They've been shot and slid, and now a Logan-based company will make sure some visitors to the Stratosphere in Las Vegas are suspended and spun.
The Stratosphere Casino Hotel and Tower said Wednesday that Interactive Rides of Logan has designed and manufactured "Insanity — The Ride," which will dangle and spin riders up to 64 feet out from the tower's observation deck 906 feet above street level.
The ride, set to open early next year, joins Interactive's other ride atop the tower, "X Scream," which is like a teeter-totter sliding riders in an open vehicle about 30 feet past the edge of the deck before pulling them back. The tower also features the rocket-like "Big Shot," built by S&S Power, also of Logan, and the "High Roller" roller coaster.
" 'Insanity — The Ride' is the next level in an ongoing trend of creating the most extreme thrill ride out there," Bobby Ray Harris, general manager and senior vice president of operations at the Stratosphere, said in a prepared statement. "Coming off our recent success with the X Scream thrill ride, which was launched on Halloween 2003, we're looking forward to this new breed of highly aggressive thrill ride to stretch the endurance and limits of thrill seekers at Stratosphere."
With his hyperbole meter as high as the tower itself, Harris compared the rides thusly: "The difference between 'X Scream' and 'Insanity' is that 'X Scream' drives riders crazy by playing upon their fear of heights and falling. The new 'Insanity' ride, well, you'll have to be nuts to even think about getting on it. 'X Scream' blows your mind. 'Insanity' is for riders whose minds are already blown."
"Insanity" holds 10 passengers restrained in paired seats suspended from a curved arm. The arm moves to suspend the chairs out from the observation deck, and then the chairs spin with centrifugal force up to 3 Gs, putting the riders at a 70-degree angle. Nothing is between them and the ground except for their screams.
The ride will be the world's fourth-highest. The "Big Shot" is tops. It opened in 1996. "High Roller" is next, followed by "X Scream." Key members of Interactive Rides' management were involved in the "Big Shot" design and manufacture.
E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com