Tag Archives: High Roller

Big Bus Continues

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Soon after our stop at the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop we pulled into Circus Circus.

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Circus Circus is the start/end point for the tours. Here you can change buses to go into the Fremont Street Experience, another route to malls and shopping and a return to the Strip.

We had about a 20 minute wait which meant it was approaching lunch time.  We road the Big Bus until Bally’s  where we hopped off for lunch  at Johnny Rockets in the Food Court.

Tummy’s full, we walked to the High roller outside the Linq.

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This was familiar territory because Joe and I stayed at the Linq last year when we were in Vegas.  The bus stop for the High Roller is closed due to construction and this stop at Bally’s is the closest one currently operating.

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Up to now Sandy had been insisting that she didn’t want to ride the High Roller. Sandy doesn’t like heights. The High Roller isn’t like a normal Ferris Wheel with an open seat. It’s an enclosed observation pod. Very Star Wars !

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But I wasn’t having any luck getting my point across. She had to see it to understand and once she walked under the huge pods she decided that it might not be such a bad experience.

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The whole rotation is only 30 minutes and it will be the fastest 30 minutes you’ll ever experience. It didn’t take Sandy long to get comfortable and was soon standing right near the windows to take pictures of the Las Vegas sights.

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Time For The High Roller

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We took our time over lunch at the Venetian but finally it was time to begin our trip back toward the Linq. We had show tickets and we didn’t want to miss out on riding that huge Ferris Wheel. The High Roller.

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The High Roller is at the bottom of the Linq promenade which makes it fun just to get to it with all kinds of shops and fountains along the way.

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We bought our tickets from the concierge at the Linq. The price changes from the daytime to nighttime rates at 5 pm. It was 4:30. We would get the day rate while enjoying a desert sunset.

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From the first time I saw the High Roller all I could think of was Star Wars. The white pods just made me think of something from one of those movies. It only needed a storm trooper!

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Inside wasn’t what I expected. I had heard of wedding parties renting the pods and bars set up in them but they hardly seemed big enough for a crows, especially a rowdy crowd intent on drinking. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never been on a Ferris Wheel enclosed like this.

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The wheel is 550 ft high and the ride from start to finish is about 30 minutes. The pods move at about 1 ft/ sec and it never stops turning. Unlike a Ferris Wheel at a fair where it stops and starts to let passengers on and off, the passengers on the High Roller enter while the pod is slowly passing them by.

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Inside is like command central with 8 monitor screens letting you watch the pods above and below your own.

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Plus there the “talking head”. I found him very funny but Joe thought he was quite annoying. You’ll have to go and make your own decision.

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But no matter what, taking this ride at sunset was a perfect time. It was relaxing and beautiful, The huge windows allowing an amazing view.

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Alas, all things must come to an end and too soon we were back to the bottom preparing to step off the moving pod to good old terra firma.

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I highly recommend this. Even for my sister, who says she is afraid of heights.

Saturday Night in Vegas

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When you think about it, JR and I  did an amazing job of coordinating our arrival  and finding each other amid the lights, bells , whistles and people in the hotel and casino.  As you can imagine after spending 3 days and nights on a greyhound bus, JR’s first priority was a shower and change of clothes. I was in better shape as I’d had a shower and fresh clothes before I left San Diego.

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The Hotel we are staying in is the LINQ, a part of the Caesar’s Palace empire. The Hotel was billed as one of the newest jewels in the Caesar Crown and I fell for it. I paid the upgrade because I wanted JR to have a great time as it was his birthday gift. It was a rip off. The hotel room was very basic. It didn’t even have a dresser or a coffee pot. The closet door was a curtain. The bathroom door was a sliding “pocket door” and it was shower only, no tub. Our cruise ship cabin was almost as big!

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About all I can say for it is that it was clean. The room was on the 18th floor but no balcony and security was tight. We had to show our room keys to a security guard whenever we went up in the elevator. At least that made me feel safe.

View From Our Window , 18th floor of the LINQ

View From Our Window , 18th floor of the LINQ

We decided not to lug the cameras the first night and just roam around until dinner time. Anything interesting could be captured on the cell phone cameras and there was a lot of interest. One of my favorite things were the characters. It was almost like being in Disney.

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There was Olaf, Mickey and Minnie but there was also Elvis and Darth Vader, Marilyn Monroe and on and on.

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We enjoyed a very loud dinner at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville and wandered over to the Bellagio for the fountain show. Along the way we passed the Eiffel Tower and Paris and The Flamingo Hotel. For neon lovers, Vegas at night does not disappoint!

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Yummy Pina Colada

 

On our return we stopped at the Linq Promenade for more colorful fountains and our first look at the High Roller, the biggest Ferris Wheel in the World! The pods make me think of Star Wars!

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LINQ Promenade and High Roller

Back in the hotel it didn’t take long to hit the hay.  I was  asleep before JR turned off the TV. Tomorrow I have the  obligatory presentation ( a 60 minute sales pitch) and then we’ll check out the mono rail and decide what we want to spend the day exploring.