Skip to content

attractions

An Initial Look at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2008

The IAAPA Attractions Expo opened on Monday. But the show doesn’t really get going until the “What’s New” presentation which was yesterday morning. This year the kickoff session featured performances from Universal and The Blues Brothers, dancers from Busch Gardens, and a new song from beautifully performed by a singer from Walt Disney World Resort. All in all a great showcase for central Florida.

Three new IAAPA members were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Arto Monaco (Land of Make Believe) and Edgard “Eddy” Meeus (Walibi Parks)  both played key roles in the early days of theme park development and were awarded posthumously. Larry B. Cochran helped open Six Flags over Texas and rose to the top of the company during his 41 years of service and team building. He gave a wonderful speech with a tribute to his family and team members.

The bi-annual Applause Award went to Xetulul a theme park in Retalhuleu, Guatemala. I’ve never heard of this park, but it looked like a lot of fun. San Diego SeaWorld cam in a close second.

After the morning performance everyone heads down to the show floor to make some deals and see what’s hot from vendors old and new. I only managed to cover about 20% of the show floor yesterday but click through the cut to read a few things that caught my eye.

Read More »An Initial Look at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2008

IAAPA Attractions Expo hits Orlando

The International Associations of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) swings into Orlando this week for its annual Attractions Expo. Industry leaders, companies and hangers on swarm over the Orange County Convention Center for a week trying out all the new things the industry has to… Read More »IAAPA Attractions Expo hits Orlando

Cypress Gardens to divest itself of Animals, Attractions

Sadly the rumor I posted last week has come true. Cypress Gardens will close for four months to retool into two separate gates. The water park will grow larger while the attractions and animal exhibits will be removed and sold to other amusement parks. The… Read More »Cypress Gardens to divest itself of Animals, Attractions

Hope for a large Kissimmee Theme Park?

Back in 2004 a group of Louisiana investors lay claim on a 450 acre property essentially adjacent to Walt Disney World (it backs the community of Celebration and I-4 and is accessible from Hwy 192). Unfortunately Katrina washed out those plans. Before that Doug Henning… Read More »Hope for a large Kissimmee Theme Park?

Amusement Today Golden Tickets Awarded

The 11th annual Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards, which are very coveted in the amusements and attractions industry, were awarded on Wednesday during a ceremony set at Give Kids The World Village in Kissimmee, FL. Give Kids The World Village is a 70-acre, non-profit resort in Central Florida that creates magical memories for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. This was their first time hosting the ceremony.

The Amusement Today newspaper covers international amusement and water park news and trends and in its 12-year history is a five-time winner of various awards from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. Over the years, the awards have become the subject of much discussion by park aficionados the world over.

Some of the big winners were:

  • Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio for Best Amusement Park
  • The Voyage at Holiday World won for best Wooden Roller Coaster
  • SeaWorld Orlando for best Marine Life Park

Disney’s only award was for IllumiNations: Reflections of the Earth at Epcot. While Universal won 4 separate awards.

Congrats to all the winners and all the nominees. The full list of winners is below the cut:
Read More »Amusement Today Golden Tickets Awarded

What a cheeseburger can tell us about Disney attractions

The other day I had the chance to try out a newly opened restaurant here in Terre Haute. The restaurant was called “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and it is part of a larger chain owned, not so surprisingly, by Jimmy Buffet. While there, I ordered the mini-cheeseburgers. Now, I have had mini-cheeseburgers before at a myriad… Read More »What a cheeseburger can tell us about Disney attractions

Hurricane Katrina passes Mickey by

You can never really tell what a hurricane will do, it creates its own weather patterns. But for now, it appears that Katrina is taking a westerly path and will spare Orlando and the Disney World area any real damage. There have been no closures announced and as far as I know, everything remains open… Read More »Hurricane Katrina passes Mickey by

Say it ain’t so, Bob.

This has to be the worse rumor I’ve heard in a long time. Imagineer and creative force behind many current Disney Attractions, Bruce Gordon, has been let go from Walt Disney Imagineering. Even worse, this may signal the impending layoffs of most of WDI. So says Kevin Yee of MiceAge and so says at least… Read More »Say it ain’t so, Bob.