NEWS: The Seattle Great Wheel is now open

[jedimaster1227]

http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2012/06/27/seattles-ferris-wheel-see-the-view-from-the-top/#6066-4

 

Regular readers of this blog might remember I’m not a fan of heights. (For example, there was this headline: “I flew in a stunt plane and didn’t throw up.“) No hard feelings if you don’t remember; I sort of forgot about that phobia myself. Then I remembered today, just seconds before seattlepi.com photographer Joshua Trujillo and I reached the apex of Seattle’s soon-to-open observation wheel. We were previewing the wheel with Pier 57 owner Hal Griffith, who says he’s wanted to erect a waterfront wheel in Seattle for more than 30 years. This was only Griffith’s fourth time riding on the wheel, but he seemed pretty nonchalant about our altitude. I tried to politely edge away from the transparent wall that separated us from a 200-foot drop into Elliott Bay.

 

That cold, faraway, sprawling, gorgeous bay. And Mount Rainier in the distance. And the city skyline to the east, and the Olympic Mountains to the west. Mild acrophobia be damned, it’s a sight to see.

 

Here’s what a $13 ticket will get you when Seattle’s Great Wheel opens Friday afternoon.

 

For the record, this isn’t a Ferris wheel like the one at the Santa Monica Pier in California. That one is truly a Ferris wheel — about 85 feet high and outfitted with open, bucket-like seats. Griffith says he tried to install a similar wheel in Seattle over 30 years ago, before there was one in Santa Monica.

 

Seattle’s wheel is technically an observation wheel. It stands at 175 feet from pier to top and sports enclosed, gondola-style compartments for passengers. (One daredevil already decided to scale the wheel.)

 

Griffith said it’s a little bit classier than your average amusement park wheel, and a bit more costly to build. “We wanted the best we could get,” he said.

 

Now, the wheel’s great white bones will be a permanent part of the city’s landscape, said Kyle Griffith, the son and business partner of the pier’s owner. “Our whole thinking is long-term,” he said. “We’re Seattle people, and we’re excited to open up the wheel and have it become a part of Seattle’s skyline.”

 

The wheel officially opens Friday afternoon. Tickets are available online at seattlegreatwheel.com.

The new Seattle Great Wheel is shown on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. (JOSHUA TRUJILLO / SEATTLEPI.COM)

Edited June 29, 2012 by jedimaster1227

[cal1br3tto]

I wouldn't mind checking this out someday. I've always liked the idea of enclosed cars on a Ferris wheel. Not to make it less scary (with the extra height, I'm not certain it even would be), but just for a different ambiance, I guess.

[simon8899]

I prefer open ferris wheel gondolas as its better suited for picture taking - especially at night. The worst thing that could happen is that there's light inside the gondolas...

[Jerrykoala2112]

Reminds me a lot of the Navy Pier in Chicago...