The theme park and attractions industry isn’t known as the “business of fun” for nothing. When manufacturers and suppliers of roller coasters, water slides, arcade games, inflatables, f&b, haunts and theming come together, it’s a lively show floor filled with rides, lights, laughter and screams, not to mention tasty samples and sensorial experiences. IAAPA Expo 2024 took over the Orange County Convention Center’s North and South Building in Orlando, Nov. 18-22.
Setting a new attendance record, more than 41,000 attendees explored the booths of 1,100-plus exhibitors, divided into 10 themed pavilions, including rides and equipment, family entertainment center, and show production and design. More than 30 exhibitors, alongside their operator partners, hosted press conferences right on the trade show floor and on the South Concourse’s Innovation Stage, sharing announcements on new rides and expansions coming to theme parks and industry updates.
For example, Hersheypark and S&S Worldwide unveiled the gondola design for the new “Twizzlers Twisted Gravity” pendulum attraction coming to the Pennsylvania park in 2025. Attendees could admire the Twizzlers-branded ride vehicle at the S&S booth and pick up candy samples right off the gondola’s seats throughout the week.
In addition to the expansive show floor, IAAPA introduced new pavilions on the North Concourse: the “Haunting Grounds,” a dark, special effect-filled walkthrough experience of spooky, Halloween-themed attractions (we braved the mummies, monsters, gators and clowns), and the “IAAPA Street Market,” offering a collection of f&b stands where attendees could enjoy live demos and tastings. At the central bar, attendees could try IAAPA’s signature cocktail, Coaster Cosmo.
After the show floor closed on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, sponsor Sky Elements treated attendees to an all-new drone show visible outside the convention center. The Wednesday show broke a Guinness World Record for the largest aerial display of a bird formed by drones. Spectators marveled at a multicolored hummingbird made up of 2,486 drones.
We took in the sights and sounds around the IAAPA Expo 2024 show floor, and here are our top discoveries from the global attractions industry’s annual gathering.
JACK O’LANTERN JOURNEY
One of our favorite themed booths on the show floor was by Jack O’Lantern Journey, which specializes in creating and producing family-friendly pumpkin shows and experiences. Upon approaching the exhibit, there was no mistaking the fall theme, as a giant pumpkin couch, grassy green carpet and larger-than-life pumpkin flowers covered the booth. The company created a photo op spot with a log in front of a gorilla made out of pumpkins and “Sit here!” messaging, but the coolest part was an immersive pumpkin display in a dark tunnel.
Attendees entered under an arch of spooky and happy jack-o’-lantern faces, and inside, they could take in several illuminated pumpkins depicting scenes from films like “Wicked,” “Harry Potter” and “The Shining,” as well as animals, skulls and Disney characters carved into the vegetables. The pièce de resistance was a large display at the end of the tunnel that put together numerous pumpkins to create a life-size Headless Horseman. Don’t just take our word for it, Jack O’Lantern Journey won first place in the 400-600 Square Feet category of the IAAPA Brass Ring Best Exhibit Awards.
TOMORROWLAND LEISURE
A subsidiary organization of the Tomorrowland EDM festival held annually in Belgium, Tomorrowland Leisure transported attendees to an elevated, storybook world. The white and gold booth design gave off a modern feel, particularly with its curved exterior walls, while metal dragonflies, curtain-like columns and illuminated sigils added whimsy to the environment. Inside the booth, intricate art accompanied informational text on the walls, appearing like pages out of an illustrated book, which just so happened to be on display on attached rounded tables. In the center of the room was a model of LIFE, Tomorrowland Leisure’s upscale concept for aquatic experiences.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN CONSTRUCTION
Recipient of the top IAAPA Brass Ring Best Exhibit Award, the Image Award, Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) took a shipping container build to a whole new level, literally. The double-decker booth was constructed out of stacked shipping containers that opened to reveal displays on the roller coaster design company’s recent awards, product offerings and coaster track styles. Even though shipping containers tend to be enclosed, the space felt spread out with propped-open doors and removed walls, offering a nice flow between rooms. A small container branded as the “Moose Station” was dedicated to RMC’s Family Moose Roller Coaster design with miniature models and a seat from the coaster car.
AIRTRACK FACTORY
AirTrack Factory took a leap by showcasing its products in the air. The provider of air-filled mats presented the attractions side of its business by suspending AirNinja Obstacles above its booth. The two-story booth was built with metal trusses, and on the floor, alongside chairs and tables, was an AirBag with BattleBeams jousting sticks and an expansive AirCourt with a basketball hoop that had attendees jumping and taking their best shot.
WHITEWATER
Water park designer and manufacturer WhiteWater arrived with a multibooth presence, each touting a different product or business, ranging from software to surf simulators to log flumes. All of its four booths featured blue water splash decals on wood flooring, light wood beams as décor, TVs running water park footage, and miniature models of water slides and wave pools to demonstrate its innovations.
One of its most eye-catching displays was the “Create your own water playground” wall that featured six steps written and designed in the simple but playful style of a playset’s building instructions. In front of the wall was a table modeling the different toy, platform and stairs pieces to choose from, with drawers underneath to pull out additional slides and tipping buckets available to purchase, but as life-size builds.
OUTDOOR FACTORY
Turkish design and construction company Outdoor Factory brought a whole different vibe to the show floor. The classy but rustic booth featured a wood-paneled seating area complete with a chandelier, rug, framed destination photos and leather couches, while across the way was a green carpet, tables, chairs and a large statue of an eagle resting on boulders.
THRILL BUILDERS
True to its name, escape room designer Thrill Builders brought the thrill to its footprint with larger-than-life animatronics like a carnivorous plant and a dragon head, both of which rotated, opened their mouths and had sound effects. They were stationed on the jungle side of the booth, surrounded by trees, greenery and fog, while the other side of the space was themed to an Egyptian tomb. Brand ambassadors dressed à la Lara Croft interacted with passersby.
DANIELS WOOD LAND
Specializing in scenic fabrication, the Daniels Wood Land booth had a lot going on. At the DWL Tiki Lounge front desk, attendees could pick up brochures and activate an InterACT wristband—showing off the company’s interactive show control system—which could be tapped to several touchpoints throughout the booth that would light up a prop, trigger sound effects or get a caged shrunken head to reveal secrets (our favorite interaction). Across the back wall of the exhibit was a shooting gallery that featured multiaction targets and water sprays. It was a popular spot for attendees to get competitive. Various installations and set pieces around the booth offered themed photo ops.
STORYLAND STUDIOS
Storyland Studios popped up a campsite for its booth. The strategy and design firm set the scene with a large screen that projected imagery of a campfire in the woods, which also doubled as a backdrop for in-booth panel sessions. Adirondak chairs lined the front row, and a branded silver Airstream offered private meeting space.
AUTOGRAPH FOLIAGES
Autograph Foliages, a manufacturer of artificial plants, trees, flowers and grasses, set up a farm in the middle of the convention center. There was so much greenery, it could have convinced attendees they were outdoors. The company arranged a small corn maze, a haunted forest display and multicolored flower beds. A fun detail, the Wicked Witch of the East’s striped legs and ruby slippers stuck out from under one of the floral displays.
QUBICAAMF
Bowling products company QubicaAMF split its footprint across two booths, allowing ample space to showcase several bowling lanes of varying lengths equipped with digital leaderboard screens and lighting details. Buyers and reps could talk business at tables in the center of the booths, as attendees took turns at the lanes, knocking down pins.
PIPELINE GAMES
Pipeline Games drew lots of traffic to its booth—not just arcade enthusiasts looking to enjoy its crane machines, but attendees eager to see three live alpacas. In a grassy pen, one alpaca munched on hay, while the two others were available for photo ops. Participants who snapped a picture with the alpacas in the photo booth could enter for a chance to win an Alpaca Prize crane machine or a Cut 2 Win Mini arcade game.
SANDY CREEK MINING COMPANY
Sandy Creek Mining Company is a builder and supplier of gemstone and fossil panning attractions, and it brought an adventurous, old-timey spirit to the show floor. Made up of a wooden exterior, a tall water tower and descending waterfalls filled a long trough that wrapped around the booth with water, giving attendees the chance to sift through paydirt in screen-bottom boxes and find gemstones.
XTRAICE
Xtraice brought its synthetic ice rink to IAAPA Expo, and a figure skater put on a show for passersby, twirling and gliding around the “ice.”
OUTDOOR EXHIBITS
The show floor extended outside the convention center to two parking lots designated for outdoor exhibits, including inflatables, rock climbing, zip lines, trampolines, axe throwing and baseball batting bays.
