffet’s new dessert island, which is positioned immediately inside the space, complete with fresh-made crepe and ice cream pop stations!
The Buffet at Excalibur is not themed; the Medieval castle styling is long gone from the company’s palette. This was a decision made by MGM Resorts International years ago, and we saw the de-theming of many of the company’s properties, including Luxor and Excalibur in the past decade. Many fans are put off by this, and we think it’s a shame as well. However, we understand that Vegas in general has moved away from the immersive theming and is on to ultra-clean and modern in all of its designs. In that regard, The Buffet at Excalibur is very pleasing to the eye, and is completely void of any trace of the dark, somewhat dank buffet space that served millions of people for the past two decades. This new buffet has been long talked about; for years, actually. TPA is thrilled that it finally came to fruition so beautifully! Kudos to Renee West and her team for making this happen! We would recommend checking it out on your next trip to Vegas, especially if you’re visiting Excalibur or Luxor!
New York-New York has been the site of much activity this past year, with the addition of Hershey’s Chocolate World, a two-story retail/candy shop located at the exterior of the property facing The Strip. The front of the resort has been changed, and the two boats that sat in the water at the base of the property’s Statue of Liberty since it opened in 1997 have been removed to make room for more pedestrian traffic, we assume.
The exterior of Hershey’s Chocolate World is not terribly thrilling; it features a large LED screen surrounded by super-sized candy – a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Kisses, and a massive Hershey’s bar. Inside, the space is brightly-lit, and features more candy and candy-themed merchandise than anyone could ever want, from plush toys to huge plastic banks in the form of Hershey’s syrup bottles. In the center of the main floor, guests will find a gourmet candy island where all types of super-naughty treats can be purchased and devoured on the spot! It’s terribly tempting!
Just outside Hershey’s on the New York-New York casino floor is a more adult temptation – The Chocolate Bar, obviously designed as a “non-direct” but direct-as-hell tie-in to Hershey’s Chocolate World. This bar was very crowded (we would have tried it out, otherwise), and features sweet, chocolate-based cocktails of all types to satisfy your sweet tooth! Definitely worth a look the next time you are at New York-New York!
A massive new outdoor mall is taking shape between New York-New York and Monte Carlo. We didn’t venture into the space or check out The Plaza at Monte Carlo this trip, but from what we could see from the pedestrian bridge connecting New York-New York and MGM Grand, the new promenade looks very pretty; we’ll definitely check it out the next time we are in town, as MGM Resorts International is pushing forward with that project at a rapid pace. Shake Shack is something we wanted to hit up, but didn’t get to this time around – looks like we’ll just have to return soon to try it out!
During this trip, we spent some decent time at MGM Grand. The space that once housed the resort’s lion habitat has been completely re-purposed and has opened as TAP Sports Bar, which we’re sure is fine – but many fans bemoan the removal of the property’s lion habitat. We tend to agree with that sentiment – for as long as we can remember, there has always been a live lion (or multiple lions) available for viewing at MGM in Las Vegas. Losing such an iconic element seems like a big mistake to us; not because we are fans of themed entertainment, but because lions are an integral part of the MGM experience – and there is definitely some “magic” that has left the building with their removal.
A relatively new addition to the MGM property that we did spend time at and really enjoyed is Whiskey Down. Whiskey Down is a cool blend of bar, lounge and some gaming tables, along with decent video poker at the counter, if you can manage a seat there during off-hours. The staff there was incredibly friendly, and we had the best Old Fashioned cocktails of the trip at Whiskey Down (which was to be expected, considering the venue’s specialty and name). If you’re visiting MGM Grand, or simply looking for a kick-ass place to have some amazing cocktails while in Las Vegas, we highly recommend Whiskey Down – especially during non-peak times, as the space can get very crowded – rightfully so; this has become one of our favorite spots on The Strip!
Some of our most exciting and memorable moments of this month’s trip took place downtown, on or near Fremont Street. It’d been well over a year since our last visit to downtown Vegas, so we were long overdue. We were excited to see SlotZilla – a massive slot machine that serves as the launch point for a zip line that runs the length of the Fremont Street Experience. This time around, we didn’t try it, but definitely would love to give the zip line a go later this year when we return to Las Vegas; it looks like a lot of fun – and not too terribly terrifying!
What was terrifying on Fremont Street are the amount of truly ghetto street characters – some of them are obviously mentally unstable, and downright nasty. It’s a shame that Las Vegas can only do so much to keep this trash off of its streets, as it really brings the vibe down overall. We watched a barely-clothed guy acting like one of the members of KISS verbally barrage a teenage girl with “flirtatious” comments – something her family surely couldn’t have been thrilled about. Whether teens and children belong in Vegas or on Fremont Street is beside the point; there comes a time when you either decide as a community to take out the trash, or live with the stink. Near-homeless guys standing around with neon umbrella covers over their junk isn’t classy or entertaining; it’s just ghetto and gross. Definitely an unwanted presence on Fremont Street, in our opinion.
Moving slightly off Fremont to 3rd Street, we made our way to Downtown Grand, the resort that opened in late 2013 where the former Lady Luck once stood as an old Vegas icon. Downtown Grand is a property that has been fighting an uphill battle since its opening, with less than exciting foot traffic, a sparsely populated casino, and management staff that has come and gone to varying degrees in the past 12 months. That’s never a great sign for a new entity in Las Vegas.
The location of Downtown Grand seems to be a major challenge, as most of the foot traffic and would-be customers don’t really venture off of Fremont Street, despite the fact that Downtown Grand is merely a block over and within sight from all the action. It kind of reminds us of the sad kids’ table at Thanksgiving – all of the fun and action is happening at the adult table (Fremont Street) and it’s boring and pushed aside at the kids’ table (3rd Street/Downtown Grand). That’s a shame, considering Downtown Grand is a really clean, very nicely-kept property. At least, the casino and other public areas appear that way; we haven’t stayed there, so we can’t really comment on the rooms.
The struggle for Downtown Grand seems to be location; that’s a recurring issue that we’ll discuss in a bit regarding another new Vegas property. One of the issues we think Downtown Grand has, is visibility. While the resort can be seen from the bright lights of Fremont Street, there’s no “visual attractor” to pull people in for a closer look. The main entrance to the casino off of 3rd and Ogden looks more like a back door to a business building as opposed to an exciting new casino; that’s a huge problem right from the get-go. There is a large portion of the resort’s main tower that faces Fremont Street; it would perhaps serve Downtown Grand better as a huge projection surface – something bright and eye-catching that literally screams YOU’VE GOTTA SEE THIS NEW CASINO! As it stands now, Downtown Grand is lost in the shadow of Fremont Street, and it appears to be slowly dying on the vine because of it. We love downtown Vegas, and would hate to see the venue close; it just seems like no one there understands the concept of curbside appeal – because there is absolutely no flash or reason for anyone to go there as they walk up or down the Fremont Street Experience.
On the flip side of the success coin, across the street from Downtown Grand’s lackluster casino entrance is Pizza Rock. As you might have guessed from the name, Pizza Rock is just that – a simple pizza joint that offers inside/outside seating, a walk-up counter, and booze. It should be said that we are avid fans of the Las Vegas podcast called Five Hundy by Midnight. Its hosts, Tim and Michele Dressen, are not only wildly entertaining to listen to each week – they know their stuff, and are so down-to-earth, you just want to sit and drink and gamble with them because they are the quintessential Vegas fans. Five Hundy by Midnight often visits downtown Vegas, and through their podcast, we are in the know about new spots on or near Fremont that we’d normally never even have on our radar. Pizza Rock is one of those places that we learned about, thanks to Tim and Michele. We love a good pizza (if you’re not a fan of pizza, the terrorists win), and so we knew in planning our visit that it was time to take the Pizza Rock plunge for ourselves – and we were not disappointed at all! If you’re looking for some damned fine pizza in downtown Vegas, Pizza Rock is your destination! The individual slices are very large and completely filling; we went during off-hours, and found it to be very comfortable and not busy at all, which was a good thing. TPA highly recommends Pizza Rock to our readers, and we will return again sooner than later!
One of our favorite spots downtown is The D, which is owned by a gentleman by the name of Derek Stevens (@DerekJStevens on Twitter). The property opened in 2012 on the former site of Fitzgerald’s, and has undergone an astonishing transformation into one of the premier resorts in downtown Las Vegas. Besides a lively casino floor and always-bustling bars, The D offers tremendous food options, from a very good cafe to American Coney Island – home of freakin’ great hot dogs and epic chili cheese fries that are the best thing you have ever had in your entire life when you’ve been drinking! Again, we learned all about The D, Derek Stevens, American Coney Island’s chili cheese fries, and the fact that the casino has one of only two Sigma Derby machines in existence, in Vegas thanks to Five Hundy by Midnight.
The coolest aspect of The D Las Vegas, is that Derek is always in the casino and around the property, interacting with guests and staff alike – something you rarely see in any Vegas casino anymore, if ever. Stevens can often be found seated at the end of the Longbar – a bar that feels as long as an old Slip ‘N Slide – nearest the Fremont Street entance/exit of the casino. Not only is Stevens approachable and genuinely nice, he and his social media platforms encourage guests and fans to seek him out! We have seen Mr. Stevens before in his spot at Longbar, but never approached; we decided it was time this trip, and he made us feel more than welcome. Derek Stevens and The D are the closest things we have to “old school Vegas” these days. To have a casino boss that is always in the casino, hanging out with guests – unheard of, and totally amazing!
Tim Dressen and Rick West
Derek Stevens wasn’t the only person we met during our visit to The D this month. After crossing paths several times over the past few years, two worlds collided when we finally met up with Tim Dressen from Five Hundy by Midnight (@FiveHundy on Twitter)! It was a treat, and something we’ve tried to make happen in the past, but could never connect. The planets were aligned this month, and so it finally happened! Tim’s wife, Michele, was not with him for this trip, which was a bummer because we have listened to them for years and love their chemistry together. However, meeting Tim was nothing short of fantastic both personally for us as well as for business reasons. Tim is in the process of writing a book about… Las Vegas! Its title is The Five Hundy by Midnight Outsiders’ Guide to Las Vegas. Once it has become available, Theme Park Adventure is going to help get the word out via this site to our TPAers and beyond, since there is a lot of cross-over between Vegas and themed entertainment fans, especially where our readership is most concentrated, here in Southern California. We can’t wait to see what Tim’s been working on, and know that if it’s half as entertaining and truly informative as Five Hundy by Midnight’s podcast, it’s going to need to be on everyone’s MUST BUY list. Stay tuned – in the coming months, we’ll have more information on this up-coming book as it becomes available to fans!
Back on The Strip, we visited the outdoor portion of The Linq, which belongs to Caesar’s Entertainment. The Linq offers a wide variety of food and beverage and shopping options, and is topped off with the city’s massive wheel attraction, The High Roller. We opted not to ride The High Roller this trip, simply due to time constraints; with more than a year since our last visit, we had a lot to see and do during our visit; we will definitely take a spin on the massive wheel next time!
The Linq reminds us a lot of The Americana at Brand here in Glendale, California. It’s well-manicured walkways and landscape line interesting eateries and retail locations. Overall, we thought the entire area was very nice, although coming from Los Angeles where malls like The Linq are fairly common, we had to keep reminding ourselves that for many Vegas visitors (and locals), it was a pretty cool and unique environment. One thing that The Linq does contend with, is the late-night crowd coming in and out of O’Sheas Casino, which has a large entrance/exit right on the mall’s main walkway. The demographics can be a bit… rowdy later in the evening, which kind of brings the higher-end feeling of The Linq in general down a few notches, unfortunately. However, it is Las Vegas – so a certain amount of “amateur hour” drinkers and loud revelers should be expected to a point, including The Linq.
There is one venue at The Linq that left us completely bewildered and scratching our heads; Polaroid Fotobar. Quoting the location’s website, “Founded in 2012, Polaroid Fotobar is the first of its kind to print pictures instantly in one of five sizes. You can even create your pictures on bamboo, mounted photos, canvas, metal or in a shadow box. Keep it old-school and print your pictures on Polaroid’s classic white border—retro at its finest.” In addition, a Polaroid Museum exists on the second floor, which we found to be really bizarre and honestly, pretty uninspiring as far as museum-type attractions go. We found zero interactivity, with no guest engagement attempt whatsoever throughout the space. The displays were random and odd, and the worst thing – it was pin-drop quiet. No music, no retro Polaroid commercials playing, no commentary (there appear to be sound cones above several displays – none of them were working), no anything. It made the entire space very awkward-feeling and dead. The few people that were upstairs when we were left within minutes, as did we. Of the entire Linq experience, Polaroid Fotobar is the one element that is definitely not a good fit; then again, we can’t imagine where it might be better received. The employees were very friendly there; however, the entire concept is just… damn.
While at The Linq, we did step into one of the coolest bars we’ve seen in a long time in Vegas – a little spot called Blvd. Cocktail Company. The bar is fairly high-end, but the specialty drinks look fantastic. The interior of the space is very dark and gothic – very strange and certainly out of place (in a cool/good way) at The Linq. When we went inside, the staff was very nice and if we’d had more time and there was more room at the main bar, we’d have likely stayed for a round or two. We will definitely be back, and recommend Blvd. Cocktail Company to any of our TPAers – especially those of the “spooky kid” persuasion! It’s a great new addition to The Strip!
While on the topic of new additions to The Strip, we stopped in two see two new resorts – The Cromwell, and SLS Las Vegas.
The Cromwell was re-purposed in the same location that has been Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon, as well as Barbary Coast in previous lives. Opened in 2014, The Cromwell is best described as The Cosmopolitan Lite. It comes across as perhaps a love child between The Cosmo and The Palms. The Cromwell is small – the footprint is long and narrow on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Flamingo. Its interior is really nice; elegant, flashy, but not so over-the-top that anyone over 25 would be turned off or feel out of place. The Cromwell has a nice casino that was very busy when we walked through, featuring several bars that were packed, and its anchor attraction, Drai’s Beach Club/Night Club was bringing in locals and visitors alike in droves, its loud music reverberating through the casino and well beyond into the night air over The Strip. With a new, successful night club comes the night club crowd – not the best mix for those of us simply wanting to drink and gamble when in town, but it serves its purpose and by all accounts, it appears that The Cromwell and Drai’s are a hit thus far. We didn’t stay long or play at all at The Cromwell, but we did like what we saw aesthetically, and would definitely return during the day or off-hours to check out some of the bars and gaming there.
At the other end of the spectrum, as well as the tail end of The Strip, we visited SLS Las Vegas, the new high-end “boutique resort” that opened in 2014 on the property that used to be the legendary Sahara. The property’s new owner, Sam Nazarian, opted for an overall ultra-lounge feel for the property, foregoing fan pleas to keep the property’s Rat Pack history and status intact during the re-imagining of the resort. The end result is an ultra-modern resort and casino that feels fairly sterile and lacks much depth thematically. Surrounding the casino floor, are restaurants that are fairly well-known here in Los Angeles, including Katsuya, Umami Burger, and The Griddle Cafe. As Angelinos that frequent Las Vegas every few months, as do millions of Southern Californians, we look for unique and special dining opportunities most of the time – things we can only find in Las Vegas. With the three above-mentioned restaurants within 10-15 minutes from us here in LA, we were less than excited by those offerings at SLS.
Which brings us to the elephant in the room. SLS Las Vegas has a very serious problem, less than a year after opening. The property is in a miserable location at the extreme far end of The Strip, well past Circus Circus and the ill-fated Fontainebleau Las Vegas site. The closest neighbors to SLS are Stratosphere to the north, and Riviera and Circus Circus to the south; not the same demographics, and not the same crowds. In essence, SLS is alone on an island at the far north end of The Strip – which may very well be a death sentence for the property. Beside major business trouble (Sam Nazarian has been scrutinized under a microscope by the Nevada Gaming Commission regarding his personal life, including drug use) and multiple challenges establishing himself as a reputable businessman in Las Vegas, there just seems to be an overall lack of interest by locals or visitors when it comes to SLS. In recent months, the property has shuttered restaurant venues and has faced staffing issues.
We visited SLS Las Vegas on a Sunday evening at approximately 6:30 PM. As we drove up to the entrance to the casino, it was void of any activity, and after literally stopping and looking, we could not locate any valet staff or signage. We circled back around and pulled up to the lone (and no doubt, lonely) employee manning the taxi stand, and asked where the valet was. The gentleman chuckled and said, “For whatever reason, the valet guys didn’t want to be out front tonight, so they moved around the building here to the parking garage (he motioned where we needed to go as he told us).” The weather was cold and it had rained earlier in the day; however, it wasn’t raining when we arrived at SLS, and other valet teams we did encounter during the day when it was, were friendly and working their butts off despite being wet and cold. We drove around and located the valet. As we got out of the car, I said that we almost thought no one was home, and the guy laughed and said, “Nah – we’re here. Just moved out of the rain.” I noted that there wasn’t any signage and that without stopping to ask someone, we had no idea where we were supposed to go when we pulled up. He shrugged, and said, “Well, we just don’t have signs for this type of situation.” He wasn’t apologetic, although he did say they didn’t want guests to get wet. A nice sentiment, except for the fact that where they’d moved to, guests had to walk around a portion of the building that isn’t covered! Like the taxi stand guy said, we think they didn’t want to get wet; forget about the guests or any kind of sense of welcome upon arrival.
As we entered the casino, we noted immediately how empty it was. We passed a group of employees that were more content chatting with each other about their shifts than welcoming us – the only two new faces walking through the door – to SLS. After making our way around the casino, taking note of what we thought was really cool, and what we found to be odd or downright weird, we agreed on one thing – that SLS Las Vegas is in big trouble. On a Sunday evening during dinner time, the casino and its restaurants should have been very busy. If we reported that there were more than 75 people in the entire casino, that would be a generous stretch. The casino was so dead, that it was literally shocking to us.
SLS Las Vegas has a feature bar in the middle of the casino – Center Bar – that is visually really cool. Crowned by a high-resolution LED screen array that is constantly displaying different patters, the bar is very modern and attractive; we wanted to play and drink there! Unfortunately, there are only poker machines at the small ends (the bar is rectangular in shape), and those spots were all taken. So, we continued our walk around the casino floor. We didn’t venture too far past the casino; everything just seemed dark and dead to us – no appeal to venture further in and explore the property. We passed and were passed by several employees; none of them acknowledged us or asked if we had any questions; they’re probably miserable too, knowing that their jobs are probably on the line these days depending on the financial performance of the new venture. Several of the restaurants were closed – others that were open had so few guests inside, they looked closed as we walked past. There was simply no pulse that we could find at SLS. After about 35-40 minutes, we were done with the property and ready to move on, with no reason whatsoever to return any time soon – if ever.
We should have bought souvenirs. They may be valuable some day.
Several times during our visit, we drove past Treasure Island – or what’s left of it in the hot mess of a shell re-branded as TI. It’s been years since we stepped foot inside that property, and it’s highly doubtful that we ever will again. TI is the epitome of an amazingly fun and unique property that has had its soul ripped out. Long gone is the most fantastic marquee on The Strip, the most unique and iconic after the demise of Stardust. Opened in 1993 by Mirage Resorts, under the direction of Steve Wynn, Treasure Island was one of Las Vegas’ most popular and well-known mega-resorts, no doubt due to its immersive pirate theme. Millions viewed the nightly Buccaneer Bay battle show, in which a huge ship actually sank in the resorts Caribbean lagoon. In 2003, Mirage Resorts stripped the theming out of the property, and in 2009, MGM Mirage (now MGM Resorts International) sold the property to Phil Ruffin. Since then, the remaining charm of the resort has been squeezed out – the pirate theme plundered itself until there was nothing left for fans but memories of Steve Wynn’s original design and entertaining elements. The beautiful facade of the resort has been destroyed, the horrible adult-oriented show (The Sirens of TI) ceased to exist (that’s not necessarily a bad thing in retrospect) has vanished, and now, the north end of the property – the portion of the lagoon that featured a massive skull rock and parked ship when the show wasn’t running – has become a brown concrete and steel bunker-looking building that will apparently house retail, including The Strip’s 764,786th pharmacy – a CVS, it appears. Whoever designed the space or worse, gave the go-ahead, should be made to walk the plank over traffic on The Strip and then sent off into the desert naked, covered in honey as to attract as many hungry insects as possible! In all seriousness, this is the final nail in the coffin for Treasure Island – a total mockery at this point of what this once-great resort was on the Las Vegas Strip. Very, very sad; Phil Ruffin should be ashamed of himself.
On a much lighter note, Theme Park Adventure visited the always-gorgeous and classy Bellagio to see the new Lunar New Year display in the Conservatory, as well as check off a major item that’s been on our bucket list forever – to finally see O.
The Lunar New Year display is really well done, as we’d certainly expect from Bellagio. The smell of fresh flowers is intoxicating, and due to the off-season traffic in Vegas, we could actually walk through the Conservatory and see everything without being shoulder-to-shoulder with 900 other people trying to take selfies every step of the way. While not the most exciting or elaborate display we’ve ever seen at Bellagio, it’s certainly really pretty – and definitely works well for the resort’s Asian visitors – we witnessed many grinning and taking group photos enthusiastically.
O is considered to be the granddaddy of the Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas. Ever since its opening in 1998 as the property’s resident show, O has thrilled packed audiences nightly with dazzling performances, strange and wonderful visuals, enchanting live music and singing, and of course… the now-it’s-there-now-it’s-not stage that gives way in seconds to a huge, deep pool! The mechanical aspects of O really amazed us for the entire show. Visually, the production is one big “what the hell is going on?” – although it’s absolutely gorgeous. We struggled to make sense of any type of story line; if O has one, we missed it completely. The music and the talent are both mesmerizing however, and we sat spellbound for 90 minutes as the bizarre-but-beautiful show played out in front of us. A huge special thanks to long-time TPAer Brian Pastor; the tickets were a gift to us, and we appreciate it so very much!
Another attraction that we visited while in Las Vegas was El Loco, the newest roller coaster built in the Adventuredome at Circus Circus. El Loco opened in early 2014, and has been a successful addition. The best way to describe this S&S Worldwide coaster is a wild mouse on steroids, featuring odd track elements such as outward banking, a beyond-vertical main drop, and a sustained inversion going into a dive loop finale. It’s a quick ride time-wise; however, at just over a minute in duration, it packs quite a punch. After multiple rides (gotta love the off-season in Vegas), we’re fans of El Loco and the general ride system itself, although it’s not without its flaws. For stocky riders, the vehicle restraint is a bit of a challenge; its central “pad” isn’t so much of a pad, but more of a hard rubber/plastic-feeling block of material that presses directly into the abdomen and rib cage. With each forceful maneuver, the restraint locks down tighter and harder; by the end of the ride, it is very awkward and uncomfortable. For smaller or petite guests, it was a non-issue. We just want to put that out there for anyone planning a visit so you’re aware ahead of time. El Loco has audio issues that don’t appear to be any fault of the Adventuredome staff. There is supposed to be music as you ride, but the trains were silent during our visit. When we asked the ride operators about it, we were told that the battery packs that power the trains’ audio hardware “keep falling out”, so for now, Adventuredome is leaving the hardware that way. If this is the case, we really hope that S&S Worldwide steps up and finds a solution to this issue, especially if MGM Resorts International paid for this feature. If you’re in town and looking for a new ride to check out in Las Vegas, you need to look no further than El Loco at the Adventuredome!
That’s a glance at some of our adventures in Las Vegas this month! We covered a lot of ground, and enjoyed just about every minute of it! Our appreciation of Sin City grew even more, we hung with old friends and made some new ones, learned about new resorts and attractions, saw a legendary show, and had some fantastic food and drink along the way! We look forward to returning sooner than later, and hope you have enjoyed reading about our first trip of 2015 to fabulous Las Vegas!
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