We were invited to attend the media preview day on Wednesday 23rd May for ICON, the new Mack rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which is both owned and operated by the Thompson family. It was clear straight away how much of a big deal this is for them - the park's first brand new coaster since 1994!
The event started with a fantastic presentation which included a brief history of the park, information about the development of ICON including videos, and concluded with a talk and Q&A session with Nick & Amanda Thompson, Michael Mack, and other special guests who helped work on the project.
ICON is manufactured by the prestigious Mack company. It was explained that after the Thompson Family and the park's lead engineers experienced many rides from different manufacturers, it was decided that Mack would be the perfect choice for the ride; this also helps build on the historic relationship the Thompson & the Mack families have, with several rides built by Mack already at the park. Amanda even directed the ice show at Europa Park in Germany for many years which is owned by the Mack family.
Although not made by Mack, the coaster that got the ball rolling for ICON was Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens, and it is quite clear with the terrain hugging sections it has been influenced.
Amanda commented how she loves Blackpool as a destination and really wants the whole resort to thrive and be firmly put back on the map as the destination to visit in the UK. ICON is part of an ongoing investment for the park which has seen many updates in recent years to the park, with this hopefully being the huge investment both Pleasure Beach & Blackpool needs!
We then proceeded into the park and headed towards ICON where they would hold the media opening ceremony and the Thompson family & special guests would ride to mark the opening. Amanda had yet to experience the ride, and also made it clear that she's quite scared of them. After a countdown the ribbon was cut and lovely 'blossom leaves' confetti was set launching into the air to mark the momentous occasion. We all stood in awe as we proceeded to watch the special guests sent round the rollercoaster, then it was our turn to ride!
The whole ride area is designed to Japanese architecture and it looks stunning alongside the twisting grey track. Stepping through the imposing entrance gates into the queue provides fantastic views of the ride with the station building in the distance.
Inside the station the atmospheric soundtrack plays and really helps build up excitement for what's to come. This is where you get to pick where you sit (we prefer towards the back) and patiently wait your turn. ICON trains use a secure lapbar so your whole upper body as well as legs have the freedom to move around with the forces of the ride.
The ride has two launches and reaches a top speed of 85km/h, is 1143m in length and has a total ride time of 161 seconds.
The ride has a variety of elements which include a couple of inversions, airtime hills and plenty of twists and turns. Our highlights are the iconic hill after the first launch which passes through the lift hill of the Big One, this provides some great airtime and close interaction to the ride as you're dropping down the other side. The inversion on the first half of the layout provides some great hangtime. We loved the other few bits of airtime around the ride, especially the section before the second launch which is nice and forceful and disorientates you as you head into the mist filled tunnel into the launch!
Advertised as a big thrill ride ICON leaves a bit to be desired as it lacks intense moments which is partially due to the lower speed of the coaster. That being said, ICON is lot's of fun; it's smooth, comfortable and rerideable, something that Pleasure Beach was missing from their ride lineup. With a relatively low height restriction of 1.3m lots of younger guests can ride too and we're confident everyone young and old will enjoy it.
ICON opens to the public on Friday 25th May 2018... watch the Point of View video below!
Visit www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com for more information and to book tickets & wristbands for the park.
We'd like to say a massive thankyou to the Thompson Family for inviting us to such a special event, the atmosphere was electric. We wish you the best success for both your park and Blackpool with this addition!