ICON Park and The Wheel

The Orlando Eye is an observation wheel, not a thrill ride. It stands 400 feet tall, and a rotation in its enclosed, air-conditioned capsules takes about 20 minutes. ICON Park lists general admission from $29.99 per adult when it is operating. The height and the slow view over I-Drive are the whole case for it.

The problem is the current closure. The Eye's site on September 22, 2026 said it was closed for annual maintenance and pointed visitors to SEA LIFE and Madame Tussauds instead. Its opening-hours page listed both that day and the next as closed. No reopening date was given. For comparison, the 2017 annual maintenance closure lasted ten days; this one has run since at least June. Until the Eye's site shows regular hours again, treat any combo that includes it as unusable.

Starting prices shown on ICON Park's site on September 22, 2026. Most are date-based, and the attractions' own sites sometimes show lower online prices.

SEA LIFE also sells a SEA LIFE and Madame Tussauds combo from $39, which does not depend on the wheel. That is the only bundle worth considering while the Eye is shut.

ICON Park's seven-story garage has free parking on floors 4 to 7. Premium parking is on floors 2 and 3 (ICON Park does not publish the price), and valet on the first floor and near Brother Jimmy's BBQ is also listed as free. On I-Drive this matters: you can park here for dinner at no cost.

The address is 8375 International Drive. From I-4, take exit 74A (Sand Lake Road), turn right, then right onto International Drive, then make a U-turn after about 0.3 miles, per ICON Park's own directions. It is about 4 miles and 10 minutes by car from the Universal area in light traffic.

If you are staying on I-Drive, ICON Park is an easy evening: free parking, a promenade with restaurants (Yard House, Shake Shack, Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips, a food hall) and bars with live music. That is a fine two hours without buying any attraction ticket.

If you have young children and a rainy afternoon, SEA LIFE is the pick. It is compact, indoors, and the tunnel is the highlight. Allow an hour. For older children and adults, SeaWorld is a far bigger aquarium day for a higher ticket price.

If you are coming from Disney or Universal specifically for ICON Park, don't. Without the wheel, you are driving across town for attractions that exist in malls and tourist strips worldwide. Our rainy-day guide and free and cheap guide have better uses of the afternoon.

Older guides describe the Orlando FreeFall drop tower at ICON Park. It closed after a 14-year-old, Tyre Sampson, died falling from it in March 2022, and the tower was dismantled in March 2023. The Orlando SlingShot, a separate reverse bungee, still operates.

The name changes also confuse searches. The wheel opened as The Orlando Eye in 2015, became the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye in 2016, the ICON Orlando in 2018, The Wheel at ICON Park in 2019, and The Orlando Eye again in 2024. It is the same wheel.