Riding the Wheel at ICON Park

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Just look up.

The festival we attended was outdoors and it gets very hot in Orlando in the summer. We decided to take shelter from the heat and sun and at the same time take a look around the park. The park is rather small, but they pack plenty of activities and restaurants in the small area. In search for some quick cheap eats, we ended up right by the Wheel at ICON Park.

The wheel first peaked our interest when we saw it from the plane when we flew into Orlando. We wondered which major park had the attraction. I am sure that many people have the same experience, and never get the opportunity to actually visit The Wheel.

The wheel is a gigantic, slow moving ferris wheel where you can see wonderful views of Orlando in the day time and at night. The Wheel takes approximately 22 minutes to go around. There is a bar at the entrance if you wish to enjoy drinks during your experience.

We checked the prices and they seemed reasonable, we decided that we were going to finish walking around ICON park and decide if we wanted to have the experience. Also, it would allow us to see if we could find some form of discount or sale online.

WARNING: As we were leaving the area a representative of what looks to be a tourist information booth asked us to play a wheel based game for a free prize. This is a ploy to get you to attend a Timeshare presentation. You can read about our experience below.

Read about our experience with a Timeshare Presentation.

We looked online to see if there were any tickets available through the BestofOlando.com. We were pleasantly surprised that not only could we purchase the tickets for the wheel online, but we also had a pretty decent discount to go with it!

There is a booking fee and obviously we had to pay taxes, but the price that we paid was still less than the advertised price of admission at The Wheel. Depending on the amount of tickets that you are purchasing, this could save you plenty of money.

I was a little worried that the tickets that I bought through my phone indicated that they must be printed, however, they were able to scan the voucher coupon on the phone and we went in without a problem.

While we would have loved to go at night, we did not have the time to wait, so we decided to take the ride as soon as we returned to Wheel. There was a steady stream of people going into the ride, however at 5 PM on a Saturday in the middle of the summer, there was no line at the ticket window and we went right in.

They took a few pictures of us before we went on the ride.

There was about 8 minute wait for other parties to get on the ride. The wheel never actually stops, so they have to get people out, and everyone else inside each pod in a short period of time. It is moving slowly. Still, this may cause anxiety and difficulty for some. We had a very easy time, getting in and getting settled.

For the next 22 minutes you are enclosed in a pod with windows that allow you to see all around the Orlando area. Orlando is extensive. Nothing is close, and that becomes very apparent when you see the city from above.

There is a little tablet in each pod that indicates the main landmarks in Orlando. However, the Disney Parks were not included in the listings.

There is plenty to see while you are riding the pod and you can definitely spend some quality time with your present company.

We spent most of the time trying to get some quality shots and trying to figure out the surroundings. By the time we were done, the lights on the wheel were starting to come on, and it left us with the desire to ride it at night or at sundown.