The 60-foot Ferris wheel was the centerpiece of the 100,000-square-foot Toys ‘R Us Times Square flagship store in New York designed by the award-winning entertainment retail design firm J. Newbold Associates. The Ferris wheel, designed, engineered and fabricated by Entech Innovative Engineering, features custom lighting effects and 14 custom gondolas individually themed to represent many children’s favorite toys.
To create so complex an attraction required re-engineering the Ferris wheel to compensate for the additional weight of themed gondolas, including additional engineering analysis to determine the optimal position and placement of each gondola to maintain wheel balance and proper operating motion.
In addition, engineers at Entech assessed the gear and motor ratios of the Ferris wheel. As a result, they engineered improvements to optimize performance and lessen long term maintenance, reducing operating costs.
The Toys ‘R Us Times Square store won the Retail Design Award, “Store of the Year” from the NASFM and “Best Overall Entry” from Chain Store Age.
