Manhattan Express Roller Coaster at New York/New York: review

Part of this review was taken directly from my March 2010 trip report (with Hayley in tow).

I have been wanting to ride the Manhattan Express Roller Coaster at New York/New York for a number of years; almost since it first opened, in fact. My cousin Eddie (who lives in Vegas) had always promised me that he would be a more than willing tour guide for the trip, but we never seemed to cross paths and make it happen. Having Hayley with me in March gave me yet another reason to try a Las Vegas roller coaster, and this one is located conveniently on the Strip.

Hayley and I share a love of roller coasters and have spent quite a bit of time on them at various locations around Texas and Florida. The faster, bigger, twistier and scarier...the better.

What a maze to get to that thing! Getting to the roller coaster entrance from the Strip is the easiest part, and that's saying something when you consider you're following signs posted up high throughout a dark casino. After you head up either the escalator or elevator at the back of the casino near the food court, you follow additional signs on the floor and wind your way through several rooms of carnival-type games before you ever get to the cashier at the entrance to the ride.

Once you're at the cashier, you are required to stow any and all of your personal belongings that could take flight during the ride in a rental locker for 50 cents per use. You can use the locker all day, and the locker key is conveniently attached to a rubber band that you wear on your wrist so that you won't lose it during the ride (wouldn't that be ironic?). Just make sure to take out your money or credit card before you close the door, or you'll be paying another 50 cents to re-open the locker to get out your payment before you even get in line for the cashier.

The cost is currently $14 per person, or $25 per person for an all-day “Scream Pass”. (Note: if you buy the Scream Pass, you get $2 off the price of a 5x7 souvenir photo). We considered it because we weren’t sure if we’d want to ride again, but then decided once would probably be enough since we really had no idea what to expect and didn’t want to make ourselves sick.

As a roller coaster ‘aficionado’, I would give this one a 5 rating out of a possible 10. It was good, but not great, and certainly not as exciting as some of the other roller coasters I’ve been on. Hayley said that at one point during the ride, she closed her eyes and suddenly felt like she was back in San Antonio – something about the sun and breeze and the effects of the coaster. I have no idea.

That's not to say that it was a bad roller coaster, just that we expect a lot out of the roller coasters we intend on riding repeatedly...or ever again. Okay, we're spoiled. It has a "heart line" turn that gives you a zero-gravity effect, a great descent after the first climb, and a fantastic view of Las Vegas in general (if you can take your head off of the headrest, which is not advised and is strongly discouraged). I might take someone else on it if they wanted company, but I wouldn't seek it out as a repeat rider myself.

The roller coaster is open Sun.-Thurs., 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. and Fri.-Sat., 10:30 a.m.-midnight, weather permitting. Riders must be at least 54" tall to ride.