Guests visiting Lakeland Orchard & Cidery will have to wait a little longer to get a bird’s-eye view of the sprawling property in Scott Twp.
The delivery and installation of an 85-foot gondola wheel from Turkey has been delayed by ongoing shipping disruptions in the Middle East, said Jeff Roba, co-owner of Roba Family Farms. He’s holding out hope it may be running before the fall season wraps up Nov. 1.
“Shipping is delayed everywhere,” Roba said. “The wheel’s been done since May. We’ve just been trying to get it here, which has been the issue.”
Roba said the wheel was loaded into containers and was scheduled to leave Turkey this past weekend. Additionally, Roba added that the wheel should arrive at a port on the East Coast of the United States on Sept. 25.
“Then, I’m anticipating a couple of weeks to get it here and assembled, and inspected, and all of the final checks,” he said. “There is still a chance that we have it up and operating, for the last two or three weeks of the season, but that’s if everything goes according to plan.”
Lakeland Orchard & Cidery was granted a variance by the Scott Twp. Zoning Board in February 2025 to install a “100-foot-tall” gondola wheel at the farm-based entertainment site, which would exceed the maximum structure height of 45 feet allowed in the municipality.
In May 2025, the Roba family selected Güven Amusement Rides, a Turkish company, to build the wheel, which will cost approximately $1 million, Roba said.
The term “gondola wheel” refers to the type of passenger compartments able to accommodate up to six people in each gondola unit, as compared to other Ferris wheel bench-type seating that generally accommodates up to two or three people per unit, Roba noted.
The wheel represents the biggest addition to the property since The Lakeland Express train was introduced in 2022, Roba said.
“We’re always looking for new, fun attractions that are unique to what we can provide,” he said. “Our orchard is the highest point in Scott Twp., so you already have pretty good views to begin with, if you go up 85 feet, they only get better.”
The wheel will offer sweeping views of 1 million tulips planted in the spring, 15 to 20 acres of sunflowers in the summer, and a Halloween Light Show in the fall, Roba said.
“With the light show, you can take the train ride through it and that’s one way to see it but now, with the wheel, you’ll be able to see pretty much the entire show from the air,” he said.
Roba also teased several new attractions planned for the orchard in 2027.
“We have a bunch of stuff to be built in the offseason,” he said.
MONDAY UPDATE
THEN: The owners of Lakeland Orchard & Cidery were granted a variance to install a gondola wheel on the property in Scott Twp.
NOW: Delivery of the wheel has been delayed by shipping disruptions, but it may now arrive by mid-to-late October.