IAAPA
Attractions Expo 2016
Every Experience Matters
Brett Dault
Each year in mid-November, I get [probably a
little too] excited about attending a convention.
(Yawn, right?) But it’s not just any convention….
The International Association of Amusement
Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo is an exciting
annual event which brings more than 30,000
attractions industry professionals from more
than 100 countries together, right here in our
backyard. Over 550,000 square feet of trade
show space is filled with new products and
the latest tech in rides, games, shows, décor
concepts, F&B offerings and serving ideas,
immersive experiences, VR/AR, theming, pyro,
and much, MUCH more.
Cee (our Editor-in-Chief), Samantha (our
Photographer++), and I spent a day exploring
the more than 1,000 exhibitors in what adds
up to over “9 miles of aisles” at the Orange
County Convention Center’s North/South
complex. The show spans the entire length of
the building and spills outside into the parking
lot. We rode rides, tried out new photo booth
technologies, played all styles of new games
(from classic carnival games, to video games,
to immersive experiences), and sampled TONS
of great food offerings. It was an amazing
afternoon meeting and networking with so many
innovators who have developed brand-spanking
new ideas which, while still in the final stages of
development, will certainly make quite an impact
in the coming months…and not just in parks
and attractions. So many of the concepts can
DECEMBER 2016
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WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE
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21