Wild Ride in Vegas

One thing that my husband did not want to miss in Las Vegas was the Big Apple Coaster ride at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino. At first, he just wanted to see it. And then, he decided he wanted to go on it…at the last minute.

So desperate was he that we took a taxi from one end of the Strip to the other just to make it on time, for it was almost the ride’s closing time. He mad-dashed to the ticket booth as soon as we arrived at the hotel. He was fortunate that the line up was relatively short at that time.

My brother, sister-in-law, and niece, who were with us and who wanted nothing to do with rollercoasters, waited for us at the lobby.

I wanted nothing to do with rollercoasters either, but during the whirlwind of rushing to get the tickets, I somehow ended up following my husband. When he finally calmed down half-way through the line while holding his precious tickets, he paused, noticed I was beside him, looked at me, and said, “Wait. You are here lining up with me.” And I said, “Yes, I’m here. You bought two tickets, right?” 

And then he realized the mistake and I also realized this was a mistake. He asked me if I had really wanted to be there. He knows I hate rollercoaster rides. Of course, I did not want to be there, I told him. I was there because we both got carried away by the rush and excitement.

But we found out that it was too late to back out. There was no exit. Once you purchase the tickets, the only way out was to actually go through the ride till the finish line.  He started to panic. “Are you sure you want to do this? Because if not, maybe I can ask someone about an emergency exit or something.” 

I was too tired to think and I did not want to make a fuss, so I just said, “Don’t worry. I am sure I can manage. This is a relatively short ride. It can’t be that bad.” 

Well, that was really a wild guess, because I did not read about nor ask anyone about this rollercoaster, not even my husband. We did not have the time to talk about it because we did not even plan on doing it that night. But boy, was that ever a wrong guess!

The deadly baby was supposedly the first coaster to feature a 180-degree “heartline” twist and dive spiral, then a half-loop maneuver. In fact, if we are going to be strict about it, this machine should be called a hyper-coaster because of its height.  It reaches 203 feet and drops off at 144 feet at the dizzying speed of 67 miles per hour.  The last part of the ride is executed on the roof of the hotel casino and features small hills and a “helix” into the brakes. The ride also has two inversions: a standard vertical loop and a dive loop.

But I did not know all these yet as I nonchalantly stood in line while admiring the waiting room’s design that was patterned after a New York City subway station, complete with a faux NYC skyline. I was thinking that yes, the rollercoaster was built extra high and went around the building, but it should be fine. I had no idea what I had really signed up for.

And my husband was lost in his own thoughts, still trying to figure out an escape route for me. I told him to stop worrying and I assured him that I would survive. On hindsight, if this were a scene from a movie, this was the moment when the scary soundtrack should have faded in.

I should have taken a hint from the adrenaline junkies behind us who couldn’t conceal their excitement as they hollered every time we advanced a step closer. They bellowed like wild animals about to go on a hunt. At times they chanted like Maori warriors doing their haka. My husband would look at me and ask, “Are you still okay?” and I’d just absent-mindedly nod.  

It only dawned on me that this could possibly be my last day on this planet when the operators seated us and helped us with our harnesses and head restraints. They also sounded so serious while giving us instructions. Why so much “protection?” What is this monster of a ride going to do to us? Still, I remained silent. In a movie, this is the moment when the scary soundtrack gets louder.

My husband asked again, “How are you? Are you scared? Do you still want to do this?” And I looked at him and said, “Like I still have a choice…this is it!”

And before he could reply, we started our ascent, and then all hell broke loose. From a composed lady, I morphed into a shrieking witch, screaming my lungs out as if there was no tomorrow. I felt like a human pinball being propelled to the furthest ends of the universe. If I remember it right, the moment we spun upside down, I squealed like a mad cow in labour and repeatedly said, “My goshhh, the world is upside-dooowwwnnn!” while my husband held me tight and I recall him saying something like, “It will be over soon, don’t worry!” It was the longest two minutes and forty seconds of my life.

When we disembarked, the teenagers behind us eyed me strangely as if trying to understand how those ear-piercing and eardrum-shattering screams could have come out from the seemingly mild-mannered lady they saw awhile ago.

When we met my brother and his family at the lobby, the first thing my sister-in-law asked was, “Do you need a drink?” Hahaha!

My husband kept apologizing and checking on me, but at the same time, he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. I, myself, was laughing and semi-crying at the same time. I told him that this was the first and last mistake of this sort. I will never ever be dragged again into boarding any of these monsters again…and yes, I needed a drink.