Stratosphere Tower Thrill Rides - Las Vegas, NV
Posted by: 
DougK
N 36° 08.854 W 115° 09.309
11S E 665970 N 4001892
The Stratosphere Tower has thrill rides on top of the tower. Being over 1,000 feet in the air to start with makes these rides very scary. Talk about taking fear to new heights!
Waymark Code: WM8W8C
Location: Nevada, United States
Date Posted: 05/20/2010
Views: 57
At 1,149 feet high, the
Stratosphere Tower is the tallest structure in Las Vegas. At the 920 foot level there are four thrill rides in the limited space available.
• Big Shot is the highest thrill ride in the world. Sixteen riders are shot 160 feet up the tower's mast at 45 miles per hour in just a few seconds.
• Insanity is the second highest thrill ride in the world. Riders are dangled off the edge of the tower and spun on hanging arms at 40 miles per hour.
• X-Scream is the third highest thrill ride in the world. Riders are propelled on a teeter totter mechanism for 27 feet off the edge of the tower.
When I visited in 2005, the High Roller coaster circled near the edge of tower platform and was the highest roller coaster in the world. Traveling at 30 miles per hour doesn't sound very fast, but the centrifugal force one felt of being thrown outward and off the tower still produced a pretty scary effect. High Roller was closed at the end of that year.
In 2010, a new SkyJump ride was opened. It is a controlled free fall of 855 feet from the edge of the tower. For $100, riders are prepped with a jump suit and a safety class, then led to the edge of the tower.
One must purchase a ticket for $12-$15 to get to the top of tower and then rides are priced individually from $12-$13. The Extreme Value Package for $36 includes tower admission and unlimited all-day rides!
NOTE: This waymark is for the top of the tower, not the bottom. If you didn't go to the top, you didn't visit this waymark!