Ikaros is one of the most famous drop towers in the world. This is a rare Intamin Skyjump, meaning
the vehicle tilts 90 degrees at the top, forcing you to stare directly at the ground for the drop.
But is this one of the world’s best drop towers? For me, no. In fact,
it’s not even my favorite drop tower Grona Lund. And I’ll explain why in this review.
Grona Lund is one of the smallest amusement parks in the world. It has less than 10 acres of land.
So the park loves building up. That’s why you’ll find so many drop towers here.
The park opened Fritt Fall in 1998. This is a 26 story tall Intamin drop tower.
This one is notable for having one side with a stand-up floorless tilt vehicle.
Then the park opened Katapulten in 2004. This is an 18 story tall S&S combo tower,
meaning you get both a space shot and turbo drop in one ride.
And that launch is the big thing differentiating itself from the park’s other drop towers.
Just for completeness, the park also opened a Zierer junior drop tower in 2008 in Lyktan.
Then in 2017, the park opened their third adult drop tower in Ikaros. This was the tallest of the
three, standing 312 feet or 95 meters tall. This was the second Intamin Skyjump ever.
The first was Falcon’s Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa, which opened in 2014.
But Ikaros had some changes from the prototype. Falcon’s Fury had a single gondola. It was
circular like the gyro drops, but it was broken into 8 different sections.
Ikaros has two separate gondolas on each side of the tower. These can operate independently.
So you may only see one in operation for staffing or maintenance reasons.
And on that note, it is worth noting that Ikaros seems to be far more reliable than Falcon’s Fury.
The latter has seemingly been closed more than it has been open post-covid.
Ikaros also has the advantage of being newer and being at a park with an off-season.
Falcon’s Fury also used a catch car like most drop towers. This hooks onto
the vehicle and slowly hoists the carriage to the top. Once the gondola is released,
the catch car slowly lowers for the next cycle. Most drop towers uses cables. Ikaros instead uses
a unique chain lift to take you to the top. This ride doesn’t really have any theming.
It’s loosely based on the Greek story where Icarus flew too close to the son, causing his
wings to melt and for him to fall back down to the ground. So it’s a fitting name for a drop tower.
The presentation of this ride is quite good though. The ride has an awesome entrance sign. It
especially comes alive at night when illuminated. Then the queue line takes you upstairs,
as the ride is built on a bridge above the midway. This was a brilliant use of space.
The tower looks pretty good too. I love how the queue gets right next to it. Then the
ride is fascinating to watch. Seeing the reactions of riders as the gondola tilts
towards the ground is priceless. And it also has a nice rotating topper as well.
This has never been more than a 1 cycle wait for me.
That’s even with it having a pretty low capacity. Each side holds just 8 riders. If it does have
a line, it is included on the park’s Jetpass skip-the-line system unlike the other drop towers.
You book a 10 minute window and bypass the outdoor switchbacks when your time is called. Single shots
cost roughly 100 Krona or $9 US Dollars each. If you buy your wristband online, the park gives
you two complimentary Jetpasses. I don’t know if these are offered if you buy your pass in person.
The restraints are similar to Falcon’s Fury. You have an over-the-shoulder harness. The portion
across your lap is thick. Then you have a vest component that will be snug against your body.
They’re comfortable, but they’re less freeing than other drop towers, but that’s
understandable given what this ride does. I’ve experienced both sides. Each gives a
fantastic view for different reasons. One side faces the water. This side gives a
better view Stockholm. The other side offers a better view of Grona Lund, but you still have
the city’s buildings in the distance. Once checked, you climb up the tower.
It takes 40-45 seconds to reach the top. It’s tall on its own, but it feels especially tall
since you stand above some of the park’s other drop towers. It’s particularly prominent on
the side facing the water since you are staring directly down at Karnapulten.
At the top, the gondolas slowly rotate 90 degrees. It’s a shocking reveal finding
yourself staring at the ground. It’s one of the scariest sights you can get on any attraction.
You then pause for a few seconds and are released with no warning.
The drop feels similar to the one on Falcon’s Fury. It doesn’t offer the stomach drop
like a conventional drop tower. Not does it really have any airtime. Instead, you get this rushing
sensation as you’re plunging towards the ground. It’s more akin to what it feels like when your’re
skydiving, complete with the wind resistance. The reason the drop is thrilling is because
of the visual. You see the pavement rapidly approaching. It’s a visual you don’t usually
get on a drop tower since you’re usually looking straight out in front of you.
At the bottom, the gondola rapidly rotates 90 degrees so you’re again facing outwards. Off-ride,
this motion looks pretty abrupt and whiplash inducing, but it feels fairly fluid on-ride.
So what would I rate Ikaros? I would give this drop tower a 9 out of 10. If you love Falcon’s
Fury, you’ll love Ikaros. The drop feels very similar. Falling while staring at the ground
is such a unique sensation. I do wish the drop had more oomph though. That’s the one con with
this ride. It just doesn’t have the oomph of your typical drop tower. But the visuals
both during the descent and ascent are truly special and make this a fantastic drop tower.
I think this tends to be the most popular drop tower at Grona Lund,
but I actually prefer Fritt Fall, specifically Fritt Fall Tilt. You have a similarly great
view to Ikaros, but the drop is far more intense. You drop like a rock on that one.
You get a stomach drop sensation and nice floater airtime the whole way
down. And if you ride on the Tilt side, you are forced to look at the ground.
And I think the concept is even more terrifying because of the vehicle. You are far more exposed
with the stand-up floorless vehicles. And the harnesses also give your body more freedom to
float on the plunge. Compare that to Ikaros where you have a much snugger and bulkier harness.
I think I’d ride Ikaros more if it were at another park. It’s in the upper 10% of
drop towers I’ve ridden. It just so happens Grona Lund has a better drop tower in Fritt Fall Tilt.
So those are my thoughts on Ikaros at Grona Lund. What are your thoughts on this ride? How do you
think it compares to other drop towers, both the ones at Grona Lund and others out there? Let me
know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate it if you gave
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more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!