They do things big in America. Just step out of the airport and you’ll see it
immediately: the buildings, the portions, the cars, the bellies — they’re
all a little larger than life.
But some things here aren’t just a size or two up from what we’re used to.
They’re hyperbolically, preposterously, 10-gallon-hat-with-a-quart-left-over
huge, with nuts on. The world’s biggest rollercoasters, hotels, trees, theme
parks, hamburgers — they’re all in the USA.
The obsession with the enormous sometimes seems excessive, but excess is part
of America’s appeal: if you’re ever going to understand and enjoy it,
there’s no point standing prissily on the sidelines and pretending not to be
impressed — you’ve got to embrace the big-is-beautiful philosophy with all
your heart. Which is why we’ve gathered together 12 of the USA’s mammoth
world-beaters in one mega-feature. When you’re Stateside, size matters — and
here’s how to get a family bucket of American gigantism.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST ROLLERCOASTER
In the cut-throat coaster world, many claim to be the big boys — but most
authorities agree that the tallest, fastest and current all-round baddest
ride is Kingda Ka, a mammoth screamfest at the Six Flags Great Adventure
theme park (www.sixflags.com; day tickets from £22), 70 miles from New York
City on Interstate 195 in New Jersey. A hydraulic slingshot hurls your
18-person train from 0 to 128mph in three seconds, in preparation for a
vertical 458ft plummet with a 270-degree twist. Once you’ve unscrambled your
brain from that, there are 200 more rides and attractions in the park...
and, if you can stomach lunch, 22 restaurants. The chop suey at Wok &
Roll is recommended.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST MUSEUM
Lined up along the Mall in the centre of Washington DC, between the Lincoln
Memorial and the US Capitol, sits the greatest repository of knowledge and
culture on earth. Here, nearly all the 19 collections, 136m exhibits and 20m
annual visitors to the Smithsonian Institution (www.si.edu) cluster within a
radius of a few hundred yards. But it gets better. It’s free — a refreshing
change — and, while there’s plenty to challenge your artistic appreciation
at the Hirshhorn (modern), the Arthur M Sackler Gallery (Asian) and the
Freer Gallery (an eclectic collection from Persian metalwork to Whistler
prints), there’s a lot to tickle lighter fancies too. Try the dinosaurs at
the Natural History Museum, or the Wright Brothers’ original hand-made plane
at the Air and Space Museum. From November, the latter is housing a special
exhibition from the oddest of the lot, the Museum of American History, which
is in renovation — and it’s a winner: where else would you see General
Custer’s buckskin coat and Kermit the frog alongside Judy Garland’s ruby
slippers from The Wizard of Oz?
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST ACTIVE VOLCANO
Mauna Loa, on Hawaii’s Big Island, is 56,000ft from its subterranean base to
its fiery top. It’s an arduous two-day hike to the crater’s rim from Mauna
Loa Observatory, over an eerie landscape of crackling, black, glassy lava.
If that’s a bit much, you can often see lava flowing into the sea near the
end of Chain of Craters Road. United Airlines (0845 844 4777,
www.unitedairlines.co.uk) flies to Honolulu from £488. Or you could go for
Yellowstone National Park (www.nps.gov/yell) instead. Yes, it’s a wildlife
wonder but the bubbling mud pots, spouting geysers and jetting fumaroles are
all clues that it’s something else too: vulcanologists reckon the entire
place is really one supervolcano that will one day blow its top, swathe the
planet in ash and put an end to all human life as we know it. Best see it
quick, then.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST STARS
In Hollywood, of course — or more likely nearby, in glitzy Beverly Hills or
opulent Malibu. The world’s most glamorous names still cluster around west
Los Angeles, and you can see where they live on any number of tours — the
biggest operator is Starline (www.starlinetours.com), whose standard
offering takes you around the modest LA cribs of Madonna, Keanu, Britney,
Winona and more, for £20. They’re not likely to ask you in for a cuppa,
though. To get closer to the People Who Matter, stay at a suitably stellar
hotel such as the Chateau Marmont (00 1-323 656 1010,
www.chateaumarmont.com, doubles from £205) and bed down next to Scarlett
Johansson or Lindsay Lohan, or at the more discreet Sunset Marquis (310 657
1333, www.sunsetmarquishotel.com, doubles from £248) and hobnob with Brad,
Angelina and Jack Nicholson.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST HAMBURGER
Clearfield doesn’t crop up on most travellers’ horizons: a rural town smack in
the middle of Pennsylvania, it’s a 250-mile drive from New York on the way
to nowhere in particular. But if you like burgers, this is the place to be.
Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub (00 1 814 765 7190, www.dennysbeerbarrelpub.com) is
a classic roadside joint that just happens to serve up the world’s biggest.
There’s a measly six-pounder for £20 — eat it in under three hours and it’s
free; a more challenging 15-pounder for £27 — less than five hours and
they’ll give you $350 (£188). Nobody’s managed it yet. But the burger king
is the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser, 50lb of beef for £96 (order the day
before). “You don’t get anything for eating it all — that would be suicide,”
says the restaurant. “It’ll feed 50-60 people.” Fries are extra.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST AQUARIUM
Landlocked Atlanta might seem an unlikely spot for it, but the Georgia
Aquarium (www.georgiaaquarium.com; £12) — built to resemble a giant ship
breaking through a wave — breaks all the records. With more than 100,000
fish in 8m gallons of water, it opened last year and has already seen more
than 3m visitors. Why? A mixture of education, drama and panache.
Interpreters are on hand to discuss habitats and conservation; beluga whales
and whale sharks prowl the deep (they were flown in from Taiwan by UPS); and
how else could your children enter a tank filled with voracious,
razor-toothed piranha? A marine marvel.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST HOLE
“Do nothing to mar its grandeur, for the ages have been at work upon it and
man cannot improve it.” And we can’t improve on Theodore Roosevelt’s
reaction to Arizona’s Grand Canyon (entry £14 per car; www.nps.gov/grca),
the most awe-inspiring natural feature on earth, so we’ll give you the raw
numbers: a mile deep, 18 miles wide, 277 miles long, two billion years in
the making. This is simultaneously the most beautiful thing on our planet,
and the history of that planet laid bare. It’s a crime to spend a lifetime
here and not see it — even if it’s only on a two-day side- trip from Las
Vegas, the closest gateway airport.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST WAVES
Surfers are a restless bunch, and the search for bigger breaks is always on —
but most dudes worth their Quiksilver kit would agree that the largest
consistently surfable waves are to be found on the north shore of Oahu,
Hawaii, the birthplace of the sport. In December it provides the high point
of the pro-surfers’ tour, with 30ft waves crashing into Waimea Bay and an
excited crowd gathered to watch the cream of the world’s board-riders do
their stuff. The easiest way to join them is on a package: Pure Vacations
(01227 264264, www.purevacations.com) offers 10 nights this winter from
£1,595, including flights and car hire.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST SHOP
That would be Macy’s flagship New York store: two million square feet taking
up an entire block on 34th Street, between 7th Avenue and Broadway, it sees
100,000 shoppers on a busy day. Opened in 1858, Macy’s once sold everything
from prefab homes to livestock, but now the goods are more conventional —
clothes, furniture, electricals and so on — and debate rages as to whether
the stock lives up to the store’s reputation (though it does damn fine
handbags). The iconic turn-of-the-century building is undeniably pretty,
especially lit up on a Christmas night, but you might prefer the more
stylish Bloomingdale’s or Saks Fifth Avenue.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST HOTEL
Current developments in Dubai, and just down the strip in Las Vegas, put its
record in doubt, but for this week at least the MGM Grand in Sin City is the
daddy of them all: with 5,034 rooms, plus 1,500 condominium units nearing
completion, it’s a city unto itself. Although most cities this size don’t
have a 170,000 sq ft casino in the middle of them, with a jungle habitat in
the middle of that patrolled by live lions. Or 21 restaurants. Or a
17,000-seater arena putting on Madonna concerts and Cirque du Soleil shows.
Or a spa, five pools, a quarter of a mile of man-made river and 24-hour room
service. More’s the pity. Rooms go from £58 up to £8,000 for one of the new
skylofts: contact 00 1 877 880 0880, www.mgmgrand.com.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST TREE
California’s parks are the world leaders in economy-sized greenery — but while
spectacular Yosemite is most famous, it’s not where you’ll find the real
monsters. The tallest living tree is Hyperion, a Sequoia sempervirens
discovered just last month in the Redwood National Park, way up on the
Oregon border: it’s 379ft — researchers reckon it would be 12 inches higher
if woodpeckers hadn’t stopped by for a snack — but the location’s a strict
secret, and even if you found it you’d never see the top. More satisfying is
the most massive living tree, General Sherman, a Sequoiadendron giganteum in
Sequoia National Park: just 275ft tall, but 102ft around (the bark alone is
2ft thick), it weighs 2,000 tons and would make five billion matches. You
can take in all three of the above parks easily on a fortnight’s California
fly-drive: Bon Voyage (0800 316 3008, www.bon-voyage.co.uk) can do the trip,
with a car and flights into LA and out of San Francisco, from £615pp; park
entry costs £14 per car.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST THEME PARK
It’s the same size as Greater Manchester, but without the scallies or the
rain. Walt Disney World in Florida is the economy-sized, family-pack
mega-deal of the entertainment world: four theme parks in one (Magic
Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM studios and Animal Kingdom), plus a couple of
water parks, 32 resort hotels, six golf courses, two spas, a Wedding
Pavilion and a sports complex. About 50m people a year (that’s the
population of England, by the way) turn their backs on reality to ride the
Tower of Terror, watch the parades, see Cinderella’s Castle and generally
immerse themselves in Planet Mickey. You’ll love it or you’ll hate it — the
only way to find out is to go. It’s simplest to take a package: First Choice
(0870 850 3929, www.firstchoice.co.uk) has seven nights from £599 for
adults, £149 for the first child and £159 for a second child, including
flights from Gatwick, accommodation in the park and car hire; day tickets
cost from £38/£32, weekly tickets from £149/£129.
