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| A train being launched along the ride's first launch | |||||||||||||
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| Statistics | |||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Mack Rides | ||||||||||||
| Product | Launch Coaster | ||||||||||||
| Onsite construction | RCS GmbH | ||||||||||||
| Type | Steel - Launched | ||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 16 | ||||||||||||
| Hourly capacity | 1070 | ||||||||||||
| Propulsion | 2 LSM launches | ||||||||||||
| Height | 27 metres | ||||||||||||
| Drop | 25 metres | ||||||||||||
| Top speed | 85 km/h | ||||||||||||
| Length | 1143 metres | ||||||||||||
| Inversions | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 2:41 | ||||||||||||
| G-Force | 4.3 | ||||||||||||
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Icon is a steel launched roller coaster located at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK. Opened in 2018, it has two launches and is the first multi-launch coaster in the United Kingdom, as well as the first to use electromagnetic technology for the launch. The tagline is "Dare To Ride".
History
Icon was first hinted towards in August 2015, when a sticker on the back of Nick Thompson's car with Project 2017 on it was sighted, referring to a major project in 2017. The attraction was later announced for 2018 despite this.
In early 2016, the Tom Sawyer Bridge was demolished in order to make way for the ride.
The ride was eventually announced on 28 September 2016 at the Mack Rides factory. The coaster was codenamed Construction MMXVIII throughout its early development.[2] On 11 April 2017, Construction MMXVIII's actual name was announced as Icon, with the tagline Dare to Ride.[3]
In November 2017, track pieces for the ride began to arrive at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Later that month, the ride went vertical.[4]
The final piece of track was installed on 14 February 2018.[5] Test runs began on 12 March 2018 by testing the ride's LSM launches, and it completed a full circuit the following day.[6]
Amanda Thompson suggested that the ride was due to open in May 2018, which turned out to be the case, as on 19 April 2018, the opening was announced to be on 25 May 2018.[7]
The ride first opened to VIP Boarding Pass holders on 19 May 2018, however it did not open to the general public until 25 May.
For the 2021 season, the ride had a minor modification to its restraints, in the form of seatbelts and grab rails being added.[8]
On 5 November 2021, Blackpool Pleasure Beach put a teaser on Facebook indicating that the ride would receive some sort of modification for the 2022 season; the teaser referred to “ENSO; Icon with a twist”. The modification was revealed at IAAPA 2021 to be the addition of a spinning car to the rear of the trains.[9]
Design
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Icon is a double launch coaster by Mack Rides. The coaster dives underneath the lift hill of The Big One as well as passing underneath Steeplechase and Big Dipper. The station track doubles as a sliding transfer track, all of which is enclosed.
Colour scheme
The track is painted light grey while the supports are dark grey.
Ride experience
After stopping at the first launch and a voice whispering "Icon", the train launches into a large airtime hill underneath The Big One. It then executes a left-hand inclined loop, twisting into a pair of over-banked turns switching from left to right. The train hops over Steeplechase, dropping to the ground, crossing underneath Steeplechase and doing some S-curves in the former Go-Karts plot. Then, Icon ducks under Steeplechase again and turns to the left, rising above Steeplechase and going into an in-line twist. Then, Icon does a twisted double down under The Big One, going into the second launch, taking riders into the Jr. Immelmann. The riders enter a Stengel dive to the right, twisting back to the left and into an over-banked turn. Icon hits an airtime hill, dipping into a left-hand downward helix which leads into an S-curve airtime hill. A right-hand diving turn ensues. The train does an airtime hop over the ride entrance, into an S-curve followed by an outward banked airtime hop. Icon executes another over-banked turn into an S-curve, which leads into an over-banked turn over Big Dipper. The riders dip to the left succeeded by an S-curve, culminating Icon's ride layout at the brake run.
Theme
Icon lacks a prominent theme, however the ride area, entrance, and station building have a Japanese-inspired aesthetic. The ride has its own soundtrack, which is played in the station and around the ride area.
Trains
3 trains with 4 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows, for a total of 16 riders per train. The trains have overhead lap-bar restraints. The back row seats are slightly larger and thus able to accommodate larger riders. This is why the back row has a larger height restriction of 150 cm (59in/4ft11in), as opposed to the 130 cm (51in/4ft3in) height restriction that the rest of the train has.
Images
Construction
The ride's Immelmann under construction
A foggy construction photo of the ride taken in December 2017
References
- ↑ "National Rollercoaster day is sounding amazing for The Big One". Amusement Today. 15 August 2019. http://amusementtoday.com/2019/08/national-rollercoaster-day-is-sounding-amazing-for-the-big-one/. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ↑ "Blackpool Pleasure Beach Announces New £16.25m Rollercoaster". https://www.marketinglancashire.com/news/blackpool-pleasure-beach-announces-new-ps16-25m-rollercoaster/.
- ↑ Blackpool Pleasure Beach Gives a Name to its 2018 Launched Coaster - NewsPlusNotes
- ↑ Another New For 2018 Coaster, Blackpool's Icon, Heads into Vertical Construction Phase - NewsPlusNotes
- ↑ "Blackpool Pleasure Beach's new £16.25 million rollercoaster - final piece of track installed". https://www.visitlancashire.com/blog/read/2018/02/blackpool-pleasure-beachs-new-ps16-25-million-rollercoaster-final-piece-of-track-installed-b53.
- ↑ "Blackpool Pleasure Beach Now Testing ICON - New Launched Mack Coaster". NewsPlusNotes. https://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2018/03/blackpool-pleasure-beach-now-testing.html.
- ↑ ICON £16.25m rollercoaster officially opens 25 May - Marketing Lancashire
- ↑ "Blackpool Pleasure Beach E-Ticket System Review". Lift Hills & Thrills. 17 April 2021. https://www.lifthillsandthrills.com/blackpool-pleasure-beach-e-ticket-system-review/. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ↑ Mackinlay, Catherine (2021-11-18). "Blackpool Pleasure Beach Icon ride gets redesign with Europe-first new feature". Lancashire Live. https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/blackpool-pleasure-beach-icon-ride-22204883. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
External links
- Icon on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
