If you haven’t visited Cancun and the Riviera Maya in a number of years, you may not recognize it. Miles and miles of some of the softest white sand you’ll ever sink your toes into are filled with upscale resorts, thatched-roof palapas, Bali daybeds and picture-perfect beaches. But how many of Cancun’s numerous activities can travelers enjoy today? Surprisingly, a lot.

There haven’t been many interviews over the course of my career that I needed to acquire steel-toed shoes, a hard hat, and safety goggles for. Then again there also haven’t been many that I walked the construction site of a brand-new, 1,556 meters, 70 mph roller coaster inspired by a global blockbuster phenomenon from my youth.