Dan
01-26-2008, 05:20 PM
Welcome to Dan's first PTR! Despite the fact that I've been to parks around the country (and a few around the world), I have always just posted my pictures on my site, and never got into making PTR's. But, as my Las Vegas trip was such an interesting experience, I decided to make one!
Last weekend I headed out to Las Vegas with my Dad as a birthday celebration. It was my first time in the city, so I didn't know what to expect, aside from seeing pictures. We took a plane out of LAX Saturday morning, and arrived in Las Vegas about a few hours later. The view of the strip from the plane was pretty impressive, but from the air, the buildings themselves didn't. I could see my hotel, the Mandalay Bay, during the decent.
We rented a car and set out on the road. As it was too early to check into the hotel, we decided to cruise down the strip and check out where everything was. We drove all the way to the end of the strip and reached Stratosphere. We discovered parking was free (the one free thing in the city), and took the elevator up to the top of Stratosphere. We paid full price on the entry, and got unlimited ride access for the day. Unfortunately, there was a private party that had rented out the top starting at 4PM, so I never got to ride at night.
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/3803/48268920mk6.jpg
Big Shot tops off at over 1,000 ft., making it the tallest thrill ride in the world...and one of the best!
Big Shot turned out to be the big surprise of the trip. One might think it's just like the others of its kind, but it isn't. Because the base is so small, and you can't look straight down, you can't see the base. So, when you're up at the top, your body makes you think you are really over a thousand feet in the air. The airtime at the top felt much more extreme because of this, but when watching from the base, it really moves just like any other S&S tower.
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5972/98292986iz8.jpg
Insanity hangs you right over the top of the Stratosphere...it's pretty dizzying!
Insanity was also a great ride, but I prefer Big Shot personally. There aren't many forces on Insanity, whereas Big Shot has loads of them, positive and negative.
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6614/67035311sq1.jpg
Dad rides X-Scream, one of the wildest rides in existence.
It may look like a dinky ride, but X-Scream delivers. It was definately the best ride of the trip. There is a surprise drop about half way through the ride, and that's what got me the most excited. Whoever decided to plop one of these on the Stratosphere was a genius. The views of the strip are also great.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7223/47383638dm9.jpg
Two Thumbs up from me for all the Stratosphere rides....
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/5549/11650298cm4.jpg
...and two thumbs up from Dad as well.
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4585/53561263sj0.jpg
Looks like everyone decided to leave right when we did..and yes, the lights in the ceiling really do look like that for some reason.
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/8020/49231544wu5.jpg
Time for a late lunch...non-smoking is a rarity in Las Vegas, I was thankful to get away from it for a while.
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/528/33055055kv2.jpg
The atmosphere reminded me of Johnny Rockets a lot...they even have live music!
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/5448/57402865ub1.jpg
Cool idea for the menu...
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/5461/71312367jf6.jpgHeading out of the Stratosphere, I decided to grab a few shots of it...this one came out best.
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/8192/36119548xn3.jpg
This was the way to do it..there are never any lines for rides, everyone's gambling. It's worth your money to get this!
The Sahara (and Nascar Cafe) are pretty much down the block from the Stratosphere, so we strolled over to ride Speed: The Ride.
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4316/37657581sa2.jpgThe inside of Nascar Cafe is filled with Nascar vehicles, hanging from the roof and displayed on the ground. This advertises the ride!
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4361/67832152zk6.jpg
Well, Las Vegas certainly burns a whole in your pocket. We got the All Day Pass, and went on both Speed and the Cyber Speedway.
Speed: The Ride was pretty disappointing. The launch was slow and 'choppy', and the layout left a lot to be desired. The top spike was pretty cool though, and I wasn't expecting the second launch. The operators were extremely loud, rude, and slow. I'll be sending a complaint to The Sahara about this.
http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/7137/98316785xs9.jpg
Speed: The Ride as it leaves the launch building.
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/479/36420734rt3.jpg
Up the Spike...and back down.
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/1707/18060593fr1.jpg
The ride goes right next to the sidewalk, allowing some interesting angles.
If you haven't noticed yet, Las Vegas is hard as hell to photograph, which is why I had to play around with motion blur a lot. Shadows everywhere, things blocking cool angles, etc. I ended up on parking lot roofs and hanging over bridges to get some of the shots in the PTR. I went to Vegas hoping to get a bunch of great shots since I'd seen so few, but I didn't come back with everything I wanted. Still, I'm proud of the few that came out well.
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/3903/56945760mo4.jpg
An overview of Speed: The Ride at Nascar Cafe right above some pedestrians.
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/3751/53329727by8.jpg
What's this? Brochures?
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7444/47032310qp6.jpg
Oops! Wish we had seen this before...
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7166/24077352sg2.jpg
Time to check into our hotel, Mandalay Bay...it's at the end of the strip opposite the Stratosphere.
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9397/82629105ab1.jpg
The interior decorating was pretty great. The only thing this hotel is missing is a roller coaster!
http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/3742/72053093rj8.jpg
The rooms were great as well. While we were opposite the strip, we had an equally great view of the airport.
http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/6798/25689976is5.jpg
I spend the next few hours watching TV on this beauty, before we took a long walk down the strip.
The next few photos are some of the hotels we passed on our walk down the strip. We from the end of the strip to Treasure Island, and took the monorail part of the way back.
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7664/41079270xk3.jpg
A night shot of the Luxor hotel, a great architectural idea.
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2606/72504220cw4.jpg
The Excalibur sign all lit up for the night...it isn't broken, it just changes every few seconds.
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6266/82516440bo1.jpg
Excalibur has a design similar to the Disney castles, just not as well executed.
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/396/62949376hl6.jpg
The infamous Bellagio hotel and casino. Go watch Sirloin's...err, Ocean's 11 if you've never heard of it.
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/4254/37761253ra9.jpg
The Mirage...another famous casino on the strip. Most of the big ones are actually owned by the same company.
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7290/11527774uo9.jpg
The Venetian is one of the best themed hotels on the strip...this is inside the hotel.
The next morning, we had a great $20 buffet breakfast (which also had lunch and dinner foods for some reason), and set out to Adventureldome at Circus Circus. This is one of the hardest places to photograph, as it is very cramped, and the roof gives everything a pinkish tint.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/9099/54381085je9.jpg
Canyon Blaster goes above, around, and through the fake rocks that fill the huge dome.
Canyon Blaster was the only major attraction operating when we visited...it's amazing how that they fit the whole thing inside, but the ride itself is just mediocre. The G's in the loops are very, very high. I had a sane moment when I decided not to go on the kiddie ride.
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/1940/46850044qv4.jpg
The theme is actually decent for such a small space.
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7545/88895080wb6.jpg
Ten brownie points to the first person who knows the reference...
We left less than an hour after we arrived, and set out on the short drive towards Buffalo Bill's. The operations were extremely slow there as well, and pictures were hard to get.
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/451/54915086ms8.jpg
The ride is pretty fun, but it doesn't match Magnum XL 200. This shot is tilted, but none of these photos are processed so why start now?
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/9849/11680150aw7.jpg
Desperado heads down the first drop behind the huge barn-style hotel. The casino inside was extremely crowded, even though it's way off the strip.
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/122/89594540ru8.jpg
The second half of the ride is pretty boring.
Back to the strip...
I actually rode Manhattan express the day before, but didn't have my camera with me. It was a decent ride, and gave some great views of parts of the strip. The second half was definately more exciting, with many pops of ejector air.
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/2615/95592319bm1.jpg
Manhattan express cruises down the first drop, almost parallel to the strip but behind the New York, New York Hotel.
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8343/58871568lw4.jpg
This part of the ride is weird, it slows down and takes forever to get over the apex of the hill.
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/3602/20339187yh7.jpg
To end the trip report, a patriotic shot of the Statue of Liberty.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! If you have any questions or want the full size of these images, let me know. The coaster ones will be on my site soon, as well.
P.S. No Brandon, I didn't go to Star Trek: The Experience.
Last weekend I headed out to Las Vegas with my Dad as a birthday celebration. It was my first time in the city, so I didn't know what to expect, aside from seeing pictures. We took a plane out of LAX Saturday morning, and arrived in Las Vegas about a few hours later. The view of the strip from the plane was pretty impressive, but from the air, the buildings themselves didn't. I could see my hotel, the Mandalay Bay, during the decent.
We rented a car and set out on the road. As it was too early to check into the hotel, we decided to cruise down the strip and check out where everything was. We drove all the way to the end of the strip and reached Stratosphere. We discovered parking was free (the one free thing in the city), and took the elevator up to the top of Stratosphere. We paid full price on the entry, and got unlimited ride access for the day. Unfortunately, there was a private party that had rented out the top starting at 4PM, so I never got to ride at night.
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/3803/48268920mk6.jpg
Big Shot tops off at over 1,000 ft., making it the tallest thrill ride in the world...and one of the best!
Big Shot turned out to be the big surprise of the trip. One might think it's just like the others of its kind, but it isn't. Because the base is so small, and you can't look straight down, you can't see the base. So, when you're up at the top, your body makes you think you are really over a thousand feet in the air. The airtime at the top felt much more extreme because of this, but when watching from the base, it really moves just like any other S&S tower.
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5972/98292986iz8.jpg
Insanity hangs you right over the top of the Stratosphere...it's pretty dizzying!
Insanity was also a great ride, but I prefer Big Shot personally. There aren't many forces on Insanity, whereas Big Shot has loads of them, positive and negative.
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6614/67035311sq1.jpg
Dad rides X-Scream, one of the wildest rides in existence.
It may look like a dinky ride, but X-Scream delivers. It was definately the best ride of the trip. There is a surprise drop about half way through the ride, and that's what got me the most excited. Whoever decided to plop one of these on the Stratosphere was a genius. The views of the strip are also great.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7223/47383638dm9.jpg
Two Thumbs up from me for all the Stratosphere rides....
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/5549/11650298cm4.jpg
...and two thumbs up from Dad as well.
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4585/53561263sj0.jpg
Looks like everyone decided to leave right when we did..and yes, the lights in the ceiling really do look like that for some reason.
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/8020/49231544wu5.jpg
Time for a late lunch...non-smoking is a rarity in Las Vegas, I was thankful to get away from it for a while.
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/528/33055055kv2.jpg
The atmosphere reminded me of Johnny Rockets a lot...they even have live music!
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/5448/57402865ub1.jpg
Cool idea for the menu...
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/5461/71312367jf6.jpgHeading out of the Stratosphere, I decided to grab a few shots of it...this one came out best.
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/8192/36119548xn3.jpg
This was the way to do it..there are never any lines for rides, everyone's gambling. It's worth your money to get this!
The Sahara (and Nascar Cafe) are pretty much down the block from the Stratosphere, so we strolled over to ride Speed: The Ride.
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4316/37657581sa2.jpgThe inside of Nascar Cafe is filled with Nascar vehicles, hanging from the roof and displayed on the ground. This advertises the ride!
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4361/67832152zk6.jpg
Well, Las Vegas certainly burns a whole in your pocket. We got the All Day Pass, and went on both Speed and the Cyber Speedway.
Speed: The Ride was pretty disappointing. The launch was slow and 'choppy', and the layout left a lot to be desired. The top spike was pretty cool though, and I wasn't expecting the second launch. The operators were extremely loud, rude, and slow. I'll be sending a complaint to The Sahara about this.
http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/7137/98316785xs9.jpg
Speed: The Ride as it leaves the launch building.
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/479/36420734rt3.jpg
Up the Spike...and back down.
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/1707/18060593fr1.jpg
The ride goes right next to the sidewalk, allowing some interesting angles.
If you haven't noticed yet, Las Vegas is hard as hell to photograph, which is why I had to play around with motion blur a lot. Shadows everywhere, things blocking cool angles, etc. I ended up on parking lot roofs and hanging over bridges to get some of the shots in the PTR. I went to Vegas hoping to get a bunch of great shots since I'd seen so few, but I didn't come back with everything I wanted. Still, I'm proud of the few that came out well.
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/3903/56945760mo4.jpg
An overview of Speed: The Ride at Nascar Cafe right above some pedestrians.
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/3751/53329727by8.jpg
What's this? Brochures?
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7444/47032310qp6.jpg
Oops! Wish we had seen this before...
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7166/24077352sg2.jpg
Time to check into our hotel, Mandalay Bay...it's at the end of the strip opposite the Stratosphere.
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9397/82629105ab1.jpg
The interior decorating was pretty great. The only thing this hotel is missing is a roller coaster!
http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/3742/72053093rj8.jpg
The rooms were great as well. While we were opposite the strip, we had an equally great view of the airport.
http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/6798/25689976is5.jpg
I spend the next few hours watching TV on this beauty, before we took a long walk down the strip.
The next few photos are some of the hotels we passed on our walk down the strip. We from the end of the strip to Treasure Island, and took the monorail part of the way back.
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7664/41079270xk3.jpg
A night shot of the Luxor hotel, a great architectural idea.
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2606/72504220cw4.jpg
The Excalibur sign all lit up for the night...it isn't broken, it just changes every few seconds.
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6266/82516440bo1.jpg
Excalibur has a design similar to the Disney castles, just not as well executed.
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/396/62949376hl6.jpg
The infamous Bellagio hotel and casino. Go watch Sirloin's...err, Ocean's 11 if you've never heard of it.
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/4254/37761253ra9.jpg
The Mirage...another famous casino on the strip. Most of the big ones are actually owned by the same company.
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7290/11527774uo9.jpg
The Venetian is one of the best themed hotels on the strip...this is inside the hotel.
The next morning, we had a great $20 buffet breakfast (which also had lunch and dinner foods for some reason), and set out to Adventureldome at Circus Circus. This is one of the hardest places to photograph, as it is very cramped, and the roof gives everything a pinkish tint.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/9099/54381085je9.jpg
Canyon Blaster goes above, around, and through the fake rocks that fill the huge dome.
Canyon Blaster was the only major attraction operating when we visited...it's amazing how that they fit the whole thing inside, but the ride itself is just mediocre. The G's in the loops are very, very high. I had a sane moment when I decided not to go on the kiddie ride.
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/1940/46850044qv4.jpg
The theme is actually decent for such a small space.
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7545/88895080wb6.jpg
Ten brownie points to the first person who knows the reference...
We left less than an hour after we arrived, and set out on the short drive towards Buffalo Bill's. The operations were extremely slow there as well, and pictures were hard to get.
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/451/54915086ms8.jpg
The ride is pretty fun, but it doesn't match Magnum XL 200. This shot is tilted, but none of these photos are processed so why start now?
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/9849/11680150aw7.jpg
Desperado heads down the first drop behind the huge barn-style hotel. The casino inside was extremely crowded, even though it's way off the strip.
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/122/89594540ru8.jpg
The second half of the ride is pretty boring.
Back to the strip...
I actually rode Manhattan express the day before, but didn't have my camera with me. It was a decent ride, and gave some great views of parts of the strip. The second half was definately more exciting, with many pops of ejector air.
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/2615/95592319bm1.jpg
Manhattan express cruises down the first drop, almost parallel to the strip but behind the New York, New York Hotel.
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8343/58871568lw4.jpg
This part of the ride is weird, it slows down and takes forever to get over the apex of the hill.
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/3602/20339187yh7.jpg
To end the trip report, a patriotic shot of the Statue of Liberty.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! If you have any questions or want the full size of these images, let me know. The coaster ones will be on my site soon, as well.
P.S. No Brandon, I didn't go to Star Trek: The Experience.