Alright kids, it's time to rank the stuff I did on my Vegas trip! A LOT of it was stuff on our GoCity pass that we probably wouldn't have done otherwise. There's a dinosaur exhibit at the Horseshoe for example that was so blatantly made for really little kids that I felt straight up embarrassed going through it and don't feel like I'm qualified to properly give an opinion on it without going there with a child.
Downtown Comedy Lounge/Fremont Street:
Fremont I definitely need to try again when I'm not with my grandma. It's a really frustrating place because I love the history with all the old casinos but I HATE the party atmosphere of the "Experience" part. Way, WAAAY crazier than anything I saw on the actual Strip believe it or not. I definitely want to actually explore some of the old casinos next time but I'll stick to the inside stuff and avoid the insanity happening under the roof/screen thing.
The comedy lounge was a bust though. Probably wouldn't have gone out of our way for it if it weren't on our pass, but I'm glad we didn't pay for it because the lineup was worse than free shows we get here in NorCal at bars and stuff and the vibe of the crowd was just way off. I also REALLY didn't appreciate that all the comedians were super high pressure about buying drinks and basically shaming anyone who wasn't. Like, get that the hell out of here. For all of the infamous Vegas shilling, that was probably THE most off-putting for me. The MC was trying to go for a "tough woman from the Bronx" bit but just came off as genuinely unpleasant/in a bad mood. Next time I'll actually cough up the money to go to Brad Garrett's club or something more classy like that if I'm in the mood for a comedy show.
The AdventureDome
This place honestly has so much potential that is sadly being really wasted. The one thing I really liked about it is the the rock work and the photography opportunities when it came to the coasters. You really get right next to them. Canyon Blaster is iconic, but MAN I was hyped for another really good Arrow looper after absolutely loving Tennessee Tornado at Dollywood but this just ain't it. There's a sharp turn right after the first two loops that straight up murdered my neck.
El Locco is decently fun with a little air time pop after the first drop, but not exactly a great fit for the park when it's so intimidating that the largely child clientele is too intimidated to ride it so the thing just sits there waiting for riders and maybe dispatches once every 15 minutes or so. Really bad mistake to get rid of the log ride for that.
The flat rides are all just puke machines, the Pirates mini golf was literally shuttered and in shambles, but worst of all the PINK in the dome was just genuinely awful. I really thought like I was going crazy. I straight up skipped re-riding the coasters because I absolutely needed to get out of that pink hellhole. As far as "vibes" go I've NEVER experienced a worse park hands down. It's so obviously the "Babysitter" of the Vegas attractions and while I didn't feel shame on the level of the dino attraction being there, I DEFINITELY felt out of place as a grown man without kids.
Bellagio fountains/Mirage volcano
Grouping these together because they're pretty similar iconic free shows on the strip. Bellagio is really awesome to see in person for the first time, but I'm not gonna lie spending a week right across the street from it definitely desensitized me to them a bit. By the time I actually made it across the street from Paris to see the show from the fountain side I was kind of over it and left like two minutes early to avoid the crowd rush. I think this is cooler as an iconic fixture of the strip that you pass by rather than a full scale show that you go out of your way to watch.
The volcano is obviously leaving soon and getting down to the Mirage to see it was the very last thing I did on the trip, and I'm glad I did. Contrary to the fountains, this one really impressed me on a show level. I really like the atmospheric music/sounds they play before and during the erruption, and the fire itself is a lot bigger than I was expecting. You can really feel the heat even across the street. I'm glad I saw it once, and the strip will definitely feel a little less cool in general with it gone. I don't care how tall that damn guitar high rise is going to be.
SpongeBob Dark Ride
Some of these stand alone attractions will be kind of hard to rank, but I'll try my best. The worst part of Spongebob is definitely the gameplay. You know how Midway Mania had a Wii game? Well, the Spongebob ride basically plays like THAT, not the actual Midway Mania ride. Even the "Guns" are totally shaped like Wiimotes (I wouldn't be surprised if they were using the exact technology that Wii used just on a bigger scale). The plus is pretty much everything else. There's not a ton of physical set pieces, but there's definitely more here than Midway, along with a few really solid looking AAs.
There's also one game I dare not spoil but is PERFECTLY in line with classic Spongebob humor and made me actively start cracking up when I saw it. The only downside with this is that you have to go to Circus Circus to do it and unless you're a serious coaster head I really wouldn't recommend going into the AdventureDome. I think Circus Circus would be really smart to just include this with AdventureDome admission. Frankly they're doing a terrible job with even letting people know that the ride actually exists. It's a solid little ride that's definitely worth doing if you're in the area, but I wouldn't say it's worth a trip to that end of the trip specifically for that by itself.
Manhattan Express (Or whatever it's called now haha)
Let me just say the restraints are going a LONG way towards making this ride not just tolerable, but straight up enjoyable. Obviously the visuals are going to be top notch here, and I really need a night ride on it. It's not really worth the money,but I would say if you don't mind shelling out almost 30$ for one coaster ride it's far, FAAAR better than the trash at AdventureDome. I actually really liked the vibes of New York New York as well and would very much consider staying there in the future. (especially with a coaster-view room) Again kind of hard to rank stand-alone attractions, but this is one that exceeded my (very low
) expectations.
The Strat
The area around the Strat is freaking AWFUL. Hands down walking there from the Sahara was the single most sketchy thing I did the whole trip. That being said, the Strat actually really surprised me. Beyond the rides, the big thing I really liked about it was how cozy it was in the observation tower. There's a ton of super comfy coaches overlooking the view. I'm not a big drinker, but I imagine just hanging out on one of those couches and having a couple drinks would be just a complete and total VIBE. The rides weren't slouches either. Insanity was down (for good I'm guessing? Since it wasn't even listed on the website...) but XScream was really fun without being overly sketchy like I thought it would be and Big Shot was a straight up adrenaline rush. I was also lucky enough to get a Strip view when I did that which definitely added to the experience. Honestly Big Shot was a pretty major highlight for me in general just because of me growing up watching all those different specials about it on History/Discovery.
I have no idea what to do about the biggest con of the place being the location besides STRONGLY suggesting you get a ride there and back and don't even attempt to walk to it from the nearest casino like I did. I also found the elevator situation at the top to be really confusing. All in all though, another one that exceeded my low expectations.
The Eiffel Tower
Go up here at night to see the Bellagio fountains from 400 feet in the air. Enough said. As an "attraction" it literally is just the view, but it was the single best view of the strip I experienced during the strip and yea...being right across the street from those fountains makes for a SUPER memorable experience. It felt like I was on top of the Fun Wheel during World of Color or something. There's not a lot to this, but THAT view is enough to put it this high on the list. I'd say it's the first thing on my list that's a straight up "must do".
More to come in part two.