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A Park With an Identity Crisis 

The wheel and a food option
Image: ICON Park

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 

The Wheel from the lawn at ICON Park
Image: ICON Park

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.

 
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