Daredevil To Walk On Moving Orlando Eye Ferris Wheel
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ORALANDO (CBSMiami/AP) - It's almost time for the grand opening of the Orlando Eye, but before that, daredevil Nik Wallenda will walk without a tether while the giant observation wheel is moving.
Wallenda, a 36-year-old from Sarasota, is scheduled to walk the Orlando Eye Wednesday. The walk will be broadcast live.
"It's not like I'm preparing for the end of my life," laughs the 36-year-old Sarasota, Florida, resident. "I'm a father, a husband and a homeowner."
According to the Orlando Eye's website, Wallenda chose the 400-foot wheel because when he heard about it he had a "vision" of how "cool it would be to tackle it." He also said, "There are so many (actual) moving parts to this walk that I think people are going to enjoy watching it as much as I'm going to enjoy taking part in it."
Wallenda will board the giant Ferris wheel like any normal spectator, taking a passenger capsule to the top. He'll then have to climb out of the capsule and down a ladder, he said, then walk on the outer rim as it spins. Wallenda estimated that the rim is about six inches wide. The walk could take 3 to 5 minutes and he said he must avoid parts of the Ferris wheel as it rotates.
He said that unless there's a "torrential downpour" he will perform the stunt as planned.
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"I'm prepared to walk on it, expecting it to be damp or moist, it's just something I'm gonna have to face," Wallenda said during a news conference Monday. "My actual concern with the dampness is not the actual walking part. It's actually getting to the point where walking it, because my hands have to grab onto those ladders and work my way there. I don't want to slip on the way there."
The walk could take 3 to 5 minutes and Wallenda must avoid parts of the observation wheel as it rotates.
He won't use a balancing pole and won't have a safety net.
Wallenda is married with three children and doesn't take his events lightly. He prays, thinks about death and practices rigorously while coldly calculating risks.
"As far as events for me, fairly stressful and demanding. I guess there's more of a comfort zone on a wire," he said.
Being a daredevil performance artist is in Wallenda's blood. Wire walking is his specialty, and in recent years, his talents and scary stunts have been televised.
His great-grandfather, family patriarch Karl Wallenda, died in a fall during a stunt in 1978 in Puerto Rico. Two other family members also died decades ago while performing.
Last year, Wallenda walked on two wires between Chicago skyscrapers, at one point blindfolded. He didn't use a safety harness or net.
In 2013, Wallenda successfully walked a tightrope stretched across the Little Colorado River Gorge near the Grand Canyon. That walk was televised by the Discovery Channel. There was no safety net andWallenda didn't use a tether.
In June 2012, Wallenda was the first person to walk over the brink of Niagara Falls. Other daredevils have crossed the water farther downstream but no one had walked a wire of the river since 1896. He did that walk with a tether because a TV network requested it for safety.
Wallenda said last week that he hopes he is an inspiration for others. People don't need to risk their lives, he said, but they should push themselves to do better, be greater.
"I think people become very complacent these days," he said. "I've always been a strong believer in pushing myself in everything I can do. Be a better husband, father and person in general. I hope that what I do inspires people to step out of their comfort zone and do greater things."
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
