The widely-anticipated grand opening of the Buffal”O” ferris wheel is just around the corner. Just yesterday the Buffalo RiverWorks team announced that the ride is officially operational, and that the larger attraction – the Riverland Ride Park – will be open to the public soon.
The unveiling of the ferris wheel had been delayed, as RiverWorks awaited the arrival of an ADA wheelchair lift. The railings were also on backorder for the upper deck. But all of those “final pieces of the puzzle” have been addressed, which means that the ride is now “good to go.”
During a press conference last evening, the ride was turned on, and a lucky handful of people got a chance to take a spin.
The year-round ride is anticipated to open to the public on Memorial Day weekend. When the weather is nice, it’s an open air experience thanks to removable windows on the cars. The addition of the ferris wheel is part of RiverWorks’ plan to attract more families to the waterfront. There are numerous other family attractions at the site these days, including roller skating, a climbing wall, child-friendly rides – all packaged together in an amusement park atmosphere along the Buffalo River.
“Today we celebrated the opening of one downtown’s newest and, soon to be, iconic destinations… the Buffal”O” Ferris Wheel at RiverWorks! We were honored to be joined by those who have helped us make this dream become reality and it turned out to be a beautiful day for it. We would like to thank all of those involved in helping to make this happen and we hope you all come down this summer to enjoy the spectacular views for yourselves. We plan to announce the opening of the Buffal”O” and our Riverland Ride Park very soon to the public, so stay tuned!” – Buffalo RiverWorks
The ride sits atop “Stonehenge,” a demolished grain elevator. Its peak is approximately 100′.
Buffalo Rising photographer Vincent Berbano was on-hand to capture the excitement, as RiverWorks’ owner Earl Ketry and general manager Bill Casale cut the ribbon.
The post Let’s Go… Buffal”O”! appeared first on Buffalo Rising.