After much hype (and a little delay) the 200-foot SkyView Atlanta Ferris wheel now has an opening date: Tuesday, July 16. There will be a noon ribbon-cutting ceremony prior to the first gondola’s circumnavigation, and SkyView spokesman Jason Evans says he expects a big crowd.
This morning, the still-being-assembled wheel looked like a giant Pac-Man. But the crew hoped to install the final seven spokes by today’s end, completing SkyView’s frame. At a media event this morning, Evans compared building the Ferris wheel to playing with the “world’s biggest Lego set,” as behind him workers installed steel pins the size of small children into the massive structure.
Every inch of SkyView will be covered in LED lights—one million to be exact. The lights’ colors will correspond with holiday festivities.
Here’s a good piece of news for those of us who aren’t fond of heights: each gondola has a panic button. If you get anxious while riding, operators will bring you down immediately. I still have some hesitations, but I’m getting excited to give this wheel a whirl.
