FAA grants approval for giant ferris wheel

The FAA has granted approval for a 500' ferris wheel on the airport side of Las Vegas Blvd across from Mandalay Bay. Like It's famous counterpart in London which allows you to look down on multiple famous buildings, like Buckingham Palace, Charing Cross, British Art Museum, Ministry of Defense, London County building, Waterloo Station, the Las Vegas Ferris Wheel top rim will clear the Mandalay Casino buildings by 15'. You will be able to look down on the Luxor pyramid, and you will be twice the height of the Excalibur towers, but not the NY/NY tower. You will be able to watch airplanes taking off.

It is important to note that you will be doing this ride extremely slowly and at great expense with no bathrooms. The London Eye takes 30 minutes to rotate, and the motion is imperceptible to most people.

Makes me queezy just thinking about it. I hate heights.

You can tell the Eye is moving... It has this odd effect in the upper third where it looks like it's rotating over itself. Well worth the trip upland down, despite my dislike of heights. Enjoy the view and ignore the mechanics.

Wouldn't a virtual experience be more profitable?

I understand that for a long time a Ferris Wheel has been a sort of VaporWare in Las Vegas with many announcements but very little actual construction of one?

Is the slow speed due to high wind loads? Surely the more paying customers there are the more money is to be made. Some sightseeing and photography is expected but a high speed ride would do better financially.

Just think, now there will yet another thing to do other than going into the casino?

What was the name of that man who built the Imperial Palace? You know, the guy who decreed that there would be only showers not bathtubs because he wanted people to gamble in the casino rather than soak in the tub. Any soaking they experienced was to be in the casino! Brilliant use of a flood channel too!

Quote: FleaStiff

Wouldn't a virtual experience be more profitable?

No. Not for Las Vegas, and not for the site-seer.

And no - because the problem with "modern life" is that is there is TOO much virtual experience- and not enough REAL experience.
Get yer ass up 500 feet in the air over Las Vegas, and dare to say, "Oh! This is just like the Internet! It's just like the VIRTUAL experience..." ahem...
No - it ain't.

In fact - that Ferris wheel should be reviewed by a notable gaming forum site here in Las Vegas...Is Mike ready for it?

How is that Cloud Nine hot air balloon over Vegas business doing? Can't get more real than bankruptcy court.

REAL experience? But in the real world she is indeed from an agency. And in the REAL world a Rockin' Olives slot machine would smell of olive oil rather than the fig oil the casino pumps in (along with all that oxygen, ofcourse).

I'm still trying to have a real experience with that sexy Asian blackjack dealer despite Paco telling me that neither she nor Dotty exists.

This is a considered a good thing to build in the current economic climate? And there's a perceived demand for it? Why, has the Stratosphere gotten too crowded?

Quote: 7outlineaway

This is a considered a good thing to build in the current economic climate? And there's a perceived demand for it? Why, has the Stratosphere gotten too crowded?

I think people are less and less likely to go towards the Strat as more and more stuff closes. But there will be no shortage of cynicism about this ferris wheel. Vegas is not going to offer the kind of viewing environment that London does. You are more likely to be trapped with a drunk for 30 minutes in Vegas, and more likely to be trapped with a photography nut in London. While integrating a Ferris wheel into a pedestrian environment behind Imperial Palace may make sense, it won't make sense above a shopping area.

Quote: FleaStiff

Is the slow speed due to high wind loads?

Unlike a carnival Ferris wheel, its slow speed allows people to get on and off while it's in motion.

Quote: FleaStiff

Some sightseeing and photography is expected but a high speed ride would do better financially.

A faster ride is better for thrill seekers. This is designed strictly for sightseers, and riders of all ages.


Does anybody remember Palisades Amusement Park? It had a fairly tall wheel, but it was the stadard type that stoped to allow people to get on and off.

On an off-peak day during it's final year, we went and there was nobody on the wheel. That was what my father hoped for. He got on and asked the operator to stop it while he was at the top. He had cameras and 8mm movie cameras with him and took lots of pictures. He must have been up there about 5 minutes before he signaled the operator to bring him down.

My point is, a sightseeing wheel will be more popular than a thrill seeker ride - and can stand alone as an attraction. Thrill seeker rides generally need to be clustered with other rides. And in Vegas, a thrill seeker need not look any further than the Stratosphere....