MANHATTAN EXPRESS     New York New York     Hotel and Casino In January 1997, the New York skyline forever changed...for the better, as we coaster enthusiasts may say. A roller coaster was built, that spanned across the skyline, passing such popular landmarks as the Empire State Building and even the famed Statue of Liberty. So you don't believe me.... well actually this new roller coaster doesn't pass in front of the real skyline, but instead the replica, at the New York New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. New York New York is a $480 million resort hotel on the Las Vegas strip built to resemble the New York skyline by MGM and Primadonna Resorts. One of the higlights of the resort is the Manhattan Express, a state of the art steel roller coaster that wraps around the hotel and creates an impressive display high atop the roof of the casino in front of one of the strip's busiest intersections.		Type of Coaster Heartline Looping Height: 203 feet First Drop: 75 feet Second Drop: 144 feet Top Speed: 67 mph Inversions: 2 Length: 4,777 feet Other Features: Vertical Loop, Twist and Dive Inversion Number of Trains: 4 - 16 passenger Ride Time: 3 minutes Opening Date: January 1997 Designer: Togo International Location: New York, New York Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, NV
	The Manhattan Express is the first roller coaster of it's kind. Built by Togo Manufacturing of Japan, the Manhattan Express is called a steel heartline rollercoaster. This new type of roller coaster incorporates some of the best elements of a hypercoaster and brings them together with a classic loop and a one of a kind "twist and dive" element. The ride begins on the backside of the hotel where the lift hill takes riders up 203 feet. The first drop of 75 feet, is just a warm up before the stomach wrenching 144 foot second drop that sends riders to a top speed of 67 mph. After the second drop. the Manhattan Express flies past the torch bearing lady, the Statue Of Liberty, but at 60 mph there isn't much time to catch a picture. Then it's into the vertical loop which is quickly followed by the "Twist and Dive." The "Twist and Dive" is unique to this roller coaster. Riders experience a heartline spin, placing them upside down before diving down the backside of a half-loop. In the "Twist and Dive" inversion riders experience a zero gravity sensation while the train does a heartline spin, but best of all, for a brief moment you hang completely upside down. A very unusual event for a roller coaster. work The rest of the ride is simple thrills with some airtime on one of the many bunny hops on top of the hotel casino, so it's finally time to take a look up at the Empire State Building as you catch some air. The final element is a 540 degree dizzying spiral spin before the final brake run. Overall, the Manhattan Express is certainly a ride to smile about. It moves faster than the mid-day downtown New York traffic and is guaranteed to be as exciting as any New York City cab ride. So next time you are in the mood for something different in Las Vegas, drop the gambling and instead put up seven dollars for the wildest ride in New York City. Well not the real New York, but the one in Las Vegas. More photos of the Manhattan Express can be seen in the Picture Gallery.

Photos by Mike Phillips. Copyright © 1998 Ultimate Rollercoaster, all rights reserved.
Manhattan Express is a trademark of the New York New York Hotel and Casino.

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