The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando

The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando is a 400 ft (122 m) tall giant observation wheel in Orlando, Florida, United States. Opening under the name Orlando Eye, it opened on April 29, 2015. The wheel was reported to be in the early stages of planning in March 2011, at which point it was proposed for completion in mid-2014, but the opening date was subsequently delayed to late 2014 and then to early 2015.

The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando
The Orlando Eye in December 25, 2016
General information
TypeFerris wheel
Location8401 International Drive, Orlando, Florida, US
Construction started2012
Completed2015
Opened • 1st passenger: April 29, 2015
 • Official: May 4, 2015
Owner • Structure: Circle Entertainment[1][2]
 • 'ICON' brand: IDL Wheel Wheel Tenant LLC (tenant & operator)[3]
Height400 ft (122 m)
Dimensions
Diameter390 feet (119 m)
Website
https://iconparkorlando.com/

The attraction was renamed the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye in 2015; the ICON Orlando in 2018; and The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando in 2019. The most recent rename included a re-branding of the property to become ICON Park.

Design and construction

The Wheel at Icon Park Orlando described as an observation wheel, because "this is a stabilized-driven (capsule) that gives you a really smooth experience on the way around, so it doesn't feel like when you're at 400-feet, that you're swinging around in mid-air."[4] According to its official website, The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando is the first wheel ever to use such a system in combination with a suspended 'ski lift capsule design'.[5]

The wheel was reported to be in the early stages of planning in March 2011,[6] with completion due in mid-2014, and was approved by county commissioners in September 2012.[6]

In January 2013, it was reported that the expected opening date had been pushed back to "by Thanksgiving November 2014".[7] Erection of the main support structure began in December 2013.[8] In April 2014 it was reported that completion had been further delayed until early 2015.[4]

Installation of the 30 air-conditioned passenger capsules, each of which can carry up to 15 people, began in mid-January 2015, and the last capsule was installed on February 5.[9] In mid-February 2015, it was announced that the soft opening was scheduled for May 1, followed by a grand opening ceremony on May 4.[10] The Orlando Eye carried its first passenger on April 29, 2015.[11]

Malfunctions

On July 3, 2015, at around 4:00 pm, a few months after operations began, the Eye experienced a technical fault with the system that monitors the wheel position, causing the system to automatically shut down, stranding about 66 riders for approximately three hours.[12]

Rebranding

On July 28, 2016, the Orlando Eye followed its London counterpart in becoming sponsored by Coca-Cola and was renamed the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye. The deal included the renaming of the Eye and four new "Surprise and Delight" capsules, which are branded capsules with a cooler of soda and selfie sticks.[13][14]

On March 11, 2018, it was rebranded again as ICON Orlando.[15]

On April 4, 2019, it was rebranded once again to The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando.

References
  1. Merlin Entertainments confirms talks with Circle Entertainment
  2. Wood, Debra (March 17, 2011). "Merlin Eyes Orlando for Ferris Wheel Project". ENR Southeast. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  3. Merlin Entertainments PLC – Announcement of Intention to Float Archived September 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Fais, Scott (April 16, 2014). "I-Drive 360: Construction continues on the Orlando Eye". Bay News 9.
  5. Alava, Andrea (January 20, 2015). "Passenger Capsules Begin Installation". Orlando Eye.
  6. Cruz, Georgina (January 19, 2015). "Orlando Eye observation wheel set to open in spring". Orlando Sentinel.
  7. "Construction to soon begin on Orlando Eye". Click Orlando. January 24, 2013.
  8. "I-Drive Live: The Orlando Eye Goes Vertical!". Orlando Parks News. December 11, 2013.
  9. Bevil, Dewayne. "Orlando Eye: All 30 capsules now in place". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  10. Dineen, Caitlin (February 17, 2015). "Orlando Eye grand opening set for May 4; Harris to Tussauds". Orlando Sentinel.
  11. Jensen, Christina (April 30, 2015). "13-year-old leukemia patient becomes Orlando Eye's first official rider". News 13. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  12. "Orlando Eye back open after malfunction left riders stuck". WFTV. July 4, 2015.
  13. "Orlando Eye is renamed the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye". July 28, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  14. Dineen, Caitlin. "Orlando Eye officially flies Coca-Cola banner". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  15. Santana, Marco. "Coca-Cola Orlando Eye changes name to ICON Orlando™". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 14, 2018.

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