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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: Icon 3 years on

Icon; overrated or underappreciated?

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    51
Yeah it's a flop for me. The main USP is the fact it's a launch coaster, but the launches are absolutely pathetic. It kind of just farts you into the tophat.

It's by no means a bad coaster and I think it's the best ride at BPB. It should be so much better though.
 
It's just kinda "alright" really, far below what everyone was hoping for when it was first announced, though I think it was clear pretty early on that it was never going to be in the same league as Helix. I had expected the 2nd half would be a bit more dynamic - much of it feels like a poor version of the first half of Taron, only without the theming.

Is it the best coaster in the park? Almost certainly. I don't think I'd be entirely confident to call it my favourite though. That's at least in part due to me not having quite forgiven it for not being the ride it could have been, whilst at the same time I still place Nash on a pedestal for how good it was a decade or more ago.
 
I think this whole everyone has their own opinions line is almost borderline comical when you get people saying that Nick streak and Revolution are better coasters than Icon. I firmly believe in people having different tastes and all but thats just too far for me.

It might not be the Mack Mega you hoped it would be but let's be fair here guys. I'm not a huge fan of the Big One at all but I wouldn't put it behind most of the other coasters at the park almost out of spite.

You can't point out flaws in Icon and then claim a much older coaster with far more flaws is better. That's just ridiculous.
 
I’ll admit that Nickelodeon Streak over Icon is an interesting one, and I’d be intrigued to know the reasoning behind that, but I could certainly see why someone would like Revolution a lot; I do find it packs a greater amount of positive g’s than Icon, and the airtime off of the drops is unexpectedly strong! Personally, I think Revolution is perfectly fine at what it does, but I don’t really love it; it gets a solid 6/10 from me, and sits a little outside my top 30 (for clarity, my coaster count is 74). Icon, on the other hand, is a coaster I absolutely adore; it gets a firm 10/10, and sits proudly at #2 in my rankings!

I’ve never found the launches on Revolution to be as forceful as Icon’s, though; I don’t personally think Revolution’s launches really feel like launches, whereas Icon’s are still punchy enough to feel like launches, in my opinion.

Each to their own, however; I won’t criticise anyone’s opinions, no matter how outside the norm they might seem! In terms of Nick Streak over Icon, my parents both love the older woodies and the Big One and are decidedly apathetic towards Icon, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they share a similar opinion to @Poisson and @Coaster; it’s perfectly understandable if you like a certain style of ride.
 
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It just commits the second worst sin: it's boring. Outside of the genuinely terrible (Infusion etc) it has nothing to love. Nash is flawed but it has character and is fun. Icon is just bland. Bland to look at, bland to ride, bland bland bland.
 
Benjsh said:
I think this whole everyone has their own opinions line is almost borderline comical when you get people saying that Nick streak and Revolution are better coasters than Icon. I firmly believe in people having different tastes and all but thats just too far for me.

It might not be the Mack Mega you hoped it would be but let's be fair here guys. I'm not a huge fan of the Big One at all but I wouldn't put it behind most of the other coasters at the park almost out of spite.

You can't point out flaws in Icon and then claim a much older coaster with far more flaws is better. That's just ridiculous.
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What exactly is "too far for you" - are you suggesting that the idea that not everyone likes the exact same coasters as you is hard to understand?

It is perfectly normal for people to have different and contrasting opinions on rides, as it is with most aspects of life. That should not be difficult to understand and you are coming across as very arrogant and narrow-minded by essentially saying that your opinion is the "right" opinion and that anyone else's is "borderline comical."

If you genuinely believe that I only prefer other rides to Icon "out of spite" then in the politest possible way, you need to gain the ability to respect other people's preferences before coming onto a forum. I enjoy a lot of the other rides more than I enjoy Icon, whereas some people enjoy Icon more and it's their favourite ride at the park. That really isn't unusual. There is no right or wrong answer, varying opinions are to be expected. Everyone likes different things.
 
Coaster said:
What exactly is "too far for you" - are you suggesting that the idea that not everyone likes the exact same coasters as you is hard to understand?

It is perfectly normal for people to have different and contrasting opinions on rides, as it is with most aspects of life. That should not be difficult to understand and you are coming across as very arrogant and narrow-minded by essentially saying that your opinion is the "right" opinion and that anyone else's is "borderline comical."

If you genuinely believe that I only prefer other rides to Icon "out of spite" then in the politest possible way, you need to gain the ability to respect other people's preferences before coming onto a forum. I enjoy a lot of the other rides more than I enjoy Icon, whereas some people enjoy Icon more and it's their favourite ride at the park. That really isn't unusual. There is no right or wrong answer, varying opinions are to be expected. Everyone likes different things.
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I just know how silly and precious a lot of the members of this community can be at times. This isn't a case of Nemesis inferno Vs Nemesis. Revolution isn't even close to Icon. It's shorter, rougher, more uncomfortable and nowhere near as fun and it has less capacity.

I'd also love to be there to hear you tell Roland Mack that you think Nick Streak is better than his Mack Mega coaster. Hahahahaha. I bet that would go down like a lead balloon.
 
Benjsh said:
I just know how silly and precious a lot of the members of this community can be at times. This isn't a case of Nemesis inferno Vs Nemesis. Revolution isn't even close to Icon. It's shorter, rougher, more uncomfortable and nowhere near as fun and it has less capacity.

I'd also love to be there to hear you tell Roland Mack that you think Nick Streak is better than his Mack Mega coaster. Hahahahaha. I bet that would go down like a lead balloon.
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Fun is subjective, to be fair; that’s why this thread has divided opinion so much. As much as Icon is my number 2 coaster, I wouldn’t mind if someone hated it and put it as their least favourite coaster of all time, in fact I’d welcome the opinion with open arms. Admittedly, I might ask them why they have that opinion, but I’d still accept that opinion.

Also, quite a few people like a slightly rougher ride, that has a certain... older charm that is arguably absent from modern attractions. That might be why Revolution and Streak appeal to them more than Icon.

As I said above; if I had a conversation with my parents about Icon, they would probably have similar opinions to @Poisson and @Coaster. They love the older rides, but are decidedly apathetic towards Icon.
 
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It might be a bit dull but it's not the insomnia cure that is Big One.

It's probably equal with Dipper (on a good day for Dipper) as the best coaster on park. Nash being way too brutal these days for my liking.

The main problem with Icon is that it just feels like a missed opportunity, with the lack of marketing further hurting it's appeal and effect. The first half is good, but then once you come out the second launch the meander back to the station often feels weird and awkward.

Even when only ever riding it in the back row/car due to disabled access it often lacks the punch obtained by similar coasters. Especially Helix.

The name is very peculiar for a ride with zero presence outside the park as well. Though granted I'm not really sure what they could've done better in that regard given the South Entrance essentially doesn't exist these days. Perhaps a better name could've lead to better marketing in that regard?

It's unfortunate that both Icon and Wickerman both feel like fairly missed opportunities in terms of top quality actually great coasters. However it's clear that only one of them can actually be deemed as a success for their park. It certainly isn't Icon.
 
As far as I am concerned, PB isn't a park with great coasters. My favourite was Wild Mouse as it was so crazy. I don't think the park has a coaster in my top 200.

That's not to say i don't value the place, but its coasters are not why I go.

My favourite in the park is probably Icon or Nash.

I thought Knightmare at Camelot was better than any coaster at PB in the end. And that's gone too.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
 
Benjsh said:
I just know how silly and precious a lot of the members of this community can be at times. This isn't a case of Nemesis inferno Vs Nemesis. Revolution isn't even close to Icon. It's shorter, rougher, more uncomfortable and nowhere near as fun and it has less capacity.

I'd also love to be there to hear you tell Roland Mack that you think Nick Streak is better than his Mack Mega coaster. Hahahahaha. I bet that would go down like a lead balloon.
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I fully appreciate that Icon is, to a lot of people, a much better coaster than Revolution, but I personally get more thrill and enjoyment from Revolution. I don't need you to dictate to me that I can't have that opinion.

Your analogy of me going and telling Roland Mack that I prefer another ride to his is a weird one and I'm not really sure what purpose it serves in this debate. In any case, if I got the chance to meet Roland I wouldn't prioritise telling him that his ride wasn't my favourite. Again just a very odd thing to say.
 
I personally prefer Revolution to Icon as well, which is fine, we're all adults that can have different opinions. I don't someone having an opinion should prompt anybody else to essentially tell that person they're wrong.
 
Not sure why a rides capacity should effect its ranking as a ride. Wild Mouses capacity in its last few seasons was pretty terrible and that was almost universally loved.

The biggest issue with Icon was everyone was expecting something akin to Helix/Taron and expectations could never meet that.

Wheras Towers presented us with an underwhelming looking GCI which surprised everyone due to the themeing and its surprising pace, despite the fact for a park like Alton Towers it was still a very disappointing choice.
 
Benjsh said:
I'd also love to be there to hear you tell Roland Mack that you think Nick Streak is better than his Mack Mega coaster. Hahahahaha. I bet that would go down like a lead balloon.
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I dont think he'd care either way, considering his reason for building coasters isn't to get fans to tell him a Mack is their favourite.

Icon isn't "his" coaster anyway, it's Blackpool's, and peoples enjoyment of rides is nothing to do with trying to flatter the man running the manufacturing company

Also, Roland Mack is close friends with the Thompson family and likes the park, I dont think hed be too offended
 
shakey said:
Nothing wrong with different opinions as long as we all agree that Wild Mouse was the best coaster ever built and the Big One is currently the best coaster in the UK. :)
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I hate to be picky, but aren’t you kind of contradicting yourself there? What are you trying to say?

In terms of your thing of “nothing wrong with different opinions”, though; I fully agree. If we all had the same thoughts, this thread wouldn’t exist, and this forum wouldn’t exist!
 
Matt N said:
I hate to be picky, but aren’t you kind of contradicting yourself there? What are you trying to say?

In terms of your thing of “nothing wrong with different opinions”, though; I fully agree. If we all had the same thoughts, this thread wouldn’t exist, and this forum wouldn’t exist!
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I think you missed the mild tone of sarcasm in there.

I did use a smiley face to try and help :)

Maybe a winking face would have been better.
 
shakey said:
I think you missed the mild tone of sarcasm in there.

I did use a smiley face to try and help :)

Maybe a winking face would have been better.
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Ah, apologies! It’s not your fault; being autistic, my sarcasm detection skills are not the best...
 
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