A visit to the Adventuredome

Adventuredome

The Circus Circus is one of the oldest hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. In addition to the only slot machines where you can still play with coins in Las Vegas, the hotel is particularly famous for its artistry shows – but apart from that, there isn’t necessarily much else to do here. When the MGM Grand then announced the MGM Grand Adventures theme park to establish Las Vegas as a family-friendly holiday destination, this was followed in 1993 by the opening of the Grand Slam Canyon – today’s Adventuredome.

Sling Shot, Inverter und Disk’o

As soon as you enter the amusement park, you find yourself in the centre of the action. The small Sling Shot freefall tower rises up in front of you – which has an incredible amount of power and first shoots you upwards at full speed before you experience a no less intense fall downwards – and to the left are the ticket office and the two flat rides Disk’o and Inverter.

Sand Pirates, Chaos und Nebulaz

In the centre of the park is a large artificial mountain – modelled on the Grand Canyon – on which the two main attractions run. If you follow the path clockwise, you will eventually come across the Sand Pirates boat swing, as well as the remains of the Chaos ride and a brand new NebulaZ ride from Zamperla.

Extreme Ride Theater & FX Theater 4D

In addition to a generously laid out and pretty cool-looking adventure golf course, the park also has the Extreme Ride Theatre – a very shallow moving simulator on which the Angry Birds 4D film is shown – and the FX Theatre 4D, which shows two pretty good 4D films (Ice Age 4-D: No Time for Nuts and Scooby Doo) alternately.

Canyon Blaster

Since the theme park opened in 1993, the Canyon Blaster has been the main attraction in the Adventuredome. The layout with its two loops and corkscrews is based on the Carolina Cyclone roller coaster at Carowinds theme park – in Europe, the same layout can be found at Efteling’s Python or Shaman at Gardaland, for example – with slight variations in the transitions towards the end of the ride. Where ten years earlier all records would have been broken, the Canyon Blaster doesn’t really offer anything special if it wasn’t for the way it is embedded within the park and the trains used. Basically, this roller coaster thrives on the fact that you come quite close to the roof of the hall at several points during the ride. In addition, after the two corkscrews, you enter a helix that leads partly through the artificial mountain massif. The modern trains, which can otherwise only be experienced on the Corkscrew in the Japanese theme park Benyland, are also extremely comfortable. All in all, a very decent roller coaster.

El Loco

The second rollercoaster in Adventureland is El Loco – the somewhat different El Loco from American manufacturer S&S. After the ride on the extremely fast lift, the ride immediately begins with the entry into a very tight turning curve. At full throttle, we then shoot over the far too narrow crest of the first drop. Without making contact with the seat, we approach the hall floor in the oversteeped drop, which we only just miss in a bend. Back at a lofty height, a block brake follows and the familiar interplay from the other El Loco roller coasters of an outwardly inclined curve and a slow lateral turn to a headstand before we hit a half loop and rush towards the ground. After a steep ascent, the track then leads us into a block brake. Just above the station, we lean briefly to the left and then to the right until we are upside down once again. The final part is a heavily braked half loop, after which we are already in the braking section of the ride and our crazy ride is slowly coming to an end.

Pictures Adventuredome

Conclusion Adventuredome

The Adventuredome is a really well-designed and extremely well-maintained theme park with some pretty cool attractions. Although the selection of attractions is clearly limited, the quality of these is quite high, which is why a visit here is really worthwhile – even if a visit to the Adventuredome should rather be seen as a supplement to the big hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas Strip.


What is your opinion about the theme park Adventuredome?  Just write it in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

          


Click here for the next report of the California Adventure Tour

A short visit to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is a pretty cool amusement park. Located directly on the Pacific Ocean, the park exudes a lot of charm, which is mainly due to its 99-year-old wooden rollercoaster, which takes up almost the entire park. The individual rides are located to the right and left of the boardwalk.

Undertow

The Zamperla Disk’o Shockwave and the Maurer Spinning Coaster Untertow are located on the roof of a larger arcade. As always, it’s worth getting on the SC2000 backwards, which means you actually experience the first drop backwards before the spinning function is released after a climb and a short curve. Thanks to the subsequent hairpin bend, you’ll be well set in rotation so that you can usually experience the Immelmann Turn with a view of the sky or the ground. The subsequent track consists mainly of smaller bends and a fun straight with lots of swerves before you hurtle down a helix for the grand finale. All in all, a really great rollercoaster, especially if the waiting time is kept to a minimum.

Double Shot, Pirate Ship, Sky Glider und Typhoon

A ramp and stairs take you down to the boardwalk. Here you will find access to the Sky Glider chairlift – which was unfortunately not in operation on the day I visited – and three larger rides. In addition to the Typhoon looping ride, you can also take a ride on the classic Pirate Ship boat swing, before the more daring can take a ride on the S&S Double Shot, which is a great way to shoot yourself in the shoulder restraints.

Giant Dipper

Passing the fantastic façade of the Haunted Castle ghost train, we now move on to the park’s 99-year-old wooden rollercoaster, for which I had to adapt the tour over and over again, as the park unfortunately only rarely opens its rides in September; the Giant Dipper.

The ride on the Giant Dipper begins immediately with the entrance to a slightly longer tunnel, after which the ride’s lift is reached. After the first descent, which is around 20 metres high, we head straight into a large turning curve, which, however, offers a fairly steep entry and exit. Immediately afterwards, we race over a large hill and straight away over a double up. With the best view of the Beach Boardwalk, we now ride over a straight just above the braking section before gaining momentum again in an increasingly steep bend. Parallel to the track we have already experienced, we now race over a series of the finest airtime hills before changing direction again. At a constantly high speed, we race through the beams again and over a number of excellent airtime hills before coming to a halt in the braking section.

Even though I had already heard beforehand that the Giant Dipper is a really first-class wooden roller coaster, I didn’t expect it to mercilessly steal the show from my favourite 100-year-old wooden roller coaster to date – the Big Dipper from the English amusement park Blackpool Pleasure Beach. This ride is simply a class of its own and my favourite wooden roller coaster in the United States to date.

Rock-O-Plane

Passing the Afterburner Fireball, the path now leads us to a gem of American engineering: the Eyerly Rock-O-Plane from 1954. This ride is very reminiscent of a classic American Ferris wheel; however, thanks to the locking brake, you can hold your gondolas in position here, which also makes looping rides possible, or you can use the brake and shift your body a little to rock the gondola further and further, whereupon it is also possible to perform several successive somersaults. Great fun, which unfortunately cannot be experienced like this in Europe.

Logger’s Revenge

The second major attraction on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is the large Arrow log flume Logger’s Revenge, which acts as a kind of backdrop for the rear area of the park and plays a key role in shaping it. There are several rides below the elevated track, including the Moby Dick and the Round-Up Cyclone. The entrance to the Sea Serpent children’s roller coaster is also located directly below the log flume ride.

Sea Serpent

The small Sea Serpent roller coaster is a real thrill ride, mainly due to its sloping location and the ride being adapted to the terrain. Typical of American children’s roller coasters, the track mainly consists of tight bends and pretty crazy hills.

Cave Train, Ghost Blasters und WipeOut

Interestingly, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is home to many dark rides, two of which are located one level below the boardwalk. In addition to the classic Cave Train, the interactive dark ride Ghost Blasters can also be found here. Access to the indoor Break Dance WipeOut is also located on this level.

Pictures Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Conclusion Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was a pretty cool start to my rollercoaster tour through California and Nevada this year. The park has a similar vibe to Blackpool Pleasure Beach and a pretty cool atmosphere, which made me really like the park. While I unfortunately only used a few tickets on this visit, I would love to come back for a day at the beach with a wristband for the theme park.

 

What are your thoughts about the seaside amusement park Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk? Just write it here in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

 

          


Click here for the next report of the California Adventure Tour

Luna Park Melbourne



Theme Park:Luna Park Melbourne (since 1912)
Address:18 Lower Esplanade
St Kilda VIC 3182
https://www.lunapark.com.au/
Operated by:Luna Park Melbourne Pty Ltd

Scenic RailwayLuna Park Melbourne right next to the beach in St.Kilda is one of the most traditional amusement parks. Opened in 1912, the park hosts a selection of family-friendy rides, as well as the world’s oldest wooden roller coaster Scenic Railway.

 
 
 

Highlights of the Theme Park

 




Enterprise • HUSS Enterprise

 

Enterprise

A true classic

 


Pharaoh's Curse • Fabbri Kamikaze

 

Pharaoh’s Curse

A breathtaking experience

 


Scenic Railway

 

Scenic Railway

The world’s oldest roller coaster