Thursday, November 18, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Stratosphere's latest act of thrill

Passengers will feel gravity's pull (and then some) on Insanity-The Ride

A rendering shows Insanity-The Ride, a new attraction planned at the Stratosphere. It will dangle some 900 feet above Las Vegas Boulevard, spinning in circles at 40 miles per hour. Officials expect the new ride, the hotel-casino's fourth, to open in early 2005. RENDERING COURTESY OF STRATOSPHERE

The Stratosphere unveiled plans Wednesday for its fourth thrill ride atop the resort's 1,149-foot tower, where riders will dangle some 900 feet above Las Vegas Boulevard, spinning in circles at 40 miles per hour.

Passengers on the 10-seat attraction will experience up to three times the force of gravity, the ride's manufacturer and resort officials said.

But Stratosphere executives, who say thrill rides bring onlookers to the hotel, aren't concerned that the extreme level of the ride might scare away passengers.

The success of the teeter-totter-style X Scream, which opened during Halloween last year and has attracted some 510,558 riders to experience a 29-foot drop over the edge of tower at 30 miles per hour, bodes well for its newest tourist attraction, dubbed Insanity-The Ride.

Officials from the Stratosphere, which is owned by the privately held American Casino & Entertainment Properties, wouldn't disclose the construction cost of the new ride.

"We asked the company that built X Scream to raise the bar even higher and create the most extreme thrill ride imaginable," Stratosphere spokesman Michael Gilmartin said. "We think this ride will test the limits of all thrill seekers."

The new ride, which is expected to open in early 2005, will complete the theme-parklike attractions atop the Stratosphere tower. With room for four rides -- including the Big Shot, which launches riders along the tower's needle mast some 160 feet in 2.5 seconds, and the High Roller roller coaster that circles the tower's outer edge -- hotel officials hope to market the property as an all-inclusive theme park with various incentive packages for guests. The property recently became a member of a national amusement park association to boost its credentials.

"We're now able to say that the Stratosphere is the world's highest amusement park," Gilmartin said.

Over the past few years, the Stratosphere has tried to add other thrill rides, only to find opposition from neighboring homeowners or questions about the feasibility of the attraction.

A proposed ride up the outside of the tower, alternately referred to as King Kong and The Belly of the Beast, where passengers were to climb into the stomach of a massive gorilla that would then ascend the tower, never materialized.

A few years later, the Stratosphere unveiled plans for a fishhook-shaped roller coaster track that would ferry riders 740 feet up the hotel's tower before dropping them down eastward and across Las Vegas Boulevard at 120 mph. The proposed ride was denied by the Las Vegas City Council and the denial was upheld in District Court and the Nevada Supreme Court.

Insanity-The Ride was approved by the Las Vegas City Planning Commission on April 8 as a final action and did not require approval by the entire council, city of Las Vegas spokeswoman Diana Paul said.

It is now under construction in Logan, Utah, by interactive Rides, the same designer and builder of X Scream. Components are expected to be airlifted atop the Stratosphere Tower in January.

The Stratosphere Tower opened in April 1996 and has attracted some 17.6 million visitors paying $9 to visit the indoor and outdoor observation decks, according to statistics released by the resort. Riders on the X Scream are charged $8 a trip and $4 for rerides. Gilmartin expects similar pricing for Insanity.