Out and About: ‘The Great Florida Road Trip’ Opens at The Wheel at ICON Park Orlando

- Michelle Snow

The Great Florida Road Trip at ICON Park

This week I caught the grand opening of “The Great Florida Road Trip,” which is the first interactive game to take place while riding an observation wheel, and it takes place on The Wheel at ICON Park in Orlando.

Everything starts with some quick photos, then it’s on to a 1950s themed living room set up for the pre-show. A video on the “tv” introduces everyone to The Flamingo Family, who help demonstrate how to play the game.

The Great Florida Road Trip at ICON Park

Then it’s on to the Sky Bar area, where there are three themed cocktails for the game, as well as other leaded and unleaded libations.

The queue features a new wall of map art featuring various Florida attractions and more, along with The Flamingo Family.

The Great Florida Road Trip at ICON Park

This experience’s art and game pieces are themed to a nostalgic road trip through Florida in the 50s and 60s, paying homage to the state’s original tourism attractions that were here even before the arrival of famous theme parks.

Because before there were Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, Florida was a unique vacation spot with its natural sights, inventive attractions, unique architecture, and sports like the Everglades, Silver Springs’ glass-bottom boats, Miami’s art deco style, Daytona car racing, and more.

The Great Florida Road Trip at ICON Park

Before boarding the capsule, each person who wants to play is given a special camera, inspired by vintage film cameras from the 50s, and outfitted with infrared technology that reaches up to 1,000 feet.

As they enjoy a ride around the wheel, each player takes “photos” of targets set up on the roof top off The Wheel’s building, and adjacent parking garage. Each time the laser hits the target’s sensor, the camera says, “Nice photo!”

The Great Florida Road Trip at ICON Park

The game is designed to be played during the beginning and end ride segments, so as the attraction reaches its top height, players can relax and enjoy their view

The photographer with the most points at the end, gets a $5 arcade card for In The Game ICON Park, which is in The Wheel’s building. Guests will also be provided with a retro-style postcard they can fill out after the experience and drop in a themed mailbox for ICON Park to mail out for them.

At the end of the experience, every party will also receive a special memento of their vacation with the Flamingo Family using the photos taken at the beginning of the game

The Great Florida Road Trip at ICON Park.

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The photography game was really fun, but what I really loved about “The Great Florida Road Trip” is learning facts about all the Florida cities and attractions via the audio track that plays in each capsule as it rotates around.

“The Great Florida Road Trip” is fun for all ages, and I highly recommend giving it a try on your next ride on The Wheel at ICON Park.

About Michelle Snow

Michelle is the owner and editor of CitySurfing Orlando. She also owns Zengrrl.com, is a freelance writer specializing in travel and entertainment, has authored/co-authored four guidebooks on Orlando and Florida, and was head editor/writer at TheDisneyBlog.com for 10 years. She's lived in Orlando near Walt Disney World since 1995, and still finds there's so much fun to be had in Central Florida.
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