The Giant Wheel at Morey's Pier in Wildwood, New Jersey, is being dismantled and sent to Philadelphia as part of a refurbishing project.

If the Ferris wheel were a giant clock, only the portion of hours from two to six would remain.

"It's pretty spectacular to see half the wheel missing when you come over the bridge," Kyle Morey of Morey's Piers said.

An international team of workers is dismantling the iconic seaside amusement ride on Morey's Pier, carefully working against gravity and the Giant Wheel that wants to spin around. 

Using an acetylene torch, workers freed the wheel's giant spokes. Some gave them a little trouble.

Mike Granigan, director of construction for Morey's, says it's actually the bearings on the center hub that need attention.

"The last time they were replaced was 1999," he said. "Even though they're sealed to the elements, just the amount of weather and exposure they have, the atmosphere creeps in."

Workers hammer out pins, which hold the spokes in place.

"Some spokes come out easier than others," Granigan said. "This [one] is being a little difficult."

The spokes will be sandblasted in Wildwood while the center hub is sent to the Navy Yard in Philadelphia to be refurbished. The 40 gondolas will also be refreshed in time for next season.

"We fully anticipate it being open when we open in the spring, which is May 1," Morey said.

The Ferris wheel, a defining part of the Wildwood skyline since 1985, will go back up like it came down, a pin and a spoke at a time.