Manhattan Express (Now The Roller Coaster At NYNY)

[knottslover77]

^LOL, come ride the roller coaster. That is the stupidest thing i've ever heard.

 

--Jay

[Bucket]

^^From the looks of the commercial, it doesn't appear to be that rough! Actually, quite smooth! I guess looks can be deceiving?

[Sunfire]

Yeah, I think without the OTSR's, the ride would be a lot more pleasant.

 

IMO, the commercial REALLY glamourizes the ride.

[RIP Psyclone]

I finally rode it last month, and it was pretty much the ride I had expected. A few bone-rattling hills and drops devoid of airtime. A couple of rough inversions. However, I was a little surprised by how pointless, slow and boring it was after the midcourse brake. It did absolutely nothing for the rest of the ride, but still painful--painfully slow. Yet I would ride it again if I didn't have to pay the $14.

[Mr Stratosphere]

I wish the OTSRs would be taken out. I think the ride would be a lot better. But I think we will never see that!

 

John

[pagemaster_b]

Should be more like "If you're a glutton for pain--come ride the coaster at New York New York Casino."

[DBru]

A friend of mine just got back from Vegas, and he rambled on and on to me about how The Rollercoaster was the best coaster on earth. Do the GP not feel pain as we do?

[KBrylczyk]

I doubt anyone will believe me. First off, please watch the following:

 

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

 

Everyone got that? Alright, I'm not sure when exactly Robb filmed that, but I wholeheartedly agree with it. Manhattan Express was a horrible torture device brought upon this earth by Satan himself to punish those who came to Las Vegas. I rode it once when I first visited 9 years ago, then one more 7 years ago when I visited again. I got a bloody lip the second time. The first time I wasn't bleeding but I had a serious headache. It was so bad I told myself I would never ride it again.

 

Then I moved out here. This past February, to be precise. I actually worked at New York New York for a month and a half in their (now defunct) Broadway Theatre as an emergency fill-in backstage manager. That whole time I walked by it, feeling sorry for the people spending $14 a pop to get their skulls beaten to a pulp by the Mike Tyson of rollercoasters. I even had unlimited free rides since I worked there and passed it up.

 

Fast forward 9 months. It's November 26th, I'm bored, and my roommate has never ridden Manhattan Express. This simply can not continue. If I had to get the baptism of fire, so should she. I believe in women's equality, dammit!

 

I had found out not too long ago that locals get 2-for-1 admission, so suddenly the $14 price tag didn't seem nearly as painful. Once the sun went down, we headed on over to the strip for some coaster riding! I sure wasn't looking forward to it, but I knew that the only way to get her on was to go with her.

 

As we paid for tickets and walked to the loading area a part of my soul died. I saw the wretched TOGO track. I heard the yells of what I could only assume was eternal sorrow. I also felt the low-50 degree chill in the air. Surely I was damned. This would be my last night upon this Earth. Quoth the Raven, "TOGOnomore!" I feel it was a final warning...

 

We loaded the train in the front row, for if I were to cease to be, I wanted to see it coming head on. For as I ride on the steel in the shadow of Death, I shall fear no Japanese.

 

The brakes release and we depart while hearing a maniacal, "Enjoy your ride!" I observe my surroundings and notice that the train is different than I remember. Yes, this was no longer a TOGO contraption. This was a Premier train. The same people who fixed rough rides by installing lap bars have...still kept the shoulder harnesses. Crap.

 

Upon embarking the lift hill, I manage a smile. I point out the fake NY skyline and how beautiful it is. I see the brilliant Luxor light reaching miles into the sky. I shed a single tear, for I am all too aware that I am short for this incredible world. It has been a good run, but this is where it ends. Farewell, my friends. I go on to a better place!

 

As we crest the first drop I have a moment of clarity. All of the hate, all of the wars, all of the petty crap we all deal with on a daily basis...it's all for naught. I lived my life as best as I knew how; smiling often, making people laugh, enjoying every last bit no matter how grand or how low it was! Come and get me, Reaper! You will get no remorse from this one! WAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

 

We level out and quickly rise into the second hill. Up and curving left, we drop again! No sign of pain so far, perhaps I was able to stave off The Dark One with my come and get me spirit! As we rise into the next hill and bank sharply left, I realize my mistake. I taunted Him, and my jaw has taken a glancing blow!

 

We dive down and rise again into a vertical loop! There is not a hint of shakiness or pain as we continue through and enter the famed Twist And Dive. We flip over, hang, the drop again into the abyss! I see His soulless white eyes blink at me as we pass by, rising into the mid course brake run! So far I have eluded the traps set by Him! I am nearly there!

 

We bank slowly to the left and round a curve only to drop down into a bunny hop. We crest the hill slowly without incident then quickly rise again and bank sharply to the right! Still no sign of danger! I laugh as I realize I may make it through this unscathed! He has heard my fit of joy, though, as I see His pure white eyes flash at me again with fury! He tries to eject me from the train as we pass over another hill! The airtime makes me laugh even harder!

 

He hears my continued defiance and lashes out! As we bank to the right to enter a helix, another glancing blow to my jaw lands and forfeits my laughter, but only for a moment! Coming out of the helix The Desolate One attempts one last, desperate blow! He misses and sends me into another jolt of airtime! We rise again and hit the final brakes! It was over! I had survived!

 

As we descended into the depths of the building, I could hear the cries of The Beast fade behind me, doubtless distraught with letting me escape. Not today, Beelzebub! Not today!

 

 

 

Alright, in all seriousness, it surprised the hell out of me. Believe it or not, Manhattan Express, thanks to the Premier trains and wheel assemblies, has become a legitimately fun ride. Sure, it is still expensive, but it no longer leaves you lying half dead in a gutter. I consider that a win!

 

Also, thanks for reading! I sometimes get creative writing fits and this was one of them. I hope you enjoyed it!

[robbalvey]

Weird. I rode those Premier trains a couple of years ago and they actually beat the hell out of me WORSE than the Togo trains!!!

[coasterbill]

I absolutely loved reading that.

 

I have to admit that when we went to Vegas about 10 years ago I passed up a ride on this (which I never do) because of the horror stories I've heard about it. Maybe if I ever go back I'll give it a try.

[DJeXeL]

I'm a Premier Fanboy but those trains they built for Manhattan Express are in fact far worse than the TOGO trains as Robb said. In Premier's defense, you have to keep in mind they weren't working with much to begin with. Like putting lipstick on a pig.

[dropzonefan]

I'm curious to know how smooth Premier's newer coasters are... Hearing horror stories about their older projects.

[DJeXeL]

Their OTSR restraints were the issue. Lapbars were a huge improvement.

 

Bad

 

 

Good

[Ape]

My head started to hurt as soon as I saw those OTSR on outter limits. Thank goodness for lapbars.

[dropzonefan]

^I totally understand how lapbars can greatly improve a rough ride, but in some cases, it can be just as painful due to your head bouncing around the headrest... Personally, if a ride'a rough, it's rough, lapbars or OTSRs.

 

As to my previous post, I was wondering how smooth their new suff like YOLOCoaster and Superman SFDK are.

[KBrylczyk]

^ Both of those rides are lap bar only. That's the only way to truly eliminate headbanging. That is, unless it's Thunderhawk at Dorney, where you'll just end up ramming your head into the person next to you. Still love that ride, though!

 

Like I mentioned, I had two good jolts throughout the entire ride, which was MUCH better than the pummeling I received years ago. They didn't have the Premier OTSRs that are pictured above. They were the same TOGO design (like fangs) but much smaller and less restrictive. That's probably what saved me the most. Since the OTSRs were a lower profile they ended up being in line with my neck instead of almost entirely by my jaw and ears. Even then, though, my neck was fine at the end of the ride!

[Mr Stratosphere]

I honestly think you got lucky, I just rode the ride last week and it was downright brutal. You must have gotten on a train that just got out of rehab, because they will run "nicely" for about a week then as Robb would put it they "sound like trashcans rolling down a hill."

 

Glad you got a decent ride on it, but ride again in a week and let me know what you think lol!

[Aceattack52]

To add insult to injury, the ride does need paint as well.

[downunder]

This coaster is very energy efficient because the mad (or just plain bad) scientists at Togo worked out how to convert human pain into energy to power the coaster. There's also a program to give the occasional good ride to lull haters into a false sense of security, next time you ride Kyle, Manny's going to snap your spine in 20 places.

 

I hear this ride makes good money for MGM (and local doctors and chiropractors) and when you do the math, say hypothetically they average 1000 riders a day at $15 a pop, that would be over $5 million a year gross revenue.

 

The Manhattan Express pov is my fave TPR video of all time, when I met Gregg a couple of years ago I thanked him for suffering for the sake of comedy gold and demanded a sequel.

[Philrad71]

Loved the report, but have to ask...how much had you had to drink before you two rode it?

[Double0Kevin]

I have never had a good ride on that thing. I've gotten free passes a few times and every time I use them I regret it because I just get my ass kicked. There is nothing good about that ride.

[KBrylczyk]

Loved the report, but have to ask...how much had you had to drink before you two rode it?

 

None! I'm sober unless I'm on a TPR trip, haha.