Entertainment
Simulation rides provide patrons with a variety of thrills
By Joan Whitely
REVIEW-JOURNAL
If you want death-defying thrills without the risk, hop on a simulation ride.
One can ride along cliffs in the Alps, visit a haunted castle, go to the underwater world of Atlantis, even travel to Mars via the many motion rides available on or near the Las Vegas Strip.
The highest-priced ticket in this genre of attraction at $24.99 is Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton, 3000 Paradise Road.
The ticket -- good for all day -- grants admittance to a museum devoted to the "Star Trek" television and movie series. The ride itself is interactive, more than just a passive seat-buckled ride.
First, 15 live actors in costume help create the illusion that visitors are embarking on a space mission to the 24th century. Visitors get "beamed" to a new location and also visit the bridge of a spaceship. At the story's climax, visitors board a space shuttle, which is when they experience a 4-minute motion ride that brings them back to 21st-century Las Vegas.
"We're not closing. We're here to stay," says Joe Reuter, to dispel rumors of the attraction's demise. He is director of sales and marketing for the Paramount-owned Star Trek: The Experience.
On the opposite end of the price spectrum is a $2 ride -- for two people, yet -- in the Coney Island Emporium, an arcade at New York-New York, 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. South.
The Coaster Rider Express is a machine with open sides and top that allows the rider to select a simulation from six roller-coaster rides from Cedar Point, a Midwestern amusement park. The simulation is ideal for young children because they are not enclosed in the dark. And even if a parent chooses not to ride, he or she can stand next to the rider.
Jean Madsen of Wisconsin and her 6-year-old daughter, Emily, chose to ride the Blue Streak sequence. "It was a good experience," says Jean. "She's never been on a big roller coaster."
A second motion ride in the Coney Island Emporium takes place within a closed, swinging pod. Max Flight accommodates two people and costs $5.
Some motion rides are 3-D, requiring the rider to wear goggles to get the effect of nearly colliding with projecting structures. Some use video footage of an actual location. Most of the fictional rides use animated visuals.
Many rides have minimum height requirements, and discourage people who have special health conditions including pregnancy or back or heart problems.
Some rides offer discounts. The Race for Atlantis in the Forum Shops at Caesars, 3500 Las Vegas Blvd. South, is $9 for a Nevada adult with ID, compared to $10 for a nonresident. To capitalize on enthused riders, Race for Atlantis also lets people ride a second time, immediately after their first ride, for $4.50.
Race for Atlantis has a huge screen, which heightens the sense of being immersed in a new environment. Also, the walk from the ticket booth to the ride entertains with its other-worldly ambience, which is created by drifting smoke, suspended walkways, rope lighting and dangling art forms.
Discount coupons for some motion rides can be found in the free "What's On" publication or in literature racks at hotel buffets.
The only bona fide local amusement park to boast a motion ride is the Adventuredome at Circus Circus, 2880 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Its theater currently runs two shows: "Funhouse," in which riders visit a carnival fun house, after hours, when a clown runs amok; and "Reboot," in which riders are inside a computer while a virus takes over.
"I like the atmosphere you're in," says Californian Tim Grays, 39, after riding "Funhouse" with his daughter, Tammara, 5. The darkness eliminates distractions, which increases the dramatic intensity, he explains.
Game arcades are a popular location for motion rides, which is the case with the Excalibur's motion theater. It offers rides every 10 minutes, for $4, with the theme rotating every hour. Themes include a space race, combat among robot soldiers, a breakneck ride in a cart through a mine shaft and a runaway train ride in the Alps.
The Luxor has a trio of motion rides. One, "In Search of the Obelisk" ($7) keys off of the hotel's Egyptian theme, and uses a video to set the stage for the story, before the actual ride portion. Two other simulations, $6 each, create a haunted castle and carnival fun house.
The Venetian chose to locate its motion theater near a small food court within its Grand Canal Shoppes, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South. "Time Travel" ($12) takes riders in 10 minutes to ancient Egypt and Venice. Three other slightly shorter rides -- simulating a submarine ride, visit to a haunted castle and rocket ride to Mars -- are $7 apiece. A four-ride combo ticket costs $18.
