What’s new in Scottsdale this week?
The Boardwalk Big Wheel, an 80-foot Ferris wheel at Arizona Boardwalk (9500 E. Vía de Ventura, Scottsdale), opened to the public on August 10, 2026. It’s the only permanently fixed Ferris wheel in metro Phoenix, all 18 of its gondolas are fully enclosed and air-conditioned, and a ride costs $9 for the first person plus $6 for each additional guest in the same cabin.
By Dr. Kevin Shufford | August 15, 2026
If you’ve driven the Loop 101 near Vía de Ventura in the last week, you probably did a double take. There’s a Ferris wheel out there now, and it isn’t a carnival ride that’s getting trucked to the next town on Sunday.
Every Ferris wheel you’ve ridden in the Valley until now has been temporary: the Arizona State Fair, a church carnival, a pop-up in a mall parking lot. They show up, they spin for a couple of weeks, and they leave. This one is bolted down for good, and Phoenix New Times confirmed it started spinning on August 10.
What a ride actually gets you
The wheel stands 80 feet tall and sits behind Butterfly Wonderland’s glass conservatory, which is why you can spot it from the freeway. Arizona Boardwalk built it to mark its 10th anniversary. The complex first opened in 2016 and already holds OdySea Aquarium, the Museum of Illusions, Pangaea Land of the Dinosaurs, Cyber Quest Arcade, the UFO Experience, and a 50-foot carousel, so the wheel is the tenth attraction on one property.
Here’s the part that matters in an Arizona August: every gondola is fully enclosed and air-conditioned. According to Arizona Boardwalk’s own announcement, each cabin seats up to six adults, the ride runs 5 to 8 minutes with music playing on board, and full-color LED lighting turns the whole structure into a beacon after sunset. From the top you’re looking at the McDowell, Black, Mummy, Four Peaks, and Camelback mountains.
Pricing is $9 for the first rider and $6 for every additional guest in the same gondola, so a family of four rides for $27. Bundle it with another Boardwalk attraction and you can save up to 40%. Tickets are sold on-site rather than online. If you already hold an OdySea Aquarium or Butterfly Wonderland annual pass, you can upgrade for $20 and ride unlimited for a full year, which is the move if you’ve got kids who will want to go again.
One honest note on timing: this opening ran late. The Boardwalk originally announced mid-to-late April, and it didn’t carry a public rider until August 10. If you were waiting on it, you weren’t imagining the delay.
Already on the calendar: free Foam Frenzy over Labor Day weekend
If you’re going to make the drive out there anyway, plan around the Boardwalk’s next free event. Foam Frenzy runs Saturday, September 5 through Monday, September 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day in the Boardwalk Courtyard. Expect foam parties, classic fire truck water play, and water squirter battle zones, with no admission or activity fee at all. Bring water shoes, sunscreen, and a change of clothes.
Two more free ones are already posted on the venue calendar after that: the Action & Adventure Festival on September 26, which includes a 300-foot zipline and carnival games, and Bubble Fest on October 3. Pair any of them with a $9 spin on the wheel and you’ve got a cheap morning that feels like a much bigger day out.
Why a permanent landmark is a bigger deal than another restaurant
Something I notice doing this job: the things that make a corner of the Valley feel like a destination usually show up before the buyer interest does. Arizona Boardwalk sits right where Scottsdale meets the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, minutes off the 101 and a short drive from north Scottsdale, Arcadia, and the Tempe side of the freeway. A landmark you can see from the highway is a different kind of anchor than one more place to eat. It gives the whole area a skyline of its own.
New spots like this are one more reason this stretch of Scottsdale keeps drawing people who want to be close to something. If you’re curious what it’s actually like to live near here, what the housing looks like, what it costs, and whether it fits you, that’s my world. You can reach me here, and I’m glad to talk it through with no pressure attached.
Sources: Phoenix New Times (August 10, 2026 opening confirmation) and Arizona Boardwalk (official attraction page, specs, pricing, and event dates).
Dr. Kevin Shufford holds a PhD in Communication and is a professor who teaches how to have healthy relationships, skills he brings to his real estate practice. As a licensed real estate agent and mortgage loan officer serving the Phoenix metro and Southern California, Kevin operates as The Property Professor under Real Broker and One Real Mortgage. Work with Kevin at thepropertyprofessor.blog or call 480-725-4658.
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