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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: Icon 3 years on

Icon; overrated or underappreciated?

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I’m not actually sure that non-enthusiast visitors did react that well to Icon, at least from my experience. Both my parents are remarkably apathetic towards it compared to Blackpool’s other roller coasters, and I’ve heard other people say that many non-enthusiasts aren’t overly impressed by it.

For some reference, my dad said to me that “[his] favourite bit was the amazing baggage system on the platform”, and my mum said that it was “a bit dull” with “no moments that made her laugh or scream”, and my mum isn’t even someone who especially likes big, intense coasters. In terms of the UK 2018 duo, both rate Wicker Man far more favourably, so in their eyes, Wicker Man didn’t just win on marketing. Of course everyone’s opinions differ, but I’m just offering the opinion of the two non-enthusiasts I know best and visit the most parks with.

And I say this as someone who ranks Icon as my favourite UK coaster, so I’m not trying to criticise it for no reason.
 
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They could have done that. However BPB, which once called itself the “Rollercoaster Capital of the World” hadn’t installed a new coaster in 24 years.

Whilst they could have added 3-4 flat rides, I think the demand for a coaster was greater. From what I’ve seen, it’s been really well received by the public.

It’s likely to be true that it hasn’t pulled in many new punters (then again, WOW Weekends in 2019 was the busiest I’ve seen the park in years) but then again no theme park can rely on the loyalty of the same people returning to the park year on year. It could be argued that Icon has helped retain custom, and got people coming back who, had there been nothing new, wouldn’t have returned.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
Interesting because, in the same way as Icon, the Big One is generally disliked by enthusiasts but is very popular with the public, despite Big One and Icon being very different types of rides. But who cares, it’s the public that matter. Enthusiasts make up probably less than 1% of the park’s total visitors across the season. So if we’re talking about if Icon is a decent coaster, I’d say that based on the positive reception it receives from the majority of the park’s visitors, it’s been very successful.

I do take the point though that it may not have been worth £16 million, particularly when we consider that the entire budget for Tornado Springs was £12 million and Storm Chaser is pretty much unanimously agreed to be an excellent coaster.

But then again, in the years leading up to 2017, virtually all BPB fans were saying that a new thrill coaster was what the park needed as opposed to a family one.
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Oh absolutely. The GP love Big One way more. That's undeniable.

But then I don't take too much notice of what the GP think on most things in life tbh.
 
I have probably said this before here, but what is quite sad is that large coasters at some parks just don't pay off.

Whilst neither are rides that I would clamour for, I don't "dislike" either - but both Swarm and Icon have resulted in the same effect. No real net increase in guest visitation. The reasons could be widely debated, but whilst both could have been a catalyst for each park, they failed.

In the UK, of the major parks, only Alton Towers seems to be able to successfully market a major coaster and see a net increase in guests as a result*

*unsure on evidence from Flamingoland's most recent coaster investments.
 
AstroDan said:
I have probably said this before here, but what is quite sad is that large coasters at some parks just don't pay off.

Whilst neither are rides that I would clamour for, I don't "dislike" either - but both Swarm and Icon have resulted in the same effect. No real net increase in guest visitation. The reasons could be widely debated, but whilst both could have been a catalyst for each park, they failed.

In the UK, of the major parks, only Alton Towers seems to be able to successfully market a major coaster and see a net increase in guests as a result*

*unsure on evidence from Flamingoland's most recent coaster investments.
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I’m not sure on exact guest figures, but Paultons Park also seems to have done pretty well in building areas fronted by major coasters (well, major compared to the rest of the rides at Paultons, anyway); Lost Kingdom was a roaring success for them, as far as I can tell, and while it’s too early to assess at the moment, the fact that the park is almost consistently selling out at the moment would suggest that Tornado Springs might well be headed the same way! Admittedly, those are full areas as opposed to just one roller coaster, but they’re still fronted by major coasters nonetheless.

It is rather perplexing how only Alton seems to be able to make consistent (as far as I’m aware) successes out of roller coasters, though. It’s even stranger because other places have built successful rides in the past; Blackpool built the Big One, which was an astronomical success, and even all of Thorpe’s rides seemed pretty successful prior to Swarm, right up to the opening of Saw in 2009. Saw increased guest figures by a full 10%! Why have neither been able to repeat that same level of success?

It is odd, especially for Thorpe given that they’ve got the same marketeers as Towers at the helm (I assume a lot of Merlin’s marketing policies are quite similar group-wide?).

I don’t think these two rides’ supposed failure is necessarily the rule, though; these two seem more of an exception, as both parks, as well as others in the UK, have managed roaring coaster successes in the not too distant past.
 
I really like Icon, it's my favourtie coaster at BPB.

However, is it their signature coaster? I would say no, it's still the Big One - and it's been that way for about 25 years.

Whereas Alton Towers has three coasters jockeying for the position of signature coaster and two or those are quite new. Nemesis, Smiler and Wickerman.

Adding Icon to the line up hasn't changed what was - and still is - the position of The Big One as Blackpool's signature coaster.
 
Danscott22 said:
The Big One will probably always be the signature ride I'd assume!
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If you moved the Big One to any other park in the UK it would likely become their signature coaster, so I think it is a reasonable statement to say that the Big One is the UK's signature coaster. And by that I am not saying it is generally thought of as the best (far from it), but best and signature are not always the same.

Actually maybe we should have a thread dedicated to the Big One ?
 
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RicketyCricket said:
Icon is a weird one. IMO the top hat offers by far the best airtime moment on offer in the UK*

* Only on the back row fat seats, post 3pm, after it's warmed up, with the right wind direction, after some rain :rolleyes:

Overall though it's just a 'good' coaster.
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Only if The Ultimate isn't open. The worst part about that is Ulty wasn't really designed with airtime in mind vs Icon which clearly was.
 
shakey said:
If you moved the Big One to any other park in the UK it would likely become their signature coaster, so I think it is a reasonable statement to say that the Big One is the UK's signature coaster. And by that I am not saying it is generally thought of as the best (far from it), but best and signature are not always the same.
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I don’t agree.

Up north maybe, but around where I live, most people have never heard of the Big One.

If we had to name a signature coaster of the U.K., even though I’m not a fan, it would have to be Nemesis.
 
If anything, I’d personally argue that The Smiler is probably Britain’s signature coaster at present, if we’re taking the thoughts of non-enthusiasts into account too. It’s the only UK coaster I can think of that most people seem to know about even if they haven’t been to the park and ridden it, and I don’t think this is necessarily down to the crash, either. If you said to any random British person “name a British roller coaster”, then I’d imagine that most people would probably say Smiler.

As much as I’m not a huge fan, the ride has a really strong, well-known brand and is still incredibly popular nearly 10 years on from its launch. I’d certainly say that The Smiler is Britain’s most well-known and well-loved roller coaster in terms of popular culture, at least among the population as a whole.

Nemesis may be the country’s most well-loved roller coaster among enthusiasts, but if you’re talking about the wider population, very few seem to have heard about it or talk about it. Most people in Britain seem to know about Smiler, and most who go to the park outside of enthusiast circles seem to absolutely rave about it.
 
Matt N said:
If anything, I’d personally argue that The Smiler is probably Britain’s signature coaster at present.
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Notorirty is not the same as signature. Yes, more people have probably heard of The Smiler, but for all the wrong reasons. What it is as a ride probably means nothing at all to most people.

Enter Valhalla said:
I don’t agree.

Up north maybe, but around where I live, most people have never heard of the Big One.

If we had to name a signature coaster of the U.K., even though I’m not a fan, it would have to be Nemesis.
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I live down south and I'm pretty sure most people have an awareness of The Big One. When it opened it held the most meaningful world record any UK coaster ever has, and still holds the UK record for it now. People know it and know what it is. I think it has a pretty good claim to the UKs signature ride.

Nemesis is almost certainly the enthusiast's favourite in the UK, and the UK coaster overseas enthusiast's will know and want the cred of, but those who don't have any interest in such things probably don't know it exists, or what it is even if they know the name.
 
When I last visited America (2019) most US coaster enthusiasts first question was about The Smiler so its certainly a very well known coaster.

Wss surprised when a few people at Cedar Point recognised my Icon hoodie and asked me about that as well.
 
pluk said:
Notorirty is not the same as signature. Yes, more people have probably heard of The Smiler, but for all the wrong reasons. What it is as a ride probably means nothing at all to most people.



I live down south and I'm pretty sure most people have an awareness of The Big One. When it opened it held the most meaningful world record any UK coaster ever has, and still holds the UK record for it now. People know it and know what it is. I think it has a pretty good claim to the UKs signature ride.

Nemesis is almost certainly the enthusiast's favourite in the UK, and the UK coaster overseas enthusiast's will know and want the cred of, but those who don't have any interest in such things probably don't know it exists, or what it is even if they know the name.
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You must be talking to very different people to me then.

Most people down here who I speak to think Blackpool has little more than a few funfair rides and express surprise when I tell them that I’m going up to Blackpool for the rides.

In fact, I’d say there’s even a fair few enthusiasts in the south who are unaware of the size and scale of ride offering at BPB. Admittedly I’d say Icon has made southern enthusiasts more aware of BPB then before. But going back to the initial point, I really don’t think that the Big One is well known enough across the whole of the U.K. to say that it is our country’s signature coaster. I used the example of Nemesis but there are countless others. If you asked the majority of people across the entire length of the U.K. to name a major coaster, I think that only a fraction of people (mainly in the north) would name the Big One.

Not a reflection of the ride of course. I love the Big One.
 
I don’t think The Smiler is exclusively famous for its notoriety, even though that admittedly plays a part in its fame. Even before the crash, the ride was very well-known and popular, and more recently, I always hear The Smiler get mentioned first in roller coaster talk among non-enthusiasts, and not because of the crash. They know the ride because of its record, and many people have been on it; it’s still arguably one of Alton’s most popular rides alongside Wicker Man.

To be honest, as someone who lives in the South West of England, I never even hear Blackpool Pleasure Beach get mentioned in theme park talk. It’s always Alton Towers and Thorpe Park, maybe occasionally places like Chessington, Legoland, Drayton Manor or Oakwood. I’m convinced that most people down South probably haven’t heard of the Big One, whereas most people have heard of rides like The Smiler. Stealth is another one that often gets raved about, as well as The Swarm. As @Enter Valhalla said, I’d guess that very few people down South even know that Blackpool has one of the country’s largest theme parks within it. It’s just not very heavily marketed down here.

On an on-topic note; I don’t know if anyone else would agree, but ironically, I certainly wouldn’t call Icon the UK’s signature coaster, as much as I do love it.
 
I will refer to my previous point.

If you put the Big One in any other UK park, it would more than likely become the parks signature coaster, even if there are other coasters that people consider better.

And for that reason alone I think it has a pretty good claim as the UK's signature coaster.

How long before we get our hands slapped for talking about this in the Icon thread :)

Matt N said:
On an on-topic note; I don’t know if anyone else would agree, but ironically, I certainly wouldn’t call Icon the UK’s signature coaster, as much as I do love it.
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That's because it is in the same park as the Big One !
 
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