88 storeys up the Eureka Tower (Melbourne’s tallest building) is the Eureka Skydeck 88 – a perfect space to get a birds eye view of Melbourne’s city icons and beyond.  Challenge your fear of heights with a turn on the Edge and, until 16 Feb 2014, have your photo taken in King Kong’s hand.

When:  10am – 10pm daily (last entry 9.30pm)

Where:  Eureka Skydeck 88, Riverside Quay SOUTHBANK

Cost:  Eureka Skydeck – adult $18.50, child $10, family (2 adults, 2 kids) $42. The Edge – adult $12, child $8, family $29. King Kong photograph $12.  Buy tickets online.

Tennis Centre and Rugby/Soccer Stadium

Looking through a viewfinder

The view through a viewfinder

Looking onto Fed Square and Flinders St

Bay view

The Edge while frosted

Eureka Tower Skydeck

King Kong photo

King Kong behind the scenes

Review

Once you have purchased your tickets at the entrance on the ground floor you enter a foyer area which leads you to the lifts – in this area you will find King Kong’s hand (until 16 Feb 2014) for a fun green screen photo (check ours out above – the kids really got a kick out of it) and also the interactive Serendipity table (if you’re not in a rush to get straight in the lift then you can explore stories and history of Melbourne here).  When we arrived there was no queue and so once we’d had our Kong photo we headed straight for the lifts – less than 40 seconds later we were on the Skydeck.

On the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower you have an uninterrupted view of Melbourne’s city, skyline and (on a clear day) beyond.  There are 30 viewfinders located around the Skydeck to help you find some of Melbourne’s significant landmarks.

If you are planning on trying out The Edge experience make sure you report to the EdgeShop (the little gift shop) when you first arrive – here you can book in your turn and also purchase tickets if you haven’t already.  The day we visited it wasn’t overly busy but the wait for The Edge was 25 minutes and we didn’t realise there was a wait as there was no obvious queue.  When you book in for The Edge you are given a buzzer to alert you that it’s your turn – which means you can be off enjoying the city skyline, not standing about waiting.

This was my second visit to the Skydeck – last time I didn’t do The Edge and at the time I wondered if I had missed out on something amazing.  My feelings after having gone out – well it was a bit of fun (we had to wear funny booties over our shoes and the frosted glass suddenly turns clear once you’re hanging outside the building) but it wasn’t the thing I enjoyed the most about our visit.  Also while you’re in The Edge you can’t take anything in with you (handbag etc gets left outside) so you can’t take any photographs – there are two photographs taken of you (and your party) while you’re in there but we found that the glass was a little reflective so the outside world wasn’t that clear.  Maybe if I had a fear of heights then this experience might have had a certain thrill to it – but the view wasn’t really that much different to the view seen inside the Skydeck or on the terrace area.

The terrace area is the outside section and we were lucky that it was a warm and calm day – so we spent a bit of time out here and really enjoyed the experience.  Last time I visited was in winter and it was blowing a gale – once you go outside onto the terrace you have to wait for two sets of doors to open and close before you can go back inside – this exercise takes a couple of minutes (as the doors close slowly so as not to squash anyone) and I can tell you on a cold windy day on the 88th floor that felt like a very long couple of minutes!

The Skydeck also has a small cafe (coffee, snacks, soft drinks) which is also open from 10am -10pm.  There are also baby-change facilities and a gift shop.

We spent about an hour and a half visiting the Skydeck – doing a number of loops of the space and sitting and enjoying the view.

Oh and the highlight – well the Police Helicopter flew right passed the window we were looking out of and the pilot and his passengers all waved at us (there were three of them – that’s how close they were).  The kids thought this was awesome.  And no I don’t have a photo – we were in The Edge at the time… doh.  Great memory though!

Thanks husband for your professional photography skills ♥

Commercial Disclosure: We were provided with tickets for Eureka Skydeck 88, The Edge and a King Kong photograph.  There was no expectation that I would publish a review in exchange for the tickets. All views are my own.