Park News
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SkyJump Las Vegas Over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower
Las Vegas’ Stratosphere Hotel & Casino has opened one of the world’s tallest SkyJump attractions. Located 855ft above the Vegas Strip, the attraction is best described as a controlled freefall. Wearing jump suits, riders throw themselves of the tower while attached to a
“descender machine” that regulates their speed to 40mph. Just before hitting the landing pad at the bottom, the jumper is slowed down for a controlled landing. “SkyJump is a must-do for anyone looking to experience the ultimate adrenaline
rush,” says Frank Riolo, CEO of American Casino & Entertainment Properties, which owns and operates the Stratosphere Tower. “It’s really not about the speed. The speed is actually nice because you get a chance to look around but you still feel like you are falling.” SkyJump Las Vegas costs $99.99 per person and riders must be 14 years old
to jump. Riolo has done so six times. Guinness World Records has declared the attraction the world’s highest commercial decelerator descent, breaking the previous record set by SkyJump at Macau Tower in China, which descends 764.4ft. The 1,149-ft. Stratosphere Tower is the tallest free-standing observation tower in
the United States, featuring the Top of the World restaurant and highest view of the Las Vegas Strip from its observation deck. As well as SkyJump, it is also home to three other exhilarating attractions, Big Shot (an S&S tower ride) and X-Scream and Insanity by Intercative Rides. All three exploit the tower’s height and play with riders’ emotions. A notice on the elevator doors, for example, asks riders if they have brought spare underwear.
IAAPA to open Asian office
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) is to open an office in either Hong Kong or Singapore to service its members in the Asia-Pacific region. The search has already begun for a regional executive director to staff the office. "The attractions industry is growing and evolving at a rapid rate in the Asia-
Pacific region," notes IAAPA chairman Chip Cleary. "We expect that growth will continue, and we want to further develop the services we provide to our members where they conduct their business." The executive director will work closely with IAAPA’s Asian advisory board and represent the association and the industry at meetings and events around the world. A job description and application form can be found on the IAAPA website. The new office is expected to be open by October 1.
Omaka Rocka opens
Omaka Rocka, ProSlide’s innovative new two- man ”surprise adventure” tubing ride (marketed by the manufacturer as Topsy Turvy), has opened at Aquatica in Orlando. High- speed tubes and half-pipe funnels await every rider as they splash and slide from side to side. Riders speed down flumes into massive
funnels, sliding high up one side and then the other, rocking back and forth, feeling a sensation of near weightlessness. Coming out of the funnel, they skim into a drenching splashdown.
10 JUNE 2010
Liseberg has AtmosFEAR!
The Swedish amusement park Liseberg is to transform its observation tower into Europe’s tallest freefall attraction. The conversion will be carried out by Intamin. The Liseberg Tower opened at the Gothenburg
city park in 1990 and has provided a comfortable lookout for millions of guests. Now it will provide a totally different ride experience in the shape of AtmosFEAR. Towering 146-metres above sea level, riders will board the new look
attraction via an underground loading station, from where it takes just 100 seconds to reach the top. The return journey is somewhat faster – a three second freefall! Passengers will plummet back down at up to 110km/h, subjected to forces of 4G during braking. Transformation work was scheduled to begin on May 31 ahead of a Spring
2011 opening. Liseberg visitors were offered free rides on the attraction during its last days as an observation tower.
The new look gondola/ loading area
The new attraction offers the ultimate adrenaline rush
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