I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the 2013 IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando this year. IAAPA which stands for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions holds it Expo every year at the Orange County Convention Center on International Drive. This amazing event brings over 25,000 attendees from over 100 countries to Orlando to see the newest and most exciting things that will be hitting the parks in the coming year. This year there was over 1000 exhibiting companies spanning a expo floor space of over 500,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. This year there was also behind the scene tours for members of IAAPA to Epcot, Sea World, Disney’s Blizzard Beach, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Kennedy Space Center, and Fun Spot.
This expo showcased new rides, games, food, prizes, picture booths, animatronics, and everything else you could think of to be involved in and around a theme park or amusement area. I spent 2 whole days exploring the floor, and was unable to see everything out. It was an amazing experience to see Disney Imaginers, and executives from Universal Studios and SeaWorld making deals and seeing what they could bring to the parks. This year Disney had a huge presence at the IAAPA Expo.
George Kalogridis spoke at the opening ceremony about the New Fantasy Land Expansion including details on the new Seven Dwarf Mine Coaster and also gave out Glow With The Show Ears with a demonstration. Also, Disney won a few Brass Ring Awards, which IAAPA presents to new and ground breaking advancements to the theme park industry. Magic Kingdom’s Be Our Guest Restaurant nabbed the “best innovation in food and beverage” award. Disney Theme Park Merchandise scored in the retail category for its Princess Magic Mirror, which won the judges’ choice award. The company also was rewarded in “hard good” and “visual display” retail categories.
I hope that this will be my first expo of many more to come! Just in case you want to attend next year, this expo is only open to members of IAAPA!
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