Fair to have record-tall Ferris wheel

The South Florida Fair’s newest attraction will send you so high in the air that the Federal Aviation Administration had to approve it.

The Midway Sky Eye is a Ferris wheel that rises 155 feet, placing you at eye level with some of the taller buildings in South Florida. It weighs more than 400,000 pounds — heavier than about two dozen elephants. The ride will be lit up by more than a half-million LED lights.

The Sky Eye is the tallest traveling Ferris wheel in North

America, its owners say. You can see for yourself Sunday, when crews begin setting it up at the fairgrounds, 9067 Southern Blvd., in West Palm Beach. The fair opens Jan. 12. “We’re so excited to have it,” said Rick Vymlatil, president and chief executive officer of the South Florida Fair and Palm Beach County Expositions.

Because the Ferris wheel is in the flight path of planes coming into Palm Beach International Airport, it has to have a big flashing red light on it.

“We had to work with the FAA because it’s so tall,” Vymlatil said.

He said he’s planning to take a spin on it to see if riders in the six-person gondolas can see the ocean, even though the Ferris wheel will sit 7 miles west of Interstate 95.

“That would be pretty amazing,” he said.

The attraction, which has been at only five other fairs since it debuted last year at the Florida State Fair in Tampa, was manufactured in the Netherlands and shipped here piece by piece.

While riders will travel high in the sky, the experience should be gentle — unlike the nausea-inducing midway rides such as “The Zipper” and “Gravitron.”

The South Florida Fair will run for 17 days, featuring a parade each day. This year’s theme is “magical parades.”

The fair also will continue its tradition of hosting an agriculture and livestock program that features more than 1,000 exhibitors. It’ll also offer ice-skating performances, four stages of music and entertainment and over 200 rides, games and attractions.

There will be a variety of concerts, ranging from Southern to classic rock to country to Christian, Latin and Brazilian music.

SOUTH FLORIDA FAIR & PALM BEACH/COURTESY The Midway Sky Eye is the tallest traveling Ferris wheel — about 16 stories — in North America, its owners say.