RIDING a coaster along the edge of a building 430 feet off the ground may not seem much to a hardcore thrill-seeker, but have you tried it face down with the safety locks supporting just the lower body? Maybe not, unless you?ve been to Cebu City recently.

The Crown Regency Hotel and Towers on Fuente Osmeña Boulevard, in the heart of Cebu City, launched what could become the south?s entertainment icon?the Sky Experience Adventure (SEA).

Atop the tallest hotel in the city, the $5-million SEA has the Edge Coaster, a unique amusement ride that coasts along the outline of the building face down. Inclined at 55 degrees at the start of the ride, the two-seat coaster can tilt up to a dizzying 90 degrees. How much further it tilts, or not tilt at all, you can control at the push of a button.

The Edge Coaster is not about speed, but about the thrill of enjoying a bird?s eye view of the cityscape. Each ride makes a full turn around the tower in four minutes.

?We want to be the new landmark of Cebu. If you haven?t paid us a visit, you haven?t been in Cebu,? said Richard King, whose brainchild is the SEA. He?s chair and CEO of property developer J. King and Sons Co. Inc., (JKSCI). JKSCI is developer of Crown Regency Hotel and Towers.

SEA also has the Sky Walk Extreme where visitors walk on a four-foot-wide strip around the tower, supported by safety harness. The finale is a glass walkway about 10-15 ft long. You can jump, dance, or pretend to be falling on the edge; or have yourself photographed by the SEA official lensman like you are standing on air.

Safety, said King, is SEA priority. SEA is so sure of its visitors? safety that no one is required to sign a waiver before the ride.

Designed and engineered by Interactive Rides Inc., which created the amusement rides on top of the Stratosphere Las Vegas Hotel and Casino and the adventure experiences at Macau Tower, SEA complies with the strictest international safety standards, officials said.

Harnesses for the Sky Walk Adventure alone, said Danny Dy, managing director of International Link Management and Consultancy, cost more than $100,000 each, while each rope can carry the weight of several people put together at the same time.

State-of-the-art technology is coded in all rides that at any given time of day, engineers at Interactive Rides Inc. in the US can monitor what?s happening in the country through the Internet?in real time.

SEA also has a Sky Observatory equipped with coin-operated binoculars and telescopes. Since SEA is open until midnight, the binoculars are also a good way to peek into the stars.

Sky Lounge serves fast-food fare and finger foods. Sky Resto Bar has entrees for the casual diner, while Stratus Restaurant has international dish selection.

Next year, King said SEA will open the Insanity Orbit, the exact replica of that at the top of the Stratosphere Las Vegas. Insanity Orbit is a massive mechanical arm that extends over the edge of the tower and spins at a force of 3 Gs.