November 19, 2011
I am on the plane heading back from IAAPA. A few months of build-up for what resulted in four days of business with a blur. This is my 11th show, in some ways it feels like I have been attending these much longer. Things have changed a lot, both for me and the industry. I started at Amusement Business about one week before 9/11. Even though we knew that this event would impact the industry, I do not think any of us comprehended knew that the next decade would see so much change in general, both throughout the world (mortgage and financial issues, wars on several continents, Arab Spring) or the industry (exponential growth in China, the sale of a family-owned icon like Kennywood to a corporate group, parks across the globe communicating with guests through their phones and email on an almost daily basis).
For this year our announcement about the new branding partnership with Hot Wheels certainly has turned a lot of heads, as have our line of hard products. The Gerstlauer line has remained strong, in addition to the corporate parks we find ourselves talking to a lot of the smaller properties. People that would have “gone Italian” are looking to spend a little more on what they realize is a long-term investment. Canobie Lake Park is just the first of many Gerstlauer small-park installations. Ropes Courses, Inc. continues to draw a lot of attention with its product. It is well-built and affordable; something that resonates with owners of parks of all sizes. Selling for people you can trust is important, and we are very lucky to have people that stand behind their work. Obviously it is important when we essentially sell entertainment machines, as one of our friends said amusement parks are “factories that move people”. He wasn’t trying to be contrite, but pointing out that as much fun as a 200-foot coaster is, at the end of the day it does not care about its guests- the manufacturer’s engineering and fabrication and the park’s diligent maintenance are what keep people safe, year-in and year-out.
While the IAAPA experience has changed, it is still a combination of fun and exhaustion. I don’t get to see as much of the floor as I used to, now it is mostly the conference rooms of 3 booths. However, that means we’re busy and I won’t complain. I will just have to see the latest and greatest when the seasonal properties open their doors next spring and we do it all over again. I hope I will be still visiting Florida for at least another eleven shows. At that time my daughter will be ten. I hope she can come down to Orlando and ride Tower of Terror with me.