MGM Grand Adventures Theme Park - Original Attractions

Original Attractions

MGM Grand Adventures Theme Park was built around a movie studio theme and provided for somewhat of a Disney-type experience. It had several themed areas including Casablanca Plaza (Main Entrance), New York Street, Asian Village, French Street, Salem Waterfront, Tumbleweed Gulch (later renamed Goldrush Junction), New Orleans Street, and Olde England Street. The park's characters were mostly cartoon characters such as Betty Boop and King Looey.

There were ten major rides and attractions, eleven restaurants and fast food areas, and a dozen retail shops. The original attractions line-up included:

• Backlot River Tour - A mix between Disney's Jungle Cruise and Universal Studios Studio Tour, in which passengers embarked on a tour via a large boat that passed mock-ups of movie sets with special effects such as gun fire, rain, and water cannons. The queue was the longest in the park and featured additional information on special effects.

• Deep Earth Exploration - This ride opened shortly after the park due to technology challenges. It was the first attraction of its kind to incorporate a traditional dark ride with a motion simulator. Passengers boarded faux deep earth tunneling machines on a journey to the center of the earth, guided by an animatronic Robot Pilot (voiced by actor Matt Cates). The ride involved a number of stops where windows on the vehicle would open allowing the occupants to look out at special effects along the route.

• Lightning Bolt - An indoor, space-themed roller coaster designed by Intamin. It featured a 35-foot (11 m) tire drive lift with a top speed of 32 mph. The ending was promoted as a "fly-by" of the Las Vegas Strip, which was essentially a large model constructed on the floor next to the brake run. In the park's final years, the roller coaster was moved outdoors.

• The Haunted Mine - A traditional dark ride where passengers boarded ore cars on a trip into an abandoned mining operation.

• Grand Canyon Rapids - An Intamin white water rapids-type ride themed as a trip down the Colorado River with animatronic gold prospectors, geysers, and other special effects.

• Over the Edge - An Intamin log flume ride through an old sawmill with two drops of 30 ft (9.1 m) and 45 ft (14 m).

• Parisian Taxis - bumper cars on the streets of Paris.

• Pirates' Cove - A 950-seat outdoor theater complete with a pirate ship and lagoon that were home to the "Dueling Pirates Stunt Spectacular".

• Magic Screen Theatre - Indoor theater that hosted a variety of shows including BMX Grind, a stunt show featuring BMX and in-Line skating. It opened with 2 shows; blacklight puppet show called Kaleidoscope and a live recreation of The Three Stooges.

• King Looey Theatre (later Manhattan Theatre) - Indoor theater that hosted a variety of shows, including an ice skating spectacle starring King Looey

• You're in the Movies (later Gold Rush Theatre) - Indoor theater that hosted a variety of shows.