ICON is a

launched roller coaster The launched roller coaster is a modern form of roller coaster. A launched coaster initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or a series of linear induction motors (LIM), linear synchronous motors (LSM), catapults, tires, chains ...

Blackpool Pleasure Beach Blackpool Pleasure Beach is an amusement park situated on Blackpool's South Shore, in the county of Lancashire, North West England. It operates as a secure facility, and has introduced epayments via smartphones for admission charges, replacin ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. Manufactured by Mack Rides of Germany, the ride opened on 25 May 2018 at a total cost of £16.25 million. The ride is the first multi-launch roller coaster in the United Kingdom, and the first brand new rollercoaster at the park in 24 years. It uses a series of linear magnetic synchronous motors to propel and slow the trains along the track. Icon serves as the park's sixth

steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated whee ...

and tenth

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

overall. The name "Icon" was announced on 10 April 2017 with the tagline, "Dare To Ride”. In 2022, a spinning car was added to the back of one of the trains with the tagline "Ensō".

History

On 28 September 2016,

released plans for a new steel roller coaster entitled "Construction 2018" that would be constructed by Mack Rides at the cost of £16,250,000 for the 2018 season; in addition, they released a simulated POV of the ride. Soon after on 1 December 2016, construction on the ride began, and on 30 March 2017 the foundations for the ride were around 80 percent completed with 282 concrete cylinders driven for main pilings. On 10 April 2017, the park announced the official name of the ride, Icon. Around the time of announcement, 8,000 metres of steel tubes and pre-cast concrete piles had been placed 12 metres into the ground and 5,500 tonnes of soil had been dug out. The first pieces of track for Icon arrived at Blackpool Pleasure Beach on 19 October 2017, a few weeks after the arrival of the first supports which arrived on 29 September 2017. The final piece of track for the ride was installed on 14 February 2018, with both Amanda Thompson and Nick Thompson signing the interior of the steelwork. Icon officially opened on 25 May 2018. In 2021, the lap bars were modified to have seatbelts fitted. Later that year, it was announced that the ride would be getting a spinning car at the back of one of the trains for the 2022 season. The new experience is an upcharge attraction starting at £15 per ride and rising to £25 per ride for VIP.

Ride experience

The generic height restriction for Icon is , in order to be able to experience the ride from the back row, guests must be at least tall. This is due to the back row seats being designed for larger guests. A "Speedy Pass" is available for the ride (this gives guests the ability to skip a queue), being accessible from the bottom of the Big Dipper's steps. Speedy Pass riders embark from a queue parallel to the main queue inside of the station and are generally boarded on the back row of the ride unless the rider is under . The ride begins by slowly rolling out of the station to the launch area. Riders can hear an intense buildup with the voiceover saying "Icon" to mark the LSM launch, through a tunnel into an tall

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...

element. The top hat then passes under the Big One's lift hill. This is followed by a shallow non-inverting inclined loop before a series of banked turns, intertwining with the

Big Dipper The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" ...

and

Steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

before turning over

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

's brake run and navigating through a Downward Barrel Roll. After diving into another tunnel, a second LSM launch follows , which goes into a non-inverting

Junior Immelmann loop This list of roller coaster elements contains the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation. Introduction Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. ...

, the tallest part of the layout. A series of highly banked turns, airtime hills, a helix and 2 S-curves follow, before the train hits the final brake run and re-enters the station. The on-ride photo is taken prior to the train entering the tunnel on the first launch.

References

External links

Blackpool Pleasure Beach: ICON
{{BPB coasters Steel roller coasters Blackpool Pleasure Beach Roller coasters in the United Kingdom 2018 establishments in England