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The Wheel at ICON Park closed for maintenance after losing power
The Wheel at ICON Park is closed for maintenance, according to the park's website. The closure comes after the ride lost power Saturday, while dozens of guests were on the ride. It took hours for firefighters to rescue more than 60 people who were trapped on the ride. Officials said no one was hurt in the incident.
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Wheel – a 400-foot tall Ferris wheel at ICON Park in Orlando – will remain closed for "a few days" while technical teams perform maintenance and investigate why the attraction seemingly sparked and lost power on Saturday night while people were on it, the park said in a statement.
"The Wheel is expected to be closed for the next few days. The technical team is conducting maintenance on The Wheel and, as per our protocols, the attraction will be reviewed by Florida state ride inspectors before reopening. Updates on opening will be provided on our website and social," the statement read.
On Saturday night, the attraction – previously known as the "Orlando Eye" – suffered a power failure with more than 60 people spread across 20 cabins. Technical rescue teams had to manually rotate the ride to evacuate everyone from the cabins, a spokesperson for Orange County Fire Rescue said.
Everyone was safely rescued hours later, and no injuries were reported, OCFR said.
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Dozens rescued from The Wheel at ICON Park after power failure
Crews are manually moving The Wheel at ICON Park to get people out of the pods after the power went out New Years Eve
Video shared with FOX 35 appears to show a flurry of sparks shooting out from above one of the cabins as the rest of the ride, which is normally illuminated, remains dark. So far, it is not known what caused the power failure or the sparks.
According to its website, The Wheel opened in 2015 after three years of construction. It features air-conditioned cabins that slowly rotate to some 400 feet above the ground providing views of International Drive and nearby theme parks. It has 64,000 color-changed LED lights.
While separate, it is the second incident at ICON Park involving a ride.
In March 2022, 14-year-old Tyre Sampson fell to his death from Orlando FreeFall, a drop tower ride. A state investigation found that restraints on the ride were manually manipulated, which overrode some of the safety sensors. That ride is set to be torn down.
Orlando FreeFall is owned by Slingshot Group and housed at ICON Park. The Wheel is owned and operated by ICON Park.