Take a Trip to Reunion Tower in Dallas

Living close to Dallas, there is one iconic building we pass by often:  Reunion Tower.  My children used to refer to it as “the ball”, but we found out there’s so much more to “the ball”, once you’re inside.

Reunion Tower, and it’s adjacent hotel, the Hyatt, are seen everyday, by thousands of travelers from near and far.  Many look forward to the tower’s light display from the freeway, which is easy to spot if you’re traveling at night.

We found out many interesting facts about the tower on our tour:

• At 560 feet tall, Reunion Tower is the fifteenth tallest building in Dallas.
• The floor of Five Sixty rotates at a speed of one revolution per hour. On a clear day you can see Fort Worth, thirty-two miles away.
• Two restaurants can be found inside the tower.  Wolfgang Puck’s Five Sixty and Cloud Nine (also managed by Wolfgang Puck)
• It takes about 60 seconds to go up to the Geo-Deck, which is 470 feet high.
• There are 259 custom LED light fixtures at the intersections of the aluminum struts that form the dome.
• The tower opened on April 15, 1978.  Local police officials were asked if the lighted ball would distract motorists. “Probably not,” was the reply. But within an hour and a half of the opening, traffic on highways leading to downtown came to a halt. Police and fire switchboards were overloaded for 15 minutes. Eventually, a police cruiser with a public-address system was dispatched to Stemmons Freeway to admonish drivers to keep moving.

I was excited to go up to the Geo-Deck and my children were, too!  We soon found out the observation deck would allow us to view landscapes from an entirely new perspective. Since it was a rather clear day, we saw AT&T Stadium, the Trinity River, the sky-line of Fort Worth and Medieval Times.  If you looked through the high-powered telescopes (outside), you could see these attractions much closer, watching birds and people as they pass by.

If you’d rather stay inside, you can still get up close to the unsuspecting people and birds through one of the many high-definition cameras on the touch-screen interface, all live during the Geo-Deck’s operating hours.  Through the touch-screen, you can zoom in close (which is good to know!  Watch what you’re doing when you’re in downtown Dallas!  You never know who’s watching from above!)  The touch-screen also allows you to take a tour of Dallas with the interactive maps.

If you’ve ever wondered about the many light show displays on Reunion Tower, the touch-screens will share information on those, too!  We also found out about an interactive app on one of the touch-screens…  Soon, visitors will be able to create their own light show with the touch of a few fingers!  My children loved this feature and I think they could have spent all afternoon playing with this!

If you’re heading out to Reunion Tower, make sure you read about our experience at Cloud Nine and Five Sixty first!  Both restaurants offered different experiences – find out which one is right for you!

Tickets to Reunion Tower are $16 for adults, $14 for seniors 65 and older, $8 for children ages 4-12 and free for those 3 and under.  Day/Night tickets are also available.  Tickets can be purchased online at reuniontower.com or at the attraction. Parking for Reunion Tower is $6 at the south parking lot at Reunion Boulevard and Sports Street.

For hours and more information click here.