Coaster Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 Rode it again today, loved it, enjoyed it much more than yesterday. Awesome coaster. CharlieN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshuaA Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 14 hours ago, Coaster said: Icon is included in Pleasure Beach wristbands from opening day (25th May) onwards. Ah, phew. I have to say the website really confused the hell out of me, I think the park really should of perhaps made it MUCH more clearer. I really hope BPB succeed with Icon but with the butchered USP in the advertising, the website, and a real lack of strong marketing (not yet anyway) I think Blackpool really are hanging on by a thread here, hopefully the Mack greatness will sell the ride in itself. Robert.W 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted May 21, 2018 Report Share Posted May 21, 2018 A full review will be happening once I've ridden Icon more times, but for now I'll just summarise in brief. A very fun coaster with lots of unique elements, the changes in direction are frantic at times and there is lots of airtime to be had. I found that both halves complimented each other perfectly, with one of the highlights being diving through the mist-filled tunnel (you literally can't see ANYTHING) and into the second launch. The ride ran efficiently on two trains both mornings, and I believe they will be running all three at peak times. The atmosphere in the ride station is superb with the audio blasting out, and whilst landscaping/audio installation was still taking place (as the rides doesn't officially open until Friday, this is fine), here are some photos of the decoration around the Icon area. Pleasure Beach have done a great job at styling the ride well with a fantastic entrance feature, small water feature in the rock garden, memorial posts (to those involved in the project) dotted around the layout, and the first section of the queue-line is lovely. Loads more photos can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/TheParkUpdates/ A full review will come in the next few weeks JoelAllen, RobF and pluk 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 The entrance feature looks so tacky Shame that the station building is a bit bland though... Robert.W 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPGG Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 Iconic POV - although play it at x1.25 speed and it feels just about how fast it should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project LC Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 It looks like it should have just been that little bit faster or just a bit shorter as towards the end it just seems to drag on too much. No idea if that's how it feels on the ride but from the pov that is what I would be concerned about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshuaA Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 TBH Mack launches really are more floaty fun rides than intense, the pacing or speed doesn't really concern me, Blue Fire has some slow moments too. Honestly IMO this looks like the best thing built in the UK theme park industry in decades.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 It was running faster than that on the VIP rides last Saturday, I believe this was filmed on an empty train. The length is my favourite thing about Icon, it really feels like it goes on and on - brilliant. One thing I can't help feeling is that, in my opinion, it isn't a patch on the Wild Mouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted May 25, 2018 Report Share Posted May 25, 2018 One thing I can definitely take from today, it was so nice for a new coaster to actually WORK on its opening day - Icon opened at 11am along with the park (although we were told 1pm in the ticket centre for some weird reason?!) and only had one stoppage which I believe was due to "essential cleaning." Managed 18 rides on Icon today with the ride running a fairly decent two train service, if only certain other parks could manage to run their new coasters without them breaking down every 10 minutes and opening three hours late! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted May 26, 2018 Report Share Posted May 26, 2018 That's the beauty of a Mack - they are reliable rides, with tried and tested technology, and Blackpool have no need to work with them to develop anything new or different to suit their needs. I've no doubt that Icon will prove to be reliable all the time. Of course, with new rides, it's always reasonable to expect some downtime. Rides are complex pieces of machinery, and you can never truly know how they'll react to being used for 8 hours until they're in that situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 26, 2018 Report Share Posted May 26, 2018 Unnecessary sniping is unnecessary... Let's see how it deals with an actual busy day before we proclaim it as bigger than Jesus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted May 26, 2018 Report Share Posted May 26, 2018 8 hours ago, Coaster said: Managed 18 rides on Icon today with the ride running a fairly decent two train service, if only certain other parks could manage to run their new coasters without them breaking down every 10 minutes and opening three hours late! Yeah, stupid Cedar Point. Benin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted May 26, 2018 Report Share Posted May 26, 2018 Yep, because Wicker Man should’ve clearly been operating in cold snow temperatures. Some things do happen from time time to time resulting in things not going as smoothly as they could be. Mack are indeed reliable at the best of times. Robert.W 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted May 26, 2018 Report Share Posted May 26, 2018 7 hours ago, Matt Creek said: Yep, because Wicker Man should’ve clearly been operating in cold snow temperatures. Some things do happen from time time to time resulting in things not going as smoothly as they could be. Mack are indeed reliable at the best of times. Icon was TESTING on that same day! I'm not talking about that anyway, I'm talking about not opening until 12 noon, running with empty rows, breaking down every three trains, evacuating the queueline twice every day, etc. 13 hours ago, Benin said: Unnecessary sniping is unnecessary... Let's see how it deals with an actual busy day before we proclaim it as bigger than Jesus? Think that's a bit of an overexaggeration, I was just saying how nice it was to see a new coaster run flawlessly on its opening day - surely, as coaster enthusiasts, that's what we should want? In terms of the ride itself, it picked up a lot of intent today, the airtime was fantastic on the back row at points. Amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetmagix Posted May 26, 2018 Report Share Posted May 26, 2018 Both were as 'off the shelf' as you can get with custom layouts. Obviously it's a shame that Wicker Man had such issues upon opening but sometimes these things happen. ICON could have also had issues, both had long testing programmes which should have shown up any issues. Still, it's great to see ICON running pretty smoothly and I can't wait until I ride it in a few weeks time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted May 26, 2018 Report Share Posted May 26, 2018 I guess if your ride isn't running faster then expected it isn't going to have as many teething problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted May 27, 2018 Report Share Posted May 27, 2018 Icon is absolutely flying round today, just needed a few days to bed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted May 27, 2018 Report Share Posted May 27, 2018 I’m not sure a few days will make much difference after months of testing surely? It’s probably more that your more used to it now? It very much sounds like it’s significantly better towards the end of the day rather than at the start. Am looking forward to trying it out soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted May 27, 2018 Report Share Posted May 27, 2018 7 hours ago, Marc said: I’m not sure a few days will make much difference after months of testing surely? It’s probably more that your more used to it now? It very much sounds like it’s significantly better towards the end of the day rather than at the start. Am looking forward to trying it out soon! They've definitely done something to it, whether that is a change in wheels etc I'm not sure, though now it's running all day every day (and with guests) I think the running speed may well increase over the first few months. The airtime today was amazing in the back row, rivalled at PB only by National, Dipper and the last drop on Wild Mouse if you were riding on your own. In other news, the top balcony of the FY4 catering outlets was open today making for some rather depressing views... The same view last year; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 Wow. The back of my local high street looks picturesque compared to this. Such a shame to see this area lookingly so bare now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted May 30, 2018 Report Share Posted May 30, 2018 Really, really, really enjoyed Icon. Like proper enjoyed it. Had eight rides on it yesterday in the gorgeous sunshine and I just wish we had new age Mack rides everywhere. They're right up my street. It's strange layout is one of its most endearing elements. Whilst Helix and Blue Fire feel quite refined in their layouts, this feels proper Blackpool with a layout that weaves in and out of Big One, Steeplechase and Big Dipper and I liked so many moments. There's three or four big air time moments and my legs feel a bit achey this morning from all the ejector air time. The front is definitely better then the back IMO, that first hill at the front of the train felt like you're being completely chucked out of the train. So good. The hang time from the second inversion or the odd banked turn, the cheetah hunt type moments under Steeplechase, the little hill into the mist that glides into the second launch which has so much air time. I may actually go back to Blackpool again this season just for Icon because I loved it that much. ? Was muchly impressed by their operations too. It was only on two trains but it was munching through that queue keeping it at a respectful fifteen minute wait all day. We saw one break down with a failed launch but it was back up and running after about five minutes. I hope this does wonderful things for Blackpool as its a really good ride. A really easy 10/10 from me. Stuntman707, pluk and Coaster 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 30, 2018 Report Share Posted May 30, 2018 If it's making you want to actually return to Blackpool then it's the best ride ever built Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted June 7, 2018 Report Share Posted June 7, 2018 Icon is great but I still haven't forgiven them for the Wild Mouse situation! Makes me wonder, if they were to build another coaster would they use it as a smokescreen to demolish another classic? Martin Doyle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted June 8, 2018 Report Share Posted June 8, 2018 I don't agree with the way they handled the announcement, etc., but I highly doubt their logic was simply "we are opening a new coaster, let's rip one down to balance the books". Wild Mouse had plenty of issues and H&S problems related to it, all of which are expensive. Especially considering how much H&S is in the spotlight at theme parks, you have to wonder at what potentially spending hundreds of thousands of pounds becomes worth it, when they are going to have to do it again and again. And then what would happen if it ever became listed; they could potentially end up with a ride which isn't safe to run / too expensive to repair, but can't be torn down. Things like this aren't black and white. It's a shame what's happened, but you have to wonder how much time Wild Mouse really had in it. Maybe it had to go this year, maybe it didn't, but it really did seem like it could cause the place more problems than it's worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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