A ride on the Manhattan Express

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Las Vegas

I would never have thought that I would like Las Vegas so much. Not only is the city really clean by American standards, it also has a really pleasant nightlife. Although everything here actually takes place in the big casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, there is an amazing variety on offer – although I really wonder who would want to get a tattoo in a glass tattoo parlour late at night or why a studio where everything is visible from the outside would be a good idea. Basically, the high alcohol level of the tourists here in the city explains everything, but a visit to the city is downright smooth – and even the drunken Americans on the monorail are surprisingly entertaining as soon as they catch sight of the MGM Sphere for the first time.

New York, New York

The main reason for my visit to the Las Vegas Strip is the Hotel New York, New York; an MGM Casino Resort around which the Manhattan Express, aka the Big Apple Coaster, winds. I really like the interior of the casino itself and I highly recommend a visit to Hershey Chocolate World.

Big Apple Coaster

The Big Apple Coaster is considered one of the worst rollercoasters in the world, although many tourists wouldn’t even call it that. The location of the ride is good, so a train leaves the station every few minutes, despite a ticket price of 25 dollars for a single ride.

At the beginning of the ride, we first take a leisurely ride past the ride’s maintenance hall before reaching the roller coaster’s lift hill after a short bend. This takes us to a height of around 62 metres. Once at the top, the path leads us along a short straight section before we enter the first drop. On this, however, we don’t go all the way down to the ground, but only to the same height as the neighbouring multi-storey car park. After a short climb with the best view of the neighbouring Excalibur Casino Resort, the path leads us through a long bend before we move on to the second and significantly larger drop. While the ride has so far been more like a hyper coaster with its long and large descents, the ride changes significantly after the next ascent – because now a very compact looping coaster follows, which dominates the roof of the casino building. After another curve at a lofty height, we gain enough momentum on the subsequent descent to ride the looping ride with gusto. This is followed by a rather interesting incline, which initially puts us upside down before we transition into a dive loop after a while. After a short bend in the valley, we then shoot up a larger incline, whereupon a block brake awaits us. Unfortunately, the ride up to this point was anything but pleasant thanks to the existing comfort collars – rather hard rubber bars that are designed to loosely simulate the impression of shoulder bars – as I, at least, kept bumping my head on them. However, the track itself was relatively smooth.

The second part of the ride begins with a turning curve before we continue to ride over a series of airtime hills, which are interrupted by more turns and a rather intense helix. The ride on this section is surprisingly good and really entertaining thanks to the numerous airtime moments. Unfortunately, this section of the ride is over quite quickly and the overall impression is rather mixed, as the Big Apple Coaster is basically a really, really good ride, but unfortunately you are downright beaten up on the roller coaster by the “comfort collars” of the trains. I don’t know what Premier Rides was thinking here and I’m not sure why every park in America wants to have these strange rubber belts. Sure, these trains as a whole may be better than the previous Premier Rides trains, but neither of them can match the original hardware from Japan. Togo roller coasters are generally really fine roller coasters with great ride characteristics; only here in America they unfortunately use the wrong trains, which makes the ride lose some of its appeal.

The Strat

The Strat is the former Strastophere, a large casino resort at the end of the Las Vegas Strip, which is best known for the Stratosphere Tower – now just The Tower. At the top of the tower is a collection of thrill rides, the most famous of which is no longer in operation. What remains is the ride on the oversized seesaw X-Scream, as well as a ride on the S&S drop tower Big Shot – provided it’s not too windy.

Pictures Las Vegas

What’s your opinion on the Big Apple Coaster roller coaster at MGM Casino Resort New York, New York? Just write it in the comment field below the report!

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TKathke September 21, 2023 August 9, 2026 California Adventure Day 5 and 6 / Nevada / New York, New York

A short visit to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

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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!

Click here for the next report of the California Adventure Tour.

Click here to get to the overview page of Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

TKathke September 17, 2023 August 9, 2026 California Adventure Day 1 and 2 / Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Warner Bros. Movie World

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Theme Park:	Warner Bros. Movie World (since 1991)

Address:	Pacific Highway
	Oxenford QLD 4210
	https://movieworld.com.au/

Operated by:	Village Roadshow

Warner Bros. Movie World is one of the Village Roadshow theme parks located on the Gold Coast. Opened in 1991, the theme park hosts a very solid selection of roller coasters and shows.

Fun Fact: The park served as a model for the Warner Bros. Movie World Germany (now Movie Park Germany). The German theme park not only features a nearly identical layout, it is even home to some of the most popular Gold Coast attractions.