Adventure Dome and El Loco Construction

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Hello nerds,

Today I took a little trip to the other side of town to check out the Circus, Circus Adventure Dome, and indoor amusement park on The Strip.  They are currently in the process of adding a new coaster, called "El Loco" in the former lagoon of their old tidal wave boat ride.  Let's take a look, shall we?

If you have never been to the Adventure Dome, the ceiling is made up of pink glass, so everything in the park has a bit of a pink tint to it.

You gotta love a construction sign! 

 This fence is outside the edge of the old lagoon for the old tidal wave ride.  It looks like this will eventually be the entrance for El Loco.

 A view from the bridge over old tidal wave lagoon.  As you can see, this portion of the flume has been removed and the lagoon has been cleared to make way for the coaster.

 There isn't really any signs of construction for the new coaster yet.

 Given how small and packed the dome is, this is actually a fairly large chunk of real estate being devoted to this little coaster.

 Looking up into the top of the canyons, you can see that portions of the boat flume are still present.  This was actually a pretty cool boat ride that took you through a few caves at the top of the dome before the big splash down.

 The removed waterfall from a different angle.

 The cleared site with the splashdown viewing bridge in the background.

 Onto a few shots from the rest of the park.  Here is the Canyon Blaster roller coaster in mid loop.  This is one of the opening day attractions.  A short, but good coaster.

 It travels through the center of the park, with two loops, two corkscrews, and a double helix before reentering the station.

The helix goes in and out of the caves above the laser tag arena and near the 3D theaters.

 Not sure how long this has been there, but they turned a few pathways in the park into a mini-golf course.  

 It was a very creative way to cram another attraction into a very small area.

 Here's their Inverter, a standard ride that is at many carnivals.

 Their Farris Wheel, with gondolas shaped like hot air balloons.

I actually liked Sponge Bob 4D more than I thought I would.  A cute show with excellent use of bubbles.

 Wanna see a move?  They gots movies!

Sea World isn't the only ones with a penguin ride!  The Happy Feet simulator is a very...interesting... concept.  I am not sure how someone decided to make a ride film out of CGI penguins, but it is fun.  I also like that this attraction reuses the motion theaters from the old Luxor ride.

 For everyone in Orlando, this is NOT like the Garden Grill in Epcot.  This one does not rotate and is not all you can eat, however, it is not infested with rodents trying to take pictures with your children.

That's it from Las Vegas for today.  As soon as El Loco starts to make some visible construction progress, I'll be sure to let you know.

Until then, Later Nerds!

--Mike

Six Flags Magic Mountain, May 2013

Full Throttle Construction Update

Good morning Nerds,

Last week, I was hanging out in California and decided to hit Magic Mountain to see the progress being made on Full Throttle, and ride some coasters (of course).

It was a nice and sunny May day in Valencia.  I went on a Tuesday, so the parking lot was mostly empty along with the park.

Just after passing through the turnstiles, you are hit with the construction for Full Throttle.  This sign was in front of the entrance fountains.

 It's not a huge detour, but getting to the lower section of the park takes a bit longer than normal.

 The path to High Sierra Territory is blocked off by construction walls.  Don't worry, you can still get your fill of super hero capes if you don't already have one.

 As luck would have it, they had the construction walls open to allow for large trucks to enter the site.  Here is a shot of Full Throttle's loop.  As you can see, there is also track going on top of the loop.

 Construction at one of the nearby buildings.

 Parker joked about this in one of the Theme Park Nerds videos, but here is indeed brakes coming down off the loop. This will be a VERY short ride and the loop is right next to the station.  

Just to give you an impression of how tightly squeezed this ride will be, this is where I believe the station will eventually be built  As you can see, trains will come off the top hat into a break run, make a U turn, then be ready to launch into the loop for the next riders.  I am not entirely sure how they are going to squeeze a station into this area and still have room to get enough speed to clear the 160ft loop, but I'm sure they have it figured out.

One more shot of the loop before heading into construction wall land.

Construction walls around the site advertise the new coaster, and of course urge you to get a season pass.

 Somehow, given the short length of this ride, I don't think we'll see too many times when two  trains are on the loop at once.  If it does happen, though, it will be quite impressive.

Meanwhile, over near Superman, that portion of the track looks pretty much complete.  After launching out of the station, into the loop, the trains will next zoom over the Superman plaza.

A look at the track coming into the Superman Plaza.

 After passing over the plaza, you'll dive under it via this track going into once of the old monorail tunnels.  That's where the second launch is located that will get you up and over the top hat element.

If you would like to see some video of the construction, check out my construction update on the Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel or click the link below.

Full Throttle Construction Update

 Moving on from Full Throttle, here are some shots from around the park.  This is from Goliath's queue.  As you can see, I pretty much had the park to myself for most of the morning.

 Empty seats during a one train operation.  Something you won't see once the summer goes full swing in a few weeks.

 Over in DC Universe, they were preparing for Grad Nights.

 Apparently, graduates HATE flower beds!  Actually, it looked like they were building a temporary stage for the festivities.

 Love this ride, though it's not fun being stuck in the block brakes at the top for extended periods of time.  Just sayin'.

The Batman queue has some of the nicer landscaped areas of the park

 Deja Vu, may you rest in peace.

 Flashback, may you burn for all eternity.  This thing was a torture machine and I'm glad it's dead!

That does it for Magic Mountain.  Be sure to check out videos from the park on the Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel where we also have updates from other parks and news on what's happening in the amusement industry.

Until next time,
Later Nerds!
--Mike

Theme Park Nerds, Episode 4

What's up Nerds,

If you haven't already checked it out, Theme Park Nerds Episode 4 is live and has us rambling about the Las Vegas retail expansions, Universal Studios Hollywood construction, and the new Iron Man exhibit at Innoventions in Disneyland.  Check it out and let us know what you think.

Theme Park Nerds Episode 4

Hope you like it,
--Mike and Parker

Las Vegas Retail Craziness

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Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel

Hello Nerds,

If there is one thing the Las Vegas Strip isn't lacking, aside from casinos, out of place city landmarks, and Cirque du Soleil show, it's opportunities to buy things.  During the construction boom of the 90's and 2000's, it seems every major hotel on the strip added some sort of retail shopping space to capitalize on the stream of visitors traveling to, from, and through the resorts.  While area is pretty well saturated with opportunities to buy whatever your heart desires, Caesar's Entertainment and MGM Resorts is hoping there is still room for more.

Two major retail projects are currently under construction on The Strip.  Over at The Quad (formerly the Imperial Palace) construction is well underway for The Linq, an outdoor mall that will squeeze between that hotel and The Flamingo and stretch back to the new observation wheel being built in the back, the High Roller.  Along with the renovations underway at The Quad, Caesar's is hoping to breath new life into some of the older areas of The Strip.

Here is a shot of the Linq under construction.  The Quad is on the left, the Flamingo is on the Right, and the High Roller is the white A frame in the background.

Meanwhile, across the street and a little south of The Linq project, MGM Resorts is beginning work on their new retail space that will span from New York, New York to City Center, taking up much of the current walkways in front of the resorts.  The facades of NYNY and Monte Carlo will be pushed out to the street allowing for additional retail space to be built on the highly visible and well trafficked Strip.   In addition, the former City Center offices, which sit empty between NYNY and Monte Carlo, will be demolished to make way for a pedestrian pathway connecting the strip to the announced 20,000 seat arena that will rise from the parking lots and corporate offices behind Monte Carlo.

In this shot of Monte Carlo from above, you can see some of the extra space between the street and the current casino entrance that will be enclosed to provide the extra retail space.  The white roofed building above Monte Carlo, just before NYNY, is the old City Center offices that will make way for the pedestrian walkway to the arena.

It's going to be an eventful year for Las Vegas with these new additions.  Be sure to check out more information on these, and other themed projects on the Theme Park Nerds Video Blog!

Theme Park Nerds Episode 4

Happy Shopping Nerds!

Mike

Universal Studios Hollywood Trip Report, May 2013

Hey there nerds,

I finally got out of town long enough to hit a few parks on my days off.  First up is Universal Studios Hollywood, where they are building bathrooms, parks, and homes for minions.

My video update showing off some of the highlights of the day is posted on the Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel.  Check it out!
Universal Video Update

Welcome to a cold and rainy day in Hollywood.  It was pouring most of the morning and continued with light rain throughout the day.  I don't mind getting a little wet, so it made for PERFECT theme park weather.  Everyone except the die hard tourists stayed home.

 Wide open paths free of crowds on the way in.

Down in the lower lot, the lines were non-existant.  It was a 15 minute wait for Transformers until around 2pm, Mummy and Jurassic Park were walk ons.

In a very good move, they relocated the Transformers Meet and Greet location to the left of the attraction entrance and gave it its own queue.  Much better than the old location on the other side of the gift shop. The people who waited to get their picture taken with a giant robot waited longer than the people going on the Transformers ride.   Maybe they were too distracted by Optimus to realized there was a super cool ride behind him?

New in the Universal Experience is the DeLorean from Back to the Future, a movie that in two years will be renamed "Forward to Today"

It's a cool picture car and is displayed very well in the center of the exhibit.  The stop motion sets from ParaNorman around the corner in the same room can't compete with the DeLorean's awesomeness.

Side note, someone puked in the exhibit before I got there.  The entire room smelled like the chemical used to absorb vomit.  Apparently the awesomeness of this car was too much for someone's stomach to handle.  Now that the scene is properly set, admire the hood of the car.

Because of the rain, the Dino Play area near Jurassic Park was closed, making so anyone under 40 inches tall had zero reason to be on the lower lot.

A shot of the wet, closed playground.  It's a very nice, well done play area.

Meanwhile, in the bushes of Jurassic Park, Dora was exploring Isla Nublar looking for Dinosaur embryos to sell on the main land.  She was later eaten by a Velociraptor.

Dino Splash!  They had all the extra water effects turned off on Jurassic Park, since everyone looked like a drowned mammal anyway.  Without the cannons, the splash is much more modest. 

I've never noticed this before, and it's probably been there forever, but this is the gate to the roads behind the Jurassic Park drop building.  I thought it was cool.

Now to the upper lot, where Krustyland was showing a 25 minute wait for The Simpsons Ride.  In actuality, it was about a two show back up.  No real queue outside the grouping area, but they were only running one theater because the park was so slow.

Orlando is getting all of Springfield, Hollywood is getting....a bathroom expansion....maybe. 

Walls were up connecting the Kwik-E-Mart to the current restrooms.  

A shot behind the construction walls from the studio tour bridge.  They have torn out the retaining wall on the hillside and appear to be doing lots of utility work.

Elsewhere on the upper lot, the former site of the Wild West Stunt Show is now a big empty area.  Not having the old, unused theater there really opens up the area.  It doesn't feel as small anymore.  Not sure exactly what is going in there, but many are saying it will be a nice park area, which is fine by me.

Wrapping things up for this update, the Gibson Amphitheater is enjoying it's last days before being magically transformed by a bunch of wizards.  Soon, Waterworld will be on the outskirts of Hogsmead, which is odd.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.  Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for more on Universal and other parks.

Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel

Until next time,

Later Nerds!

City Walk vs. Downtown Disney

On a rainy Southern California Monday, you do not expect a huge turn out at the parks. Only the diehard tourists who have traveled hundreds miles will turn out for a cold, wet day of themeparking. Such was the case today when I went to Universal Studios Hollywood. It rained all morning, which made for, what I consider, the perfect conditions to visit a park. A week day with enough rain to keep the crowds away but not enough to make playing outside completely miserable.

Walking through City Walk to the park entrance, it was apparent the "entertainment capitol of LA" was sparsely attended. Open, uncrowded walkways leading to empty stores. It didn't seem like anything that wasn't to be expected. A weekday with less than desirable wether shouldn't lead to a huge turn out at an outdoor mall. When I left the park and trekked through City Walk again on the way out, little had changed. The weather had improved, but it was still a slow Monday night for the shopping complex.

As luck would have it, my parents were visiting Disneyland on the same day I was at Universal Studios. We made arrangements to meet at Downtown Disney for dinner after they left the park after their own day of themeparking. When I arrived at Downtown Disney, it was apparent there were far more people at Disney's mall than at Universal's. The pathways were busy, restaurants had less empty tables, and she shops had people coming and going. When compared to City Walk, DtD was quite busy, though not nearly as packed as it can be on a busy summer weekend with beautiful weather.

This leads to the big question. On a rainy Monday night in the beginning of May, why is Downtown Disney so much busier than City Walk. Is it a random occurrence, a one off night where the conditions of the day favored Disney, or has Disney taken the reigns as the nighttime shopping and dining destination from Universal?

It has always been my belief that Universal Hollywood's City Walk began the modern era of theme park shopping districts. While I think Disneyland's Downtown Disney is exceptionally well designed and has a great assortment of tenants, City Walk, to me, still had them beat when it came to support from the local community, variety of offerings, and overall impact. Is what City Walk offers not enough anymore? Is Downtown Disney now finally the new hottness?

What do you think?

--Mike

Desperate for Desperado

Hugging the state line between California and Nevada lies Buffalo Bill's Hotel and Casino, part of the Primm Valley resorts. Buffalo Bill's makes a valiant attempt to be a family casino resort, in the great tradition of Excalibur, Luxor, and Circus Circus. It has a relatively well done western theme that ties together the resort's hotel, restaurants, casino, and rides. That's right, there be rides here.

The resort is home to a collection of off the shelf amusement rides, a simulator, a space shot, a kid's bouncer. Attractions that would be at home at any neighborhood amusement center. They also have a very nice, custom log flume ride that starts within the casino, proceeds outside into a man made mountain, loops around some dark caves before sending you down a good sized drop, before finally floating you through portions of the casino and food court. The ride flume is littered with digital targets that are meant to make the ride a shooting game as well. Targets are attached to various animatronic cowboys and animals, though when I rode, they were out of guns, so no shooting for me.

The real reason for my trip to the Primm Valley was Desperado, a 209 foot tall hyper-coaster that rises above and surrounds the hotel. When it opened in 1994, it was tied for the world's tallest drop (around 225 feet) and, with it's nice ride time of over two and a half minutes, it promised to be a ride well worth the trip.

Getting on Desperado has proven to be a challenging task, and has become a personal endeavor that I have yet to complete. Currently, Buffalo Bill's only operates it's rides three days a week for 7 hours and 45 minutes. It's only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays that they power up their attractions for anyone to have a chance to ride. As someone who lives in Las Vegas and works on The Strip, around 30 minutes away from Primm Valley, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are generally the toughest day to get off from work. To add to the fun, everything is scheduled to close at 7:45pm. That means, in order to get on the coaster, I would have to leave work and be on the road no later than 6:30pm so I could get to the hotel and still have enough time to navigate the casino, buy a ticket, and get on the ride. Sounds simple enough.

Today the perfect opportunity presented itself. Work ended at 5:45, and I was on the highway to Primm by 6pm. I made excellent time and arrived at Buffalo Bill's around 6:30pm. As I approached the resort, I could see the towering track for Desperado in the distance, but became very concerned as I did not see any trains cycling through the circuit. Was the ride in fact open today? Had they decided to close early? Was my trip all for nothing? I put my doubts aside, parked my car, and ventured into the casino.

Portions of the coaster track weave in and out of the upper portions of the casino. I could not hear any trains cycling. I trekked onward to the attractions area, fingers crossed that the coaster was open. I arrived at the ticket boot, and low and behold, Desperado was open and operating, but for some reason, in order for them to send a train, it had to have 12 riders on it. Currently there was 1 other person waiting in the station to ride. I became number 2.

It was 7pm and no one else was coming to ride. I decided to kill some time and ride the log flume, which I had no problem riding alone. Empty seats did not seem to affect the ride at all, much like I'm sure would have been the case on Desperado. I can't tell you if that is true or not because I never got to ride Desperado.

Upon exiting the log flume, I went back to waiting for 10 more people to magically appear so they would send the train. It never happened. At 7:30, (15 minutes early, though it wouldn't have mattered) they powered down the coaster and drained the flume due to lack of riders.

My Desperado mission was a failure. I moved on to the casino, where they graciously compensated me with $260 from the slot machines for my troubles. I thought that was very nice of them.

Someday the stars will align and I will cruise the track of Desperado. The next time I am out of work on time on a weekend, here's hoping 11 other people have the same idea that I do, and we all meet at the same time near the roof of the Buffalo Bill's Casino for a ride on one of the tallest coasters in the world.

Until then, I have $200 to spend on things that are open.