I have a fascination with Ferris Wheels. When trying to describe why, I often fall flat. For me, it’s like trying to describe why a blue sky is pleasing or the thrill in the smell of coffee or the delight in a friend’s smile. I like Ferris Wheels more than most, and what’s very strange is that I don’t usually like slow things. I’m not a fan of sitting by the water and listening to the wind, or slowing down when walking to smell the roses, or quietly contemplating my thoughts. My husband will literally stop to smell flowers when we walk together while I barely cataloged that the flowers were there.
All that to say, Ferris Wheels seem like a strange love of mine due to their slow nature. Although, frankly, a fast Ferris Wheel would be a terrifying one. For a few years, I even made it a goal to ride a new Ferris Wheel each year until restricted travel opportunities started making that a difficult goal to achieve.
Read more: On Ferris Wheels: a thousand wordsThere’s something about the slow rotations that delights my need to move while still forcing me to slow down. I’ve usually ridden the Ferris Wheels with people and so the rides also give us time to talk and enjoy each other’s company. I enjoy going to high places and looking out over the sky, and so Ferris Wheels give me that. And all these words feel like a pale intimidation of the delight I feel in getting to ride a Ferris Wheel, especially a new Ferris Wheel.
The beginning of this joy was in Chicago, 2015, when a professor talked a group of students including myself into riding the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier. I don’t remember there being any sort of line or other people, and I think the attendants were somewhat bemused by a bunch of college students and their professor riding the Ferris Wheel. At the time, Chicago was the biggest city I had been to and I had never seen a great lake before – the blue of the water was fascinating to me and that was my main takeaway from our trip to the pier.
The next year, the same professor and group of students went Atlanta to compete and that where we rode the Ferris Wheel built in connection with the Atlanta Olympics. This Ferris Wheel, we rode at night and there wasn’t that much to see nearby. This ride didn’t stick in my memory as much or as well.
The following year, however, I had an itch – I had to ride another Ferris Wheel. I just had to. I had started making yearly goal lists, and I put “Ride a Ferris Wheel” on the list. I went on an international trip with a stopover in London, but I didn’t have enough time to ride the London Eye and it broke my heart a little. In June though, my time came! My best friend and I went on a trip to Oklahoma City and rode the Wheeler Ferris Wheel. It was a cute little wheel with small capsules. We took dozens of photos as twenty-some women are obligated to do when on adventures with friends, and the ride was the highlight of the trip for me. Then, bonus, I ended up at California Adventure Park and rode the insane Mickey’s Fun Wheel which is an eccentric wheel instead of a Ferris Wheel. The capsules slide along the tracks in addition to the rotations. As you’re having a conversation and looking over the park, your capsule is pulled by gravity to one side to land with a thunk. Bottom of my wheel list, for sure.
I didn’t know it in 2017 when I was admiring it from a distance, but in 2018 I would have the opportunity to return to London for a day. The very first plan I made was to ride the London Eye. I sprung for the VIP experience, and got to enjoy champagne while admiring the London skyline. I chose to ride around sunset, and the changing sky colors made for a fantastic luxury ride. I was alone among strangers for this ride, and it was a beautiful, peaceful, abit lonely ride. I would do it again in the same circumstances, but I would have preferred to share it with someone. It is my favorite experience in London though.
The next summer, I was lucky to go to Niagara Falls with my very good friend and I talked her into riding the nearby Ferris Wheel. That was such a fun experience to see the Falls from the wheel, and we rode towards the end of our day there and we were very glad to get to sit down in the shade during a hot summer day. This is one ride that I don’t remember as well, perhaps because it’s overshadowed by so many other amazing experiences at the Falls that day.
I remember trying to find a Ferris Wheel to ride in 2020, but the one we stopped at was closed when we tried. But, in 2021, my husband and I rode the Branson Wheel which was a delightful experience. They even include pictures in your ticket price, which I love but my husband’s eyes were closed in the picture they gave us! The capsules were open air and there was a section with a wasp buzzing around, but I still remember having such fun riding the wheel. It was also my first Ferris Wheel with my husband, which makes it extra special.
In 2022, we tried to go to a Ferris Wheel in December, but the weather was bad that day and so it was closed. Maybe I’ll try for that Ferris Wheel again – I did put ride a Ferris Wheel on my goal list again after all. I have the nearby Ferris Wheels cataloged, I look for ones whenever we travel, and I write things like this every few months to try to figure out how to put my relationship with Ferris Wheels into words. I haven’t found a way that I’m satisfied with yet. I tried to look for books on Ferris Wheels, but they don’t really exist. Someday, I hope to capture the idea of the feeling that Ferris Wheels bring to me. Until then – I’ll keep playing with the words and trying to find a way.
KalinaH 