Icon Park

Icon Park
Previously known as I-Drive 360 (2015–2018)
The park green and the Wheel at Icon Park
LocationOrlando, FL, United States
Coordinates28°26′36″N 81°28′09″W / 28.4432°N 81.4693°W / 28.4432; -81.4693
StatusOperating
OpenedMay 4, 2015 (2015-05-04)
OwnerIDL Center (FL) LLC
Attractions
Total9[1]
Websitewww.iconparkorlando.com

Icon Park, originally named I-Drive 360 until 2018, is an entertainment complex in Orlando, Florida, that has been operating since 2015. The complex is on 20 acres (8 ha) and has about 9 feature attractions, including a 400-foot (120 m) observation wheel, a slingshot ride, a Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, and a Sea Life aquarium (not to be confused with SeaWorld Orlando). The park also has various restaurants, shops, bars, and kiosk vendors.

Icon Park is not owned and operated as a single enterprise like an ordinary enclosed amusement park; instead, the park is on a 40-acre (16 ha) site together with nearby hotels and restaurants, and the attractions at the site are owned separately and operated by various different companies who lease space and operate as tenants.[2] No tickets are needed for members of the public to enter the park itself or to visit the restaurants and shops on the site; rather, tickets for the individual attractions are sold separately or in bundled packages.

Attractions

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Rides and activities

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In addition to rides, the park features a museum, aquarium, arcade, a "7D" theater and a museum of illusions.

  • Orlando Eye (the original name, although also previously operated under other names including the Wheel at Icon Park from 2019 to 2024), a Ferris wheel standing 400 feet (120 m) tall (owned by Merlin Entertainments since March 2024)[3][4]
  • Carousel on the Promenade
  • Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum Orlando (owned by Merlin Entertainments)
  • Orlando Slingshot – the tallest slingshot ride in the world, standing at 300 feet (91 m) tall, it vertically catapults two riders to a height up to 390 feet (120 m) in an open tubular steel cage using elastic ropes (owned by the Slingshot Group)
  • Sea Life Aquarium Orlando (not to be confused with SeaWorld Orlando)
  • Museum of Illusions Orlando
  • In The Game / 7D Motion Theater
  • Pearl Express Train, a locomotive ride around the Icon Park Promenade[1]
  • Max Action Arena, an entertainment center with virtual reality technology and adventure rooms that was announced in fall 2022.[5]

The Orlando Starflyer, a 450-foot (140 m) swing ride, is located near Icon Park on the same road and is operated by same Slingshot Group of companies that operates the Orlando Slingshot attraction, but it is not listed as an Icon Park feature attraction and has a separate website and a separate destination address.[6][7]

Shopping

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The park features more than 40 specialty retail kiosks around the Icon Park, as well as an original shop featuring park merchandise.

  • Build-A-Bear Workshop
  • The Sugar Factory
  • The Wheelhouse Gift Shop
  • Calenoi Sunglasses
  • Icon Park Gifts
  • Breathe: A Modern Wellness Bar
  • CXI Currency Exchange[1]

Restaurants

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The park features various restaurants including

Former attractions

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  • The Orlando Free Fall (2021–2022): a 430-foot (130 m) drop tower – closed and demolished after a fatal accident in 2022.[11]
  • Bullseye Blast (2022): a shooting game for riders of the wheel attraction to shoot at targets on nearby buildings, streetlamps, and parking lots, which proved controversial due to its resemblance to mass shooting incidents.[12][13][14][15]
  • Arcade City Orlando: an arcade closed in March 2021 after being replaced by the new In the Game arcade in the Icon Park Wheelhouse.[16]

Operations

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The Wheel at Icon Park (now called the Orlando Eye) at night

Icon Park began operating in 2015. Tickets for the individual attractions can be purchased separately or in discounted combinations.[6]

In 2023, Icon Park began offering a "Play Pass" package that included admission to seven main attractions, an add-on game experience for the Wheel ride, credits for two game areas, and discounts for shopping, restaurants and bars.[17] However, as of March 2024, the Play Pass package was not offered on the park website.[6]

Incidents

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See also: List of incidents at independent amusement parks

On March 24, 2022, 14-year-old Tyre Sampson of St. Louis, Missouri, fell to his death from the Orlando Free Fall ride.[18] Owned and operated by The Slingshot Group, the attraction opened as the tallest free-standing drop tower, and operated for less than 3 months prior to the accident.[19] The ride was immediately closed.[20] Through an investigation and report provided by Quest Engineering and Failure Analysis, Inc., it was discovered that the restraint proximity sensors of the seat Sampson was in had been manually adjusted after they had been initially secured in place by the ride manufacturer. The manual adjustments had been made to accommodate larger riders.[21] Sampson exceeded the weight limit for the ride that was prescribed by its manufacturer.[22][23] The ride would not operate if the sensors detected that any of the restraints were not sufficiently closed, and the manual adjustment allowed the restraint to be open almost twice as wide as normal without triggering a shutdown. The expanded restraint for Sampson's seat left a large enough opening for him to slide out of the seat.[24][25] On October 6, 2022, Icon Park confirmed the permanent closure and future removal of the ride.[26][11][23][21] Demolition began on March 7, 2023, and was completed on March 21.[27] In the wake of the accident, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed the Tyre Sampson Act into law to improve rider safety.[21]

On July 3, 2015, at around 4:00 p.m., a few months after operations began, the Orlando Eye Ferris Wheel experienced a technical fault with the system that monitors the wheel position, causing the system to automatically shut down and stranding about 66 riders for approximately three hours.[28]

On December 31, 2022, the Wheel malfunctioned again and suffered from a power failure around 6:20 p.m. Orange County fire crews had to rescue more than 60 people from the ride. Despite reports of sparks, flames and some smoke, no injuries were reported.[29] The ride remained closed until February 10, 2023.[30][31]

On September 14, 2020, a worker died after falling from the Orlando StarFlyer while climbing to conduct safety checks.[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Park Map & Directory". Icon Park. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  2. ^ "ICON Park's Growth as Premier Entertainment Destination Augmented by Merlin's Expansion". March 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "The Wheel at ICON Park". ICON Park. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  4. ^ "Gateway Attractions". www.merlinentertainments.biz. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  5. ^ "Max Action Arena coming to ICON Park this fall". ICON Park. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Icon Park". Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  7. ^ "Orlando Starflyer". Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  8. ^ "GR Fish and Chips". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  9. ^ "Juan Valdez Coffee Store opens at ICON Park". ICON Park. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  10. ^ "3 new food concepts arrive at ICON Park in Orlando". WFTV9. April 27, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Orlando FreeFall ride will be taken down after teen's death, operator says". CNN. October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  12. ^ "Orlando's ICON Park pauses controversial shooting game". Blooloop. July 18, 2022. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  13. ^ Mates, Thomas (July 15, 2022). "ICON Park pauses new game on The Wheel in Orlando that allowed riders to shoot at targets". ClickOrlando.com. WKMG-TV. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  14. ^ "Bullseye Blast Shooting Game on The Wheel at Icon Park". Attractions Magazine. June 23, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ "Florida amusement park pauses new sniper-like laser game". CBS News. July 18, 2022. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  16. ^ "ICON Park levels up with new 'In the Game' experience". March 15, 2021.
  17. ^ Self, Jon (April 5, 2023). "New Icon Park Play Pass challenges 'vacation inflation'". Attractions Magazine. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  18. ^ "Boy, 14, dies after falling from FreeFall ride at ICON Park in Orlando". WFTV. March 25, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  19. ^ Bristow, Holly (March 30, 2022). "The Slingshot Group: Company behind Orlando FreeFall owns other rides in and around Florida". Fox 35 Orlando. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  20. ^ "Slingshot ride suspended at ICON Park amid FreeFall investigation". www.mynews13.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  21. ^ a b c Meredith, Michelle (May 12, 2023). "Orlando SlingShot ride reopens at ICON Park". WESH. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  22. ^ Vera, Amir; Lynch, Jamiel (June 13, 2022). "Teen who fell to his death at Florida amusement park exceeded ride's weight limit and died of blunt force trauma, autopsy says". CNN. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  23. ^ a b Phillips, Garrett (October 6, 2022). "Orlando Free Fall to be torn down after death of Tyre Sampson 6 months ago". WPEC. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  24. ^ "Read the report: Engineer report on teen death at ICON Park". Orlando Sentinel. April 18, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  25. ^ Yancey-Bragg, N'dea. "Florida park ride seat was adjusted before 14-year-old boy fell to his death, accident report says". USA Today. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  26. ^ "Orlando FreeFall At ICON Park Has Now Been Fully Dismantled". Theme Park Tourist. March 25, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  27. ^ "Parents of 14-Year-Old Boy Who Died in Amusement Park Fall Reach Settlement as Demolition of the Ride Begins". Yahoo News. March 16, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  28. ^ "Orlando Eye back open after malfunction left riders stuck". WFTV. July 4, 2015.
  29. ^ Meredith, Michelle (January 1, 2023). "'Nerve-wracking': Riders recount being stuck on The Wheel at ICON Park after power failure". WESH 2. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  30. ^ "The Wheel at ICON Park still closed after power failure: Here's what needs to happen before it opens". Fox 35 Orlando. January 18, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  31. ^ McDaniel, Dave (February 10, 2023). "The Wheel at ICON Park reopens following inspection after New Year's Eve power failure". WESH 2 News. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  32. ^ Dahm, Daniel (September 14, 2020). "Worker falls to his death from StarFlyer attraction in Orlando". WKMG. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
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