IAAPA Expo 2014 - Orlando, FL

Per the recommendation of Skyline's Evan Souliere, I booked a trip to Florida for the week of November 16-23 for the IAAPA conference. Evan had talked a little bit about it, but I wasn't really sure what to expect.

I hit the trade floor Tuesday morning and was totally overwhelmed immediately. Arcade games, portable haunted house walkthroughs, coaster designers, even rides that went upside down. This was like a theme park in itself, but better. I didn't do much talking to anyone. I said hey to my GCII friends that I made this summer and swung by Skyline to say hey to Evan, then tried to think of a game plan to hit up the vendors I really wanted to talk to. Then I completely threw the plan away, seeing as every vendor I passed, I wanted to talk to. Ended up getting caught up in some unveilings, like S&S's Batman trains and RMC's Twisted Colossus. Decided that Tuesday would be a mapping day, help me mentally prepare for Thursday. After all, I'm not the greatest approacher in the world. When I do end up succeeding though, I could go on for a while with anyone if it involves amusement rides.

Wednesday I met up with my buddy, Josh, and we hit up Universal. Since this is an IAAPA entry, I won't go into great detail about this except to say that Gringott's is not worth more than a 45 minute wait. The landscape of Diagon Alley is excellent though, as well as the train ride on the Hogwart's Express. Lot of innovation going on there, with the 9 3/4 platform and the ride itself is an ingenious way to transport people from one park to the other. Also should mention that the Springfield section has vastly improved. Moe's Tavern is probably my favorite part of Universal now. The quietest bar I've ever been in... probably because everyone is glued to the TVs that are playing Simpsons' clips. Later that night, we hit up an American Coasters' Enthusiasts social and met some great people including Corey, an engineer from Lockheed, and Dave, VP of ACE. Good day all around.

Thursday, met up with Josh again to head over to IAAPA. Was getting kind of nervous to approach anyone again, until I was approached by Tom Rebbie, president of Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. Tom made me feel extremely at ease, talking about his adventures to China. PTC also happened to be the creators of the trains for my first coaster ever, Rolling Thunder. As we continued to talk, Tom brought over his daughter, Janine, who spent a lot of time talking about we should go to China. And then it hit me, I had seen these two before... the night before, actually. At the ACE event. This realization really allowed me to hit a decent flow, and I left the booth feeling good. Ended up hitting several booths that day: Premier, GCII, Skyline, Gravity Group, RMC, B&M, even Intamin for a few minutes. Josh got his resume submitted to Oceaneering, which was pretty sweet. Got to try out a haunted house, and almost had a heart attack. Spent pretty much the whole day there, then went off to Fun Spot to ride GCII's White Lightning... and do the go-karts a plethora of times. Awesome little park if you're looking to do rides but save money.

Friday was an easier day at IAAPA. Just mostly walked around and tied up loose ends, went on a few rides, tried a couple 4D theaters they had, did a vortex walkthrough and wanted to throw up, the usual. Took plenty of pics that day, doing my best to not bother anyone. By Friday, most exhibitors are ready for a nap. Must be exhausting to just try to sell your product or network for 8 hours a day all week. Anyway, the week was well worth it, though next year, I'll probably do the two day pass instead. But IAAPA definitely gained a lifelong fan here.