Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Ride review: High Roller, low thrills

When Bob Stupak learned the roller coaster at the top of the Stratosphere Tower was only going to achieve a speed of about 25 mph, he was told not to worry.

The setting -- 900 feet above the ground -- and the tight curvature of the 865-foot course would present the illusion of greater speed and put the High Roller at the top of the thrill meter.

A disbelieving Stupak took his car into a parking garage and cranked it up to 25 mph and apparently was convinced that the engineers were right.

But at a High Roller preview with the media this week, Stupak was looking to get the coaster rolling a little faster. Ride designers on the scene said the coaster maxed out at 32 mph. He wanted more -- and for good reason.

The High Roller is a cruise ship, not a speedboat.

The novelty of quick movement at that elevation doesn't last long. Of course, it really doesn't have to -- the ride, three clockwise rotations of the tower, lasts less than a minute.

For the casual rider of roller coasters, that may be enough to justify the $5 price of admission. But for the legions of coaster fanatics who drive hundreds of miles to ride the rails, the High Roller is going to be a high-level disappointment.

Much of the anticipation of a standard coaster ride is the long climb to the top of the first hill. The High Roller is already there when the train leaves the station. The difference between the highest point and the lowest point of the track is only about 32 feet, so there aren't any hills.

Because the coaster is confined to the upper one-third of the pod structure, the observation deck below extends wider than any portion of the track. As a result, there's never any instance when a rider is looking straight down 900 feet to the street.

Because the track hugs the tower and runs in a circular pattern, riders can't see any farther than about 20 feet ahead, so there is some anxiety about what's around the next bend. But most riders are going to know before they get on that there are few surprises.

But actually, there were some surprises for media riders. The leg room (or lack of it) is a surprising confinement. With nine cars holding four passengers each, ride designers cut corners on space in each individual car. Riders more than 6 feet tall risk leg cramps. It's like squeezing into one of those tiny Italian sports cars, but then this coaster was built in a small village outside Milan, so that adds up.

The ride was also surprisingly smooth -- except when the train hits a hydraulic climb mechanism at the end of the course. Some riders got their heads rattled within their horse-collar harnesses at the media preview. Engineers promise to smooth that out.

For people who inch their way toward a precipice to get a view, the High Roller provides the excitement of zipping around a cliff at a high speed.

In this case, adding motion to the experience of being able to see for miles is a novelty the entire family can enjoy because the coaster is so gentle.

But most people probably will be like Stupak -- they'll wish it went a little faster.

While speed may be lacking on the High Roller, it should be in great supply on the other thrill ride atop the tower, the Big Shot.

Riders are seated facing out across the vastness of the valley. There are four seats across facing four directions -- 16 riders per trip. Riders are strapped in with over-the-shoulder harnesses that latch to a raised seat contour at the crotch.

At full speed, the ride thrusts passengers up 160 feet in two seconds along a 228-foot mast extending like a needle from the top of the tower. At the peak, it yanks riders back about halfway before letting them free-fall to the platform. The sensation is advertised as 4 G's of force at 45 mph going up and a reverse-bungy ride coming down -- the kind of ride that can be enjoyed by anyone who has ever wanted to place an itchy trigger finger over the ejection-seat button on an F-16.

In the media demonstration, operators had the ride in "maintenance mode" -- that is, it crawled up the mast, taking about a minute to go to the level daredevils will reach in an instant.

The advantage of maintenance mode is that it conveys just how scary this ride actually is.

At the summit, riders will be as high atop the tower as anybody can go, more than 1,000 feet in the air. With the harnesses in place, at that height, it's impossible to see the base of the ride below and peripheral vision will allow only a glimpse of the observation deck.

There's no floor, so riders' legs are dangling. It's a sensation of total exposure with only a 1-inch canvas belt with a metal locking clamp securing the harness that prevents the ride from being a launching pad for human projectiles.

Yes, it's been carefully tested and yes, it's safe. But the Big Shot is high on the thrill scale and may be too intense for youngsters or moms whose kids insist on riding it.

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