# Touristy things you went to that don't exist any more **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 14, 2026, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073 "2026-05-14T17:32:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/221 "2026-05-19T05:23:58Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I used to go to the B & I Circus store when I was a kid, back when they had a real gorilla. [B&I Circus Store (Lakewood) - HistoryLink.org](https://www.historylink.org/File/20533) Poor Ivan, I remember him well. I grew up about five miles away. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/222 "2026-05-19T06:02:26Z")
Getting back to Vegas, the Heart Attack Grill on Fremont, famous for its gratuitously high-calorie portions (the _smallest_ item on the menu is a half-pound bacon chili cheeseburger with fries cooked in lard), its waitresses who dress in nurse fetish outfits and paddle you if you don’t clean your plate, and letting you eat for free if you weigh more than 350 lbs., is closing and looking for a new home after the owner decided that Vegas has become too gentrified for his business model. > **[Heart Attack Grill shuts down in downtown Las Vegas](https://www.fox5vegas.com/2026/05/19/heart-attack-grill-shuts-down-downtown-las-vegas/)** > > Heart Attack Grill closes after 15 years in Las Vegas > The Heart Attack Grill will not be renewing its long term lease. This decision stems from the reality that major casinos have intentionally priced the average person out of the quintessential American experience of affordable indulgence. The soul of Las Vegas has been replaced by corporate greed. > > Our core value, “eat big and laugh loud,” no longer fits a city peddling forty-dollar “artisanal avocado toast.” The honest, heavy-duty calories that built our reputation are now considered gauche by a city that has excluded the middle class and lost its swagger in the process. > > We’re proud of our 21 year impact on America’s waistline. The obesity rate has risen from 30% in 2005 to nearly 45% today, and we pat ourselves on the back for leading the charge! For those loyal to HAG, do not despair. This is not the end of the world’s most controversial restaurant; it is merely the beginning of a new chapter. > > We are seeking new opportunities to continue our high-calorie mission. We look forward to finding new communities that still appreciate a Bypass Burger® and the freedom to feast without apology. Went there twice. It’s not the best burger I ever had, but it was dang tasty and a fun experience. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/223 "2026-05-19T06:08:56Z")
Sounds like he agrees with my assessment above. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/224 "2026-05-19T06:19:49Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > …and a fun experience. So you didn’t clean your plate? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/225 "2026-05-19T06:22:33Z")
Nah, not into spankings. I did see one guy get paddled while I was there. They would sell you the paddle afterward if you wanted. The whole place had a hospital theme even aside from the waitresses in nurse costumes - they’d weigh you in at the front door and make you put on a hospital gown. The male staff would be dressed in white lab coats and scrubs. If you ordered a shot it came in a pill bottle with a “prescription” on the label like “drink until the old lady at the bar looks hot”. They sold milkshakes made of butterfat spiked with vodka, they’d serve wine in an IV bag, and they had a wide selection of malt liquors, Jolt Cola, and hard Dole Whip as beverage options. If you could finish one of their triple-patty burgers (supposedly about 5,000 calories by itself, and the largest one they offered came with eight) or larger by yourself, they’d push you out to your car/taxi in a wheelchair. And if you weren’t in the mood for a burger, they had a foot-long bacon-wrapped deep-fried chili cheese dog as an alternative. At least two people ACTUALLY suffered fatal heart attacks while eating there. Just a piece of gauche, tacky reveling-in-one’s-own-excess that’s vanishing as Vegas goes more and more ultra-luxe. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/226 "2026-05-19T08:39:30Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Getting back to Vegas … Thinking about Las Vegas, the Mirage. I spent many vacations there. Great place, comfortable rooms, nice pool and poolside bar. Excellent race and sports book. Covid happened, and when it was over, I looked into the Mirage again. Nope, not this time (May, 2023). I did visit the Mirage on my visit, though I was staying elsewhere. The Mirage was sad. Half the casino floor was blocked off. The buffet was gone. There were card game tables in the race and sports book. It was hanging on by a thread, knowing the axe was going to drop at any time. Never mind. I have many happy memories of my visits there. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/227 "2026-05-19T08:41:35Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I looked into the Mirage again. Nope, not this time (May, 2023). The Mirage was being closed down at the time to be remodeled into the Hard Rock. I don’t believe it’s finished yet. As I mentioned above, I’ll miss the Siegfried & Roy dolphin and tiger habitat, and the satellite location of NYC’s Carnegie Deli that they had there. (AMAZING pastrami sandwich.) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/228 "2026-05-19T08:54:33Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > As I mentioned above, I’ll miss the Siegfriend & Roy dolphin and tiger habitat, and the satellite location of NYC’s Carnegie Deli that they had there. (AMAZING pastrami sandwich.) I did enjoy the Siegfried and Roy dolphin and tiger habitat (the tigers more than the dolphins, and I remember watching a tiger destroy a cardboard box just by playing with it). I also got to meet Siegfried himself on my visit. Nice gentleman, we discussed animal conservation. And the Carnegie Deli! Oh, yeah! Wonderful pastrami sandwiches. Huge, to the point where you might as well use a knife and fork, because unless you had a giant mouth, you were not going to be able to eat them. Never mind, however I ate them, I finished them all. Coleslaw could have been better, but it was acceptable. Complimentary dill pickles, just like in New York. I never hesitated to recommend the Carnegie at the Mirage to friends travelling to Vegas. Remember BVD/LVB Burgers at the Mirage? BVD’s Tex-Mex burger couldn’t be equalled, but LVB’s standard ordinary burger was amazing too. Couple it with fries and a cold draught beer, and there’s a meal. So many happy memories of the Mirage. And now it’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/229 "2026-05-19T11:08:22Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > I’ve been to Mt. Rainier many times, but never climbed to the top. I’m glad that I got to see the Paradise Ice Caves before they melted. Same here. I visited back in 1989. I had to hike quite a ways up to get to the ice caves, which I gather were actually close to the trailhead back in the old days. I thought the ice caves had completely melted, but from your statement there must be some remnant much higher up. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/230 "2026-05-19T11:32:48Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > the satellite location of NYC’s Carnegie Deli that they had there. (AMAZING pastrami sandwich.) For the record, the Carnegie Deli’s original Manhattan location closed in 2016. (Wikipedia says there’s still an outpost operating at Madison Square Garden.) ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/231 "2026-05-19T21:58:52Z")
W Hollywood and the Pines ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/232 "2026-05-20T02:07:12Z")
SoCal: Lion Country Safari, now Irvine Meadows amphitheater. Also the Los Angeles version of Busch Gardens. Edit: actually in Van Nuys. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/233 "2026-05-20T12:22:45Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I’ve been to the location of The Thing? but didn’t experience the exhibit itself. Same here, we needed gas while driving west from Willcox last month so it was the obvious place to stop. But we didn’t go into the exhibit. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/234 "2026-05-20T12:28:53Z")
I’ve been to a couple of amusement parks that are now closed. Six Flags America, was Wild World when I was a kid, was my home park so I went many times. [Conneaut Lake Park](https://rcdb.com/4590.htm) may still be there, but not like it was when I was there years ago. The new owners destroyed one of the classic coasters there. I believe I was at [Museum of the Moving Image](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_the_Moving_Image,_London) in London in 1993. They had live actors in a few spots that would interact with you. I’m sure I’ve been to a few other places as a kid, but I don’t remember them now. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/235 "2026-05-20T12:39:58Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What long-gone touristy thing do you remember going to? Back in the 70s the family regularly took holidays along the south coast of Victoria and often drove along the Great Ocean Road to Port Campbell and see [The Twelve Apostles](https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/port-campbell-national-park/things-to-do/twelve-apostles) which are limestone stacks in the ocean just offshore When we were visiting there were 9 of them (there probably never have been 12) but there are only 7 now as two collapsed in the 2000s. For another instance, in 1994 we went for a boat tour through the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River in China. Construction of the monumental structure which now dams the region had just been started. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/236 "2026-05-20T12:44:48Z")
All this discussion about The Thing made me curious. According to [Roadside America,](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/62807) “The Thing has been a tourist attraction since 1950” which, I presume, means it originally capitalized on the [Phil Harris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Harris) novelty song. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NrRFu-QXDQ4/maxresdefault.jpg "Phil Harris - The Thing (1950)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrRFu-QXDQ4) ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/237 "2026-05-20T12:46:01Z")
Two come to mind: 1. Geauga Lake Amusement Park. While it didn’t have the number/quality of coasters that Cedar Point has, it was much cheaper and much closer. Growing up ('80s and '90s), we could go to Geauga like 2-3 times a summer, whereas Cedar Point was something that you saved up for a senior class trip. Plus, IMO, it had a better water park than Cedar Point. Geauga Lake closed in 2007, I think. 2. Arecebo Telescope. While a serious science installation, it was a great tourist attraction as well. I’m glad I got to see it before it collapsed. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/238 "2026-05-20T12:48:19Z")
Or maybe the James Arness movie. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/239 "2026-05-20T14:49:12Z")
Before the Internet, I was almost certain The Thing? was a gag with a VW jeep at the end of the tour. I think I conflated it with Hitler’s car which was a muddled recollection of some people who had paid to get in. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/240 "2026-05-20T15:07:44Z")
I came across an extinct attraction I wish I had been able to see when it was open: the Wairere Adventure Park Camera Obscura. [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNcnjmy6uCeafdG2cFRhnBGlgc04-R1kdeCZ7jBh4E8sp77z2X9XinJ5fQqzTr-8UlskntOo196-wUNYadcV77YSEV_aT9s3U1liuCqDXJVvl4JelkAlcjnd3Ps0pxECDhQ-B7tq4AALQOyWMFevowcBQ=w1650-h796-s-no?authuser=0) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNcnjmy6uCeafdG2cFRhnBGlgc04-R1kdeCZ7jBh4E8sp77z2X9XinJ5fQqzTr-8UlskntOo196-wUNYadcV77YSEV_aT9s3U1liuCqDXJVvl4JelkAlcjnd3Ps0pxECDhQ-B7tq4AALQOyWMFevowcBQ=w1650-h796-s-no?authuser=0) According to a local gent who happened to be passing by this was an add-on attraction to the [Wairere Boulders Nature Preserve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wairere_Boulders). I guess visitors were more interested in clambering around rock formations and kayaking than huddling in a dark room to look at projected images from outside. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073.md?page=13)