Talk:Ferris wheel

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[edit] New World’s Tallest

The London Eye is no longer the world’s tallest Ferris wheel. That distinction now belongs to the Star of Nanchang [1] which is located in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, PRC. The article should probably be updated to reflect that fact. Mingus19 07:39, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

I've removed the reference to the Sky Dream being the largest in Asia, as it's smaller than the Star of Nanchang. Rojomoke 17:32, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] References?

Are there any references for accepted public use of the Ferris wheel -- observation wheel distinction, or is this just some nitpicker's arbitrary definition? From [2] it would certainly appear that an observation wheel was a type of Ferris wheel. Ropers 23:00, 9 Sep 2004 (UTC)

It's how the designers of the London Eye describe it (and they should know, I hope). They explained the difference in the publicity material that accompanied the launch of the London Eye. BBC News has a story on its website which describes the difference between Ferris and observation wheels - see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/581259.stm . -- ChrisO 00:23, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Does anybody have sources for the size of ferris wheels? Aside from the Sky Dream in Fukuoka there are a few other ferris wheels in Japan alone that seem to make some claim to being the largest or among the largest in the world, including the Cosmo Clock 21 in Yokohama, the Daikanransha in Odaiba, Tokyo and the one in Tempozan, Osaka. Does anyone have relevant information about these claims? --Stephen Mok 19:15, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Observation Wheel

The Observation wheel article should be merged with Ferris wheel. "Observation wheel" is in current use to describe things that do not fit London Eye's narrow definition as a generic descriptive substitution like "high-voltage AC coil" for "Tesla coil", and the distinction here is misinformed, marketing-driven propaganda. Common sense makes my case but there's plenty of good support:

  • The source of this distinction is marketing. Check out this rhetoric disguised as a FAQ buried in the javascript of the brochure web site for the London Eye: "Is it a Ferris wheel? No it isn't - for three reasons, firstly that its capsules are enclosed, secondly that they are positioned on the outside of the wheel and thirdly that the whole structure is supported by an A-Frame from one side only."
  • The requirements of the category are unsupported assertions that are not, upon inspection, any more than design decisions:
    • The original Ferris wheel had enclosed capsules also.
    • Neither specific position of the cars on the wheel, nor how they are stabilized, nor one-sided support has anything to do with the main purpose of the device or the definition of the words 'observation wheel'.
  • The requirements are not consistently met by real-world examples. The third photo in Observation wheel shows the Yorkshire Wheel - classified as an "observation wheel" - which does not meet 3 of the stated requirements: the cars are gravity-stabilized, the cars are not mounted outside the frame, and the wheel has two support towers.

Ironically, the category that the marketers and this article seem to be trying to describe has more in common with the original Ferris wheel than most modern examples referred to with that moniker - the average fairground portable with open gondolas that fit 2 to 6 seated. I would recommend edits to the Ferris wheel article that would assert that observation wheels as a subtype of Ferris wheel that typically:

  • feature fully enclosed cars,
  • are larger and slower than most fair/park types, and
  • are permanently situated for beautiful or interesting sweeping vistas

... these being intuitive distinctions that are reflected by examples in the real world. --Metaxis 16:55, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

Whichever side one believes (and I presently have no reason not to believe Metaxis), this article and the full observation wheel article appear to contradict one another, do they not? --WikkiTikkiTavi 22:27, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] another picture

Here's another great picture for one the article get long enough for another picture. Image:London Eye - head on view.jpg

Nice, but that is not a Ferris wheel - it is an Observation wheel. Leonard G. 02:51, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Elsewhere on Wikipedia, there is a picture of the current Ferris Wheel on Chicago's Navy Pier. Inspiritor 02:48, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Guys, there are way too many pictures on this article right now for its length... Ddahlberg 17:34, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Any objections to the incorporation of a gallery? 118.173.5.164 (talk) 06:11, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Duh

The Chongqing picture is, according to the "observation wheel" pedants, an observation wheel not a ferris wheel.

Of course, the distinction is trivial pedantry at best, and marketing hype more likely. Some people. Sigh.

I don't think so - note that the cages are suspended, the determining factor. Leonard G. 01:51, 6 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Ferris vs. Big

Does anyone have a cite for the term "big wheel" being more common in the UK? It seems distinctly old-fashioned, and no longer true, like the usage of the word "billion" to mean "million million". --Jmstylr 08:55, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Well it is certainly true that 'big wheel' is the more common term in the UK. Proving it is a little harder. Here is a link for a description of big wheels at the National Fairground Archive of the University of Sheffield which lists 'Ferris wheel' as an alternative term. However they also use Ferris wheel elsewhere on that site. If you compare the number of times they use either term in the /nfa and /nfa2 direcectories comes out as 7:2 ([3] vs [4]). But given the low number statistics, the margin of error would be +/-3 on either side :). However, of the two times they use 'Ferris wheel', one is to mention the alternative name in the above link, the other is in relation to the title of an external television program. -- Solipsist 18:02, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
Personally, I'd disagree; the term "Ferris wheel" is very common in the UK, and "big wheel" sounds distinctly childish and ill-informed. Whilst I don't dispute that "big wheel" may be an alternative term, I'm not convinced that it is more common. DWaterson 13:56, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Transportable Ferris-Wheels in Germany

Is this section really necessary? I'm going to go ahead and delete it in a few days if no one objects.--Gephart 08:44, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

I think the more productive thing to do would be to create a separate page about Transportable Ferris-Wheels in Germany. Then you could merge in the various (very small) articles linked to in the table (with redirects, ideally), and actually get useful information out of it, as opposed to simply throwing away legitimate information on the grounds that it's slightly misplaced. It's also easier to deal with whether it's inappropriate for inclusion in an Encyclopedia if it's all properly contained. --Flata 08:43, 6 December 2005 (UTC)
Good suggestion. I've gone ahead and split Transportable Ferris-Wheels in Germany into it's own article. I think it's a significant improvement to this article. -- MisterHand 14:21, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Double Wheel Dates

I distinctly remember in about 1964 that my friend's father's traveling carnival had a double ferris wheel (supposedly the first one for a traveling carnival at the time). May want to research the date for double wheels. L. Greg 06:53, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] reference for dimensions

One reference for the original Ferris wheel (at the Chicago and St. Louis) fairs is:

Erik Larson, Devil in the White City, copyright 2003

he in turn refers to

Anderson, Norman D., Ferris Wheels: An Illustrated History. Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1992. Chicago Historical Society.

References to the wheel are scattered all through White City, but specific dimensions are listed starting on page 258 where he describes assembling the wheel.

If someone wants to add this reference to the main body of the article.... --ssd 01:52, 19 September 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Western Hemisphere

"The Texas Star at Fair Park is the largest ferris wheel in the Western Hemisphere. The wheel opened in 1985 and has a maximum capacity of 260 persons."

Technically speaking, isn't the London Eye just in the western hemisphere? Pjc51 14:05, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

The london eye is indeed to the west of the zero meridian. Since your question was asked so long ago i have amended the reference to the london eye to being deposed as the highest in the world to being the highest in the western hemisphere. Ei2g 21:07, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Paris Ferris Wheel

A paragraph in the "History" section of the article says that a ferris wheel was an attraction at the 1989 Paris Exhibition, four years prior to the "first ferris wheel" at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. It claims that this image supports this statement, however according to the description of the image it was taken in 1900, seven years after the Chicago World's Fair. No other references are cited.

I find it hard to believe that no historian has noticed the existence of a ferris wheel at the 1989 Paris Exhibition, and much easier to believe that the photo is from 1900 and that the wheel visible in it was constructed after 1893. If that is not the case can someone please cite a reference for the statement? I'm sure there have been any number of books written about either 1989 Paris Exhibition or the 1893 Chicago World's Fair capable of straightening this out.

Until then I'm marking it "Citation Needed." —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 192.82.6.13 (talk) 05:17, 9 March 2007 (UTC).


A page by the Hyde Park Historical Society mentions explicitly that a version of Ferris's wheel was constructed for the 1900 Exposition, and was the improved version with the larger number of cars. In addition, the existing French Wikipedia entry on Paris Expositions describes "la grande roue" as being built for 1900, and demolished in 1937. I'd say that the note that it was an attraction at the 1889 Expo is just a mistake. --PortnoySLP 19:13, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 60m transportable wheels

The Ferris wheel#World's tallest Ferris wheel installations section lists many 60m transportable wheels, but these are (mostly?) a small number of similar wheels being erected at numerous locationss; and the locations being listed are incomplete. 118.173.5.164 (talk) 08:10, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

ferris wheels are fun —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.165.240.85 (talk) 02:22, 29 April 2008 (UTC)