The Branson Ferris Wheel is the Strip's skyline: 150 feet tall, 40 gondolas, and a light show of more than 144,000 LEDs — a wheel with a first life. It began at Chicago's Navy Pier, built by Dutch Wheels in 1990, before The Track Family Fun Parks brought it to Highway 76 in 2016. Its film record belongs mostly to its owners, and this page presents it as such.

The Branson Ferris Wheel: An Iconic Journey

BransonTracks

The Track Family Fun Parks' signature film for the Branson Ferris Wheel — the 150-foot wheel that began life at Chicago's Navy Pier, reborn on Highway 76 with 40 gondolas and a 144,000-LED light show. The film presents the wheel as Branson's skyline icon; its soundtrack is an original song, so no narration transcript is stored.

Bringing the Branson Ferris Wheel to Life - Phase 2

BransonTracks

Part two of The Track's 2016 construction diary, filmed three weeks before the wheel opened: the 150-foot structure that had sat assembled and gleaming for weeks finally gets its gondolas. The crew recounts the ground surveys needed to hold 450,000 pounds, concrete piers poured 23 feet deep, and Dutch Wheels — the company that built the wheel in 1990 — reassembling it with 10,000 bolts, while Michael Haygood designed a lighting scheme across 280 bars and more than 144,000 LED lights.

Key takeaways
  • The wheel was built by Dutch Wheels in 1990 and reassembled in Branson with 10,000 bolts
  • Concrete piers run 23 feet deep to carry its 450,000 pounds
  • The lighting design puts 144,000+ LEDs on 280 bars

Branson Missouri Ferris Wheel Ride

All Things Branson

An All Things Branson ride film from 2018 — a full rotation on the Branson Ferris Wheel above Highway 76, taking in the Strip and the Ozark foothills from the top. The video carries no caption track, so it is presented as ride footage.

The reassembly

The Track's 2016 construction diary is the page's narrated core, filmed three weeks before opening: ground surveys to hold 450,000 pounds, concrete piers poured 23 feet deep, and Dutch Wheels — the original builder — reassembling its own wheel with 10,000 bolts while Michael Haygood designed the lighting across 280 bars. A companion film runs the build from job site to bright lights, mostly time-lapse.

The wheel itself

The signature 'Iconic Journey' film (its soundtrack is an original song, so it stands as watch footage) and the 2017 promo present the finished landmark and its 'Electrify' music-and-light spectacular. An All Things Branson ride film takes a full rotation above the Strip — the Ozark foothills from the top (ride footage; no caption track). A music video shot around the wheel's lights and a Track parks overview, with the wheel as the family's towering centerpiece, close the record.

Sources: the 7 videos on this page. The Track Family Fun Parks have their own page here.

Branson Ferris Wheel: From Job Site to Bright Lights

BransonTracks

'From Job Site to Bright Lights' — The Track's short 2016 film of the wheel's arrival and assembly in Branson, from construction site to illuminated landmark. Mostly music and time-lapse, presented as a period piece from the wheel's first season.

The Branson Ferris Wheel

BransonTracks

The Track's 2017 promo for the wheel: spectacular views of the Ozark Mountains and the famed entertainment corridor, and the Electrify music-and-light spectacular from its 144,000 LED lights. A venue film presented as watch content; it carries no caption track.

Hold On Music Video: Branson Ferris Wheel

BransonTracks

'Hold On' — BransonTracks' music video shot on and around the Ferris Wheel, with the wheel's LED show as the backdrop. A music piece rather than a tour, kept here as part of the wheel's own film record.

Watch: Branson Ferris Wheel, guided

1 videos · summaries from the actual guides

Go-karting, bumper boats, mini golf, the Ferris Wheel and more - all at The Track Family Fun Parks

BransonTracks

A Track Family Fun Parks film covering go-karts, bumper boats and mini golf across the Track parks, with the Branson Ferris Wheel as the parks' towering centerpiece. Venue footage presented as watch content.

More Branson essentials

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