Speed: The Ride in Vegas

I just rode Speed and thought it was a nice ride.  I got the on ride photo and it tells some Stats. of the ride, saying that the spike  is 224 feet.  It really does not seem that tall.  That figure must be correct, but does anyone else agree that it really doesn't seem that tall.  224 feet is coming close to the height of Goliath at  SFMM.  It just doesn't seem right.

~Nick

I knew the vertical spike is over 200 feet tall.... I just think that since everything surrounding it is so large also, the illusion of height is lessened. Some of the signs and buildings on the Vegas Strip are just so immense (the Bellagio sign in particular), that 224 feet seems small! When I first saw Desperado, I didn't think it was 209 feet tall as the giant "barn" hotel stands taller than the coaster and therefore makes the lift hill seem less impressive. Maybe that's just me though.....

ProgRay

Also, keep in mind that while on the ride, you really dont get close to the peak of the spike, and you are facing up, instead of down. The front facing vertical spikes on DejaVu and S:UE also dont feel as tall as they are.
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My other car is a Giovanola!

The spike is 224 ft. tall. The fact of the matter is buildings and signs on the strip are extemely tall. Take Manhattan Express. Its lift is 203 ft yet the hotel towers are a good 50+ ft. taller. Wait till Steve Wynn builds his new hotel. Its main tower will be 600 feet tall!

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"ok everyone go ahead and pull down on your shoulder restraint so you feel nice and stuck!"

I just rode it last week.  I agree, great ride.  While I was waiting (they have a dumb rule on timing in between rides when there aren't people present), I talked to the ride ops.  Who knows if they knew what they were talking about, but they said the highest you get is 160 feet.  Bad Boy, what's the deal with the new casino that Wynn is building?  Where will it be located, between Stratosphere and Circus Circus?  That's the only land I can think of.

Steve Wynn's new property (pending approaval) will incorporated into some of the exsiting buildings at the Desert Inn site. He will have the tallest tower as the backdrop of a huge man made lake.

The area between Circus Circus and the Stratosphere is owned by Hilton Hotels, and will eventually have a Vacation Club tower, similar to the ones at the Las Vegas Hilton and the Flamingo. Developement was temporarily halted in leiu of the economic downturn after mid-September. Construction will resume after the new casino project is underway in New York. The property will be operated by park Place Entertainment, Hilton's casino division.

As for those ride ops at Speed. Yes the tower is 224'. Obviously you arent going to touch the bumper at the top. But depending on wind and weight distribution you get pretty close. 160' is a good estimate for the average run. If you think about it, it seems closer when you are on it than you really are. Remember just cause you only went up 160 ft. this time, it doesnt mean you wont go up 165' or 175' next time. Only the 1st seat gets that high anyway.
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"ok everyone go ahead and pull down on your shoulder restraint so you feel nice and stuck!"

Actually, when I rode Speed: the Ride with very few other people on board, we got very close to the top every time.
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Badboy, thanks for the info.  I hope you don't think I was dissing the ride.  I actually thought it was the best ride in Vegas. The ride ops just seemed to throw random numbers out so I couldn't tell if they were messing with me or not.  The train was full, so maybe that is why we didn't make it near the top.  It doesn't really matter to me though...

yeah, the fact that it doesnt go to the very top and it starts off pretty high above the ground is prolly another reason why the spike doesnt seem so high.  but im not exactly positive that the spike starts off pretty high, it just seems that way...

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t h e r e s a monkey in my pocket and he stealing all my change, his stare is blank and glassy i suspect that hes diranged.....