Las Vegas Roller Coasters & Thrill Rides
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Stratosphere
Hotel & Casino|
Ride |
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Insanity |
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X Scream |
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Big Shot |
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Insanity.
This is the newest ride, opening on March 10, 2005.
It's a spinning ride that dangles you over the
edge. I admit I was too apprehensive to try it.
Maybe it was the screams and the look of sheer
terror on the faces of the riders as I watched them
from the observation deck, or maybe it's just that
I didn't care to be dangled a sixth of a mile from
the ground that day. Or maybe it's that a month
after the ride opened, two riders were stuck
X
Scream. This one is a see-saw thingie
that dangles you over the edge. It doesn't go as
far over the edge as Insanity, and you definitely
feel more enclosed and grounded, so I imagine it's
not nearly as terrifying. I have to "imagine"
because while I've ridden X Scream I haven't tried
Insanity yet. Still, it's pretty scary if you're
scared of heights. One nice touch is that on one of
the runs after your cars get to the edge of the
platform, the whole arm stutters and drops the
angle even more, making you think for a second that
the thing broke and you're about to hurtle towards
your death, ha ha. It opened on Halloween 2003. In
Nov. 2005 six Japanese tourists were 
Big
Shot. This is the one that made the
Stratosphere famous. You're strapped into a chair
with your legs dangling, and then they shoot you
straight up the tower's steeple, 160 feet in two
seconds, at four G's. Then they freefall you
so you get negative G's, then shoot you up again,
etc. If this ride started at ground level it would
be scary, but add to that the fact that you're a
fifth of a mile from the ground and it's
terrifying. As you're going up you worry that the
brakes will fail and you'll go straight off the
steeple and land down the strip at the Sahara.
(Notice in the picture that you can see Insanity on
the right-hand side.)
High
Roller. Bye, bye, High Roller. In
early 2006 the venerable High Roller was removed to
make way for a new observation deck. I'm a bit
nostalgic for the High Roller though. It was the
very first ride built on top of the Stratosphere,
doing a few circles around the top of the tower,
and was surprisingly tame. It never went very fast,
probably because if it did the centrifugal force
would have destablized the whole tower. But it did
give you an awesome view of the strip, and all of
Las Vegas actually, since you went all the way
around the tower a few times, and it was a good one
to ride if you wanted to ride something on
top of the Stratosphere but the other rides were
too terrifying. Now, if you want to ride something
on top of the Strat, you have no choice but to have
the holy living mortal snot scared out of you.
(
Sahara:
Speed
Vegas.com says: "Simply put, Speed - The Ride is the best ride in Las Vegas. Like rocks out of a slingshot, riders catapult from the launch area at 35 mph around the first curve and plummet through a mist-filled tunnel 25-feet below ground. Riders then hurtle to the surface and through a 72-foot loop, accelerate to 70 mph, and speed through the Sahara's marquee to the top of a 224-foot tower. They then do it all again -- backward.
"Speed will have even the most seasoned thrill-riders screaming bloody murder, but that's half the fun. Although you can see the ride's first twist, you'll never know what to expect from that point on. The sprays of mist and vision-impeding safety harnesses also add to the surprise element.
"Be sure to sit up front --it's definitely worth the wait. You'll only be on the ride for 45 seconds anyway. Those opting for a shorter line should sit in the second row -- when stopped atop the 224-foot tower you'll see nothing but the blue skies above you. The back row's a dud.
"So get it all out and scream to your little heart's content. Speed is short [45 seconds], but definitely sweet. " -- Vegas.com (more info)
Circus Circus
• Canyon Blaster
• Chaos
• Inverter
• Rim Runner
• Sling Shot
The Canyon Blaster is the only indoor double-loop, double-corkscrew roller coaster on the planet. It drops 90 feet and hits 55mph over a 2,000 foot long track, and lasts 1:45.
Chaos is a three-dimensional tilt-a-whirl, tilting, spinning, and flipping riders at the same time. No two rides are the same. (review at Vegas.com)
Inverter keeps you upside-down and staring at an upcoming wall of concrete for a full four seconds before turning you right-side up again. The ride is a generous two minutes during off-peak hours. (review at Vegas.com)
Rim Runner is the only indoor flume in the world, featuring a 60-foot drop which will soak you but good.
Sling Shot, the newest addition, is Circus Circus' answer to the Stratosphere's Big Shot, shooting you straight up a column at 4 G's.
As of September 2006, all rides are $7, but you can get an all-ride pass for $23. Here's the official page for the Adventuredome Theme Park, where the rides are located.
New York New York:
Manhattan
Express
Casino Player magazine says: "At two minutes and 45 seconds, it's easily the longest-lasting ride in Las Vegas. Top speed is 67 mph and the biggest drop is 144 feet, but what keeps everyone coming back for more is the insane 540-degree spiral, not to mention the fact that it takes place over a pretty solid replica of New York Harbor. If this ride doesn't put you in a "New York State of Mind", nothing will."
I won't ride this one again because it whips your head back and forth into the projections on the headrest. I wonder how many people get mild brain damage from this thing. (more info)
Buffalo Bill's:
Desperado & Turbo
Drop
In Primm, Nevada (40 miles south of Las Vegas on I-15), 1-800-FUN-STOP
Desperado is a VERY tall coaster. You start off with a crazy 225-foot drop down a 55-degree hill, reaching speeds of up to 80 mph. Here's more info and video of the ride.
If that's not enough, you can try the Turbo Drop, which is similar to Stratosphere's Big Shot, except that it climbs slowly and then shoots you straight down instead of straight up.
Other roller coaster resources
- G-force of Vegas coasters. The Las Vegas Review-Journal tests and ranks the G-force of the popular Las Vegas roller coasters.
- Ultimate Roller Coaster Guide. The site for enthusiasts. Covers the whole world, not just Vegas.
Last Update: April 2008
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