The Skyscraper ride at the Stampede has been looming over me for the past several years, and I have wanted to go on it every single year but the opportunity just didn’t arise. And then Stampede100 happened, and I can proudly say I conquered the Skyscraper and I got to do so with my best friend; and it was worth every penny (or nickel, I guess).
The experience of walking up to the table to purchase the ticket was already an adrenaline rush, because there would be no turning back. We were just a couple of kids amidst a line of grown ups, which surely made us look brave. As we waited in line, the people around us seemed to get more and more excited, and to be honest, at that point I was already too numb to feel excited. But at least I wasn’t scared either. I was just casually taking step by step as the line progressed forward. We asked the people around me how the ride was, and those that have gone multiple times before said it was the best ride they’ve ever been on. That was definitely reassuring but my complete reassurance came when we saw this lady a few spots ahead of us in line for the ride… by herself. I had to ask her if she was out of her mind, but she said it wasn’t her first time, and she feels safer on the Skyscraper than she did on any other ride. Wow, was she ever brave. As we watched her ride it, she seemed like a free bird, with her hands high in the sky and her feet dangling off the side like a little kid. At that point, I was so ready for my turn. I knew I wasn’t going to regret it and I definitely did not. We made it to the platform, and looking up, the Skyscraper never seemed so tall. It’s an entirely different perspective that you just don’t get elsewhere unless you’re directly underneath it! The anticipation built up and we were strapped in, not knowing exactly when the ride would start. And then it did. You get a millisecond to analyse what’s going on before you realise you really are about to go fast, really darn fast. The air rushing by every inch of your body; the instantly vanishing views of the sky, then the ground, then the sky, then the ground; the fact that you feel like a bird bound by nothing. Everything about the ride was perfect. I raised my hands high into the sky, (as well as high into the ground?) as the ride made its rotations. And then it stopped and we were stuck on the top. We looked at each other and gleamed with the fact that we made it. Us best friends rode the Skyscraper together and we made it! Oh wait, we made it half way! We had to sit in eager wait, getting a one-of-a-kind view of the grandstand (though the show was over by then, you could still sense the excitement). Not knowing when the ride would start up again, the adrenaline was pumping at a maximum. We tried to do countdowns but we missed every time. Then suddenly the ride started moving and you are going backwards. It’s an entirely new experience to start the ride going downwards instead of up. It’s like those slow motion commercials of people falling back onto a soft cushioned bed, except this isn’t slow motion and it’s not a bed. It’s a very fast descent to the ground that you can’t even see nor grasp a hold of your position. Then, just when you think “oh crap,” the ride swoops upwards again and you’re right back to smiles and laughter. Right in that moment, I really wished it could have gone on forever, but the ride slowed down and it was time to get off.
It was truly exhilarating to ride the Skyscraper, yet I’ve never felt safer on any Stampede ride. Honestly, the SkyRide feels much more dangerous! It was such a great experience to go through for the first time. We were just two best friends making the most of our stampede and we sure did exactly that. We watched our video replay that shows our reactions which was hilarious. Unfortunately, it costs an extra $20 to get the rights to the video, so we had to pass on that. But we had another friend of ours to film us from the ground, so enjoy!
Every time I think about the fact that I conquered it, I feel like a kid on Christmas day– all giddy and filled with excitement. I think that this could become my next Stampede tradition (besides eating, of course)!
