The Big Apple Coaster (formerly Manhattan Express and The Roller Coaster) is a steel hyper roller coaster at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The ride's trains are themed to New York City taxicabs. Opened in 1997, it is the only roller coaster by Japanese roller coaster manufacturer TOGO still operating in North America. The ride travels on a track. It contains a lift hill and a first drop, followed by a hill and another drop. The ride also has two inversions: a standard vertical loop and a dive loop.
The ride was constructed as part of the New York-New York Hotel and Casino, which was developed by MGM and Primadonna Resorts. Completed at a cost of $18 million, the coaster was known as Manhattan Express when it opened along with the resort on January 3, 1997. In the months after the ride opened, Clark County building officials shut it down several times over safety issues, and many of the ride's steel tension rods had to be replaced. After some modifications by Premier Rides in the mid-2000s, the Manhattan Express was renamed The Roller Coaster in 2007 before being renamed the Big Apple Coaster in 2013. The ride introduced a virtual reality option in 2018, and Premier replaced the trains in 2021.
History
Opening and early years
The ride, originally called the Manhattan Express, was built by Japanese roller coaster manufacturer TOGO. It was one of only two roller coasters in the world to feature a heartline roll and dive when it opened. The ride was conceived by Gary Primm, owner of Primadonna Resorts, which co-developed New York-New York. When groundbreaking ceremonies for New York-New York occurred in March 1995, a 180-foot-tall coaster was planned to be built along with the resort. The Elko Daily Free Press described the ride as a "Coney Island-style roller coaster", complementing the resort's replicas of major New York City attractions such as the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Statue of Liberty. The ride cost $18 million to build, and it opened along with New York-New York on January 3, 1997.
Within two months of its opening, 500,000 people had ridden the Manhattan Express. In March 1997, Clark County building officials shut down the Manhattan Express over safety issues, which the resort had failed to report to the county. Clark County officials issued five summonses to the resort's owners for violations of county building codes. The ride contained 250 steel tension rods, of which approximately 40 had snapped. The resort was cited for continuing to operate the ride despite the breakages. Repairs were made, but the ride reopened and closed several times that month as more rods broke. The initial 40 broken rods had been replaced using stronger material, which strained the weaker rods and caused them to snap. The strain also created fine cracks in the coaster track.
The Manhattan Express reopened in April 1997, after two weeks of repairs and safety improvements. Further rod breakages occurred on several occasions later in the year. The rods were repaired as they broke, and the county deemed the ride safe despite the frequent breakages. By July 1997, the Manhattan Express had been closed for repairs at least eight times. The coaster had its one-millionth rider the same month. Ultimately, the resort had to replace 175 of the rods with steel tension cables. All except 50 of the rods had been replaced by September 1998. By then, problems with the coaster had decreased significantly, though broken rods were still being reported. According to Ron Lynn of the Clark County building department, the coaster was still safe to ride, even as three faulty rods were being replaced every week.
Renaming and modifications
Over the years, the Big Apple Coaster gained a reputation for being a rough roller coaster. The original TOGO trains used over-the-shoulder restraints, which many guests reported were uncomfortable. In addition, the track layout placed high amounts of lateral forces on guests. In 2004, Premier Rides installed magnetic brakes on the ride; by then, TOGO had gone out of business. In August 2006, Premier also installed new trains to replace the original TOGO trains. After the Premier trains were installed, the ride became noticeably smoother, compared to when the TOGO trains were in use. The ride was renamed The Roller Coaster in 2007, and it was again renamed in 2013, becoming the Big Apple Coaster.