There is always that exciting to play the sandbox as a kid, filling dump trucks with dirt and building sand castles even if it’s messy. Dig This Las Vegas is an adult theme park that lets you relive your childhood using REAL construction equipment! Big thrills, in a super-sized sandbox.
At first glance, Dig This looks like a sprawling building site. But this is actually the world’s biggest and U.S.’ first digger playground — giving grownups the awesome opportunity to control the big CATS, bulldozers, and excavators.
Excavating Experience
New Zealand-born Ed Mumm is the founder of Dig This LLC, a first hand and unique excavating experience in Las Vegas, where people can operate heavy machinery just as if they were on a real construction site.
Heavy equipment is fun to play with. Ed found about it while still living in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He chose to turn this idea of playing with big toys into reality by opening Dig This in the middle of Las Vegas in May 2011. Since then, thousands of people have come to dig up their five-acre lot with a bulldozer, an excavator, and even smaller equipment such as a skid steer and a mini excavator.
When asked how he came up with the concept, Mumm said that it was from his own personal experience. “I did some excavating work myself and after a couple of hours in the excavator, I thought, ‘if I’m having this good time, I imagine other people would enjoy coming to do this as well. A lot of us never really grow up out of our sandboxes. We drive past construction sites every day and wish we can have a go at it, but there have never been opportunities to do it,” he said. Mumm opened a pilot version of Dig This in 2007 near his home in northwest Colorado. It was built on 10 acres and it ran for three years before he decided to move to Las Vegas.
Located just west of the Las Vegas Strip, Dig This‘ five-acre patch of open land on South Rancho Drive has a clear view of the high-rise hotels and casinos just across the Las Vegas Freeway of the Las Vegas Strip. Dig This’ attractions include Caterpillar D5G tracked Dozers, Caterpillar 315CL hydraulic excavators, Caterpillar 279D skid steer track loaders and Caterpillar 305.5E CR mini excavators.
Half of Dig This’ Customers are Females
Here’s an interesting fact though, and perhaps unexpectedly, Dig This is not just a men-will-be-boys place. According to the company’s spokeswoman, Cathy Wiedemer, “Half of our customers are females, including housewives and grandmothers. Throttling up a powerful engine and moving mounds of earth is very empowering”.
Instructors are available to enable you to ace burrowing and driving. After a quick but detailed safety briefing, a breathalyzer test (guests with an alcohol level of 0.06% or above will not be permitted to participate) and operation instruction, an instructor will talk you through some basic skills via the headset that Dig This will provide for you. You will be digging, trenching, and pushing your haul around in the blink of an eye. Once you understand the basics, you will then be guided through a series of activities to test your skills.
Reviews
Dig This is one of the companies that has an almost perfect rating. People just love the experience and the feeling they get afterward.
Facebook: 4.8 Star-Rating
I will run out of superlatives describing the experience!!! Not only is it a fun experience, the guys running it immediately fill you with confidence in what is a complex piece of equipment. Also important is that safety is paramount. These are not some guys in a fly-by-night operation. Fabulous fun, a great experience and plenty of laughs. A perfect combination.
-Steve W.
Google: 4.9 Star-Rating
The highlight of this holiday! Great fun. Staff was all very friendly, patient and helpful. My instructor was Brian, he was excellent.
-Adam G.
Yelp: 5-Star Rating
I just have to say… This was the BEST activity to do in Vegas!
-Hannah K.
Unique and Exciting Activity for Your Next trip
If you are looking for something out of the ordinary in Las Vegas, something that’s worthy to be included in your bucket list, Dig This is a good place to check out!
*Participants must be at least 14 years or older to operate big equipment, and 8 years or older to operate skid steer loaders and mini excavators.
