America's First 'Heavy Equipment Playground' Is An Exhilarating Las Vegas Amusement Park

It's hard to think of something you can't do in Las Vegas. Always larger than life and creative beyond most people's imaginations, the city is a neon fever dream where you can ride a gondola through Venetian canals, drive a race car, and, at one of its most-visited attractions, experience a surreal and immersive mind trip at a psychedelic museum. At The STRAT Tower, adrenaline junkies can shoot straight up at 45 mph on the Big Shot, dangle headfirst over the edge on the X-Scream, and, at SkyJump, leap from 829 feet above the ground while attached to a giant bungee. Less crazy but still thrilling, Dig This is a Las Vegas amusement park, which calls itself a "heavy equipment playground." 

Many communities have some version of Touch-a-Truck, an event geared toward kids whose eyes light up at the opportunity to sit on a fire truck, backhoe, bulldozer, and other special vehicles and machinery. However, these vehicles are not operational during these events — generally, you can't go for a ride or move the levers, leaving some wanting more. These folks, whether still tykes or adults, should head to Las Vegas where they can go through a quick training session, take a breathalyzer test, put on a safety vest and hard hat, and then operate their choice of construction vehicles like excavators, bulldozers, and wheel loaders, solo. An experienced professional watches and talks newbies through maneuvers via a headset. If you seek unusual, industrial experiences like this, also be sure to check out Europe's largest underground amusement park located in an old salt mine.

Dig This has a range of options, so let's start with what kids can do. Children as young as 2 years old can climb into a mini excavator on a kid-sized construction site to move piles of dirt around and dig holes for 15 minutes. If kids are 4 feet tall or under (ages 2 to 5), an adult needs to accompany them. Also, if an adult wants to start small, there's no judgement for someone booking this option with no kid.

Anyone ages 12 and up can choose an excavator with a name like Thor or Brutus for 90 minutes of digging trenches, stacking tires, and mastering picking up and dunking a basketball. If it's a bulldozer that strikes your fancy, visitors ages 14 and older can spend 90 minutes operating this powerful machine. Meanwhile, those 16 and older can navigate an obstacle course, grabbing dirt and enormous tires behind the controls of a wheel loader.

If anyone you know needs to unleash pent-up energy, book them an Aggression Session, where they can destroy a car with the power of a 30,000-pound excavator. Visitors can spray-paint the car to their liking and then crush it like in the movies. All vehicles are climate controlled, and no driver's license is required. The site is 15 minutes south of the Bellagio Hotel & Casino on the Strip. For family fun adventures elsewhere, ride a rollercoaster in view of the ocean at the best seaside amusement parks or check out America's largest indoor amusement park.