The 5 worst attractions in Las Vegas history

No one comes to town and asks where they should go if they want to waste their time and money.

That’s why you see a lot of lists of places you should definitely visit when you come to Las Vegas.

We wanted to see the opposite side of the coin, though, so we looked at historic Best of Las Vegas rankings to find out which attractions locals voted the worst in town in the years those categories were included. Here’s how you voted:

The Stratosphere

The Strat took home the prize for worst casino theme in 1997 and worst attraction in 2001.

Before the current iteration of the High Roller was a steel roller coaster of the same name on top of the Stratosphere. It was open from 1996 to 2005 and was one of only two rides at the Strat on the casino’s opening day. The other was the Big Shot, which shot riders 160 feet up the Stratosphere’s tower. The hotel has added more rides since its opening, but the two originals were only half-impressive to riders.

The perception that the area surrounding the hotel is more fear-inducing than the rides themselves is something those involved with the Downtown Project are trying to fight.

Dragon Battle

The Dragon Battle at the Excalibur won (can we call it that?) worst attraction in 2002 and 2003.

The battle featured a dragon and Merlin battling it out in the Excalibur moat. It may have been a family favorite, but it seems the kiddos weren’t enough to give it a boost in the Best of Las Vegas rankings (or in real life — it was discontinued in 2004 … probably not because of its BOLV rankings, though).

Sirens of TI

Sirens of TI beat out the Dragon Battle for worst attraction in 2004 and 2005. The original Buccaneer Bay Pirate Stunt Show was “fabulous,” in the words of one RJ commenter, but the switch to Sirens of TI was “the lamest, most embarrassing thing on the Strip,” according to another.

The show closed in October because of construction, but performers were notified in November that the attraction would not reopen, shutting down for good after a 10-year run.

Fremont Street Experience

The Fremont Street Experience was voted the worst place to take visitors 1999-2003, before Downtown took the crown in 2004. The Strip took first place 2005-2006, but Fremont Street made a comeback in 2007, the last year the category existed.

The Experience used to be widely considered a hotbed of small-time crime: Pickpockets and the like led to a bad reputation among locals in particular. But after Metro increased its presence under the canopy in June, a preliminary survey done by UNLV found that people were more comfortable with spending time in the area — despite its reputation on social media.

Circus Circus buffet

The buffet at Circus Circus wasn’t actually voted worst attraction, but made the list because it was voted Las Vegas’ worst buffet for seven straight years, 2001-2007.

At that point, the category ceased to exist (probably because it was a lost cause).

You can still vote for the best buffet, though. Check out the new Best of Las Vegas site and cast your vote here.

Contact Stephanie Grimes at sgrimes@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @stephgrimes