IAAPA Expo 2014 Highlights, Part One

This week, more than 27,000 amusement industry professionals and fanatics gathered in Orlando for the annual International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo.

The event is considered the “premier global event for the attractions industry” where attractions professionals “from all over the world will test, try, and buy the industry’s newest innovations from more than 1,000 exhibiting companies in 125 different product categories.”

The event concludes today, and if you’ve been following us on Facebook or Twitter, you know it’s been a busy week.

The infographic below illustrates how large of an event the IAAPA expo really is:

IAAPAExpo2014infographic_final_small

Below are a few of the cool things that happened during the week:

The Gravity Group Announces Switchback Coaster

As we posted earlier in the week, The Gravity Group will build a one-of-a-kind coaster at ZDT’s Amusement Park. It’s the world’s first wooden shuttle roller coaster. Yeah, let that sink in.

And the company also gave us a peek at the lead car, which looks pretty awesome:

Six Flags Magic Mountain Twisted Colossus Lead Car

Rocky Mountain Construction and Six Flags Magic Mountain debuted the sleek Twisted Colossus lead car.

Sally Corp. Revealed The Joker

He’ll make an appearance in both of the Justice League: Battle for Metropolis attractions headed for Six Flags St. Louis and Over Texas in 2015.

Holiday World’s Flies in with a Thunderbird Car

Although it isn’t the first time we’ve seen the lead Thunderbird car, seeing it again makes me even more excited to ride the world’s first B&M launched wing coaster in 2015.

This is only a sampling of what went down. Stay tuned for another post that will feature more highlights from the expo.

Follow IAAPA on Twitter or take a look at the #IAE14 hashtag for even more coverage of IAAPA Attractions Expo 2014.

Did you attend IAAPA this year? Let us know how it was in the comments section below.

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