Speed the Ride needs new home. Silverwood needs more thrills

[batjaxsun]

Speed the Ride was a Premier Rides shuttles launch coaster that used to tear through the Sahara Hotel and Casino at 70 miles per hour. After Sahara was closed for good, Speed was sold to another Las Vegas developer from a new entertainment complex. But that project has now been canceled and the ride just sits there, literally on the ground, collecting dust; and now it is for sale again. No word on the price, but I'm sure Silverwood could afford it. Sure Speed was never a world class coaster and won't draw people from outside the region just to ride it, but it would add more thrills to a park desperately in need of more thrills.


Here is the Wikipedia description of the ride:

The ride started with a launch from the inside of the NASCAR Cafe going from 5–45 mph (8.0–72.4 km/h) in three seconds. Riders are in a drop going under ground in front of the hotel and then through a 92-foot (28 m) vertical loop. There is then another launch this time from 45–70 mph (72–113 km/h) in three seconds. After a quick snaking turn, riders are shot up a huge vertical drop tower before the train falls back and runs through the entire track backwards. This time the second launch area slows the train down from 70–50 mph (113–80 km/h)h and before it goes back through the vertical loop and then underground. The train then makes it back to the station, where it stops. It is also considered one of the tallest shuttle coasters and the longest in the world.

Stats:

Height- 224 feet

Drop- 200 feet

Length- 1,365 feet

Speed- 70mph

Acceleration- 0 to 45 and 45 to 70

Inversion- 1

Time- 45 seconds

Angle- 90 degree

G forces- 3.5

[wolfblood]

You say SW is "desperately in need of more thrills", even though the last thrill attraction (SpinCycle) was added just a couple years ago...while the last major family ride to SW was added in 1993 (Thunder Canyon). Boulder Beach has mainly recieved all the recent family attractions, it's been a long time since SW has gotten any since the main thing they've been recieving are thrill rides and kiddie rides. The park is not desperately in need of more thrills, not only due to what they already have, but also with a RMC coaster somewhere on the horizon. What the park really needs is a new major family attraction.

As for Speed the Ride, it was a fun ride but SW doesn't need it. I also see it being a much more expensive addition then Aftershock considering Speed has been non operational for quite some time, that and since it was custom made for it's original location, SW would also need to do quite a bit of landscaping to make it fit and that could jack up the price tag enough where they'd be better off getting a truly custom coaster which'll have a bigger impact for the park.

[Bud Parsley]

Speed was a very fun coaster. I rode it probably 10 times over its life at the Sahara. Lots of fun. Doesn't take up a ton of space. Intense, thrilling, smooth.

Problem was and still is capacity. Slow to load, and you have only one train. I guess that wouldn't be anything new to Silverwood.

I also think a big part of Speed's allure was that it was right on the Strip, in and out of the hotel, across the valet, through the marquee, etc. Just slapping it down in an empty spot at Silverwood wouldn't capture any of that magic.

I'd like to see Silverwood do something custom, rather than buy another ride from somewhere else. Their 2 steel coasters are hand-me-downs and both, quite frankly, aren't the smoothest rides. We all know rides tend to age over time, and that the older they get, the rougher they can be. Moving them to a new location doesn't help. After 250+ different coasters, I have yet to ride one that has been relocated, that I would truly consider a smooth coaster.

After a move to Idaho, and considering it's lengthy stay on the strip, Speed would likely suffer the same fate. Silverwood would be better off doing something custom, if they are after a new steel coaster. Think of how fantastic a B&M Wing coaster could be, especially if they could really build it into some quality landscaping (they are, after all, doing a great job landscaping the park).