Photo TR - A.J. goes to IAAPA Attractions Expo 2012

[A.J.]

Hey everyone!

 

So, I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the IAAPA Attractions Expo again this year along with several members of the Penn State Theme Park Engineers. It was a spectacular show as per usual!

 

Coincidentally, I was assigned a documentary project in my photography class last week. I emailed and called a lot of people, and eventually got permission to bring my big camera into the exhibit hall for my documentary!

 

So, in addition to sharing my findings with my instructor for a grade, I thought that I'd post a bunch here as well. It's always exciting to see exactly what's going on with the manufacturers at the show.

 

Enjoy my coverage of the show! All photos have been taken with permission by the individual exhibitors.

 

IAAPA welcomes us! Our group is going to be holding a formal meeting to decide whether this is a credit or not (not really).

Same welcoming sign as last year, but new banners. Game on!

Zamperla brought in a full-size Air Race model to the show this year! It's not the same big model that's at Luna Park though, this one seats two per car instead of four.

The coin-op section of the show was huge! I could have spent a lot more time here, but I didn't.

The air-powered bumper tube thingies are always lots of fun, but they might be better if the company that makes them had a little bit more booth space.

Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters had a nice and shiny black train on display! I hadn't seen my hair since I had washed it earlier during the day, so the train was a useful mirror.

Poor single-bench train - you'll get bought someday!

I love the color scheme of the new Ocean Kingdom trains!

I spent a while at the Premier Rides booth, but I'm not sure why. Must have been the cushy seats.

Though, Premier did have this photo of Goliath's new train on display! It looks really sleek.

Premier gave out pins that said "YOLO" at their booth this year. True story. Win an IAAPA Bag of Crap, you'll see.

After showcasing the new Green Lantern train at the show last year, it seemed inevitable for S&S to bring in a four-seater version. Lap bar enthusiasts rejoice.

They were also showcasing this comfortable-looking seat for their towers. The new tower built for the Sochi Winter Olympics will have a 20-seat circular carriage.

Another super-awesome Sky Trail course! I love these things.

Chance Rides also had a new concept on display. It uses the UniCoaster seats...

...BUT, it puts them on a Wipeout chassis! Hello motion sickness!

Proslide's booth is pretty much the same as it was last year, but with new photos and models. It's still my personal favorite to go to.

Moser had this new attraction at the show alongside their Gyro Loop.

It's basically like the "Halfpipe Canyon" attractions at the Joypolis parks. You stand, then swing and spin as if you were on a giant skateboard halfpipe. Lap bar enthusiasts can rejoice again.

Of course, Great Coasters had their neat Coca-Cola Millennium Flyer train on display. Maybe Theme Park Review should convince Coke to build a roller coaster?

 

More to come soon! I have work to do.

Edited November 19, 2012 by A.J.

[simon8899]

It's not the same big model that's at Luna Park though, this one seats two per car instead of four.

 

I hope that this smaller version will hit German carnivals next year!

 

The new S&S restraints looks like inspired by the Mack Megacoaster restraint...

[DJeXeL]

 

Sexy!

[Jew]

The new chance ride should make appearances at the L.A, OC, and S.D county fairs if it was purchased for RCS!

[XYZ]

I thought you said you weren't going to IAAPA this year, A.J.? Anyways, it's good to see that you made it in there. Great photos and those Goliath trains look really nice.

[CpBluestreakCp]

All those trains look nice, especially the shiny PTC ones and Ocean Kingdom's. Great photos, looking forward to more.

[_IntaMAN_]

Awesome pics! I've always wanted to go to IAAPA and these pics are probably the closest thing to being there. Premier's new trains for Goliath are just to drool over! Can't wait to see more

[firewalk13]

very cool, thanks for posting these! I think my favorite pic you posted so far was that first PTC car. lurve...

[Voxelmatic]

Did Premier really hand out YOLO pins? That would be amazing. (Oh, and love the pics!)

[A.J.]

Here are some more photos from the show. Enjoy!

 

WhiteWater had a wonderful model of their AquaCourse on display. I think that this is the exact design that was installed at Alabama Adventure, but I'm not sure.

Intamin didn't have anything on display, but had lots of photos on their booth. I've been assured that their product sells itself.

Rocky Mountain Construction's booth was decked out in Outlaw Run and Iron Rattler stuff. One thing that I didn't know was that as long as the forces are in check, an entirely Topper-reprofiled ride can run without having to buy new trains.

The Air Race (appropriately named Air Raid) ran constantly all day with no problems whatsoever. Good on you, Zamperla!

Mack had a model of a Twist n' Splash variant on display, but no comfy seats to sit in like last year. I kind of prefer how the "tea cup" arrangement looks (like at Pleasure Beach) over this style.

Gerstlauer had a model of their extended (Pandemonium, Spinning Dragons) spinning coaster on display at their booth.

In case you didn't know, these guys, the Ralph S. Alberts company, do a lot of the foam molding that makes restraints comfortable. They even did the molding for Skyrush's "softer" restraints when the trains went out for a weekend mid-season.

Guess the coaster restraint?

Gravity Group had a Timberliner car on display again this year that attendees were allowed to sit in, themed to a FREAKING DINOSAUR.

At least to me, the B&M Wing Coaster car seems a lot smaller in person than in photos. They still wouldn't let me sit in it.

The show floor was always really busy, but it was never crowded.

Apparently, this racing simulator was better than a lot of the others at the show. The base even spun to simulate lateral G-forces of taking a turn. It shows that the Expo's "hidden gems" are in the First-time Exhibitors area.

Outside, S&S had a family swing operating. The kids loved it. One group of kids got three whole circuits because there was no one else around who wanted to ride.

For some reason, ARM didn't let anyone on the rides they brought to the outdoor area. This Star Flyer-style ride just sat there spinning up top for the entire day.

If you didn't know, Dynamic Attractions was responsible for the awesome Soarin' attractions at Disney parks.

I asked the exhibitors what a Fishpipe was. They told me that a Fishpipe was a Fishpipe. I couldn't get anything else out of them.

I think that artificial ski slopes are a great idea, especially for indoor parks and other parks that are tight on space.

Back at Rocky Mountain, we have the Outlaw Run car! It looks very authentic and rugged, and I love the color scheme. It uses the same sort of restraint that Premier coasters do to allow the train to safely travel upside-down.

I love this photo from the Great Coasters booth. It would be even cooler to have a train mounted on a bank so it appears to be coming from the track.

I love ProSlide's models so much! I didn't think that everyone would love the Shark-themed Tornado Wave though, or else I would have taken a better photo of it.

 

More to come!

[triggernel]

I spy Kraken and Rip Ride Rocket restraint foam.

 

Thanks for the updates, it's awesome to get another angle on things!

[SLUSHIE]

Coca-Cola really should have their own theme park!

 

I mean, Hershey and Anheuser-Busch did it, so why not another American food company?

 

They should buy Freestyle Park and fill it to the brim with Freestyle Coca-Cola machines.

[Ccron10]

Coca-Cola really should have their own theme park!

 

I mean, Hershey and Anheuser-Busch did it, so why not another American food company?

 

They should buy Freestyle Park and fill it to the brim with Freestyle Coca-Cola machines.

The Hershey Company does not own Hersheypark. It's owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Co. Milton Hershey back in the 1930's made the chocolate company and many of the divisions of what is in the town seprate from each other.

 

But the Hershey Company does own Chocolate World.

 

As for Busch Gardens, I'm pretty sure they might be in the same situation.

 

Liking the trip report, by the way. As for the restraints, I want to say the orange T-bar is a CGI Millenium Flyer labar, the orange thing is a Schwartzkopf lapbar, the one above is for a PTC 4-person grabbar, B&M restraint (an easy one), a lapbar for an X-Coaster, and I have no clue about the white and blue objects.

Edited November 18, 2012 by Ccron10

[Jew]

^He said did in the past tense. They may have been separate companies, but there is no question who owned/founded both companies. But regardless of that, the point he was trying to make is that there have been other companies that have successfully used their brand with a theme park.

[SLUSHIE]

I get what you mean, but I was mainly joking.

 

The Hersey and Anheuser-Busch park had pretty humble beginnings and were able to grow 'in house' over time. If any company from outside the theme park industry were to build a new park they would have to contract with some other company to do it for them, much like what Hard Rock Park probably did.

[matteocrepaldi]

Great photos! I really hope to be able to visit it next year!

[A.J.]

Here are some more good ones - I have one more set that I'm working on. Stay tuned!

So whimsical and fun-looking! Those crazy Japanese!

Has Gerstlauer sold another one of these yet? I know of Farup Lynet and Anubis, but no others.

Maurer Söhne's booth was very dull in color, but they had some great models of the Sky Loop and also the Fiorano GT Challenge cars.

When you bring in a car to display, you have to let people sit in it. That's how it works. Gravity Group gets it!

In case you didn't know - yes, the IAAPA has their own booth at the show. Who would have thought?

Some park needs to buy this design from Great Coasters ASAP. It looks like so much fun!

Here's hoping that Great Coasters keeps building traditional wooden coasters for years to come.

While the Fantawild parks are littered with Golden Horse knock-offs, apparently they have a great attention to detail. Just look at that model!

Maxflight was exhibiting again. They've brought their simulators into the next decade with high-definition screens.

Hang in there Kodak! I'm pulling for you!

Look familiar? I thought that this looked like a demented version of Tweety from Looney Tunes.

This guy wanted me to hold the baby gator and snake. No thanks.

There will come a time when cartoon-ish looking robots will make us frozen yogurt with fun sound effects. It will happen.

Real plants or fake plants? You decide!

Another ropes course! Not as cool as the Sky Trail one, but still awesome!

Hey Adam. How's it hanging? Ba dum tss...

I don't want to have to fly to Finland to see Angry Birds land.

Four-way air hockey - best idea ever or worst idea ever?

MOAR ROPES COURSES PLZ.

Ralph S. Alberts Company was showing off a new molding technique. It's amazing how floppy restraints are without metal bars running through them.