At the far end of the Vegas strip, the main attraction that jumps out is the Stratosphere Tower, as it stands over 900 feet high, with its glistening lights and crazy contraptions at the top. However, right across the street, sitting quietly and unnoticed by many, is the BEST roller coaster on the entire strip – Speed: The Ride. Situated in the Nascar Cafe as part of the Sahara Hotel, Speed is a high octane coaster chalked full of thrills and speed (imagine that, considering its name! LOL), and it delivers the most bang for your a la carte coaster riding buck! The Speed Pass, which we opted for, was a mere $20 for as many rides as you could do. We packed in 8 rides total in the span of about 90 minutes, so in this land of overpriced everything, it ended up being the coaster bargain of the trip. The impressive tower/spike, at a lofty 224 feet, stands proudly at one end of the hotel, and it is no doubt quite visible at that end of the strip. In between is a darting track, dancing past hotel supports and sporting a single inversion – a vertical loop hiding near some wonderfully placed palm trees. Only in Vegas!! Although we rode at night, the color scheme looked sleek and worked well, and the whole coaster had a great placement and interaction with its surroundings, as do the other coasters on the strip. Watching from outside, I knew that this was a coaster that was right up my adrenaline alley!
I really cannot comment much on the queue, as we bypassed all of it and headed right up the stairs to the station, but it looked nice enough, and it’s inside the casino, which would be a benefit in the summer when it’s hot enough to combust. The station is pretty much just there, with the row queues for the single train. We actually rode in the front row every time – ah, the beauty of a Monday evening in early February! The trains are relatively comfortable I guess, although in these types of trains it’s always a little tight with 2 adults and cramming in under those shoulder harnesses. Dare I say, I think this ride would be killer good with just a lapbar/belt (as there is only the one loop), but that’s alright, because thankfully Speed delivers a memorable ride regardless. Once we were given the all clear, we awaited the inevitable. The initial launch is good and rather forceful, but you only get to 45 mph as the train exits the casino and executes a wonderful diving drop to the left. This little drop is great; I only wish the initial launch was faster. Although, the slower launch was probably necessary to navigate the quick turn and drop without too much discomfort. The drop takes you underground somewhat, where you then fly into the vertical loop, as palm trees whiz by on the side. The inversion itself is rather average, but the placement is excellent! Then the ride heads up towards the hotel sign. This is where things really get fun!!
At this point you hit some booster LIMs that rocket you to 70 mph! I’m not sure why, but this mid-course launch felt way more powerful and thrilling than the initial one. Flying along, the train darts through the underside of the hotel sign, creating a great close call. And now you rocket up – straight up – the giant vertical spike of track. In the front, it just feels like the train is gonna fly off the track. Thankfully it doesn’t, but you go basically the whole way up the tower. At that point the train slows to almost stopping, creating a blissful floating sensation from over 200 feet in the air! This is not your parents’ shuttle loop coaster!! Now you traverse the course again, only this time it’s done backwards! I always like the sensation of going backwards on a coaster, and this one is fantastic backwards, as you start by plummeting back down the tower, which is quite a rush! Then comes the loop in reverse, which is more forceful than going forwards through it. I am a huge fan of any backwards inversion, and this one is quite awesome! Before long you are coasting slowly back into the
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