thrillrideseeker Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 (edited) So as many of you know I headed out to Las Vegas last week! Had the time of my life! Did many exciting things including jumping from the Stratopshere! Yay! Anyways, this is a image heavy trip report so it will be done in segments! Don't worry there will be plenty of roller coaster photos as the thread progresses!! Enjoy... Day 1: On the drive there we stopped at the Hoover Dam! I had never seen this so it was kind of nice to see the giant thing that I am always seeing on TV! Anyways... The first day we checked into our room at Planet Hollywood! After check in we headed down to Stratosphere so I could make my Skyjump reservations! The room was amazing! It was no suite or anything like that, but it had a beautiful view, and an amazing bathroom! The hotel over all was very nice, but I HATED the parking situation! It was either Valet, or a schlep through the Miracle Mile Mall. All in all I LOVED Planet Hollywood, and if I am ever going back to Vegas I will stay there again!! Hoover Dam: Hoover Dam was HUGE! Like... Way huge! We did not spend to much time there. It was way to hot outside, and we were just ready to get to the hotel! But we did get out and walk around and take some pictures! All in all it was a nice stop, but ugh the traffic due to the construction was ridiculous! The Room: The room was as I said before... Amazing!! It had a beautiful view, two amazingly soft beds, and a HUGE bathroom! The bathroom had a nice glass shower, and a separate garden tub, as well as a separate room for the "potty" There was a nice large marble counter top, but only one sink. Back to the room... The room was kind of dark, no lights except in the entry way, a small lamp on the night stand, and a small lamp on the desk. None of which provided much light. There was also random Sylvester Stallone stuff every where. Including a nice blood covered shirt hanging on the wall. Maybe it is just me, but that is not the first thing you want to see when you wake up in the morning. . . Now on to the view... OMG! The view was breath taking! At least for me! We had an amazing view of the Eiffle Tower, as well as the fountains at Bellagio!! I can not tell you guys how many hours I spent just sitting there looking out the window!! (I know... I'm lame like that!) Skyjump Reservations: The same night we checked in I headed down to Stratosphere to make my Skyjump reservations! The Skyjump shop was great! There was a lot of Skyjump stuff to buy, as well as a TV hanging on the wall that played live feed of the current jump! You could also head out back and be down by the target where the jumpers land! After making reservations I head out back and watch a few people jump, and I quickly started re-thinking my jump! That was a LOOOONG way to fall! Its one thing to see it on the computer, but to see it in person! Oh my, I was seriously thinking I would not be able to go through with it! But... I did! (More info about that, as well as photos and a video on day 2) Now on to the photos! As always, questions, and comments are welcome! Enjoy! ~Matthew To start is a few Hoover Dam photos. "Nevada Time" It seemed like the water was WAYYYYY low. ... Oh really... So this is the dividing line? "Arizona Time" This thing was HUGE! Bridge... Pretty bridge! That was a LOOONG way down! Pretty building thingy. Okay... Enough dam photos. (Sorry I couldn't resist) Planet Hollywood! Elevator Area! 26th floor incase I forget... The room... The beautiful bathroom! The beautiful view!! Its even more beautiful after dark! Skyjump Reservations time!! YAY! The pretty pretty store!! My ticket!! That's a LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way up!! That's all the photos for now! More coming soon!! Edited August 11, 2010 by thrillrideseeker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelizeIt Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 The Skyjump looks great! How long did the whole process take? I'm heading to Vegas at the end of October, I'll be looking forward to seeing this in person. Last time I visited Vegas I stayed at the Paris and had a great time. I like the location of Planet Hollywood/Paris hotel right in the middle of the strip. I'm visiting Vegas again at the end of October, but this time were staying at the Wynn. Looking forward to the rest of your trip report. Also don't forget to post your photos of your visit to the 'Bunny Ranch'. (Don't worry your friends at TPR won't judge you) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryerson Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Same as the above poster, I'm curious on the new attraction. BelizeIt, when are you going to Vegas? My wife and I are going Oct. 19-24 and also staying at the Wynn. Looking forward to the rest of your photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelizeIt Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 (edited) ^I'm driving up to Vegas on October 31st (Halloween) and staying thru November 2nd. Its my first time staying at the Wynn, it should be great. I'm fairly sure that I'll do the Skyjump while I'm there this trip. (I hear there's a bar up at the top near where you jump, just in case there's a need for a little 'Liquid Courage') I believe Joey said he going back to Vegas in December for the grand opening of the Cosmopolitan, we'll have to encourage him to do a jump as well! Edited August 9, 2010 by BelizeIt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bean.zilla Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 The picture after dark from your room was quite lovely. I bet it was nice watching the fountains while inside air conditioning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidra Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 What an awesome view from that room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrideseeker Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 The Skyjump looks great! How long did the whole process take? I'm heading to Vegas at the end of October, I'll be looking forward to seeing this in person. The entire process took about 30 minutes. That time is counted from the time you start suiting up until you start to take the suit off. The picture after dark from your room was quite lovely. I bet it was nice watching the fountains while inside air conditioning It was amazing to get to stay up there and watch the fountains... The only down fall is that you couldn't hear the music =( Alrighty on with the update... Day 2: Day two consisted of Skyjump, and that was about it!! Skyjump Okay, so I arrived at the Skyjump store and I was very very nervous. While trying to fill out the paper work I was shaking so bad I could hardly write... Not sure why. I have never really been scared like that. But anyways, I filled out the paper work that said random things like "I agree to the following statement... 'No one is forcing me to participate in Skyjump Las Vegas' . . . 'I am not under the influence of drugs, or alcohol' . . . 'I am not pregnant' . . . 'Friends and family members can not hold Stratosphere Hotel & Casino responsible for injury or loss of life.'" YOu know... the usual. After filling out the paper work I waited for a group to suit up, and then I began suiting up in my jump suit! At this point I was beyond nervous. I was so scared I could hardly function. But some how I managed to get the jump suit, and harness on... After that they spent about 15 minutes tightening the harness, and all this mess. After I was in the harness it was checked by 3 different people, I was weighed and then I had to wait for the other 3 people in my group to suit, and harness up. Once we were all 4 harnessed up... (Ohhh by the way they do groups of 4 at a time.) Anyways after we were all harnessed up we walked out of the shop, and through the mall to the elevators. We took the elevators to the 108th floor and exited to the left where we were lead to the Skyjump area. Once there we waited out side a glass room. While waiting we got to watch the jumpers in front of us, and that made me just that much more nervous. Finally my turn came... I was led into the little glass room, my harness was checked again by two different people, my shoes were checked, I posed for a picture with one of the "jump masters," and then I was attached to a cable, the doors opened and I walked out on that what I thought was a little blue platform, but it was actually large blue platform. Once on the platform I was attached to a new cable, released from the cable I was attached to from the inside. Then I posed for another photo with a different "Jump master." After all the photos I got to take a nice look down at where I was going, waved to the camera, and then got attached to the "Jump Unit." Once attached from the jump unit I was unattached from the "safety cable." This is when everything seemed to happen so fast! They told me to put the front half of my feet over the edge of the platform, they said "We've got Matthew in 3...2...1... GO" and I jumped... Sadly the fall was not nearly what I was expecting, but it was still very fun! Got to the ground, unharnessed, and went back inside the Skyjump store to get out of the jump suit. After it was all said and done I LOVED Skyjump Las Vegas, and I would gladly do it again! Now for the photos, and video! Day 3 will be posted soon but for now . . . Enjoy!! ~Matthew Filling out the paperwork... Not a true story, I watched a girl back out from the jump platform. My zipper went up, I guess that means I'm going down... My how wrong that sounds... Trying to get that stupid harness on! I finally got it one right! This target looks really small from all the way up there! (Credit to my sister for the next couple of photos) Yes... That little spec up there that just jumped from that little blue platform... Thats me!! Getting closer!! Almost... There we go! All done! I was all smiles for the rest of the day!! Okay... If you say so. The thing that keeps you from plummeting to your death! Random sticker that was peeling off. Camera... mounted on one of the guide wires. One last look at just how far down that really is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looty Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Very cool! I would love to give that a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intimidator305 Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 This seems like an attraction many people say they would love to do... until they get to the Stratosphere, look up, and freak out! Haha! It seems like it would be a ton of fun and worth the money even though its a 20 second drop. BTW, Great PTR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speeddeamon128 Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Awesome report & great pics so far! I went to Vegas in 2008 & had a blast even though I was 18. I also visited the Hoover Dam which I thought was awesome. Speed was closed when I went & so was X-Scream on the Stratosphere. The S&S power tower though was amazing! I can't wait to get back there after I turn 21 next summer! Looking forward to the rest of your TR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groteslurf Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Love your TR. That Skyjump looks like great fun. Your youtube link is 'blocked by Sony Music Entertainement in my country' But I looked up some other youtube videos of Sky Jump so I have a good idea how it works. But still I'm wondering. Do you experience a freefall moment or moments during your fall ? Or do you feel the wire all the time ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrideseeker Posted August 11, 2010 Author Share Posted August 11, 2010 Do you experience a freefall moment or moments during your fall ? Or do you feel the wire all the time ? Sadly there is no time of "freefall" you feel the wire holding you the entire time. The fall its self was not scary at all, it was just that initial step off of the platform. Day 3: Day three consisted of riding "Speed The Ride" at Sahara as well as "Manhattan Express" at New York New York. That night we went to see "Cirque Du Soleil - O" at the Bellagio, and it was simply amazing! Anyways... Onward! "Speed The Ride" Waltzing up to Sahara you clearly see speed the ride. I was not to excited for this ride, it to me was just a typical LIM coaster. . . But I rode it for the credit, and I am fairly glad that I did! It turned out to be a very enjoyable ride!! So I bought my ticket, and headed up to the station to climb aboard! I was excited to see that there was not many people waiting for the ride... Sadly we had to wait about 10 minutes for the LIM's to charge... Or at least that is what they kept telling us. Anyways once the gates opened I boarded the train and we set off on our journey! The first launch was rather forceless, then out of the station, underground, and through the loop... The second launch was surprisingly forceless as well, then through the sign, around some turns, and up the tower... Sadly we didn't go very high up the tower at all... On the way back the brakes at the second launch point slowed us down so much that I seriously thought the ride had e-stopped. But no, I'm guessing it was normal. Then back through the loop and into the station. Like I said before it was nothing to write home about, but it was enjoyable once. Defiantly not something I would spend the money on to ride over and over again. "Manhattan Express" So over at New York New York that had this evil little coaster. It looks pretty, and is fun to watch but that is where the fun ends. This ride was hell! Uber rough, and not worth the 1 & 1/2 hour wait! I did as told, and I rode in the first row, and ugh... I can not imagine how bad the rest of the ride is! Anyways rode it once, and I will let the photos do the talking because I don't know how else to describe this ride! As always, enjoy!! ~Matthew Well thats a plus. Prices... Oh look... A tunnel! Death Traps!! Interesting... ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! One last look at the little bitty tower! Pretty! Lift hill... Prettyness! Now to find the entrance... Really? Because it sure feels a lot worse than a cab hitting a few potholes. Are we there yet? Finally!! *sighs* Everything looks so... Not small! That little twisty hangy part of the ride was the best! One last look! Day 4 coming soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
let1gre Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 That looks & sounds like a great time. Are you hitting up Buffalo Bill's? It's kind of a long way out, but apparently Desperado is a hell of a ride. I also feel like the only reason I would do SkyJump is if my dad is there and I can freak him out, because he is deathly afraid of heights. Of course, so am I... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisrad Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Nice TR! I was at Planet Hollywood in March and stayed in a room identical to yours'.. Yes, the parking situation SUCKS!!! It feels as if you're not supposed to be rolling luggage around a mall.. haha. Did you go to Circus-Circus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanthonyam Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 I cant understand why they changed the name from Manhattan Express to Rollercoaster? Brilliant marketing minds they have working there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeydad Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 I am so glad Speed:The Ride is back, (I actually, for whatever reason thought it had been torn down). Now I have another chance to get out there and ride it, on the other hand, Manhattan Express...not so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooksta77 Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 For a person who's done the SkyJump it was awesome but not as good as I thought......BUT STILL AWESOME! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gameplayer951 Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 I remember going on Speed: The Ride 14 times in a row... yes, 14. It was that fun to me. X] And then I went on Manhattan Express 3 times in a row... got a headache the first time, but I had to do it again. By the time the 3rd ride was over, I felt like I had the worst under-21-hangover ever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stricklandCC Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 ^ Try riding it with a real hangover... the type of hangover that nearly swears you away from alcohol forever! (obviously not REALLY forever). Its the type of feeling that all the Tylenol\Advil\ Excedrin in the world & even more booze can't overcome! Anyways, fun coaster, fun trip report...gonna have to do it [the Coaster at NYNY] sober next time though! Funny story: My friend just did the Sky Jump at Stratosphere last weekend and she told me it was a complete free-fall! (till the end of course). Interesting to know that it isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haiderodes Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 At nighttime the jump unit has a VERY bright LED attached to it. If I have a clear view of the tower, I can see whenever someone is jumping (or the unit going back up the tower) all the time...and I'm all the way on the other side of town. I'm sure its to allow nighttime filming, but its still pretty cool looking nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gameplayer951 Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 ^ Try riding it with a real hangover... the type of hangover that nearly swears you away from alcohol forever! (obviously not REALLY forever). Its the type of feeling that all the Tylenol\Advil\ Excedrin in the world & even more booze can't overcome! Oh god, I'd die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdomkus Posted August 14, 2010 Share Posted August 14, 2010 How is the landing from the sky jump, Do you hit with much force? I would love to do it when I am out in vegas but I broke my hip a few years ago and I am concerned about the force of the landing. Great trip report, We are arriving in vegas on September 18th and we can't wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noblewick Posted August 14, 2010 Share Posted August 14, 2010 Hey Matthew and TPR Just read and watched your video on this Skyjump thing and I'm thinking that I should try this thing out. Here's my plan, my 30th birthday is coming up in the next few years and I'm wanting to go back to Vegas no matter what with a whole bunch of my friends. I want that kind of experience where I wake up the next morning with a tooth missing and a chicken is standing by me ("The Hangover" greatest Vegas movie ever). Anyway so I'm wanting to go out there and have a great time and this looks like the perfect way for me to dive head first into my thirties, what yah think? How much was the package that you bought and how fast does it go? By that I mean are you in total free fall at all or is it very controled and you just zipline down. Let us know some more on this and I hope you have a great time. Derek Wilson Cranston, RI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haiderodes Posted August 14, 2010 Share Posted August 14, 2010 ^Sounds like a fun way to start your 30's. Its a controlled fall/drop. Base price is $99 for a single jump. $115 for jump & dvd, $130 if you add a photo and a dollar more for a t-shirt. Other info can be found here... http://www.skyjumplasvegas.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveydo5172 Posted August 14, 2010 Share Posted August 14, 2010 First things first...being a Las Vegas resident, I have the scoop on all of it... 1) Desperado is as bad as Manhattan Express/Rollercoaster - it will bang you around so much, and get you dizzy and give you a headache....NO NEED TO GET THAT CREDIT.... 2) Speed is a great Premier coaster, but depending on your seat, the OTSR's can give you a headache.... 3) The most important - if you were here at the time the Stratosphere Tower was built, or if you read up on the construction of it - you would NEVER go to the top of it. Now, yes, it has obviously met standards just enough to open, but of course, that came after a major fire during the construction on the tower...oh, and the fact that the north facing leg was built at the wrong angle compared too the other two legs(and yes, you can see it if you stand on the street, looking at it from a profile view) as well as if you walk around the outside observation deck, on all the cracks in the concrete walkways....then you would start to think about the structural integrity of the building.... *** Vegas is NOT known for its construction standards - again, do the research on the Luxor or better yet, Manadaly Bay, which after they built the top floor, realized the whole 45 story building was leaning and sinking into the soft ground below - they solved this by "PUMPING CONCRETE BENEATH THE BUILDING" to it started to rise to an acceptable level....not the best building standards***** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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