ORLANDO, Fla. – The Wheel at Icon Park on International Drive in Orlando has reopened with new safety measures after being closed since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
What You Need To Know
- The Wheel reopens to the public
- New safety measures in place, including increased cleaning
- Visitors will be put in private capsules
- Limited operating hours for the time being
Leaders at The Wheel were not expecting to be celebrating their five-year anniversary during a pandemic, but during that time they decided to work on projects including repainting The Wheel to give it a fresh look for its reopening.
"We decided to come to Florida because it was one of the first states to open up more," said Jeremia Sudbrock, who is visiting from Indiana.
He's visiting Orlando for the first time.
"It's kind of a ghost town," Sudbrock said.
Sudbrock is excited to experience the newly open attractions with his family.
"I feel more comfortable, not just this, local businesses. We ate dinner here last night, they're still separating tables," he said.
Inside the wheel house, you'll see safety improvements like hand sanitizer stations and stickers reminding guests to social distance.
You'd normally have to pay $100 for a private capsule at The Wheel, but right now, every family is going to have a private capsule, and in between each ride, crews are going to be deep cleaning the capsule.
"While they're there our AC units draw fresh clean air from the outside, so we like to say there's no better way to be socially distant than to be 400 feet above everybody else," Icon Park's Vice President of Sales and Marketing John Goodman said.
Goodman also said all employees will be wearing face masks. They're thrilled to once again give riders a bird's eye view of Orlando.
"We're celebrating our reunion today with our employees coming back to work and getting ready to welcome these guests," Goodman said.
The main entrance to the wheel house will now be open air to make the space even more open.
The Wheel opens at 1 p.m. Wednesday. It will be operating with limited hours Wednesday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
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