In 1936, Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida opened to the public. What started as a garden exhibit and water show slowly morphed into a thrill destination. Although Florida lacked densely populated cities like New York, Chicago, or Philladelphia, tourists from around the world began going out of their way to make it to the peninsula state. A 50-year stretch only brought more thrills to the area. Walt Disney brought his historic brand to Kissimmee, Florida, rivaling Cypress Gardens and bringing an unprecedented amount of new tourists to the area. Beyond these two parks were SeaWorld in Orlando, Busch Gardens in Tampa, and eventually Universal Orlando Resort.
By the end of the 1990s, there were nine major theme and amusement parks between Tampa and Orlando, the two cities being roughly an hour drive apart. Though Cypress Gardens has since closed and been replaced with the family-friendly park Legoland, a trip to Florida today means a trip to a multitude of groundbreaking parks and resorts. The newest Orlando amusement park, however, is a bit of a head-scratcher.
ICON at a Glance
ICON Park in Orlando, Florida opened as I-Drive 360 in 2015. Originally owned by Merlin Entertainment (the company responsible for some of Europe’s largest parks such as Alton Towers and Thorpe Park, as well as the Legoland parks), the park opened with three main attractions: an observation wheel, a wax museum, and an aquarium. Merlin entertainment’s stateside mission is to offer affordable alternatives to premiere parks such as Disney and Universal, and that was exactly the intent of I-Drive 360. Todd Andrus, who leads up Merlin’s marketing team in Florida, said in 2015, ”After people are done with the parks, we’re hoping they come here and spend time with us.” Offering extended hours and free parking, I-Drive 360, now ICON Park, rapidly became a go-to for tourists and locals alike.
Part-massive thrill rides, part-shopping and dining, part-museum, and part-miscellaneous, Icon Park has been in a bit of an identity crisis since its opening in 2015. The massive observation wheel, for example has been renamed not once, not twice, but three times. After opening as the Orlando Eye, it was renamed to the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye, then ICON Orlando, and then renamed to its current name, The Wheel at ICON Park. That’s almost one name change a year. (In addition to its name changes, the observation wheel is no longer operated by Merlin.) If that’s any indication of how the park is still finding its identity, you can expect more changes from ICON Park in the future.
New Additions to Come
One of the changes coming to ICON Park is simply growth. In the past two years, ICON Park has leased 30,000 feet of new land in addition to its current property off I-4. Last summer, the park announced its addition of two massive new attractions, both record-breakers much like the Orlando StarFlyer. Currently in development are the world’s largest slingshot ride and drop tower. Standing at 300 and 400 feet, respectively, these will undoubtedly become icons (no pun intended) of Orlando. With four attractions standing at over 300 feet, ICON park will be cemented in Orlando’s skyline. Additionally, these will just be great rides. To put into perspective just how tall a 400-foot drop tower is, Doctor Doom’s Fear Fall, the drop tower down the road at Islands of Adventure, is around 180 feet. This new gyro drop tower, appropriately if not lazily named “the Orlando Gyro Drop Tower” will dwarf its competitors—even Falcon’s Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa, a fan-favorite that stands at 335 feet.
These additions will bring in more of the thrill seeker audience than they’ve seen in the past. Theme park enthusiasts enjoy collecting the “record breakers” like others collect coins. In addition to this, ICON Park’s hours extend well past the big parks. The Fun Spot parks have gained from this late-night appeal as well. After a day at Disney or Universal, parks which usually close a bit earlier, tourists often find themselves looking for something to do at night. Parks such as Fun Spot and ICON Park can pull from these crowds. It should also be noted that ICON Park is right down the road from the plot of land where Universal’s new park in development, Universal’s Epic Universe, will sit. (Granted, the future of Epic Universe is uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)
A Park With an Identity Crisis
With two outdoor landmarks in The Wheel and the Orlando StarFlyer, record-breaking thrill rides on the way, museums such a Madame Tussauds and the SEA LIFE Orlando Aquarium, a “7D” dark ride experience, and a growing menu of restaurants, this area definitely has a lot to offer, but the question stands: who is this park for? Even more nagging, perhaps: what does this park want to be? Perhaps they don’t even know yet. Again, the park is barely five years old. Many parks and businesses go through a multitude of changes before settling into their brand. But with millions of dollars of investments in their history and on the way for ICON Park, what is their endgame? To be a thrill destination? A spot for families? A nightlife environment? Perhaps it’s sticking its toes in all of these options, yet not fully committing to any of them. The park coins itself as an “Entertainment Destination,” and that’s a properly vague way of describing a park whose intentions are vague as well.
At only five years old, however, it’s exciting to think about what’s on the way for this park. Though their audience and intentions remain unclear, ICON Park has seen significant change…and significant growth, in both numbers and size. The plot of land that ICON Park sits on is quite literally in the center of Orlando. You can’t get from one Florida park to the other without seeing the massive observation wheel lit up on the edge of the highway. The park has made itself known in the Orlando area, which is an increasingly oversaturated market for amusement parks. In doing something different, something that we haven’t quite seen before, ICON Park itches a different scratch than the other parks.
Why ICON Works
Unlike almost any other park in the state, ICON Park has no entrance fee and no parking fee. The massive lawn in front of The Wheel draws in sunbathers and families. The varied restaurant scene a perfect destination for celebrating or grabbing a quick lunch break. The Wheel actually profits off of the already-standing parks in Orlando, as tourists dream to see the Wizarding World from a bird’s-eye view. ICON Park doesn’t necessarily compete with these parks because they’re doing something completely different. The addition of a new Universal park, for example, doesn’t rival ICON Park, but actually increases its exposure, bringing in a new wave of guests to eat at their restaurants, take a trip on their observation wheel, and experience one of their new thrill rides.
So although ICON Park’s vision is a bit befuddling, it’s working. And it will only continue to work as the park grows. Perhaps ICON Park can’t be pigeonholed into a category because it is creating a new one: a one-stop shop for tourists; a sampling platter of everything that people hope to get from a trip to Florida.
The future of ICON Park in Orlando’s theme park-scape is unsure as it’s always been, but if they’ve made one thing clear from the past five years, you can rest assured—it will be big.
