While certainly not comparable to the modern day B&M coasters, Canyon Blaster delivered a very enjoyable ride. The ride was smooth and the theming was great. There is one element that is very enjoyable – just before you dart into a dark and scary tunnel, you feel your head is about to be chopped off. One cannot help but to duck even though there is plenty of space.

Built in 1993 and standing at 93 feet, Canyon Blaster reaches speeds up to 41 mph on a track that is 2423 feet long. There are four inversions, two loops and a double corkscrew. The ride is short (about a minute and a half) but is a good ride. I believe the cost was $7 which may be pricey to some but you can get a wristband for a bit more and ride all the attractions Circus Circus has in the Adventuredome and get more value for your dollar.

Overall, I give it a thumbs up. It is a typical Arrow double coaster of which I have rode many in other amusement parks. It seems as though this one is kept in good shape and the theming adds to the thrill of the ride.

Prior to riding the Manhattan Express, I did not have high expectations for this or any other coaster located on the Las Vegas strip. Receiving a Twitter message from a friend a day earlier of how the coaster beat his body up did not improve my expectations. Nevertheless, I was going to ride it anyway.

After I paid the $14, I found no wait to board the train with the exception of the fact that they needed to put at least 10 people on a train that only holds 16 riders in order to send it out. This was not a good sign of things to come as you should be able to send a train out empty and know it will be able to run the length of the track with no issues. (More later on why they needed almost full trains in order for the coaster to run.)

After enough people arrived, we boarded. I sat in the front so I could experience a frontal view of the 144′ initial drop. As I engaged the restraining system, I already knew that this was going to be a rough ride. They use a lap bar that pushes down on your legs which is fine but then shoulder restraints that push down on your shoulders having padded extensions on each side of your head (see photo below).

The result is that your head bobs back and forth between the pads during the ride, giving you a pretty good beating. This is almost the same experience one may have on most stand-up coasters which I might add are not typically comfortable to ride.

While the initial drop was decent, the train rode pretty rough on the track. The loop itself was anything but smooth as you felt you were actually thrown into it. From there the ride just got worse and almost stopped at one point (the reason why they need almost full trains). The ending was so boring it almost put me to sleep. Overall a boring track design, horrible restraining system and just a really lame ride for how much it beats your body up.

Manhattan Express was originally built in 1997 by Togo. It stands at 203′ with an initial drop of 144′ and is followed by 2 inversions – a loop and a dive loop. Trains reach speeds up to 67 mph and track length is 4777 feet.

In August 2006, the original Togo trains were replaced by new trains built by Premier Rides, which makes me wonder how bad the first trains were. Also Premier Rides added a magnetic brake system in 2004.

I give the ride a thumbs down as one of the worst steel coasters I have ever ridden. Unless you are into coaster counts as I am, save your $14 for the slot machines.

Even if they replaced the restraints to a traditional over-the-shoulder system, it would not remedy the boring track design and the almost “put you to sleep” ending. They should at the very least lower the price so riders are only beat up rather than being robbed at the same time.