Jo W.
Yelp
Tip to save money: purchase online prior to the day you would like to go to the London Eye. I purchased on Thursday for a Monday session.
You also have the option to buy the cheapest ticket, which puts you at risk to wait a long line. If you don't mind paying more, you can add on a fast pass. If you're alright with spending more money, you can add on a fast pass AND the ability to get on the London Eye whenever you wish, instead of having an appointment, which is a good option for people who don't want to have a hard commitment to a time to arrive. I opted for the fast pass at 17:00, for which I paid £37.00.
After having afternoon tea at the English Tea Room at Brown's Hotel, I decided to walk over to the London Eye. It's a 30 minute walk, and I felt I could use the exercise to burn off all the calories I consumed during tea (I am also a Fitbit fanatic). Crossed the Golden Jubilee Bridge, which gives you a great view of the London Eye and Big Ben overlooking the Thames River.
It is a very crowded touristy area, comparable to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, especially since they both have a Dungeon. I came on a bank holiday, so the place was teeming with tourists and everyone and their mother wanting to do the touristy stuff. If you want to use wifi here, you'll need to connect with a UK phone number, which I did not have on me, so I needed to use cellular data. Even with cellular data, I had the most difficult time pulling up my QR code for the London Eye, which was horrible. Thankfully, they were very flexible with time, so even though I bought a fast track pass for 17:00, thankfully, there was no line to worry about.
After much failure for my phone to connect, even with cellular data, I went to the ticketing booth inside the white building by the London Eye, where they needed my credit card and passport to verify my identity and purchase.
Once I finally got my ticket, thankfully, I just hopped into a cabin and enjoyed the ride. It was a clear beautiful sunny day, and the views were glorious. It is Europe's tallest Ferris wheel, and ranks 4th as the tallest in the world (Las Vegas' High Roller, Singapore's Flyer, and China's Star of Nanchang, in that order from tallest to shortest, ranks higher than London Eye). I love going on Ferris wheels in places I visit because it gives you a lovely bird's eye view of the city you're visiting, on top of a fun and relaxing ride (if you're not afraid of heights).
I recommend trying this tourist attraction at least once. Now that I have experienced it during the day, I'd love to see what it's like on a clear evening too.