Attraction Technology and the Best of the Rest…

The decision to select Atlanta affected the demographics of the exhibition and also saw a shift in the scope of the Midway scene represented. The outside Midways were obviously reduced by the layout of the new location and by the climate not being conducive to attendance outside as the sunny climes of Orlando (possibly shaping the news of a 2008 return - see further down this Report).

The attractions on the show floor still showed the scope of the market and the trend towards mixed-use venues. The innovative attraction trend was led by Moser Rides ‘Cycle Ride’ which saw people power controlling the thrills of the exhibit, the systems rocking back and forwards while the guest pedals on a bike system, with more extreme pedaling achieving a 360-degree roll.

One of the new developments on the show floor was ‘MagiQuest’ which represented an interactive show where contestants do battle with magic wands. The projects was developed by Burroughs & Chapin Co., Inc. and Creative Kingdoms, LLC, who have joined together to create a new company, New Kingdoms. The attraction offers a ‘Harry Potter-esque,’ magic training and action experience, with interactive computer graphics within the venue offering a never-ending entertainment structure. The player able to accrue skills work as a team to solve puzzles and in keeping their wand improve through repeat visitation. The concept hopes to offer a twist to lasertag or LBE concepts of the past in a themed environment - the first venues rolling out in Myrtle Beach.

As seen in the UK (Stinger #344) the use of battling radio controlled robots, based on popular television competition programs, has started to take hold with the ‘RoboGedon’. At IAAPA the concept was shown in a slightly different light from a new manufacturer with their ‘TSR Robot Wars’ system had both battling robots, but also the inclusion of the extra excitement of football mixed in with the battle. It was not known how far this prototype had reach fruition for market deployment.

The e-payment and e-ticket sector saw a major expansion at IAAPA this year following on the Radio Frequency Identification (nicknamed RadiaWare) systems. Precision Dynamics Corporation launched a RadioWare Point-of-Sale wristband system, the first payment system using RadioWare for theme parks and water parks application. The company showed a suit of systems including a ‘Smart Kiosk’, and ‘Smart Band’ cashless payment. Wristbands for guest tracking were on display at the event in great perfusion leading many to see this as the next major push in attraction venue development.

The exhibition floor has always been a trend setting forum, and this year was no different. The changes in the smoking climate in the venue scene in America and Europe were reflected with the appearance at the show of a new vending product. The ’Single Cigarette’ vending machine offers a means for the impulse smoker to be attracted - a part of the vending industry history resurrected for changing times.

The exhibition showed some new development in mobility. The hopes that the personal transportation system - The Segway - was to be the ultimate theme park guest mobility system still has yet to be realized, with the system finding popularity only in the postal and factory scene, while finding itself the butt of jokes in the consumer sector. During IAAPA a second attempt to incorporate the technology into the entertainment scene saw Mobile Booths on display, these moving single person booths traveled the show floor based on the Segway hardware - currently demonstrated as moving information and ticket booths as a new idea.

The vast floor space of the Atlanta venue did have a vast booth line of Inflatable systems, a particular part of the attraction scene that has come under safety scrutiny with 2005 seeing an increase in incidents, the combined forces of the market showed a professional and safety conscious sector. There was some speculation that an amount of booth space caused by various reasons at IAAPA was ‘lost’ in the inflated area. The inflatable industry offered an impressive array of system, and showed that movie branding with particular new releases (from Batman to Chicken Little) are a major focus in their development. Also the development of inflatable attractions - such as roller coaster designs - showed a future trend. The brisk temperatures for the outside exhibits also played its part in shaping the hall utilization.

The IAAPA committee took on board complaints concerning poor public relations and attempted to present a friendly image. On the Friday of the event eight fifth-grade students were invited with teachers to inaugurate the 'Kid Tester' exercise.

Decked out in emblazoned t-shirts, and armed with clipboards, the team of Atlanta-area volunteers jumped at the chance to be some of the first in the country to try the latest thrill rides. Or that’s what would have been thought but a number of the more extreme attractions were passed by many in the party. While there were some takers for attractions such as ‘Rider Cycle’, the majority of the hand picked party stayed off. An embracing example of the whole reason to appeal to the widest possible sector of the venue audience, and while impressive the health concerns of riding the latest attractions do focus the audience’s mind.

The ramifications for the international scene regarding the crowded exhibition sector took an interesting turn during IAAPA. News was revealed that the IMA German attractions, gaming and amusement exhibition has been postponed. Scheduled for January 17th 2006, the event was suspended due to October changes in the German gaming law, it is unknown the ramifications of the law changes but were seen server enough to effect the exhibition schedule.

The theme park industry -- while under a media cloud for a 2005 season that saw higher than expected injuries on various attractions -- saw some resumption with accusations that had been leveled at the leading brand. Walt Disney had had their latest and most advance EPCOT attraction 'Mission: Space' accused of being a contributing factor in the death of a 4-year-old boy in June'05. However detailed investigation revealed he child had abnormal thickening of his heart muscle caused by a condition present since birth, and that the ride and subsequent CPR at the scene had not played a part in this fatality. Recent PRN cases at the attraction had resulted in a low-key 'downscaling' of the rides ferocity, though the ride signage increase to support concerns hoped to weed out incident. A campaign by the mother of the ride victim had requested a change in age and height restrictions on intense rides of his kind, though the medical results from the examiner could dampen receptivity to this request.

The announcement of the medical examiner’s finding on this case came at the same time as the American Heart Association was presented a German study that looked at the possibility that extreme ride systems could cause irregular heartbeats. The GeForce hypercoaster ride in Germany was used as a test platform for 55 people in the age group of 28-29. After riding the experience it was seen that irregular heart rates were monitored, and led the German researchers to state that people with arrhythmia and heart conditions should be excluded from theme park rides of this nature. However the ability to ascertain heart defects and rhythm conditions (caused by heart disease) is difficult at the best of times. So possibly the ferocity of rides, rather than the conditions of the riders, needs to be addressed by the ride manufacturers and trade association.

At the same time as the Mission: Space investigation, the death of a 12-year-old girl at the Disney water park Typhoon Lagoon was revealed to have been caused by an early-stage viral heart infection. The medical examiner revealed in both cases the individual was unaware of their life-threatening condition, which could have happened at any moment. TSR sympathy goes out to both families. At the same time, with the vast number of people who are accommodated at Disney venues and with large attendance, these sad cases illustrate the dangers of unknown medical conditions.

TSR would like to thank, along with our normal correspondents, the fan news sources ntercot.com, screamscape.com and others for their additional coverage of the event that offered some interesting insights that went into this year’s reports.

What Could this all Mean:
The reality of IAAPA 2005 was - light or sparse attendance! The 1,100 exhibitors were putting a brave face on it, stating that those that visited proved to be valuable opportunities, but the situation could not be ignored. Alarm bells sounded, weeks before the event, when it was circulated that the exhibitors had available booth space to latecomers. A previously unheard-of occurrence highlighted the situation that greeted the decision to move from Orlando. Atlanta will prove to be the home for a second time next year, though sources to the Stinger revealed that the event is planning to become a permanent fixture in a new location for 2007 - well not exactly new - returning to Orlando for 2007 to 2019. This will mark the permanent relocation to Florida for the foreseeable future - hoping to negate further criticism of venue location.

Breaking Stinger News - The real world does not unusually crash in on the amusement and attractions scene, but one of the new aspects of those walking the floor of the larger attraction events is that the Military has come to entertainment. Revealed in recent news media, the armed forces of America are expected to spend over $16 million on the recruiting of new members the make up expected shortfalls following the NASCAR season.

It has been revealed that a specially created Military road show has been combined into the NASCAR motor sports season presentation. In this special event, rock climbing, shooting simulators, motion rides and special interactive experiences have been branded for the various military services, also supported by on vehicle sponsorship. The military have increased their recruiting activities in the face of extended policing actions in the Middle East and Gulf, the 2,000+ death toll (and a much higher count of wounded casualties) in Iraq and a collapse in conventional colleague-led recruiting as the nation ponders an unpopular conflict.

The consumer games industry has seen spending invested in specially-created video games, distributed via CD-ROMS and also playable online, based on the elite military units in an indirect route to encourage the future opportunities. But depending directly on the attractions industry to complete the circle and pull-in recruits in their natural habitat is a startling movement in the establishing the power of Out-of-Home leisure entertainment and its brand power.

From this $16 million spend, at each race meeting the Military (Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard) has seen interest from over 2,000 individuals signing up, and out of this expect to generate roughly 200 new soldiers from the process. The application of themed attraction system has fueled a move towards greater marketing spend - with simulators from Doron and SimEx ! iWerks being themed externally and with specially commissioned films.

The use of special interactive shooting simulators have also empowered the pulling power of the road -show. It is expected that the latest immersive systems demonstrated this year will see themselves deployed in the battle for the hearts and minds of the Nation’s future defenders -- the ability to be placed at America’s most popular sporting event ramming home the point.