Stratosphere Thrill Rides

Stratosphere Thrill Rides Review

High above the Strip at the tip of the Stratosphere Tower are three major thrill rides that will scare the bejeezus out of you, especially if you have even the slightest fear of heights. Don't even think about heading up here if you have serious vertigo. People have been known to get sick just watching these rides.

The Big Shot would be a monster ride on the ground, but starting from the 112th floor—and climaxing at more than 1,000 feet above the Strip—makes it twice as wild. Four riders are strapped into chairs on four sides of the needle, which rises from the Stratosphere's observation pod. With little warning, you're flung 160 feet up the needle at 45 mph, then dropped like a rock. The whole thing is over in less than a minute, but your knees will wobble for the rest of the day.

The XScream tips passengers 27 feet over the edge of the tower like a giant seesaw again and again. Sit in the very front to get an unobstructed view of the Strip, more than 800 feet straight down!

Another unobstructed view can be seen by dangling over the edge of the tower off the arm of Insanity. The arm pivots and hangs you out 64 feet from the edge of the tower; then it spins you faster and faster, so you're lifted to a 70-degree angle by a centrifugal force that's the equivalent of 3 g-forces.

The newest ride, SkyJump Las Vegas, is a controlled free-fall that sends you careening off the side of the 108th floor.