Icon or Wicker Man?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. As the two attractions have each been open for a solid year now, I'd be intrigued to know; which of the 2018 duo of new UK coasters do you prefer?

Now, I understand that these two are very different attractions; Icon is a Mack Rides launch coaster, whereas Wicker Man is a GCI wooden coaster. Due to this, I've put an "undecided" option into the poll for if you don't want to compare them.

However, my personal preference leans towards Icon. The pacing, the airtime, the smoothness; it's just such an outstanding coaster, in my opinion, and each of the elements I just mentioned as well as many more combine together wonderfully to make what is my personal favourite UK coaster and my overall #2 coaster behind only Mako at SeaWorld Orlando. Despite this, I still think that Wicker Man is a fantastic coaster and a brilliant addition to Alton Towers; it is paced wonderfully with many exciting moments, in my opinion! The theming and overall experience is also a particular highlight, and the ride grew on me as the year went on.

One thing's for sure in my mind, however; despite my personal preference towards Icon, I love both to bits, and both were fantastic additions to their respective parks, in my opinion! 2018 sure was an amazing year!

But which of the UK 2018 coaster duo do you prefer, 1 year on?

 

[Howie]

In the end, it was closer than I thought it would be. Was super excited about Icon beforehand, but not really that arsed about Wicker Dude, but Wicker Dude ended up being better than expected, and Icon wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped. That being said, I still think Icon is the better ride out of the two.

 

[HeartlineCoaster]

1 year on I still actively seek out opportunities to go re-ride Icon at least a couple of times a year.
I don't currently have a willingness to return to Wicker Man for the foreseeable future.

As I mentioned in my original reviews, part of this is park problems as you could easily rephrase that as:

I still actively seek out opportunities to go re-visit Blackpool at least a couple of times a year - Icon has made this a stronger urge.
I don't currently have a willingness to return to Alton Towers for the foreseeable future - Wicker Man has done absolutely nothing to influence this either way.

But fundamentally Icon is a better rollercoaster.

 

[CookieCoasters]

I’m really happy with both, but Icon definitely takes the cake. It’s the coaster the U.K. has needed for so long; something with real substance and a variety of enjoyable elements. Love it! I’d struggle to find much of an enticing reason to visit Blackpool without it now. It’s my second favourite coaster in the country behind Nemesis and I doubt that’ll change any time soon.

Wicker Man is a mid-level GCI and I’ve still only ridden it 3 times, but 2 of those rides it did really impress me, despite its fairly short and uninteresting layout. The ride certainly does have it’s more exciting, aggressive moments, especially at the back.

I hope to find time to get back on each of these coasters later this year.