Xmeister Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 Two questions, did anybody ride this coaster when it was enclosed and could you describe it? Also does anybody have pics of it when it was enclosed? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azbob19 Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 I did ride it when it was enclosed. It was fun and fast, but that is all I can remember. It is definitly better not enclosed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterviper Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 Super ghetto Space Mountain!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLUSHIE Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 i was to young to really remember, but I think the lift hill had a swirly light thing. I do remember the line having tons of random cardboard cut-out characters from star wars n stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DATman Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 I rode the outside version, and it was a blast! It really is too bad they closed down that park... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J man Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 I rode it when it was an outdoor ride. Lightning Bolt was actually one of my first coasters! I have video of it somewhere. I can upload it here if you want. But yeah, there wasn't really all that much to it when I rode it. They hadn't added the additional track yet so basiclly it was just a lift hill, two helixes, then back into the station. It's a bummer the park isn't around anymore though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 I rode it when it was an outdoor ride. Lightning Bolt was actually one of my first coasters! I have video of it somewhere. I can upload it here if you want. Yes, please upload it! --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmeister Posted November 25, 2006 Author Share Posted November 25, 2006 Well I did some research and the reason they moved it was they reduced the park size by 40%. My only memory of the intact park was when I was four years old. I could only remember the crappy Jungle Cruise type attraction, Anyways, thanks for the info! And yes the video would be much appreciated J man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haiderodes Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 MGM Grand Adventures! I spent one of the best summers of my high school career working there. I think about all the good and bad times that were had as I drive past its remnants everyday. Indoors recap Like everyone else said, when it was indoors it had a cheesy essence-of-space-mountain-but-not-really thing going on. It was located on 'New York Street' near the main park entry. Its entrance was something akin to a theatre entrance with a marquee on the side of the building. Once in the door you went down a plain hallway into a mirrored room with a large neon display on the ceiling (yes it was very half-assed). This room contained switchbacks which i never saw used. Then you went through a doorway into a darkened area and up a short set of stairs. Fake recordings could also be heard similar to those you hear on the real Space Mountains. By now you were at the station - dimly lit in blacklights with fake warning signs about space traveller safety and what not. Across from the loading zone was a large screen painted with something resembling a nebula. On the loading side there were no airgates so the crew had to un-hook each and every row to let you take a seat. There were 10 cars that fit two passengers each, restrained by a non-padded T-Bar restraint. Like Robb said the cars had high sides and really low seats (raised less than a foot off the floor). The ride... You started with a 90 degree left turn and immediately up the 35ft lift hill via a tire drive system. There were screens of white fiber optic lights on both sides to give the cheesy effect of outer space with a swirling light projection at the top of the lift. There was also a very destinctive sound effect as you ascended which was actually quite loud and could be heard pretty much throughout the queue. Off the lift you descended a shallow portion of track before turning 90 degrees to the left again and hitting the main drop. Suprisingly this drop, while short, did manage to produce air in the back. After this the ride was already halfway over. At the bottom of the drop you spun through a right handed upward then downward helix and then repeated the same on the left and a final left turn in the brakes. On the floor to the left of the brake run was a large model of the Las Vegas Strip as if you were coming in for a landing. Once past the model you entered another dark area where more sound effects and strobe lights flashed (this is where they took your picture). Then the train traveled over a small hump (for the exit walkway to pass under) and reintered the station. There was an on-ride photo station at the exit. So thats pretty much it. Nothing spectacular. But for me being 10 - 12 years old, it was something special for us kids that lived in Vegas and really didnt have anything for us. By the time I got a job there the park had been remodeled and the coaster moved. One interesting note is that when they first moved it, they kept its original layout (minus the random camelhump between the brakes and station.) It was a good few months before they added the second half of the ride. Too bad they didnt change the trains in the expansion - would have made it better. But he expansion did allow them to run two trains as they now effectively had a midcourse braek with the second, taller 70ft lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absimilliard Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 Lightning Bolt sounds like the "Dragon" coaster at La Ronde. Same train and a really short ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J man Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 I found the video of the Lightning Bolt. I'm sorry for there being no sound. My stupid computer wouldn't capture the audio for some reason. But anyways here's the video. lightning bolt.zip lightning bolt.wmv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Nail Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 That was filmed before the coaster was extended right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J man Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 That was filmed before the coaster was extended right? I believe so. I know that that video was from the summer of 97. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 I rode Lightning Bolt once when it was still indoors back in 1995. At the time, the park was doing something called MGM "Scream Park," sort of a Haunt-like transformation with mazes and such. It wasn't bad, but not up to Knott's or Universal standards. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absimilliard Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Thanks for posting. Dragon at La Ronde is its close cousin. Same train but without those huge headrests and with padded lap bars. The ride is very tame, but some nice effects. The lifthill has some fireball lights on the wall, eyes through a window, dead bodies (there was originally 3, but the most graphic one was removed) and some floating eyes. A fence with sparks over our head and you see the dragons. You go through the mouth and stomach and you have an helix around a lighted up crystal to finish... Very short, but great for families! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmeister Posted November 26, 2006 Author Share Posted November 26, 2006 Thanks for posting! I did some more research and found out that their Deep Earth Exploration dark ride was the precursor to The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman at IOA. It's sad that a park with so much potential was not taken care of. I also think that when the park was downsized it lost it's better half. At least The Adventuredome is still around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 At least it's still for sale and didn't get scrapped: http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=822 Thought it was a totallly fun family coaster, hope it finds a good home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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