Blackpool Pleasure Beach | Icon | Mack Multi-Launch
- Thread starter Temleh
- Start date
Pink Cadillac
Giga Poster
I went on Icon 6 times today (2 at the front 4 at the back). I only got the park at 3:30 (anxiety disorders <3) so I only rode it when it had warmed up a great deal. Also the queues were open until 7 today so it had all day to warm up.
I love it! It's kind of my favourite style of ride too (long multi launch coasters). A million times better than Capitol Bullet Train and loads better than Cheetah Hunt too. Launches feel like pushes, the inline twist could be faster and there's a lot of snaking but that's the only imperfect things I can even think of. The airtime is great and varying, the mist is fab, it's a really good length, really cool interactions and the music is good. Obviuosly not super intense, but intense enough to thrill. It sneaks in at #9 in my top 10 ahead of Black Mamba and my second or third favourite coaster in the UK (need to reride The Ultimate!)
And what rattle are you piss babies complaining about lmao
I love it! It's kind of my favourite style of ride too (long multi launch coasters). A million times better than Capitol Bullet Train and loads better than Cheetah Hunt too. Launches feel like pushes, the inline twist could be faster and there's a lot of snaking but that's the only imperfect things I can even think of. The airtime is great and varying, the mist is fab, it's a really good length, really cool interactions and the music is good. Obviuosly not super intense, but intense enough to thrill. It sneaks in at #9 in my top 10 ahead of Black Mamba and my second or third favourite coaster in the UK (need to reride The Ultimate!)
And what rattle are you piss babies complaining about lmao
CrashCoaster
CF Legend
I love this picture of Icon's train going through the heartline roll by Ride Rater:-
streetmagix
Mega Poster
Pretty amazing how close the chassis gets to the track! That's what, less than 10cm away?
henryjwillis
Mega Poster
Will
Strata Poster
I'm adding that to my catalogue of favourite insults...
I have nothing useful to say, except I finally get to ride the damn thing this weekend
MouseAT
Hyper Poster
OK, I'm going to attempt to turn thoughts into words regarding how Icon actually rides.
In many ways, it's pretty typical Mack. It appears to absolutely crawl during testing with empty trains, but rides better than it looks once you get on ride. It's got the usual Mack mix of really fun elements and some definite dead spots, although some of those dead spots start to feel less dead as the ride gains speed during the day. By later on, you can visibly see that the trains are taking elements more quickly, and the ride starts to feel a bit less like a series of fun moments separated by filler, and more like a cohesive ride experience. The pacing isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I had so much fun riding that I can easily overlook that.
My first ride was in the front left seat, and whilst there were definitely moments of "meh" in there, there were plenty of moments where it genuinely thrilled me. When the train hit the brakes, @Mushroom and I were both laughing and doing Daniel Bryan "Yes" chants for a few seconds. It certainly met expectations, was probably a bit better in some places than expected, even if it fell a bit short in others. Some of that was probably the feeling of "at last, there's finally something this good within a couple of hours of home" rather than being able to objectively say that this it a top 10 ride. Along with the buzz you get from a good new ride, I also remember a distinct sense of relief that they hadn't screwed up, and that the UK hadn't somehow ended up with the first sub-standard Mack launcher. Make of that what you will.
By the end of the day, with the extra speed, even the filler elements such as the helices have enough momentum to feel more forceful, and the filler elements are over quickly enough that they're not so much filler any more as brief pauses between moments of greatness. Considerably less "meh", far more "wow".
It's certainly a hard one for me to place. I feel like I had more fun riding this than I had with some of my other highly rated coasters, yet many of the rides I've been attempting to compare it to are objectively better. I can give it a definitive thumbs up, but several days later I still have no idea how I'm supposed to rank this thing compared with other major coasters I've done. It's definitely in my top 20 somewhere though, possibly even somewhere within my top 10.
In terms of elements, it's a bit of a mixed bag, and can vary a bit depending on where you're sat. Interestingly enough, there's a big difference between the left and right seats on Icon - I found the ride to be a lot more enjoyable sat on the left hand side of the train.
Now for an element by element breakdown - skip over the bullet points below if you don't want spoilers.
One thing we noticed whilst having lunch next to the brake run - the general public all seem to really love this ride. As trains came in, there were so many smiles, laughs, positive comments, and the occasional shocked look on somebody's face that had underestimated the ride. Blackpool seem to have created a real winner here - a solid ride that's appears to be a hit with both enthusiasts and with the casual visitors too.
In many ways, it's pretty typical Mack. It appears to absolutely crawl during testing with empty trains, but rides better than it looks once you get on ride. It's got the usual Mack mix of really fun elements and some definite dead spots, although some of those dead spots start to feel less dead as the ride gains speed during the day. By later on, you can visibly see that the trains are taking elements more quickly, and the ride starts to feel a bit less like a series of fun moments separated by filler, and more like a cohesive ride experience. The pacing isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I had so much fun riding that I can easily overlook that.
My first ride was in the front left seat, and whilst there were definitely moments of "meh" in there, there were plenty of moments where it genuinely thrilled me. When the train hit the brakes, @Mushroom and I were both laughing and doing Daniel Bryan "Yes" chants for a few seconds. It certainly met expectations, was probably a bit better in some places than expected, even if it fell a bit short in others. Some of that was probably the feeling of "at last, there's finally something this good within a couple of hours of home" rather than being able to objectively say that this it a top 10 ride. Along with the buzz you get from a good new ride, I also remember a distinct sense of relief that they hadn't screwed up, and that the UK hadn't somehow ended up with the first sub-standard Mack launcher. Make of that what you will.
By the end of the day, with the extra speed, even the filler elements such as the helices have enough momentum to feel more forceful, and the filler elements are over quickly enough that they're not so much filler any more as brief pauses between moments of greatness. Considerably less "meh", far more "wow".
It's certainly a hard one for me to place. I feel like I had more fun riding this than I had with some of my other highly rated coasters, yet many of the rides I've been attempting to compare it to are objectively better. I can give it a definitive thumbs up, but several days later I still have no idea how I'm supposed to rank this thing compared with other major coasters I've done. It's definitely in my top 20 somewhere though, possibly even somewhere within my top 10.
In terms of elements, it's a bit of a mixed bag, and can vary a bit depending on where you're sat. Interestingly enough, there's a big difference between the left and right seats on Icon - I found the ride to be a lot more enjoyable sat on the left hand side of the train.
Now for an element by element breakdown - skip over the bullet points below if you don't want spoilers.
- The launches are nothing to get excited about - they're typical Mack, pretty forceless, and certainly not a patch on launch systems from most rival manufacturers. If you've never ridden a Mack launcher before, don't go in expecting the punch of an Intamin launch, or you'll be disappointed.
- There's good ejector on the first hill.
- The helix after the hill is something of a dead spot.
- The dive over Steeplechase can deliver a bit of floater on the left hand side of the train, but is pretty forceless on the right.
- There's a bit of a dull meander for a few seconds through the area where the go cart track used to be.
- The barrel roll is pretty good. It feels like it's got a bit of momentum behind it - it's more Blue Fire than Helix.
- There's a couple of nice pops of airtime between the barrel roll and the second launch. The undulation in the track isn't just for show.
- The Immelman isn't much to write home about unless you're in the back rows. If you're in the back right, you can expect some floater or slight ejector coming out of the Immelman, whilst the back left seat surprised me with some strong ejector on the way back down.
- After that, the elements start to blur together. There are definitely some fun ejector hills, some turns that got forceful as the day went on. It's good stuff, even if it does feel like it's meandering a bit, particularly on the approach to the brake run, and particularly early in the day.
One thing we noticed whilst having lunch next to the brake run - the general public all seem to really love this ride. As trains came in, there were so many smiles, laughs, positive comments, and the occasional shocked look on somebody's face that had underestimated the ride. Blackpool seem to have created a real winner here - a solid ride that's appears to be a hit with both enthusiasts and with the casual visitors too.
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CrashCoaster
CF Legend
^I actually quite enjoyed Icon's first launch, although it doesn't have an initial kick, I thought it accelerated quite quickly. It was better than I expected, and prefer it to Blue Fire's launch.
CrashCoaster
CF Legend
^I said it doesn't have an initial kick. But it does feel like it speeds up fast.
CrashCoaster
CF Legend
Hmm...
Looks quite different.
Looks quite different.
elephant58
Hyper Poster
The last bit and the first helix do yeah, but bear in mind that the top one is not a straight down view.
Hahah, I didn't even realise that! ATI you plonker!
James F
Hyper Poster
I hope this doesn't become a pattern from the Pleasure Beach. 
Tbf it didn't have any issues opening day, apart from someone throwing up so the crew had to stop running the ride for 10 minutes so they could clean it.
Sent from my G3221 using Tapatalk
Tbf it didn't have any issues opening day, apart from someone throwing up so the crew had to stop running the ride for 10 minutes so they could clean it.
Sent from my G3221 using Tapatalk
