Las Vegas is a destination that truly has a little bit of everything – themed hotels, celebrity-inspired restaurants, world-class live and immersive entertainment, and definitely its fair share of gambling experiences. But what about roller coasters? Yes, they have those as well.
While Las Vegas isn’t home to any large-scale regional theme parks, if being a roller coaster enthusiast is your entire identity, there are actually multiple coasters to experience on-and-off the Las Vegas Strip in addition to the endless entertainment options the city has to offer. “America’s Playground” has had its own storied roller coaster history throughout the years (more on that later), but currently, inside city limits, there are four roller coaster credits. During a recent trip to Las Vegas, we took a little time away from the roulette wheel, sports book, and frozen daquiri’s to ride three of these roller coasters, and wanted give you the low down on the Sin City coaster scene.
First up though, the roller coaster we didn’t ride during our recent visit.
Dragon Coaster
Location: Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix (1401 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108)
Cost to Ride: ~$5.12 (Tickets are $10.25 for single tickets, each ride on Dragon Coaster is 1/2 ticket)
The 22-year-old Dragon Coaster opened at Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix in 2000, and is an Orient Express model from Wisdom Rides. If you’re a die-hard credit counter, Dragon Coaster certainly is a roller coaster in Las Vegas, but it’s located nearly 6 miles as the crow flies from both “The Strip” and Fremont Street. While we love a good chance to add to our credit count, Dragon Coaster proved just a little too far out of the way to add to our plans. It does hold the distinction as the most inexpensive roller coaster in Las Vegas!
The Adventuredome
Location: Circus Circus (2880 S. Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89109)
Cost: $60 for All-Day Wristband (48″+) and $30 for All-Day Junior Wristband (<48″ – also, no coasters.)
Inside the five-acre, greenhouse-esque Adventuredome at Circus Circus, you’ll find more than a dozen attractions, including a Zamperla NebulaZ and Disk’O, Carousel, drop tower, and two roller coasters – Canyon Blaster and El Loco.
The Arrow Dynamics-designed Canyon Blaster opened at the Adventuredome in 1993. Featuring more than 2,400′ of track that winds in and out of the park’s central canyon structure, the coaster features four inversions – two loops and two corkscrews, and a helix before screeching into the brake run. It features a very similar layout to Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds. As most older arrow coasters go, Canyon Blaster’s smoothest days are probably behind it, but in the correct seat (everyone has their favorites or “sweet spot” seats that they swear by), it could provide a good ride.
As more and more of these classic Arrows begin to give their last rides, it was great to be able to ride a bit of roller coaster history. It’s not every day that you can say you rode on a roller coaster that inspired a scene in Rugrats. That being said, Canyon Blaster wasn’t my favorite roller coaster, let alone favorite Arrow.
Adventuredome’s second and “newest” roller coaster, the S&S-Sansei designed “El Loco,” opened in 2014, and is the newest El Loco model from S&S. Featuring two four-seat trains that load simultaneously, El Loco has a quick 1,300′ of twisted steel track with a vertical drop, multiple stall inversions and over-banked and outward-banked curves. The two inversions both are elongated stalls that result in a wild amount of hangtime.
This was my first time riding an S&S El Loco — the only other one in the United States is located at Indiana Beach, and it was a fun ride in a compact footprint. Of the roller coasters in Las Vegas, it might be my favorite. It still had its rough moments, but was definitely more enjoyable than the Canyon Blaster.
In all, I spent about 90 minutes at the Adventuredome, and I will say that the $60 for an all-day wristband felt a bit steep, especially because the wristband was never checked or scanned during my visit. If you’re going just to ride roller coasters, $30/ride is definitely expensive. However, that $60 does include unlimited rides on El Loco, Canyon Blaster, and every other ride under the “Big Top” at Circus Circus. If you were looking for the all-day experience, the Adventuredome felt very much like a “half-day” park. I’d classify the two coasters as “average” to “good.” Adventuredome defintiely feels like a family-friendly option in a city that has limited options in that arena.
Fun Fact: Adventuredome used to have a third roller coaster credit — a Wisdom Rides Miner Mike that closed in 2019.
Circus Circus as a whole was an “interesting” experience. It felt a little less modern than other hotels on the Strip, and there’s a good bit written online about its “haunted” stories. If you find yourself in Vegas and wanting a two-for-one coaster experience.
The Big Apple Coaster
Locs
Location: New York New York Hotel & Casino. (3790 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109)
Cost: $19/ride. ($10 for a re-ride)
Over the years, the Big Apple Coaster has had a number of names, including the creative “Manhattan Express” and the not-so-creative “Roller Coaster.” Originally open in 1997, this coaster is the only remaining Togo-designed roller coaster in North America, and has some sweeping dives and drops around the New York, New York hotel, made to look like the New York Skyline from the outside. Big Apple Coaster reaches heights of 203′ high, but its first drop is only 144′, meaning you’re well above ground level for most of the ride. Reaching top speeds of 67mph, riders take on two inversions, including a vertical loop and dive loop, both located in the ride’s more compact “second half.”
Big Apple Coaster is probably best known to coaster enthusiasts for its less-than-smooth ride experience. Having experienced the ride first-hand, I can definitely confirm this opinion. I was seated in the back row, and it was especially jarring during some of the transitions. Over the years, improvements have been attempted by Premier Rides, in the form of new trains, in an effort to continue to thrill riders. As of 2021, the ride now features new trains from Premier, similar to their Sky Rocket II trains. (Yes, the “comfort collars” are present.) Having not experienced the previous versions, I can’t say for certain if they’re an improvement, but based on what I’ve heard, they are, and my apologies to the back of anyone who rode this roller coaster prior to these new trains.
If you’re walking through New York, New York, follow the signs for “Roller Coaster,” located throughout the casino floor. You’ll end up taking an escalator to an arcade, walking through the arcade to finally board Big Apple Coaster. To me, of Vegas’ current operating coasters, Big Apple Coaster has the biggest “What If” attached to it. It has potential. A similar layout from a different manufacturer could be a ton of fun, but I left Big Apple Coaster underwhelmed at the experience.
That covers the “official” coaster credits in Las Vegas, but there are a few other coaster-adjacent experiences in the city that coaster enthusiasts might want to check out, even if they’re not counting “creds.”
X-Scream
Location: Skypod at The Strat (2000 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89104)
Cost: From $29 (varies by day of the week, includes Skypod Experience)
866′ above the Las Vegas Strip, X-Scream features a 68′ long piece of tilting track that perilously dangles riders off the edge of the tallest observation tower in the United States. The 8-passenger vehicles reach speeds of 30mph before the track tilts back, and riders repeat the motion. This one is not for the faint of heart! The Strat also features a 160′ tall S&S Space Shot drop tower, Big Shot, which sends riders a total of more than 1,000′ in the air, and a spinning ride, Insanity, which dangles riders over the edge of The Strat in a spinning motion.
The Strat also used to have its own roller coaster, High Roller, which operated from 1996-2005. Essentially a family roller coaster, but located 900′ in the air, High Roller made three laps around the top of the Stratosphere, covering 865′ of track. When it was demolished in 2006, the track pieces had to be cut in such a way that they would fit in the hotel’s elevator in order to be removed!
Haley’s Comet
Location: Area 15, (3215 S Rancho Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89102)
Cost: $18 Adults, $12 Children 12 & Under
The two-tracked Haley’s Comet Zipline winds around the interior of the immersive Area 15 attration. It really depends on what you count as a roller coaster if you can count this as a coaster credit, but coaster-count.com does have it listed on their website as a potential coaster experience. Riders must be between 54″-77″ tall, and weigh between 80-265 lbs. It’s one of countless attractions at Area 15!
Coaster Nerd Bonus: Speed: The Ride
Location: A block behind the McDonalds across from Mandalay Bay Resort. (3999 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119)
Cost: Time (and Dignity, especially if you have to tell a cab driver where you’re going), but otherwise Free.
In a past post on our site, we talked about the rise and demise of Speed: The Ride, which operated at NASCAR Cafe, located in the Sahara Hotel & Casino, from 2000-2011. The Great Recession saw the closure of the Sahara as well as Speed: The Ride, which was to be rebuilt in a development known as Akita Plaza, across from Mandalay Bay. In short, that never happened.
A decade after its deconstruction (current as of March 2022), pieces of Speed: The Ride are still laid out on the property that was destined to become Akita Plaza, between the McDonalds and the airport. While you obviously can no longer ride Speed: The Ride, except in YouTube videos, seeing the track is definitely a unique, albeit slightly depressing, bit of sightseeing for coaster enthusiasts while in Las Vegas. It’s a quick walk from Luxor (where we stayed) or Mandalay Bay.
In short, if you find yourself in Las Vegas as a coaster enthusiast, there are definitely some coaster credits for the counting. Just don’t expect to have your mind blown by anything, especially compared to more modern coaster standards! But, good news. If you do take an Uber to Circus Circus or New York, New York, just to ride roller coasters, you don’t have to tell anyone. After all, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!
A bit surprised you didn’t mention Desperado in Primm. Yeah, it’s currently SBNO, but if a deconstructed Speed gets a mention, so should that.