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Merlin Entertainments continues to focus on its attractions ‘mega clusters’ with the operator announcing its reacquisition of Orlando’s iconic giant wheel
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 26 Mar 2024
The Orlando Eye is once again under operation by Merlin Credit: Icon Park
Orlando’s iconic giant wheel - the largest observation wheel on the US’s east coast - has been reacquired by Merlin Entertainments.
Standing 400ft (122m) tall and featuring 30 air-conditioned glass capsules, the wheel is the anchor attraction for Icon Park - Orlando’s popular entertainment complex offering a variety of attractions, restaurants, shops, bars and more.
Rechristened the Orlando Eye, the wheel first opened in May 2015 and was originally a Merlin attraction before being sold in 2019.
Now bringing the attraction back under the Merlin banner, company CEO Scott O’Neil said that the move demonstrates the company’s strategic focus on expanding its gateway ‘mega-clusters’ of attractions in leading tourist cities worldwide.
“The acquisition of the Orlando wheel in the vitally important tourist hub of Orlando demonstrates our gateway strategy in action and serves to replicate our successful London gateway formula, whereby we have clustered four of our branded attractions alongside the iconic anchor that is The London Eye,” he said.
“Similarly, The Orlando Eye by Merlin Entertainments will become an unmissable stop on visitors’ itineraries, delivering an elevated experience with unobstructed 360-degree views of the Icon Park area and beyond.”
In addition to the Orlando Eye, Icon Park is home to two other Merlin attractions - Sea Life Orlando and Madame Tussauds Orlando. In Florida, Merlin also operates the Legoland Florida Resort and the recently-opened Peppa Pig Theme Park in Central Florida. Merlin will be aiming to replicate the success of its London cluster, which according to official statistics from VisitBritain, sees more than one-quarter of tourists who come to London visit at least one Merlin attraction in the British capital.
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