Show Daily - Wed, Nov. 16
Barron Puts New Wrinkle on Air Hockey
Looking to put a twist on an old concept, Quadair made its Expo debut. "Everyone has played regular air hockey," said Kelly McKee Kubiak, marketing and sales manager for Barron Games (Booth #3406). "This is something different."
The 78-by-78 inch game can be played with two to four people and up to four pucks at a time. Each player's goal gate will drop when they insert money, so players cannot score on empty goals. Players can join at any time to allow for continuous play.
Unlike traditional air hockey, where people shoot to score on the other player, Quadair is a defensive game—the main objective is to protect the goal. Players get five lives each and then must drop more money.
The base price is $7,495, with logo or theme customization available, Kubiak said. Facilities can expect to make $300 to $900 a week with QUADAIR.
www.barrongames.com
S&S Mini Hu: Simple Concept, High Thrills
At this year's IAAPA Attractions Expo, S&S Worldwide (Booth #5100) is introducing its Huli Hu collection of rides by rolling out the first attraction in the lineup, the Mini Hu—a swing ride comprised of two arms, each swinging 180 degrees from a central hub. The Mini Hu has a tea cup-style gondola positioned at the end of each swinging arm, seating four passengers who face each other, and like a tea cup ride, riders can make the gondolas rotate by spinning a wheel in the center of the ride car.
As the ride begins, the arms rise into the air to a vertical position, then continue to swing into a horizontal orientation as the passengers spin the gondolas. Kathy Archer, marketing manager for S&S, said the ride actually weighs the passengers to properly balance it. "This gives [riders] just .2 G's at the top of the swing, which makes it just like floating," she said. Tim Jacobi, mechanical engineer for S&S, noted that it's the ride's moving counterweight—the trebuchet ride action—that makes it unique.
Though the Mini Hu can accommodate children as small as 36 inches in height, Archer said the thrilling ride action makes it appealing to all ages. In fact, she revealed that when S&S had the ride sitting at it's facility in Logan, Utah, the company's employees—who are thrill-ride experts—wouldn't stop riding it. Mini Hu has a footprint of 20 feet by 30 feet.
www.engineeringexcitement.com
Spider Climbing Unveils Magnetic Wall
Spider Climbing (Booth #105) gives people a taste of the superhero life, said David Allen Barnes, company president and founder. People–ages 9 to 65–can climb up and down as well as upside down and horizontally sideways on this patented magnetic climbing system.
Barnes, who has a science background, created a physics curriculum for the attraction to help facilities appeal to the always-picky school groups.
He also believes Spider Climbing has two huge advantages over the rock wall. "It's half the price and has nowhere near the market saturation," Barnes said. www.spiderclimbing.com
Mobile Zipline Experience and Water Balloon Launcher from Extreme Engineering
Extreme Engineering (Booth #3700), a 2010 recipient of one of IAAPA's "Best New Product" awards, introduced two new products at this year's Expo. The buzzed-about new Zippin Zone mobile zipline expands up to 200 feet and also features a slide "for when riders chicken out—but that also makes it a two-in-one attraction," said Ryan Lucia, a sales account manager for Extreme Engineering.
"We also built it for quick set up," said Lucia, who adds that the unit comes in both mobile and static versions. "Our family entertainment center clients specifically requested us to come up with a mobile solution."
The company's Balloon Battles attraction also debuted to a receptive crowd during the show. The cannon launcher uses compressed air to shoot water balloons up to 80 feet, while participants stand behind a protective, perforated "blast shield" that protects them but still lets them get wet.
"Anyone at any age can use this," said Lucia. "You just push a button, and it fires with a boom. It touches multiple senses that way." www.extremeengineering.com
'Game Patrol' Theater Trailer from Creative Works
Part lounge and part entertainment center, the mobile Game Patrol unit from Creative Works (Booth #2228) is decked out in the latest in gaming stations, LED televisions, lighting schemes, and wall-to-wall lounge furnishings—essentially, a moving gaming theater.
"My favorite feature is the ability to create a self-contained community gaming atmosphere," said David Haas, a project manager for the Game Patrol. Designed for birthday parties, corporate events, and other group functions, the customizable trailer was launched this summer to appeal to parties interested in entering the family entertainment center industry, minus a significant amount of financial investment.
"This gives you something different for corporate events," said Haas, who said the trailers will be used during next year's Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Everything in and on the climate-controlled trailers can be customized, from the exterior branding to the brand of game consoles installed inside. The trailers also come in two sizes—a 30-foot version that holds up to 20 people, and a 26-foot version, which holds up to 16 people.
www.thegamepatrol.com
New Sphere-Shaped Waterslide from Polin Waterparks & Pool Systems
Polin Waterparks & Pool Systems (Booth #5162)announced a new waterslide design—the Magic Sphere—at the Expo.
Emulating a rocket and a nearby planet, the Magic Sphere attraction first takes riders, who experience the ride together in a four-person raft, through a tunnel, then down a steep, 32-degree plunge into an transparent orb at 32 miles per hour. The riders then enter the orb, circling its perimeter until they shoot out of the bottom slide into a pool below.
"It's a very fast ride, and due to its spherical shape, riders experience a new path every time they ride the attraction," said Sohret Pakis, marketing manager for Polin Waterparks & Pool Systems, who added that there's been enormous interest in the new design since it's debuted during the Expo. www.polin.com.tr
Accesso Updates, Upgrades Shopland E-Commerce Platform
Ticketing service provider accesso (Booth #3854) is this year showcasing its updated e-commerce turnkey solution for attractions. Called Shopland 4.0, this version of the Florida company's online sales interface upgrades its previous system with several key new features, including:
- Vivid product images throughout the store
- Payment plan option for season passes
- Integrated social media connection that allows customers to instantly post their purchases to Facebook
- Enhanced security that protects against high-risk customers
"It's not a print-at-home ticket system; it's a comprehensive e-commerce platform for the attractions industry," said CEO Steve Brown. "We look at this as a marketing and sales engine that just happens to be built by an IT company."
Six Flags has been using Shopland for several years but upgraded to version 4.0 for the 2011 season; Brown said the theme park chain saw "significant increases in overall customer satisfaction." Cedar Fair also will start using Shopland 4.0 for the 2012 season.
For anyone wanting to give Shopland a test drive, visit www.sixflags.com, click "Tickets" in the upper right-hand corner, then select a park. www.accesso.com
MediaMation Takes Different Tack on 4-D Theater Seats
In a marketplace replete with different types of 4-D theaters, MediaMation (Booth #654) wants to set itself apart with its X4D Motion EFX Seats, said Tracy Balsz, the company's marketing consultant. "Our theaters use a quiet air-pneumatic technology instead of electric or hydraulic power," she said, "and that's important because the seats are [less expensive], and you don't have to worry about electrical actuators wearing out or hydraulic fluid leaking all over the place."
Like many 4-D theaters, the X4D seats offer a variety of effects, including air and water blasts, seat and back vibrators, and leg ticklers. But the difference is that the X4D comes with all of these effects standard, at no additional cost. Also, the seats offer the option of one, two, or three degrees of freedom (DOF), so that a museum, for instance, that doesn't need three-DOF seats can opt for one-DOF or two-DOF and isn't forced to pay the extra cost.
Another attraction MediaMation is showcasing at the Expo is its Virtual Fountain, which allows spectacular fountain shows to be programmed for presentation on a screen in 3-D, displaying the exact colors, lighting, shadows, and sound of an actual fountain show prior to its installation. Media Mation President Alison Jamele said this is an invaluable asset for companies that make fountains.
"They use it for demos," she said. "We can take a CAD drawing of the real fountain and then add in all of the effects, and it's in real-time 3-D. Virtual Fountain even allows [clients] to do their own programming." www.mediamation.com
F'real Milkshakes Debuts New Interactive Touch Screen,
The f'real Magical Milkshake Machine (Booth #3580)—a self-cleaning blender that mixes smoothies and milkshakes in under one minute, now features a new LCD touch screen that turns the product into a self-serve experience. The smoothies and milkshakes, already premixed in a cup and stored in a refrigerator beneath the blender, can be blended to a customer's liking, like less thick or extra thick.
"The taste is what keeps customers coming back," said Christie Rumpsa, a sales manager for f'real. "Retailers love it because they don't have to clean it, and there's no labor involved. The product is consistent, and it's a great value."
In 2012, two new flavors will be added to the menu—double fudge brownie in February and caramel crunch in July. The current menu features fruit smoothies, frozen cappuccinos, and milkshakes. www.freal.com
Digital Water Curtains by Lumiartecnia
First-time exhibitor Lumiartecnia (Booth #3882) offers a fun and fluid way to showcase messaging and provide an interactive experience for guests.
The digital water curtain, the company's flagship product, is an outdoor wall of water that can be programed to create shapes and reflect imagery and text, and it can be customized to the needs of an outdoor area. Lumiartecnia uses its own proprietary technology, and the water is designed to resist wind and extreme cold and heat. "It's safe for people to just go inside the curtain," said Juan Carretero Llorente, CEO of Lumiartecnia, who is a third-generation fountain designer.
It's highly interactive and has nearly limitless design options. "It's not only a product itself; it is an architectural concept. It can be integrated into a building, it can be any shape, size, or any height. It has no limitations on how big it can grow," he said. www.lumiartecnia.com
Goddard Discusses New Projects for 2012
Gary Goddard Group, a design and master planning company based in California, is opening several new projects around the world over the next three years, said Gary Goddard during the Expo. "For us most of the projects we're doing are under construction, which is great," he said.
Though he couldn't divulge all the details, Goddard shared that an upcoming project in Macau is "quite large and fantastic," adding, "I think it kind of brings together all the talents of our company in the way that Imagineering does. We've done so much on this—theming, attractions, overall concepts inside, as well as the outside."
In Armenia, the company is building on an existing park that's an important part of the community in the capital city of Yerevan. "We've retained the original park; we aren't taking out one tree," he said. "Within the context of that, we're adding a number of unique attractions that are in keeping with the local culture and the story of Armenia and its heroes, prominent people in its history, and its myths and legends."
Additionally, Goddard listed a number of other projects the company's working on. In Jakarta, a new project has two hotels, a small family waterpark, 400,000 square feet of retail, a 200,000-square-foot event space, and residential space. Plus Goddard is looking forward to projects in Korea, China, Russia, as well as one in New York City that he describes as "revolutionary in terms of urban entertainment." He expects to hold a press conference about it in early 2012.
www.garygoddard.com
Lazer Mazers Showcases Mobile Maze Attraction
Lazer Mazers (Booth #4640), makers of lazer maze attractions that feature an enclosed room with a web of laser beams that participants must contort their way through, displayed its new mobile unit during the Expo. Normally outfitted in a small room inside a family entertainment center (FEC), the "Lazer Maze Conquest" attraction now comes inside a mobile, 27-foot trailer for easy transportation to fairs, birthday parties, and other events. The lazer maze, inspired by scenes out of the "Mission: Impossible" and "Ocean's Twelve" movies, features four levels of difficulty targeting participants ages 4 and 16.
"But we've found that parents can't resist it, either," said Terry Smith, CEO of Lazer Mazers. "It also appeals to couples on date nights."
Housed in a custom-built trailer just under 175 square feet, Smith says the attraction, whether mobile or installed inside a facility, appeals to FECs because the investment pays off quickly, leaves a small footprint, and requires low maintenance. http://lasermazers.com