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