Not only is Friday, Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day – it’s also National Ferris Wheel Day.
So how could you possibly resist taking a ride on The St. Louis Wheel with your significant other?
The 200-foot-tall observation wheel at St. Louis Union Station will be lit up in red and pink themes on Valentine’s night. Riders can cozy up in the wheel’s gondolas, which are enclosed and kept at a comfortable 72 degrees F. The VIP gondola offers luxurious leather bucket seats and a glass floor for a great view of the St. Louis skyline. Champagne is available for purchase.
Love-themed music and roving entertainers will enhance the evening in Wheel Park and on the surrounding Purina Performance Plaza, and fiery light and music shows will run on the Union Station lake throughout the night on Feb. 14 and 15, and during the day on Sunday, Feb. 16.
Soda Fountain, the diner-style restaurant on the Union Station plaza, will have a specialty Freak Shake on the menu. The over-the-top sweet treat, Chocolate Dipped Love, is created using Clementine’s Naughty & Nice vanilla ice cream and strawberries, topped with heart-shaped cookies, chocolate-covered strawberries, pink sprinkles and conversation hearts.
The first 5,000 St. Louis Aquarium annual pass holders to visit on Feb. 14, 15 and 16, will get temporary tattoos featuring the aquarium logo. Shop on the plaza and in the aquarium gift shop for limited-edition Valentine’s merchandise, like chocolate roses and heart-themed aquarium and wheel-logo clothing. Or choose a digital fish plaque from the St. Louis Aquarium Foundation. Digital fish with a personalized name inscription start at $50, which goes toward providing field trips to students at underserved schools.
The aquarium animal care staff remind visitors to stop and see the giant Pacific octopus during their Valentine’s weekend visit. “She is the most loving animal in the aquarium,” said curator Aaron Sprowl, “because she – like all of her species – has three hearts.”
St. Louis Union Station’s attractions will be open for regular hours Feb. 14 through 16. The wheel, St. Louis Carousel and Mini Golf operate from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.; the St. Louis Aquarium will be open from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and until 5 p.m. Sunday, and the St. Louis Ropes Course and Mirror Maze are open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.
