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| Hello again 😎 Feels great to be back in the U.S.A.! |
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| From the seemingly endless expanse of rural China we hop to another seemingly endless expanse. |
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| Alas! There is an oasis in the distance! |
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| No, not the tacky outlet shopping. |
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| We've returned to Buffalo Bill's Casino in Primm, NV for some more rides on their amazing Desperado!🎢🎢🎢 |
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| 🎢 The roller coaster Emoji kinda resembles Desperado, don't you think? 🎢 |
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| Sean (CCK) and I visited Desperado last year well after sundown and got some amazing night rides! |
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| Today we're here for an afternoon of beautiful daytime rides! 🌞😎 |
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| Desperado is aggressive and somewhat painful after several rides. It's also oh-so-wonderful! |
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| Great airtime, great speed, great pacing, great height, and some hilariously bad signature Arrow Dynamics transitions! |
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| In a shocking twist of events, the monorail between Buffalo Bill's and Primm Valley Resort & Casino (not to be confused with the name of the whole 3-hotel complex, which is called "Primm Valley Casino Resorts" 😒) is still in operation. |
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| 😍 |
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| Visiting other locations within the Primm Valley Resorts gave some nice new views of Desperado. |
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| At one point the monorail connected all three hotels; now Whiskey Pete's is isolated and the monorail just shuttles between Primm Valley and Buffalo Bill's. |
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| If I had to choose between this, Magnum, and Pepsi Max Big One, I think I would have to call this one my favorite. |
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| Sadly, the 4th Arrow hyper (Titan MAX at Space World in Japan) has a grim future; Space World closes for good at the end of this year and Titan probably does not have a high likelihood of relocation. Its Arrow trains (identical to Magnum's) were retired in 2015 for new trains built by Sansei; a notable investment that made the park's closure announcement quite a shock. |
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| We rode Desperado well into the evening (plus a few rides on their great Arrow log flume). |
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| Goodnight Desperado 🌛 |
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| Goodnight Buffalo Bill's! 🌃 |
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| ...and goooood morning Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix! |
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| Sean and I are here to do some credit whoring. |
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| LOOK AT THIS TINY TEACUP RIDE 🍵 |
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| As you might've guessed, Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix is notable for its go-karting. 🚙 |
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| They're also gaining a reputation for their stunning holiday decor. |
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| Here's what we came for! A garden variety Wisdom Rides Dragon Wagon. :} |
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| Here we are in the front seat together. |
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| Great POV. |
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| Here we are again after the ride op told us to get in separate cars because the train was too front-heavy. 😂 |
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| WOOO CREDIT WHORING! |
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| Next up is everyone's favorite neon pink theme park, The Adventuredome! |
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| Circus Circus and the Primm Valley Resorts haven't changed much since the 90s. We're perfectly fine with this. :} |
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| Trying to give Mini Gran Prix a run for their money, I see! |
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| Hooray! Time for more Arrow fun! |
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| Today was Sean's first (and probably last) Chance Inverter experience. |
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| Who's that hiding in the shadows?? |
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| It's El Loco! |
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| El Loco was the first new coaster for the park since its debut in 1993. |
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| So imagine our surprise when Adventuredome announced the addition of another new coaster for 2017! 🎉🎊 |
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| The custom Chance family coaster will be a welcome bridge between the park's two thrill coasters and their extremely small kiddie coaster. |
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| This was also Sean's first Chance Chaos experience. He's definitely more of a Chaos fan than an Inverter fan. |
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| The park's Chaos and Inverter are two of the last of their kind. The new coaster is evidence that Adventuredome's relationship with Chance rides is still going strong. |
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| And, who doesn't love a park that features major rides from three different American designers?? |
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| El Loco is an excellent ride, but being the Arrow diehards we are, I think Canyon Blaster is still the favorite. |
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| Night-y night Circus Circus! Stay classy! |
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| We completed the Las Vegas major coaster trifecta with a ride on the N.Y.N.Y. Coaster. |
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| Although this is the only picture of it I took this time. :} |
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| New park time! (New for CCK and Thrillography, anyway) It's Phoenix, AZ's little regional park, Castles~n~Coasters! |
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| From 1994-97 my family lived in Phoenix. This charming family-entertainment-center-turned-amusement-park was one of my very first roller coaster experiences! And much to my delight, it really hasn't changed much since my childhood. |
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| A couple of O.D. Hopkins steel coasters, a log flume, and an array of basic flat rides inhabit what was once home only to go-karts and mini golf. |
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| The coasters, Patriot and Desert Storm, opened along with the rest of the rides in 1992. |
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| Despite being a Vekoma Rollerskater-sized coaster, Patriot has the same track gauge as its larger Hopkins coaster counterparts, making it easily the most over-engineered kiddie coaster ever built. |
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| I didn't think much of it in my youth, but Castles~n~Coaster's Arabian Knights-themed Musik Express is pretty unique! "Magic Carpet" no doubt received its theme due to the popularity of Disney's latest animated blockbuster, Aladdin. |
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| The golf courses are beautifully maintained. I remember when these palm trees were so short! 🌴 |
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| He look! Another credit. |
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| We are too large to ride. 😞 |
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| While Castles has updated their large arcade with lots of modern diversions, they've still maintained an excellent collection of older arcade cabinets and pinball tables. |
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| Now that the overcast skies have cleared we can truly appreciate Desert Storm! |
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| The surprisingly forceful lapbar-only double looper is in great shape! |
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| I have a lot of appreciation for the different ride experiences along this enormous 7-car train. Nice forces in the front; great tail-whipping action in the back! |
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| On a scale of 1 to The Most 90's Thing Ever, a graffiti art marquee for Desert Storm is pretty up there. |
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| As you can see, Desert Storm is sporting a very handsome coat of fresh paint. |
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| The park's log flume is also on a fresh paint kick! Always happy to see little parks reinvesting in their rides. |
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| A handful of additions have been made to the park in the last 25 years. There's a ropes course and a double zipline out front now, and there's a drop tower located where there had been a few picnic tables! |
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| Let's appreciate Storm's curves for a sec. |
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| The train exits this loop into a particularly-sharp left upwards helix. It's definitely the ride's signature move, and a classic "wtf" moment indicative O.D. Hopkins' unique style. |
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| This park map hasn't seen a lot of changes, but it's sure seen a lot of sun! |
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| What a wonderful day! It feels so good to get back in touch with my childhood! |
The first California Coaster Kings / Thrillography theme park road trip of 2017 is a success! But we're just getting started!
#sohype
:}
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