London Eye - wisdom please
 

I know, because I've read it here in the forum - that one should only plan the Eye when the weather is clear. And I also know - having read it here too- that tickets bought online are cheaper than buying them at the site.
But how can you really plan to buy them in advance when you don't know how the weather will be until that very day?
Are the lines really so horrendous that a "savvy traveler" should risk booking on a cloudy day rather than risk spending time in queues?

We'll be in London the first week of August (next week!). I want to prepare as much as I can, but don't want to be foolish about it.

&quot;<i>how can you really plan to buy them in advance when you don't know how the weather will be until that very day?</i>&quot;

The simple answer is - You can't. There is no reason to pre-purchase Eye tickets from home. They might be a teensy bit cheaper (like 10%) - but what kind of bargain is it if the weather is nasty??

IMO, most of the folks who recommend buying ahead aren't all that &quot;savvy&quot;. You can buy your tix by phone or on line in the morning on the day you decide to ride the Eye. Or even doing it the day before would give you some idea of the weather.

To be honest, in august, I don't think you're at risk of any weather that will make too much difference.

You wouldn't want to be on it on a foggy day but otherwise, really, how much difference can it make? I suppose absolute torrential rain might obscure the view a bit, but not much else. I can't see how just 'cloudy' woould make the slightest difference.

i agree with nona on this one. the weather does have to be pretty bad to ruin your time on the london eye. the value of views from the thing are not long distance views but things that are quite close in. the wheel is not not that high up that it is in the clouds! nor are the things you will be focusing on.

low fog is pretty uncommon in london despite its reputation abroad. cloudy whether is very common but 98% of the time it will not severly impact your views.

i'm not saying it's worth it or not to book ahead (i don't know how it impacts the queues or the price)...just that the weather risks are often overblown here. i have seen the eye every day for years and it is quite rare for it to be shrouded in clouds or fog and quite rare to have such bad visibility that you wouldn't be able to see the surrounding sites. i've also been on it in cloudy weather and it's no problem. nor do crystal clear skies enhance the experience very much, imo.

I took a group of teens to Europe several years ago and as &quot;cost concerned&quot; as we were I still did not buy in advance. It wasn't that much higher at the Eye and we knew we had a great day. I figured paying money to look at clouds would have been a waste of money and I didn't want to &quot;waste&quot; money to save if you know what I mean.

So that's my LONG winded way of saying I would just wait and buy when you get there.

&lt;&lt;You can buy your tix by phone or on line in the morning on the day you decide to ride the Eye.

That wasn't an option for us, having neither a cell phone or a lap top with us. Making that call or connection from the hotel would have been $$$.

If you have a concierge at your hotel, that's part of their job. Just remember to tip them.

CarolA I'm confused. What did you decide to miss because of the weather?

You don't go on the Eye to look at the sky - the interesting stuff is seeing all the buildings from a whole new angle! You can look at the sky from the ground - you don't waste time looking at it on something like the Eye.

Hi N,

&gt; how can you really plan to buy them in advance when you don't know how the weather will be until that very day?&lt;

Catch 22.

((I))

I've ridden the Eye twice, once on a cloudy, overcast day, the second time on a brilliant sunny day with beautiful blue skies. Believe me, it does make a difference. You can see farther and your photographs, if you're taking photographs, are gorgeous on a sunny day. That said, yes, cloudy is OK, but sunny is so much better.

I was in London in June, we got to the Eye about 10:30 in the morning, walked right in and bought tickets, no line up at all. Our car only had six people on it, but when we &quot;landed&quot; there was a line up, but not one I would consider long. Wait until the day in question, if it's nice, go early and enjoy.

I'm not sure what the long lines look like at The Eye that people talk about.

I went last summer and got my ticket in under 10 minutes on a very clear day and was able to be on the Eye just in time to watch the sun start to set over London.

Yes, the ticket cost a little more - but I had a great view and perfect weather.

Yes, weather makes a big difference - even August weather. A clear day will be an entirely different experience than a cloudy one, even if there is no rain.

karens: &quot;<i>That wasn't an option for us, having neither a cell phone or a lap top with us. </i>&quot;

I never take a cell phone nor a laptop to London and have never had such a problem.

1) w/o a cell phone, one should buy an inexpensive phone card so you can use just about any pay phone in London. Being able to phone for reservations, to check on opening hours, to call a theater etc - a &pound;5 calling card will last for days and days and it is good for phoning home too.

2) there are internet cafes all over - for about &pound;1 you can get 15 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the time of day/special offers) of computer time. Not only for booking the Eye, but for e-mailing home.

Weekends are busier but you're unlikely to have huge lines if you buy on the day. The weather is more important than the meagre savings od advance purchase.

Well then, it's decided: We'll wait to buy tickets the day of, rather than hoping for blue skies days in advance. Thank you all for your time and experience.

I predict: you'll get there and you'll do it whether it is cloudy or not..and if you do you won't regret it IMO.

Just to mention that there are two big wheels in London now. There's also one in Greenwich (which is a fair bit smaller, and a great deal more &quot;cozy&quot;)

We were in London for 6 days in late June. We did not make reservations for the Eye. We went on a good day when the weather was clear and perfect and we walked right up to the ticket seller. There was only a short line.

For some reason our capsule seemed to be more crowded than the one we could see below us, but it was OK. The views of London were great and one of my favorite pictures of the trip is one that shows part of the capsule below us and Parliament in the same photo.

That said, I didn't think it was worth the money. There will be much dissent on this as some people really love the Eye. We went because my 12 year old daughter really wanted to do it, but I think she was a little bored by the time the half hour ride around was over.

After the ride we walked over to Westminster Abbey, which is very close, and paid to go in; took advantage of the free audio guides and really enjoyed this.

I meant to say that there was only a short line to board the Eye after buying the tickets. This was mainly due to the fact that they were having everyone open backpacks for security, but it was pretty fast and the line moved quickly. When buying tickets we did walk right up to the agent.

LynAK, you &amp; I had the same experience &amp; I didn't think it was all the wonderful for the price, either but we're definitely in the minority.

My husband, the skeptic, isn't interested either, but the kids really want to go. It is pricey, and I would imagine they'd get bored by the last 20 minutes or so, but maybe if we go when we first arrive, or the day after it will give us all a nice perspective on London. More people seem to love it than not - we'll see. I'll certainly report back.

Cholmondley- I've read your posts on the Greenwich Eye before, so we'll look into that too. Are you doing any more of the London Walks?

The Greenwich wheel is a fair bit smaller than the Eye and the capsules are rather smaller pods.

I haven't been on it as they won't let me on for free (and I refuse to pay for anything in Greenwich). It looks fun but it's not a direct comparison.

http://www.greenwichwheel.com/

&quot;It is pricey, and I would imagine they'd get bored by the last 20 minutes or so&quot;

The ride only lasts about 30 minutes but it goes around fairly slowly. I think kids look at this big wheel and imagine the ride is going to be like at a ferris wheel at a fair. It isn't like that at all and kids, especially little kids, may not be that interested in looking out at scenes of the city as you revolve slowly around.

It is a unique kind of experience and if the day is clear you get a good feel for how London goes on and on. You can easily spot main places like Buckingham Palace and St. Pauls..but there is no written guide or description of what you are seeing as you revolve so it is less educational in that way. You'd better know already what you are looking for in the distance.

My husband was not particularly interested in doing this either, but we agreed because the 12 year old was into it and we'd made her walk through too many museums. I don't think the Eye lived up to her expectations. I'm not sorry we did it, but people should know what they are getting into and balance expectations, price, etc. I would certainly avoid it if the weather wasn't clear.

&quot;<i>there is no written guide or description of what you are seeing as you revolve </i>&quot;

Yes, there is a guide. You can buy it in the ticket hall or at the kiosk before queueing up to board.

My granddaughter and I were in London in June and decided to go on the London Eye at the spur of the moment. Bought our tickets and were in our pod in the matter of fifteen minutes. No line to speak of. We were with a tour group so did not know when we would be having free time to do our own thing so couldn't buy them ahead.

I wouldn't purchase tickets ahead of time either. Personally, I would only do it if you are in that area, the lines are short, and you have seen a lot of what London has to offer. I also found the Eye a little boring the first two times I went up. It was on two different trips to London, each time with a different daughter. On a trip with my husband he wanted to go up and pleaded with me to go again. I relented and accompanied him. I have to say that I enjoyed that ride the best. Because I was with DH, I think not! The reason was that by then I had been to London a total of 4 or 5 times so when I was up in the Eye I was able to pick out different areas of the city, sites, etc.
If it is your first time to the city there is very little that you will be able to identify, it will look like an enormous city. You will see the river, of course, Parliament buildings, Westminster Abbey, and a couple of other things. So at the very least, if you feel as though you want to do it, save it for near the end of your stay.

Just my humble opinion.

&quot;Yes, there is a guide. You can buy it in the ticket hall or at the kiosk before queueing up to board.&quot;

This is good information to know. We did not see this guide and the ticket seller didn't ask if we wanted one, so I didn't know about it. How much is it? I thought it would be nice if there were a couple of maps posted inside the pod that showed where the major sites were located. Or an inexpensive map/brochure printed up that you got with your ticket (the tickets aren't cheap so it doesn't seem unreasonable to include something like this with the price of admission.)

Then if you want more details you could buy a guide..sort of like they do at the Tower. We bought the booklet because we wanted more history and info, but saw lots of people with a brochure map of the place.

They sell the guide in the gift shop. It's about two quid I think.

My kids were 12 and 14 when I took them on the Eye. While they thought it was OK, and quite enjoyed seeing London from up above, having me point out things to them they had only previously seen from the ground, frankly once they saw the trampolines and bungee bouncing stuff in front of County Hall on the way down that was all they wanted to do! They enjoyed that much more...

I've got what they called an &quot;in-flight mini-guide&quot; - pull-out panorama photos of the views available with the various sights and buildings named.

so...after reading this I guess it is NOT a good idea to buy a timed ticket for L25? We are planning on going around 5:30-6:00 in the evening (17:30-18:00). what do you think of that time on a SATURDAY?
-smschloss

Finally in London, and just came from the Eye. We got there about 6pm on a Friday and it looked so crowded that we thought we made a mistake not pre-booking. But the lines went very fast and then after that we waited to board which also went fast-just a fwe minutes really. It was a last minute decision to do the Eye tonight, and I liked that I had the freedom to go when we wanted once we got here. We waited maybe 15 minutes -tops.

we were in london one early june
went during a week day
the queues were long but it wasnt too bad a wait
the london eye is ok and you have to do it but afterwards, it's notthat memorable
nicer views elsewhere in the world for sure