Full Thrust ~5~

 

Our first attraction on Friday, our last full day in Vegas, was an 11am viewing of “The Wizard of Oz.” It was billed thus: the original movie from 1939 but remastered using AI. Some unseen footage was added; the orchestration had been remastered and would be projected through 165,000 speakers. It was being shown in Sphere. This giant venue is shaped like a football. It is 7 stories high. From the outside, the structure appears perfectly spherical, and the outer panels are digital displays, which allow the color and themes of the exterior to be constantly changing.

The inner chamber ascends the full 7 stories – we rode the elevator to the uppermost level. Never-ending rows of seats descend at an angle of about 45°. I found while writing that the lower levels are less steep. Tonya and I had each consumed a gummy before entering. People were already seated between the aisle and our seats. They stood and pressed backwards against their chairs, which meant that we had to pass in front of them. The backs of the seats in the next row reached only as high as our ankles! My head started swimming, but we made it to our seats and plopped into them.

The rows face a display that is the full height of the structure. Its Imax-like “screen” extends beyond the audience’s peripheral vision, left, right and upwards; it measures 160,000 sq ft. This had the effect of placing us right in the action of the movie. The seats vibrated; “petals” and even “apples” (i.e. light objects that resembled them) fell from above; scents, heat and wind were pumped into the auditorium. Right from the get-go, I was with Dorothy as her house was swept up into the tornado. The second gummy I slipped between my mandibles ensured that I remained in Oz for the duration of the film.

This video, by my favorite engineering and construction channel on YouTube, The B1M, tells how the architectural concept is being franchised and exported to other locations. Within the video are interesting facts about this particular sphere and those that might come to be constructed.

Leaving Sphere, we struggled to find an exit, tumbling at length into The Venetian Resort and her Grand Canal Shoppes, which reminded me of Monte Casino in Johannesburg, which Tonya and I visited in 2015. We took lunch at Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill within the Venetian complex, after which we exited onto The Strip and turned south.

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In the streets, several informal services were offered as one passed by. There were women who were scantily clad and men who were selling (was it) tours. I’d been warned before arriving that if I agreed to a picture with the women, I’d then be expected to pay for it. I hadn’t expected other forms of touting. My customary response in these situations is to simply say “Thank you” with a smile and a little nod. I don’t also verbalize “No”. I noticed, though, that I was approached much more while ambling with Tonya than when I was alone.

We found ourselves again at Grand Bazaar Shops where Dirt Dogs is located. In this outdoor mall, another eatery that beckoned was Wahlburgers. Sinking my teeth into a juicy piece of beef in a restaurant part-owned by beefy Mark seemed a scrumptious metaphor. Several months later, however, it was reported that Mark Wahlburg had made queer-hate remarks, and I was pleased that I’d not spent any of my money there.

We took ourselves to Smelly Cat. It was vouchers for this establishment that had lured us onto the second Big Bus two nights ago – vouchers that disappeared together with the worker who’d promised them. While its name is a clear nod to Phoebe Buffay’s infamous, off-key song from the TV show “Friends”, the owners initially used it just as a placeholder during development. However, the playful, "no-judgment" spirit of the name matched the atmosphere they wanted to create, so they decided to keep it permanently.

After Smelly Cat, Tonya and I separated again. She decided to go into the catacombs of a gambling hall, while I headed to my next show. When booking tickets, Cirque du Soleil had two offerings: “Michael Jackson ONE” and “O”. Prices for the first were lower, and I initially settled on this option. However, before transacting, I started to suspect that the production was song-and-dance instead of acrobatic. I’m sure I would have enjoyed it, but I can get song-and-dance in Taiwan, so I eventually reserved “O”. This purchase was made before Tonya expressed an interest in meeting me in Vegas.

I was excited now to be heading to Bellagio Hotel & Casino. As always, I had my backpack with me, and the ushers at the lobby refused me entry, directing me instead to a left-luggage service in the hotel. It took ages to get there; I started to panic that I’d not return to the theater on time. I made it, and then the ushers at the door insisted on also dispossessing me of my camera. Photography was permitted, but only with a phone camera. Beasts! Taking my seat, I quickly realized that the show would mimic another I’d seen in Macau several years ago. There I’d watched “The House of Dancing Water”, which was absolutely thrilling. The stage was constructed of several panels beneath which was a deep pool of water. The panels could be lowered independently, turning the stage into a shallow swamp, a river, a trench, or any combination of these depths. Among many of the elements, acrobats dove from platforms some 7 to 8 stories high into the welcoming pool. While the skill of today’s performance was as impressive as Cirque du Soleil always is, the effect on me was somewhat muted by the fact that I’d seen the theme before. Writing this travelogue, I’d find that “Michael Jackson ONE” did indeed also include acrobatics; I might have enjoyed that more. Ah, well, hindsight and all.

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Tonya met me as I came out of the theater, and we headed once more through Grand Bazaar Shops, where I stopped briefly to get a shawarma from Istanbul Mediterranean. We continued to the pickup point for Big Bus, but this was not our goal tonight. We had tickets booked to take a half-hour ride on High Roller. This is a giant observation wheel offering sweeping 360° views of the city and surrounding valley. It is 550 ft. tall, making it the largest in North America. The cabins are glass-enclosed, climate-controlled spherical pods. The glass is somewhat scratched. Each pod has a capacity of 40 people, and I am so glad ours held only around eight. 

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Stepping off, we got some ice cream, possibly from Ghirardelli in The LINQ Promenade. We called it a day. We both had to be at the airport early on Saturday morning, and laundry was all I had to achieve before bed.

And that was the fifth day.

This video on YouTube, despite its misleading name, offers a brief history of Las Vegas.