Blackpool Pleasure Beach: Icon 3 years on

[rob666]

I met a few people last year who hadn't heard of Icon, even after a half day on the park!
Had to give them directions to the entrance from the bar at Crevettes.
The ride is pretty much invisible from outside the park, right the way around the park.

 

[AstroDan]

I definitely agree in Icon’s case, but I’d be intrigued to know what you mean when you apply the same brush to Stealth, as I’d argue that that ride has always been really successful for Thorpe, both initially and long-term? Apologies for going marginally off-topic, but I’d be interested to know.

Apologies. I meant Swarm.

I would also add that I believe that only Alton Towers seems to consistently nail marketing in the UK. ATR is such a national brand, that other parks just cannot live up to anywhere near the coverage. Swarm... DBGT... Icon... they just don't hit it as big as The Smiler, Wicker Man etc.

 

[djtruefitt]

I just feel it was such a wasted opportunity for the park. It doesn’t help that’s it’s right next to the big one, so actually looks tiny, a bit more height for the ride might have been nice. Also it gets so boring towards the end of the ride, swaying back and forth for far too long. It just needed a bit more towards the end and probably some faster launches, as it’s just also so slow in places. If the first launch was much faster, you could have had a much higher section afterwards and added a bit of speed to the ride. Unfortunately it does suffer from the Mack rattle as well at times.

I think the ride is fine, the music is nice, and it’s presented well, but it’s just a bit dull compared to what could have been. Also with the removal of the bridge, it’s made the park a bit of a bottleneck with getting round, with only one real path taking you to that end of the park now.

 

[Coaster]

So, by design then. They designed it to be built to run at this speed knowing what the end experience would be. They could have designed it to run at any speed with the appropriate layout.

The way it keeps getting put across is that the hardware and layout they have is designed to run faster but they run it slow to save money, and that I struggle to believe.

Why is that difficult to believe? I think it's entirely plausible - I remember Liseberg proudly announcing that they had increased Helix's second launch speed a few years after it first opened, for example. Whilst that is the opposite of what I'm getting at with Icon, it proves that tinkering is possible with this type of coaster.

 

[rob666]

Tinkering is possible, but the beach cannot alter the launch speed above the current levels, only Mack.
The original ride supervisor explained why early on....but I was awash with beer at the time, so can recall little!
Mainly to reduce wear and tear on the trains I think it was, and stopping the wheels from overheating...often an issue on rare hot days.
They can only underpower the ride, for the morning wheel warming intentional roll backs.
They did not increase the speed for their new (family) coaster, as it would have made the two post launch hills uncomfortable for front and back seat riders.
The ride warms up well over the day, but the slow roll over the Big One entrance early in the day is wonderful hang time.

 

[pluk]

Why is that difficult to believe?

Because modern coasters are quite a precision piece of engineering. The speed will be within a clearly defined and narrow tolerance that will account for variations in factors such as wheel and track temp and wind speed so the train stays within the range of not being at risk of stalling but not overspeeding.

Also, I'm sure it's not lost on the park that the ride has not delivered in quite the way they hoped it would. The investment is huge, it would be counter productive to save a couple of quid per launch at the expense of a return on the investment overall, with the experience not encouraging visitors and hype.

Yes, launch coasters can have their launches amended but, as Rob said, this would take work and sign off from the manufacturer. It's not just adjusted up or down on a whim.

That the park run it slowly is banded about as if it is fact when theres nothing at all I've seen to support that it is not run as designed. That's not really a fair accusation on the park without something to back it up.

 

[Benjsh]

Still think people are going incredibly OTT with this. It isn't as good as Helix but it's definitely on par with Bluefire for me. Not being as good as Helix doesn't make it a bad ride.

It's the best coaster on park by a million miles.

 

[shakey]

It's the best coaster on park by a million miles.

Steady on Benjsh - There are some Big One fans on here you know

 

[AstroDan]

Still think people are going incredibly OTT with this. It isn't as good as Helix but it's definitely on par with Bluefire for me. Not being as good as Helix doesn't make it a bad ride.

It's the best coaster on park by a million miles.

The thing with Blue Fire is that Blue Fire flows just so much better from one element to the next.

Icon might jostle about more but Blue Fire has a better launch, better inversions, better theming and better capacity. Icon may have more airtime but the whole ride feels clunky when placed next to Blue Fire or Helix. I should say, though, Blue Fire is way below Helix - which for me is the second best Mack coaster I have done after Time Traveler. Alpina Blitz would be in third.

Icon is better than Manta, though.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

 

[Matt N]

The thing with Blue Fire is that Blue Fire flows just so much better from one element to the next.

Icon might jostle about more but Blue Fire has a better launch, better inversions, better theming and better capacity. Icon may have more airtime but the whole ride feels clunky when placed next to Blue Fire or Helix. I should say, though, Blue Fire is way below Helix - which for me is the second best Mack coaster I have done after Time Traveler. Alpina Blitz would be in third.

Icon is better than Manta, though.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

Sorry to go a little off topic, but I’d be intrigued to know; what puts Time Traveler above Helix for you? Do you really like the spinning trains?

 

[Rob]

For me, Blue Fire is better than Icon. Even if you take away all of the theming, track and train it just flows a whole lot better and feels a more complete coaster. Blue Fire is probably one of my absolute favourite coasters for an all round fun experience, particularly when the onboard audio is working.

 

[D4n]

Underwhelming launch aside, Blue Fire is great.

Icon's launch manages to be even more lacklustre though. I was hugely surprised by this on my first ride and, honestly, the meandering layout does little to make up for it.

The inversions are both fun, and the top hat element itself packs a punch... but that's it... other coasters pack significantly more into a much, much shorter layout.

It is the best ride in Blackpool, it's the missed potential that bothers me.

It cost roughly three times what Lech Coaster did yet Lech Coaster is MUCH better.

 

[Coaster]

Because modern coasters are quite a precision piece of engineering. The speed will be within a clearly defined and narrow tolerance that will account for variations in factors such as wheel and track temp and wind speed so the train stays within the range of not being at risk of stalling but not overspeeding.

Also, I'm sure it's not lost on the park that the ride has not delivered in quite the way they hoped it would. The investment is huge, it would be counter productive to save a couple of quid per launch at the expense of a return on the investment overall, with the experience not encouraging visitors and hype.

Yes, launch coasters can have their launches amended but, as Rob said, this would take work and sign off from the manufacturer. It's not just adjusted up or down on a whim.

That the park run it slowly is banded about as if it is fact when theres nothing at all I've seen to support that it is not run as designed. That's not really a fair accusation on the park without something to back it up.

Yeah - I'm not suggesting that they change it daily on a whim and I don't know the exact reasons, but from a rider's point of view, the layout misses its potential by being too slow in my opinion.

 

[Benjsh]

The launches aren't meant to be intense though. That's the thing.

 

[Poisson]

It's slow, dull to look at, I've never felt much airtime (it has a tiny amount) and suffers from having a much better launch coaster next door and something like Nash that's far better in the same park. I'd put it as 6th best coaster in the park. (Nash, Rev, Streak, Dipper, Avalanche, Icon, Steeplechase R/Y/G, PMBO, Flyer, Infailsion) Unlike say PMBO it has no presence outside the park, no recognition to the wider public and is utterly forgettable. A disappointing flop.

 

[Benjsh]

It's slow, dull to look at, I've never felt much airtime (it has a tiny amount) and suffers from having a much better launch coaster next door and something like Nash that's far better in the same park. I'd put it as 6th best coaster in the park. (Nash, Rev, Streak, Dipper, Avalanche, Icon, Steeplechase R/Y/G, PMBO, Flyer, Infailsion) Unlike say PMBO it has no presence outside the park, no recognition to the wider public and is utterly forgettable. A disappointing flop.

It's the 6th best coaster at Blackpool and you put it behind the Revolution?

Hahahahaha. Thanks I needed a good laugh today.

 

[Poisson]

I mean, Rev has better launches, actual forces and is more fun to ride. If Mouse was still there Icon would be 7th. It's a very mediocre ride. Says a lot when I rate things like RMT at Towers and DVH higher in overall, despite them being way more primitive.

 

[shakey]

I mean, Rev has better launches, actual forces and is more fun to ride. If Mouse was still there Icon would be 7th. It's a very mediocre ride. Says a lot when I rate things like RMT at Towers and DVH higher in overall, despite them being way more primitive.

Well everyone is entitled to their opinion - but Runaway Mine Train better than Icon??? - That's probably a very unique view. (I am not sure mine train is even a coaster - does it coast ?)

 

[pluk]

. (I am not sure mine train is even a coaster - does it coast ?)

It does in a power cut, I'll take the credit.

 

[Coaster]

The launches aren't meant to be intense though. That's the thing.

I'm not talking about the launches, I'm talking about the speed of the layout itself. This is determined by the launch speed of course, but I'm not criticising the forcefulness of the launches.

It's the 6th best coaster at Blackpool and you put it behind the Revolution?

Hahahahaha. Thanks I needed a good laugh today.

You know everyone's allowed their own opinion right?

I'd rate BPB's coasters in the following order (best to worst); The Big One, (Wild Mouse), Grand National, Big Dipper, Revolution, Avalanche, Nickelodeon Streak, Icon, Steeplechase, Infusion, Blue Flyer