'Tilt' at 360 Chicago celebrates 1 millionth rider with surprise

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago's thrill ride "Tilt" leaned beyond its one millionth tilter Tuesday.

"Tilt" is the attraction at the 360 Chicago Observation Deck on the 94th floor of 875 North Michigan Ave. Thrill seekers step onto a platform that - you guessed it - tilts outward 30 degrees, dangling you over the city streets.

Unbeknownst to them, when the Gupta family stepped onto "Tilt" Tuesday afternoon, they took the ride's tally past 1 million visitors. To celebrate the occasion five years after the ride's launch, 360 Chicago gave the family lifetime passes to the deck, a Chicago helicopter experience for two, a $500 gift card to Spiaggia, a bouquet of cookies from Cookies By Design! and an overnight stay at the Omni Chicago Hotel.

"We've been living here 10 years. Never came here. Just never got a chance so I guess it was just meant to be," said Meg Gupta after staff announced the surprise to her and her family.

Their luck was all the more fateful considering Gupta's family members are visiting from India - some of them in the United States for the first time.

"Living this moment is like very amazing," said relative Uday Gaur with the bouquet of cookies in-hand.

"When we were riding the elevator up I was telling these guys that when they come up here, their minds (are) going to be just blown," recalled Gupta. "And that's exactly what happened."

Everyone else tilting Tuesday was also a winner because all general admission tickets to the observation deck included a free ride on "Tilt."