Orlando Layover: ICON Park and WonderWorks
Part of the full Orlando Layover: ICON Park and Lake Eola, MCO
ICON Park’s twenty acres on Orlando’s International Drive stack a 450-foot swing tower, a 400-foot observation wheel and a wax museum around one open plaza, with WonderWorks’ upside-down building less than a mile along the same road.
The 450-foot swing tower at ICON Park
The Orlando StarFlyer opened on 1 June 2018 as the world’s tallest swing ride: 24 seats on chains, hauled up a 450-foot tower and swung out at speeds of up to 60 mph. That puts it 50 feet above the observation wheel standing next to it. Tickets for the tower come bundled with the wheel if you want both.
Come in the evening rather than the middle of the day. The tower and the wheel both light up after dark, the plaza underneath them costs nothing to walk into, and a trolley runs the length of the strip for $2 until half past ten at night.
WonderWorks’ upside-down building at 9067 International Drive
A neoclassical mansion sits overturned on the pavement here, columns and cornice pointing at the ground, palm trees planted at what should be the roofline. WonderWorks has looked like that since 1998, and inside it are six themed zones and more than 100 hands-on exhibits: a bed of nails, a gyroscope, an indoor ropes course, a laser tag arena. It stays open until midnight, and you can buy an all-access ticket ahead.
Most people on this strip checked out of a hotel on it this morning and are carrying a week of theme-park luggage rather than one cabin bag, which no ride queue is built for.
The only direct airport bus from here takes about an hour
LYNX Link 42 connects International Drive with Orlando International Airport (MCO) for a flat $2, and the ride is roughly an hour, against about 20 minutes for the same distance by car. There is no rail link of any kind on this corridor. Budget two and a half hours from the plaza to the gate if you are taking the bus, and rather less if you are not.
None of this is downtown, and it is not trying to be: the fountain, the swan boats and the old county courthouse are a separate trip on the other side of the interstate, better in daylight, and cheaper. Leave the suitcase at a storage point and this strip turns into a walkable evening instead of a car park with rides attached.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do during a layover near ICON Park in Orlando?
Four to six hours is enough for two of the ticketed attractions and a meal, and the evening suits this strip better than the morning. The Orlando StarFlyer swings 24 people out at the top of a 450-foot tower, the observation wheel next to it turns 400 feet up in enclosed capsules, and WonderWorks, less than a mile along the same road, is a building deliberately built upside down with more than 100 hands-on exhibits inside. Book the rides before you land if you are tight on time, but the plaza itself needs no ticket at all.
Is ICON Park itself free to walk into?
Yes. The twenty-acre plaza, its restaurants and its shops are open with no admission charge, and only the individual attractions on it sell tickets. That makes it a reasonable place to kill an hour without committing to anything, which is not true of most of what Orlando puts on a main road.
How do you get along International Drive without a car?
A trolley works the length of the strip for $2 a ride in exact change, running daily from eight in the morning until half past ten at night. The line serving the main resort stretch comes by every 15 to 20 minutes and stops at ICON Park itself, so moving between attractions on the road does not need a taxi.
Is ICON Park the same place as I-Drive 360?
It is. The complex opened on 4 May 2015 under the name I-Drive 360 and took the ICON Park name in 2018. The observation wheel on it has carried two names as well, the Orlando Eye and the Wheel at ICON Park, which is why searching for it turns up what look like three different attractions on the same corner of International Drive.