The Stratosphere's New $100 Thrill Ride

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jan 12th 2010 at 7:01PM

The Stratosphere isn't the best hotel in Las Vegas but it does offer a few key attractions including its rotating restaurant and the rides at the top of the tower. The resort's latest attraction will be SkyJump Las Vegas, a controlled freefall over the Las Vegas Strip. A $100 ticket gives thrill-seekers the chance to don a jump suit and get connected to high-speed "descender" machine and then leap off a small platform falling 855 feet at up to around 40 mph. The attraction is expected to open in April and will be the highest skyjump in the world. The entire experience from preparation to landing takes 30 minutes.

The current rides include the Big Shot, which shoots passengers straight up 160 feet at 45 mph until they are 1,081 feet above the Strip, the X-Scream teeter-totter that sends passengers 27 feet over the edge of the Tower and Insanity, a spinning ride with a massive mechanical arm extending 64 feet over the edge of the Tower. The hotel has created a niche for itself with thrill rides capitalizing on its Space Needle-style tower.

Tags: las vegas, LasVegas, skyjump, skyjump las vegas, SkyjumpLasVegas, stratosphere, stratosphere tower, StratosphereTower