Curtis Parks, PARC Management, USA: LED lighting really caught my eye. There are some fantastic lighting products that can dramatically change the visual elements in a park. For instance, take an icon like the Ferris Wheel. You can change your lighting package (through a programming script) to match a particular theme for an event or holiday. If the park is celebrating Fourth of July, your Ferris Wheel is red, white and blue with fireworks. If it’s Halloween, your Ferris Wheel is themed with orange pumpkins and spooky bats. LED theming can really add some razzle-dazzle to any park environment.
Ulla Harrison, Walibi Rhône-Alpes, France: Whether we will buy them I am not sure, but there were two things that interested me. First was the stuff the teddy bear machine, which was I have seen before, but which we have not operated. Then there was the 4D swimsuit theatre for waterparks, which I did not know existed before and was very interesting. Missing as far as I was concerned was and food and beverage.
Wouter Dekkers, Movie Park, Germany: IAAPA and the Euro Attractions Show were actually my first trade shows as general manager. What impressed me was a lot of the creative work, masterplanning, technical and multimedia etc. What was missing was food, there was nothing interesting in that area.
Chip Cleary, Palace Entertainment/Parques Reunidos: The easy answer would be the multitude of great attractions and rides that were on display at the shows, but actually what caught my eye the most was a number of items that will help us maximise our labour and guest satisfaction. Outdoor scanning turnstiles at a price point for our size operation, some new ticketing and season pass options, the advancing technology in regenerative media filters for water quality and some new items for our gift shops. There certainly is a lot out there – and you get a lot of exercise walking the floor!
