BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001
Rank: Site Moderator
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 8/23/2006 10:13:17 PM
OK I am going to post what I have right now but I cannot say when I will actually finish since I will be out of town a few days.
To celebrate the end of my evil work term, I decided to jet to SoCal for a week of fun. My awesome hosts suggested that we take a sidetrip to Las Vegas first, so on Saturday the 12th, we departed LAX, and instead of heading to Santa Clarita, we began to make our way to Nevada, a new "state credit" for me 
On the way out, we stopped at our first park, Scandia!!
Scandia Amusement Park
We were in and out of the sizable FEC in no more than an hour. Robb and I took rides on the Screamer, which was ok but not good or anything, and then the Little Dipper, a kiddie coaster with a theme that reminded me of Cedar Fair landscape enhancements (meaning very generic). The park had some flats that we could have ridden, but we passed for the most part, except for the Tilt. We only rode because of the combination of extra tickets and Elissa's need for a bathroom stop, and it actually ran a pretty lame cycle. Overall, the park was weak, but about what I expected. Still, two credits for less than $10 is ok by me.
From there, we trekked on to a stop in Victorville for a Target run (since I couldn't bring shampoo or toothpaste etc on the plane) and a stop at Taco Bell where we ran into some high-quality service. We pushed on until we arrived at the state line, which was where we would spend the night.
Buffalo Bill's
Buffalo Bill's was home to Desperado, one of the few Arrow hypercoasters out there, and for this evening, it would be our home. The place was pretty mediocre, but the ride was pretty good. It had that violtent kick to the airtime, and there was a good dose of G's in some parts of the ride. Having heard it wasn't much to be excited for, I was suprised by it a lot, and would probably rank it over the likes of Magnum and Steel Force. We took four rides, which was enough since there was a 3 to 4 train wait after we ate dinner. Also, Robb and I took a ride on their S&S tower ride, the first in the world, which was beyond lame. It was pretty much the weakest tower I have ever ridden, only the death machine at MFI was worse.
On Sunday morning, we woke up and finished the drive to Vegas, checking into our room at the Monte Carlo in the morning. After a quick stop to dump bags in the room, we began to explore the south end of the strip. We did a lap around the area, from MGM (ok place) to Hooters (how can I argue against Hooters girls dealing poker?) and then over to the Mandalay Bay (really nice) -> Luxor (cool building) -> Excalibur (meh, ok I guess) strip of buildings. All of these places were pretty similar in terms of the gaming area, but the Luxor may have been the coolest building and Mandalay may have been my favortie of the cluster (apart from Monte Carlo, which I thought was the best on the south end of the Strip). I wouldn't mind staying in Mandalay Bay next time for proper judgement basis. Eventually, we made our way up to the Stratosphere to meet up with a local for a mini-tour.
Stratosphere Tower
Going with the local ended up being great since we didn't have to wait in line for the elevator, nor did we have to pay the hefty ride fees. After taking a quick tour of the High Roller deconstruction area, we went to the top and rode the Big Shot, a standard space shot with a not-so standard location. The ride was ok but the views are incomprable. I knew I would be ok with that, but I still had two rides to do that, quite frankly, I was deathly afraid of. We boarded X-Scream first, and we were given the "great" fortune of a front-seat ride. OMG, the first run off the side of the tower may have helped me lost 5 pounds in swea alone. It was truly that scary, and my review details a little more of my experience. After getting the scare of a lifetime over there, we headed over and hopped up on Insanity next. The name is befitting as the ride was insane. Stupid, r
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Scott
Posts: 2766
Registered: 11/7/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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 8/24/2006 11:29:56 PM
Joe, Mandalay Bay is fantastic. Definitely up there with bellagio, and monte carlo.
Great TR. Glad you had fun.
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yfz450
Posts: 1743
Registered: 3/13/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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8/28/2006 5:51:11 PM
Cant wait to read the rest. Wish I could have been out in Vegas when them two rides were installed on the top of the tower, they sound great!
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BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001
Rank: Site Moderator
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8/31/2006 5:21:36 PM
Adventuredome aka Grand Slam Canyon
After taking the bus up the Strip and exploring the north side, we went back to the hotel and rested up a bit. While Elissa slept, Robb and I headed down to Adventuredome to get another credit. The Canyon Blaster was a decent ride, it really took the corkscrews fast, and overall it reminded me of Carolina Cyclone - only better. The park itself was pretty busy and actually not too bad - the giant mountain thing was cool and the splash boat looked very good. I skipped the kiddie credit due to the line and possibility of not getting on, and we left the actual park to go walk around the casino a bit. Man that place was a mad house, very random in order - I guess its "family friendly".
Anyways after not too long, we were back in the car and we then drove back to Monte Carlo where Robb and I did the classic Vegas meal - the dinner buffet. Honestly I was a bit disappointed but it was still a very good meal - we ate until we were about to explode. Later in the evening, we got Elissa out of bed and had some fun with the games at Excalibur and that was about all for the day.
Sahara
Earyl Tuesday morning, we went up to the Sahara for a filming on Speed the Ride. We were able to get in three rides before the ride opened and perhaps mroe importantly (to Robb that is), we got some nice footage out of the deal. Major thanks to the folks at the Sahara and NASCAR Cafe. Speed was a prety sweet ride, I loved the spike and the mid-course acceleration and of course the backwards loop, but I'd still prefer a flywheel. The restraints definatley sucked, and I am glad I never had to ride a Fight of Fear or one of its cousins, but fortunatley the only part of the ride where you came in contact with them was the banked curve, and it wasn't that bad.
After our rides, we were on the road headed back to LA. Vegas was a truely sweet city that will onyl get better upon my 21st birthday next June 16
Six Flags Magic Mountain - Part I
On Thursday, we headed off to SFMM before opening to ensure that we could get at least one ride on Tatsu this week. As soon as the gates opened, we rushed to Tatsu and got on the first train. The ride is very good, partially better than expected, but partially disappointing. We ended up riding a second time on the way out, in the back that time, and while the ride was better than up front, it kicked my ass with the head rattling going on, and pretty much made the next 24 hours or so miserable for me.
After our first Tatsu ride, we went back and I finally got me Deja Vu credit, after 5 or 6 days in the park. It rode a little better than my local Vu, so it was a solid ride as expected. Its a shame more of these haven't been built, then again, that saves the mental stress I guess Continuing around the back of the park, we walked on to Riddler's Revenge, Batman the Ride, Goliath and then, in order for Rich to get his credit, we had to wait in a 15 minute line for Canyon Blaster. The Miler kiddie was very typical, and its actually the third time this year I have ridden 
With X down and Ninja on one train, there really wasn't much left to do, so we took our second Tatsu ride at that time and exited the park. Massive headache aside, it was yet another pleasant day at Six Flags Magic Mountain for me, I have never experienced the "true" SFMM, at least as far as the stereotype goes. (I'm not complaining!) Well, a Saturday-in-summer visit (which awaited me this same week) may change that.
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larrygator
Posts: 4654
Registered: 11/7/2002
Rank: Platinum Critic
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8/31/2006 9:15:38 PM
BFL - can you give detailed directions on the "shortcut" to Tatsu. I've only been to SFMM once and in 4 weeks I want to try to get 2 quick rides in as soon as the gates open.
for the record I liked Speed: The Ride even though it is a simple ride
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BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001
Rank: Site Moderator
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9/1/2006 12:03:25 AM
I assume you know vaguely how to head towards Revolution/X/Viper... you go in and go past the carousel to the right. You will be heading towards Revolution, careful because a lot of people split off to the left at that point. You keep heading towards Revolution, sticking to the right, and you will go into its exit, again, the right part of the split in the path. You follow it to the steps and go up... turning right at the top and following the path until you get to an area of picnic benches, which you can cut through and by then you'll see Tatsu's line. It probably only cuts off a minute, but with 3000 people there at opening that could be a big difference.
Try to bother Elissa into coming to the park so you can use her express passes...
Message updated 9/1/2006 12:04:27 AM by BobFunland
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