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Riding the The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando

Florian Buechting Entertain & Relax No Comments

In 2018, the former Coca Cola Orlando Eye ferris wheel rebranded to ICON Orlando as part of the rebranding of the whole entertainment district. To confuse the people even more, it got its next renaming in April 2019 to The Wheel at ICON Park. It is based right at International Drive as part of the ICON Park Orlando and is 122 meters (400 ft) high. It is currently the seventh highest observation wheel in the world. It was one of the highest ferris wheels I ever visited before I made the Singapore Flyer in May 2019. The most popular time to visit is nighttime, of course, when the strip is illuminated. I did a daytime visit in later December 2018. Here are some impressions and my view.

This posting was published in January 2019 as “Riding the ICON Orlando Ferris Wheel”. The rebranding of the area in April 2019 changed the name to “The Wheel At ICON Park”. I updated the posting correspondingly in August 2019 without changing the contents.

  

  

  

The Wheel at ICON Park – Location & Admission

It may read a bit confusing, but the ICON Orlando ferris wheel is part of a new entertainment district called ICON Park Orlando, formerly ICON Orlando 360, which is located between International Drive and Universal Boulevard. ICON Park Orlando also hosts other attractions like Madame Tussauds or Sea Life.

The nominal admission for the ferris wheel is 27.99 USD, plus tax. During our visit, there was also the opportunity to take a ride before 4pm at a rate of 15 USD. You may also create combo tickets, which feels to have quite numerous possibilities. If you combine your ride up high with Madame Tussauds or Sea Life, the ticket is 39.99 USD and thus gives you a some 10 USD saving on the nominal price. For 49.99 USD, you can visit all attractions. You may also combine the ICON Orlando with a visit to the Skeletons museum or the Starflyer. It will be hard for you to really find the best combination, as there are multiple coupons out there, which you typically cannot combine with these offers.

The Wheel at ICON Park – Experience

We visited The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando around midday, after we did Madame Tussaud and Sea Life. It was still quite empty and there was practically no waiting time – the only thing which may slow you down is the memory picture taking, the security or the snack kiosk – you can grab some popcorn before you take the “show” up in the sky. Of course, after the trip, you pass by the souvenir area.

  

  

Due to the limited number of people, we had a cabin for two. The cabins are air-conditioned and offer a nice view around. Despite the glass is tinted, you can easily take good photos. The quality of the glass is very good so that there are just very few reflections. There is also a bench-alike area in the middle, where you can either sit or place your bags to. On each shorter side, there are also touchscreens which show you the area. In general, these are very helpful – sometimes it is a bit tough to orientate yourself and to show the direction you actually want to look at. Day view and night view is possible.

  

  

  

  

You take one full rotation of the capsule. I did not look at the watch while riding, but I found the information that one ride is about 22 minutes. Some internet sources also tell something about a 4D ride beforehand – this was either closed for maintenance or closed at all, I did not recognize it. The ferris wheel ride is cool, you have quite a far view. Doing the “flight” at night might also be a great experience.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

The Wheel at ICON Park – My View

I love visiting ferris wheels. If you do The Wheel in off-peak times, you might be in the passenger capsules just with your own party or with few people, so that you can walk around and enjoy. The viewpoint displays on either side of the capsule are very helpful. Compared to other ferris wheels like the London Eye, pricing is within a reasonable range. Going for a combo ticket with other attractions like the Starflyer (see ICON Park Orlando posting) or Madame Tussaud’s will definitely give you a nice time while being in Orlando.

 

(Greater) Orlando – Postings

Orlando is much more than Disney – here are all postings about the Entertainment Wonderland:

 

Flyctory.com Views from Above

Here are all postings tagged as Views from Above, dealing with any kind up-in-the-air viewpoints:

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