IAAPA 2025 - Photos and commentary

I'm at the show, after skipping last year. Will post stuff as I see it.

First off from B&M, here's the gigantic Tormenta for Six Flags Over Texas.

I can't emphasize how huge the wheels are.

This is a train on the Intamin lot, but I don't know where it's going and was avoiding Sandor (if you know, you know). [Edit: Duh, it's for the Fast & Furious ride at Universal Studios Hollywood.]

S&S is also trying to get into the single-rail space. Feels like that's a crowded market.

For the pinball fans, Stern brought their new Walking Dead Remastered machine. Lots of magnets and stuff!

Also, if you have an Insider account, they have an IAAPA badge.

Mack is building Dollywood's Night Flight Expedition, and here's a vehicle. Unfortunately they've hidden the interesting bits, underneath, that would give us some clue about how it will work.

Jeff:

This is a train on the Intamin lot, but I don't know where it's going and was avoiding Sandor (if you know, you know).

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift at Universal Studios California.

Duh, that should have been obvious.

Speaking of Dollywood, their flume is getting new boats. People always ask who makes log flumes, well Whitewater does. The rep told me that they also acquire what was left of Hopkins back in the day, which to me makes them the authority on old school flumes.

Over at the Zamperla compound, they were featuring this concept, which reminds me of the Premier Rides that's similar.

They have some embargoed press releases I haven't read yet.

They're also showing this thing that they call Wingz. It looks like you control the height by flapping your arms, which is a neat concept, and judging by the line with kids, bound to be a hit. EDIT: This is also a fully accessible ride, as I overlooked by the wheel chair on it. 🤦🏻‍♂️ It will go to Morgan's Wonderland, the accessible park in Texas.

OK, the embargo actually just expired. This isn't a concept, it's a real ride going to Lotte World in South Korea. Zamperla calls it a Double Heart, but it's not clear if that's what the park is calling it. It will be a triple-launch, using the Lightning trains, at 164 feet in height, hitting 64 mph. Here's the rendering:

GCI had an Infinity Flyer on display, but this one is sitting on what appears to be Titan track. (I would have asked, but I didn't see anyone around.) White Lightning at Fun Spot has about fifty feet of this track, where it used to hammer you near the end, but I hadn't noticed, which maybe was the point.

I love all of that machined metal. It looks like they've adopted a lot of the bolted-together philosophy, the selling point that Zamperla used for their Lightning trains.

Over at The Gravity Group, they again have the full size demo of their precut, CNC'd track. I love this, and think that if real wood coasters are going to survive, this is how it's done.

Vekoma unveiled the vehicle for SeaWorld Orlando's dark ride, SEAQuest: Legends of the Deep. It swings pretty freely, and it looks like they have rotational control. This seems like a way better idea than the Whirling Hockey Puck ride they originally had ending in the penguin attraction. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Where is the new ride going in Sea World Orlando? Is it replacing something?

Thanks for posting these pictures, Jeff. It looks somewhat uneventful this year.

That's pretty much every year. Other than the train reveals, the show stays the same. And that has been the case over the 25 or so years I've attended (not every year and I saw out this year).

Yeah, there is not a lot of innovation from year to year, at least, not with rides. The industry is fairly mature. There are a lot of software vendors taking up more space though.

Before I left the industry shortly after COVID, I attended the IAAPA Expo for a good 20 years. It's always a good show, but as others have mentioned, there has not been a ton of "wow" moments / innovations in the past decade or so.

For me, the week was a fantastic opportunity to connect with industry friends and colleagues and networking in general. Some of my best friends I met through the attractions industry.

The education component of the show is solid and continues to evolve for the better especially with the lunch and learn keynote and round table sessions. I really enjoyed the educational component, and every year took a ton of notes and ideas to bring back to my park.

The social events throughout the week are also fantastic opportunities to network and the big Thursday night social, which is typically a theme park buyout, is always a highlight (although the price tag has increased significantly over the years).

I do miss IAAPA week, especially the people connections. I don't miss the sore feet at the end of each day walking the floor. And who can ever forget the Lazer Tag girls back in the day....

The big social this year was at Epic, to the tune of $325 for three hours. It sold out.

Where do things stand at S&S with the Axis coaster? I thought for sure that would be the next huge thrill coaster at parks.