The Vegas Experiment That Failed

I visit Las Vegas once a year and each time I return, I'm always amazed by what has changed.

Landmarks that I'm used to seeing have been blown up and demolished to make way for new hotels and entertainment experiences.

Back in the 90's, Vegas tried an experiment where they wanted to lure families to "Sin City."

They wanted to make Las Vegas into the Orlando of the west.  They wanted to turn the gambling mecca into a family-friendly destination where children and their parents could have fun together.

Sound familiar?

Despite having the MGM Grand Adventures Theme Park, Wet and Wild, Pirate Stunt Shows, roller coasters, simulators and a bunch of other family friendly attractions... the idea failed miserably.

Today, Las Vegas is well on its way to becoming solely an "Adult Disneyland" once again.

There is a great article in Vegas Inc. about how GameWorks, the Strip's giant arcade, is shutting down.  It's joins the MGM Grand's Lion Habitat which also closed down last month.

The article talks about how 38 million of Las Vegas' annual visitors come from California, where they have easy access to Disneyland and Universal Studios.

Why would these visitors want to leave home for a family friendly experience when they have the best ones in the world in their own backyard?

Heck, I'm a giant theme park fan and I haven't ridden any of the rides in Las Vegas since my first trip back in 2004!

I go to Las Vegas for blackjack, interesting meals and people watching... I don't necessarily need to pay $14 for a mediocre, head-banging roller coaster.  (Sorry, New York, New York).

After saying all of that, there still are some new park-like attractions opening out there.

Circus Circus is still alive and well and recently opened the "Chuck Jones Experience," celebrating the creator of Looney Tunes.



And... in 2013, we'll see a 500-foot observation wheel across from Mandalay Bay! The ride will have 32 24-seat gondolas and offer unbelievable views of the world famous Las Vegas Strip.

So, maybe that "family friendly" dream isn't totally dead after all.

Weekend Theater - An Oldie But a Goodie!

I was looking for a fun video for "Weekend Theater" and remembered something that I posed back in 2008!

I have no idea if this is for real, but it is funny. Viewer discretion is advised!

With friends like these, who needs enemies!

CoasterRadio.com #433 - The Las Vegas Show!

The Original Theme Park Podcast is back....

And we're spitting Aces and Eights!

This week, EB and Mike take you to the Las Vegas Strip and tell you everything you need to know (from a theme park perspective) about Sin City.

We'll tell you some stories about our trips to Las Vegas and rate the rides and attractions that you can find there.

We'll also give you some tips and tricks to maximize your time and money.

Direct Podcast Link
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Or you can listen online by using the podcast player on the right hand side of this page.

Talk about this episode in the CoasterRadio.com Forums.

War On The Floor!

I'm back from Las Vegas and had a GREAT time shooting the online reality series "War On The Floor!"

We shot over a period of four days at the NAB Show, which is the World's Largest Entertainment Media and Technology Conference.

There were two teams of college students and they took part in a massive scavenger hunt across 800-thousand square feet of exhibit space.

My job was to be the "Ryan Seacrest" of the show, essentially narrating and explaining the rules of the scavenger hunt on-camera.

It was fun! The producers were great, the crew was top-notch and the two teams were really good.

I've embedded all of the "episodes" that the NAB put online below. I'll add the others once they are posted.

Now, back to concentrating on CoasterRadio.com!

Weekend Theater - Mike Collins is a "Broader-Caster"

To help get people interested in their new User Generated Content competition, the people who run the NAB Show called upon CoasterRadio.com to show people how it's done!

You can enter the contest yourself by heading to nabshowcontest.com!

I think the winner gets a free trip to Las Vegas for the NAB Convention.

An idea for Las Vegas

You might have noticed that there haven't been many updates to the CR Blog lately.

It's because I've spent the last few weeks walking through airports and living out of a suitcase for my "real-life" job.

I did get to spend a week in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada and had a blast. It might surprise you to learn that I didn't ride one roller coaster or thrill ride while I was out there.

I've ridden them all before and frankly, none of the rides out there (with the exception of X-Scream at the Stratosphere) are really that memorable.

I had better roller coaster rides hitting the blackjack tables at the Mirage and Treasure Island. (I left Vegas up $275 by the way.)

But while I was out there, I had a chance to really observe the city and the people who visit it. I came to one very distinct conclusion....

There are a lot of CRAZY people out there.

Everywhere I looked, I saw people ready to take a chance on something. People were dropping their inhibitions left and right. It seemed like you could convince anybody to do anything, only because they were in Vegas.

This makes me think that the city of Las Vegas is ready for the next totally insane thrill ride.

I'm talking about a ride that blows away all concepts of reality and traditional safety devices. I'm talking about the type of ride that would truly challenge a person. I'm talking about a ride that would be a worldwide spectacle.

Now I don't know exactly what this ride would look like. In the past, we've heard about crazy ideas coming out of the Stratosphere such as a fish-hook coaster or a ride which would let you literally freefall from the top of the tower.

But I wonder if there are plans sitting in some Las Vegas boardroom for an absolutely insane thrill ride that will give the craps and roulette tables a run for their money.

I bet you guys have some ideas of what might work.

Let's talk about it in the CoasterRadio.com Forums.

Save the Environment... Ride in the Dark!

Tonight at 8:30 pm local time, World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour.

They're calling it Earth Hour, and the goal is to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions.

Here's a great article on it.

I'm going to be shutting my lights off for an hour here in Washington, DC. I might even take my wife out for a dinner by candlelight at one of the Earth Hour participating restaurants in the area.

But if I were in Las Vegas, I would take advantage of New York-New York Hotel & Casino’s offer to ride "The Roller Coaster" (the former Manhattan Express).

I'll never understand why they changed the name... it's not like morons on the Strip wouldn't know Manhattan Express was a roller coaster.

Anyway, the hotel will be running “Dark Coaster” rides with all riders receiving a neon necklace between 8:30 – 9:30 p.m. It's a great way to show your support for the environment and get in a few bumpy coaster rides at the same time.

But if you can't make it to Las Vegas, I hope you'll join your buddy Mike Collins by sitting in the dark.

Talk about this in the CoasterRadio.com Forums

Weekend Theater - This guy isn't much of a "Big Shot"

I have no idea if this is for real, but it is funny. Viewer discretion is

advised!