The Roller Coaster
Encyclopedia
The Roller Coaster is the name of the roller coaster at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino
on the Las Vegas Strip
. It first opened in 1997 as the "Manhattan Express". The ride's trains
are themed to New York
taxicab
s.
. The ride's station is themed to a New York subway station. Built by TOGO
, it had a reputation in the past for being a rough, even painful roller coaster. Some riders have gotten bruised on the shoulders from the old trains due to the roughness of the ride and negative G-force.
In 2004 Premier Rides
installed magnetic brakes on the ride. In August 2006, Premier also installed new trains to replace the original TOGO trains. Since the Premier train installation, the ride has been noticeably smoother, as opposed to when the TOGO trains were in use.
New York-New York Hotel & Casino
New York-New York Hotel & Casino is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip at 3790 Las Vegas Boulevard South, in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International.-Description:...
on the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
. It first opened in 1997 as the "Manhattan Express". The ride's trains
Train (roller coaster)
A roller coaster train or car describes the vehicle which transports passengers around a roller coaster's circuit. More specifically, a roller coaster train is made up of two or more "cars" which are connected by some sort of specialized joint. It is called a "train" because the cars follow one...
are themed to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
taxicab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
s.
Ride
The ride begins with a 180 feet (54.9 m) lift and a 76 feet (23.2 m) drop, followed by a hill and a 144 feet (43.9 m) drop. The train then traverses two inversions, a standard vertical loop and a dive loop (twist and dive element), where the train performs a 180 degree spiral and then performs a half-loop maneuver. This element is found on one other coaster: the "Mega Coaster" at Hamanako Pal Pal Park in Japan RCDB link. The rest of the ride is executed on the roof of the casino, and features small hills and a helixHelix
A helix is a type of smooth space curve, i.e. a curve in three-dimensional space. It has the property that the tangent line at any point makes a constant angle with a fixed line called the axis. Examples of helixes are coil springs and the handrails of spiral staircases. A "filled-in" helix – for...
. The ride's station is themed to a New York subway station. Built by TOGO
TOGO
TOGO was a Japanese roller coaster design company, famous for inventing the stand-up roller coaster. TOGO went bankrupt in the early 2000s due to a lawsuit by Knott's Berry Farm for problems with their Windjammer roller coaster. TOGO is also credited with creating the first working pipeline roller...
, it had a reputation in the past for being a rough, even painful roller coaster. Some riders have gotten bruised on the shoulders from the old trains due to the roughness of the ride and negative G-force.
In 2004 Premier Rides
Premier Rides
Premier Rides is an amusement ride manufacturer based in the United States. The company was the first to use Linear Induction Motors on their roller coasters. Jim Seay has been the sole owner and company president since 1996....
installed magnetic brakes on the ride. In August 2006, Premier also installed new trains to replace the original TOGO trains. Since the Premier train installation, the ride has been noticeably smoother, as opposed to when the TOGO trains were in use.