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Goodbye to Speed: The Ride at the Sahara (Vegas)?


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Correct, still sitting there out in the elements, and the elements are taking its toll on the paint. Unfortunately the observation wheel across from Mandalay Bay seems to have slowed down / run out of money. Construction has seemed to have stopped on that project, which has me concerned about plans for Speed: The Ride. Hopefully something happens soon!

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Correct, still sitting there out in the elements, and the elements are taking its toll on the paint. Unfortunately the observation wheel across from Mandalay Bay seems to have slowed down / run out of money. Construction has seemed to have stopped on that project, which has me concerned about plans for Speed: The Ride. Hopefully something happens soon!

It's like I said a few pages back, as much as I would love to see Speed rebuilt again, if there is one thing that is true about Vegas (locals, back me up here), is that there are more projects planned and started than there are finished.

 

And with that in mind, I'll believe that Speed will get rebuilt when I start to see footers poured and vertical construction take place... And in Vegas, even that's not a guarantee!

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Just heat in Vegas. It's not a Sahara sand style desert. They have low humidity that is a benefit of keeping it there, but who knows what they are going to do.

 

Totally agree with Robb about the projects in Vegas. There are constant announcements of new projects, yet a very few are actually built.

Edited by jray21
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  • 2 months later...

I sure am glad to see SkyScreamer rebuilt, though only using one of the launch towers, but still great to see the ride back in action. It has very little use while at MGM. It was the first sky coaster I ever rode. I really do miss MGM Grand Adventures!

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I wish Adventuredome would have purchased Speed: The Ride, have the ride outside, but the station, queue etc. inside the dome. Would have been perfect!

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 months later...
^Yup.

 

Haha, and even just two months later it's still the same. Here's the Question of the Day from Anthony Curtis' Las Vegas Advisor:

 

www.lasvegasadvisor.com/qod.cfm

 

Q:

Has there been any update on the fate of Speed The Ride, which you last informed us had a possible new home at (yet another) shopping mall that was planned for somewhere in the valley?

A:

In April 2012, Breslin Builders began dismantling Speed The Ride -- the roller coaster formerly resident at the Sahara, which boasts crazy acceleration stats and repeats its entire course in reverse -- in hopes of resurrecting it at Akita Retail Plaza, on the South Strip. At the time, it was "being redesigned to work within and over the existing site and parking lot conditions, and allow for new and exciting curves and bends to be added to the ride," according to Breslin’s website. It was to be part of an odd mixture of amenities that included a nightclub, restaurants, an on-site radio station, a third Las Vegas "mob museum" of some type (focusing on classic cars, apparently), and a tightrope-walking school/attraction.

Fourteen months later, however, the project seems no closer to fruition -- much like its neighbor the once much-hyped, but now deeply indebted and little-heard-of SkyVue Super Wheel. (We hate to be superstitious, but that site almost seems to be jinxed, with the Cloud Nine helium-balloon ride meeting an inglorious fate not just once, but twice, while some kind of petting zoo planned for the spot failed to materialize. We're pretty sure it's also the site where a friend of ours here in town was in talks to open an alligator attraction with Steve Erwin; they last spoke about the project the day before Erwin was fatally impaled by a stingray, but we digress...)

 

The last we heard, Breslin's permit to store the dismantled roller coaster at this location expired at the end of April, so we're not even sure if the attraction is still lying there or not. A call to Breslin Builders was not returned. The only word we've heard from Akita Plaza in recent times, in fact, is that the McDonald's there, an existing mall tenant, is hiring, but we don't think that has anything to do do with expecting hungry hordes of thrill-seekers anytime soon.

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Just going to re-post what I wrote last April about this project...

 

Not to be a Debbie Downer here, but I wouldn't hold my breath. How many times did we hear that the Star Trek Experience was going to re-open? I think the key word in all of that, is "eventually" to be re-located. Seriously, plans in Las Vegas change faster than any other resort destination in the world. I wouldn't put much weight in the ride re-opening until you actually see it going up. And even then, how many times have we seen something be constructed in Las Vegas only to never open? Hi, Harmon Tower, how's it going?
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Speed was a good coaster and had it ever been converted to lap bars only it would have been a GREAT coaster. But now living in this town and working on the strip, I see zero chance of this thing finding new life in Vegas. Hell, I was surprised to find out how many people considered it up and down the strip and even drew up plans, but all of them ultimately passed for other options when they weighed the pros and cons.

 

Oh well, maybe Kentucky Kingdom will buy it.

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If Manhattan Express can continue to do good business, I think the strip could support Speed again. But this project is going nowhere, so hopefully it finds a home somewhere...

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Just going to re-post what I wrote last April about this project...

 

...Hi, Harmon Tower, how's it going?

 

To be fair, Harmon Tower didn't open due to not even coming CLOSE to passing inspection. The foundation rebar is all screwed up and it would have needed to be rebuilt, basically, if it ever was going to pass an inspection.

 

Speaking of Harmon Tower, though, just today a judge gave the OK to dismantle it. I wonder how long MGM is planning on keeping it as a giant billboard.

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