The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando is a tall giant observation wheel in Orlando, Florida, United States. Opening under the name Orlando Eye, it carried its first passenger on April 29, 2015. On July 28, 2016, it was re-branded to be known as the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye. On March 11, 2018, another name change took place, making it the ICON Orlando. On April 4, 2019, the name was changed once again, to The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando. This included a re-branding of the property to become ICON Park.
Design and construction
It's described as an observation wheel, because "this is a stabilized-driven 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." 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'. The wheel was reported to be in the early stages of planning in March 2011, with completion due in the summer of 2014 and was approved by county commissionersin September 2012. In January 2013, it was reported that the expected opening date had been pushed back to "by Thanksgiving November 2014". Erection of the main support structure began in December 2013. In April 2014 it was reported that completion had been further delayed until Spring 2015. 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, 2015. In mid-February, it was announced that the soft opening was scheduled for May 1, followed by a grand opening ceremony on May 4.
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.
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. On March 11, 2018, it was rebranded again as ICON Orlando. On April 4, 2019, it was rebranded once again to The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando.
