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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: Icon - 2018 Mack Double Launch Coaster

Maybe in some cases, because the vast majority of enthusiasts have ridden most of the rides available to them, the excitement comes from different experiences rather than the ride hardware itself. Meaning, you could take very average ride hardware and highly theme it to add a new experience ala Disney, Universal etc. Sorry if this is stating obvious but maybe this is what enthusiasts need to get the same kicks, hence why Wickerman has been recieved slightly warmer than ICON, due to the general experience. The one thing i have heard people talk about a lot on ICON is the mist effects in the tunnel, which adds to the 'experience'. Apologies if this doesn't make sense, i was having a bit of a brain dump haha. Maybe several interactions with other rides, isn't quite as exciting as say smoke, fire, water and general theming. I love ICON though.
 
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Let's not forget that the park somehow managed to fit this ride in. They couldn't just go with any layout they wanted, it had to be designed to fit into the space they had, so they were limited in some respects.

And as already been pointed out, the ride definitely improves after its been running for a couple of hours so anyone that just rode it once for the VIP or media day will have not had the optimum experience. Plus who's to say that the ride will not continue to get even better over time.

Despite the differing views the overall response seems to be very positive indeed. There's always going to be some enthusiast that doesn't rate it but it's the general public that matters most. A lot of enthusiasts tend to dislike the Big One but that hasn't stopped it from being the most popular ride on the park for 24 years.

I really think the park have installed a top quality coaster that will appeal to a lot of people for many years to come and they should be congratulated for that.
 
I agree with Shakey the ride overall has recieved very positive feedback from most people and I don't think that Wicker Man has been recieved more warmly. People were not expecting much from Wicker Man and it met or slightly exceeded expectations. Expectations for Icon were high and for some people it may have just missed but for most I think those high expectations were met. I mean, any coaster that's got half of enthusiasts saying that it's the best in the country can hardly be described as a flop.

I can't remember who it was that said this, it may have been someone from RMC, but the sign of a good roller coaster is seeing people exit the ride and immediately get straight back in line, there has been no shortage of this with Icon :)
 
I think the reaction to the lights and mist are a bit overblown. For a new ride to have a couple of its ancillary effects being temperamental in its first week of operation is nothing exceptional. I think the only exceptional thing is the lack of downtime experienced. There’s only been a few issues and like I say we are only a few days into full operation.

I think this compares favourably to some other recent openings. I’m sure both the mist and train lights will get fixed, which is more than can be expected of some other parks.

I’m critical of BPB when they do wrong, but this is not one of those occasions.
 
venny said:
I think the reaction to the lights and mist are a bit overblown. For a new ride to have a couple of its ancillary effects being temperamental in its first week of operation is nothing exceptional. I think the only exceptional thing is the lack of downtime experienced. There’s only been a few issues and like I say we are only a few days into full operation.

I think this compares favourably to some other recent openings. I’m sure both the mist and train lights will get fixed, which is more than can be expected of some other parks.

I’m critical of BPB when they do wrong, but this is not one of those occasions.
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I was thinking people were going easy on them. Sure if it was a Merlin park the complaints would be in the pages.


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How can the lights on the train not working for a brief period in the first week of a ride’s opening, merit anything more than a mild reaction?

If the lack of train lights in the daytime is the biggest complaint, then that’s a fairly hiccup-free opening in my opinion.
 
Mack are pretty solid for ride reliability, I would be surprised if they had any major problems with it.
 
Favourite ride in the country, an hour away from me and its honestly not too far away from Helix. If it had another inversion in the last section then maybe it would be there, but it beats it in the rest of the layout for me.
 
MakoMania said:
Not bad at all, generally topping out at 20-30 minutes and has often been less.
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I'm already going on 12 June but might go on Friday 8th (my bday) as I have day booked off and queues don't seem too bad.

Surprised it's not been busier given holidays and weather. Marketing mishap or are the GP just not that bothered?
 
I think the operations go somewhere to keeping the queue shorter - whilst it was only running 2 trains on my visits, dispatches were great most of the time and the ride suffered minimal downtime.

I found it interesting that queues for the PMBO, Steeple, woodies and other rides weren't any shorter as a result of Icon opening... proof that newer doesn't mean more popular.
 
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