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Las Vegas’ Best Thrills and Big Toys

Jennifer McKee

Las Vegas’ Best Thrills and Big Toys

Las Vegas is the land of entertainment; you’ll definitely find that to be true on a tour of our unique thrills, water parks, high-flying attractions and racing experiences. It’s time to get your thrill on!

The Adventuredome 

This five-acre, indoor amusement park boasts 25 premium rides and attractions. Among them is Chaos—part Scrambler, part Tilt-A-Whirl, you’ll be rockin’ away on this unpredictable ride. And with the high flipping of the Inverter—which at one point holds you upside down high above the pavement—it’ll quickly separate those with weak and iron-willed constitutions.

Chaos at the Adventuredome (©MGM Resorts International)

The newest ride at Adventuredome, El Loco, is both terrifying and amazing at the same time. Because riders fly through the roller coaster in four-person cars, the twists, turns and drops are tighter than ever before—you’ll have the sensation that the car just might fly off the track. There are six El Loco coasters in the world, but Adventuredome’s is the only indoor model; additional elements unique to the Adventuredome coaster is the lateral floater, a 60-degree inline roll-out and the inverted drop to the brakes.

El Loco at the Adventuredome (©MGM Resorts International)

Cowabunga Bay

This brightly colored water park features a brand new aquatic experience never before seen in Nevada, or the world for that matter: The first ride of its kind to launch riders face-first and uphill at 30 feet per second, Turbo Blast proves that what goes up really must come down! This new technology measures your speed and applies water propulsion to propel you up and over the park’s entrance.

Cowabunga Bay (©Las Vegas News Bureau)

Dig This

Get a chance to play around on the real-life version of a Tonka truck—drive bulldozers and excavators and dig giant trenches, teeter over a mega-mound, then make your own mound of dirt, stack and push tires larger than you, even play “bucket basketball.” The options seem endless, and you’ll have so much fun, you won’t want to quit. And since the equipment is air-conditioned, there’s no limit to how long you can spend here (within normal operating hours, of course). It’s one of the most unusual thrills in town, and we daresay, a bucket-list experience.

Play on construction equipment at Dig This (©Dig This)

Exotics Racing

Try your hand at driving a sampling of this race company’s 50 supercars on the track at the SPEEDVegas. Choose from Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, Porsches, Corvettes, Ferraris and more; ride-along packages are also available. Oh, the exhilaration of it all!

(©Exotics Racing)

High Roller

Go up up and away on the world’s tallest observation wheel! It lets you see Las Vegas from a different perspective—from inside the neon. That’s exactly what happens on a nighttime ride; one 30-minute revolution lets you look down at the lights and attractions of the center Strip from of 28 glass-enclosed cabins. There’s no other experience like it.

High Roller at The Linq (©Denise Truscello)

New York-New York Roller Coaster

This ride’s unique feature is a 180-degree heartline twist that just may leave your heart in your throat. The variety of corkscrews and hills keeps you guessing as to what will happen next—at one point, you’ll find yourself hurtling downward at a 50-degree angle. The coaster takes you through the replicated skyline of the Big Apple; you’ll enjoy this architecture, if you can keep your eyes open long enough!

The Roller Coaster at New York-New York (©MGM Resorts International)

Pink Jeep Tours

Access remote areas you never thought possible in a rugged and luxurious Trekker. Among the packages available are the red sandstone playground that is Valley of Fire, Nevada’s oldest and largest state park, a top-to-bottom discovery tour at the Hoover Dam, where you’ll feel as you’ve stepped back in time as you venture across the Colorado River for captivating views of Black Canyon, first seen by explorers, and a West Rim tour of the Grand Canyon. No matter which you choose, you’ll be amazed at the gorgeous scenery that can be found in Southern Nevada.

Pink Jeep’s Desert Trekkers (©Pink Jeep)

Skydive Las Vegas

Head to Boulder City and board a roomy 16-passenger turbine for your final destination: three miles above the Boulder City Airport. As you approach the jumping point, you harness yourself to your instructor, roll out of the plane, and before you know it, you’re hurtling toward earth, the whole Vegas valley on one side, the Lake Mead Recreation Area on the other. During freefall, you can reach speeds of up to 120 MPH—but before you know it, the instructor pulls the shoot and you’re floating peacefully towards the ground, a feeling of serenity taking over your body. Talk about a true range of emotion!

Floating back to earth after a skydive flight (©Skydive Las Vegas)

Slotzilla Zip Line

Feel like a superhero as you take the the skies of downtown Las Vegas for an unforgettable experience that has you flying past the neon of Fremont Street Experience. One the upper “Zoomline,” you fly prone 10 stories above the ground; you’re seated on the lower “Zipline” and travel at speeds of up to 40 MPH on both. The one-of-a-kind experience has you land halfway down the Fremont Street Experience pedestrian promenade, between the Four Queens and Fremont Hotel & Casino.

The Flying Elvii on Slotzilla (©Fremont Street Experience)

The STRAT Hotel, Casino & Skypod

Vegas’ tallest thrill rides take you 100 stories off the ground. The Big Shot, with its 4 Gs of pressure, will catapult your behind off your seat with the same force it does astronauts in space. Feel like going off the edge? Head over to X-Scream, where riders travel 30 feet off over the side of Stratosphere Tower at 30 MPH. Follow it up with Insanity, on which you’ll spin and dangle over the city to your heart’s content. And step off the side of the tower—literally—in SkyJump, a controlled vertical freefall—as if that makes it any less terrifying.

Insanity at Stratosphere (©Las Vegas News Bureau)

Sun Buggy Fun Rentals

Go off-roading in a real dune buggy! Compete against friends or family, or just yourself, as you undertake an excursion through Nevada’s sand dunes in a ride that can be as wild or as mild as you want it to be. Vehicles can accommodate single riders or groups of up to nine people. These rides are a true adrenaline rush! Free shuttle service is provided.

Go off-roading in the sand dunes at Sun Buggy Fun Rentals (©Sun Buggy Fun Rentals)

Vegas Balloon Rides

Set sail high above the Las Vegas landscape and see the city and surrounding terrain as you never have before—from a hot air balloon. It’s the closest you can get to a bird’s-eye view—these are some of the most spectacular views you could only imagine. The excursion ends with a traditional champagne toast and includes hotel pick-up/drop-off.

Take flight with Vegas Balloon Rides (©Vegas Balloon Rides)

Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Afraid to jump out of an airplane? Then why not start from the ground up? Head indoors, where a protected airplane engine is mounted below a grid-like floor: simply lie down and let it blast you into the air! Vertical wind speeds reach up to 120 mph.

Skydive from the ground up at Vegas Indoor Skydiving (©Vegas Indoor Skydiving)
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