Trip highlights, 3/22-3/27

Got back yesterday from our March 22-28 trip and we had a blast, as usual!!! This was our longest trip so far, and found that we finally had time to do most of what we wanted.

Alas, I'm not up for generating a truly comprehensive trip report, but here are some highlights:

* Jim from Presidential Limo was FANTASTIC, and we discovered that he and 3cats are from our home state! It was great to get a Midwesterner's perspective on Moving to Vegas. He was so friendly and professional, and we loved the ride in the limo! We had a good laugh about how many "internet strangers" have been calling and asking for him lately.

* The Bellagio buffet is indeed all it's cracked up to be. I wish I had a couple of extra stomachs so I could have eaten more desserts.

* "O" is totally worth the money and my husband got pulled up on stage to dance with a clown! We also got absolutely drenched in the front row.

* Penny slots saved me from losing my shirt. : haha :

* If we ever get a Krispy Kreme here, I will have to buy a new wardrobe.

* We had two fabulous dinners: Delmonico and Top of the World. I expected great things from Delmonico, but was pleasantly astonished at the delicious meal we enjoyed at The STRAT .

* The buffets at Luxor and Excalibur, while worth ten bucks, are nothing to write home about. The Pyramid Cafe had great food.

* We loved our room at the Luxor. It wasn't too small, great shower, comfy bed, great view of the mountains and off-Strip casinos, and it was positively silent up there until Friday night.

* King Tut's museum was really cool and we were glad to get free passes to it.

* Margaritaville makes amazing drinks, which I briefly stepped off the wagon to enjoy. I got my ass chewed out at my AA meeting last night, but dangit, it was worth it. : haha :

* Bought the all-day pass for Speed: The Ride with a discount coupon, and it was fantastic. I could only manage 2 rides on it, and I'm a roller coaster freak. A little too hard on the stomach!

* Capriotti's was worth the walk off the Strip. The Bobbie sub was to die for!

We're already planning our next trip!

 

Glad you had a great time. The Luxor is one of my favorite places to stay when I'm in Vegas.

I'm also glad that you had a great meal at Delmonicos. It gets built up so much (for good reason), you would hate to have somebody have a bad experience there.

 

Thanks for writing up a nice report! As a fellow roller coaster freak (in five days my season begins, finally!) I was wondering why Speed was rough on the tummy. Was the ride itself rough? Premier rides aren't the smoothest out there, but they aren't Vekomas either (at least two other people on the board know what I'm talking about). I was always under the impression that it's about the best ride in Vegas. Just too much on the launch? Curious to hear.

Kitty

 

I think it's mostly the very quick bank and left turn right out of the launch. Vertical Velocity/Wicked Twister style rides launch you even more rapidly, but you get a moment to adjust to the speed before the towers. On Speed, you whip out of that station and right into a turn, dip and inversion. I don't care much for rides with inversions anyway--give me a nice, smooth, high-speed B&M like Raging Bull any day!

Have a GREAT time opening your coaster season! I really hope we can get to Cedar Point this year; I won't be satisfied until I ride TTD and Millennium Force! My husband and I were going to fly into LA and hit Magic Mountain before Vegas, but with only 5 days of vacation, it just wasn't enough time.

 

I should add that it's not too rough, although again, not as smooth as it could be. Definitely not as harsh as Manhattan Express! OUCH!

 

I agree with Lady Brett. Speed is, in my opinion, the best coaster in Vegas. The launch is amazing. It could be smoother, but certainly not as rough as Manhatten Express. When I was there 2 years ago, I rode Speed, Manhatten Express, the Circus, Circus one and the one on top of the Strat. The Circus, Circus one was pretty okay. Big Shot was the best ride. The Strat coaster was lame, but it was cool to be up that high. Big Shot was awesome.

 

Another roller coaster thread hijacking in progress

I love the nice smooth B&M's too (Bollinger & Mabillard for you non coaster buffs, we aren't talking potty talk!). Kraken, Nitro and Montu are high on my love-list. If you get a chance to ride any of the Superman: Ride of Steels from Intamin (at SFNE which is the primo ride) or SFDL or SFA I think you'd be impressed by them as well. If you can only do one, get your butt up to New England and get ready for some serious airtime!

We got to Cedar Point last year, not sure if we will this year or not. Millie was *awesome*! Didn't get to ride TTD though as it was down much of the time we were there, and I didn't want to spend 8 hours or more in line only to a). have it break down again or b). not fit in the seat since I barely squeezed onto Millie and they said the seats on TTD are smaller. Hopefully the new Storm Runner at Hershey this year will have reasonably sized seats, since we have season passes!!

Kitty
(almost time to shut up and Phly!)

[ March 29, 2004, 05:27 PM: Message edited by: Coaster Kikky ]

 

That's what they say about all TOGO coasters... Try Once, Get Off!

Kitty