Empire State Building Offers Wild Ride - 1,000 Foot Elevator Drop!  (SAT PAR News Jul 24, 2014) The new attraction uses a shaft no longer in use, With special equipment adapted from the film stunt industry, an elevator is "dropped" from the 80th floor, only slowing down at the last minute to a safe, but still stomach wrenching stop. While the elevator does free fall, it is tethered with cables that can hold 10,000 lbs, necessary for all the stress due to the stopping. The first people to take the ride could be heard screaming through thick walls all the way down. If that was not enough, after one minute allowed for recovery, the riders are pulled back up at the same speed as they fell, glued to their seats (for safety huge padded seats are in the elevator). The shaft uses a draft to increase acceleration, reversing the draft on the way back up. In a normal elevator the speed would be around 50 mph, but this ride reaches 75 mph. The first people off the ride wanted to get back in line and do it again even while almost in hysterics due to the shock of the ride.