originally posted on 12/11/2023
ACE representatives prepare to greet visitors to the organization’s booth.
Photo: David Lipnicky. View full-sized image.
The week of the annual IAAPA Expo is the only one that may exceed the exhaustion known as Coaster Con. It is the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions’ premier event — two similar expos are held annually in Europe and Asia, and while these two locations rotate each year, the IAAPA Expo has been hosted at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida for the last 10 years and is expected to remain there moving forward. The trade show floor is filled with anyone who provides a service or product to the theme park industry. What does that mean? Drink cups, Icees, Dippin’ Dots, uniforms, kitchen equipment, carpet, pretzels, cotton candy machines, drop rides, roller coasters… You name it, and you will find it.
ACE has hosted a booth for many years as an opportunity to connect with the industry and share its mission, and in recent years, participation has significantly expanded with more networking opportunities and media coverage of the trade show. This year was no exception and featured the most immersive coverage and productive meetings ever.
Over the course of the week, 61 volunteers assisted with ACE’s efforts. In addition, 17 volunteers supported the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives (NRCMA) and Park World magazine. This was an incredible effort by ACE members. For anyone interested in helping in future years, now is the time to get involved, as current volunteers receive priority in the selection process.
The IAAPA Expo is held annually at the sprawling Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
It was certainly a week filled with excitement. Each of the four days of the show had a different urgency and dynamic, but the odd part was that the days simply flew by, and before anyone knew it, the booth was broken down and packed away for next year’s event. This year, ACE members were involved in two notable moments during the week.
Premier Rides hosted a press conference to reveal the winter refurbishment plan for Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Virginia), an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark. To honor this, ACE President Elizabeth Ringas presented Premier Rides and Busch Gardens Williamsburg with a proclamation of preservation. ACE applauded both parties' efforts to ensure that this notable roller coaster continues to deliver thrills for generations to come. The proclamation highlighted the significance Loch Ness Monster holds for all visitors to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, its significance in history and how special it is to ACE. The organization was honored to have five Executive Committee members in attendance along with ACE cofounder Richard Munch. Coverage can be found here:
A proclamation of preservation was presented to Premier Rides for its involvement in Loch Ness Monster’s winter refurbishment.
Photo: Xander Lee. View full-sized image.
The Gravity Group continues to make an incredible impact on ensuring parks have opportunities to offer new and refurbished wooden roller coasters to their park guests. In honor of its innovations such as Timberliner Trains designed with an emphasis on achieving the lowest ride maintenance, highest capacity, best rider experience and preservation of the integrity of a wooden roller coaster with engineered precut track, ACE presented an honorary membership to the company on Wednesday afternoon. Representatives were incredibly surprised and honored by the recognition, which was placed in its IAAPA Expo display case alongside their Golden Ticket awards for the remainder of the trade show. Check here for more:
The Gravity Group proudly exhibits a lead car for next year’s Bobcat at Six Flags Great Escape.
Photo: Corey Wooten. View full-sized image.
Overall, the week was an ambitious execution of multiple goals with volunteer teams focused on each aspect. Every goal ties back to how ACE can best support the industry and advance its mission. The organization’s time at the show allows it to simultaneously learn and execute goals.
Prior to arrival, preparations ensured the most incredible week possible for those responsible for coverage. Social media members connected via zoom meetings, the volunteer schedule was developed and the latest issue of RollerCoaster! magazine was shipped for distribution. Florida regional members, alongside ACE’s communications director, ordered and prepared ACE’s gifts for visiting our booth. The swag to be given away was one last celebration of ACE’s 45th anniversary!
The on-site duties began Sunday at lunch, when volunteers arrived to transport booth contents that are generously stored by an Orlando area ACE member. The setup team was awaiting its arrival at the Orange County Convention Center to unload and assemble the booth — all completed in less than two hours. Watch it all come together:
Tuesday at 10 a.m., the lights came on and the doors opened to a flood of visitors. The ACE booth volunteers greeted visitors to learn from parks and manufacturers about how to best support their efforts in 2024 and beyond. Members in attendance dropped by for a quick hello, and others came by to learn about how to become an ACE member.
The coverage team including representatives from social media and ACE’s podcast team who headed to the first press conference, the unveiling of Cedar Point’s (Sandusky, Ohio) Top Thrill 2 train at the Zamperla booth. Press conferences occurred every 30 minutes throughout the day, leaving the team little time to rest or catch its breath. Exhausting and exhilarating felt like an accurate description of the day. In order to offer those not attending timely coverage, a runner returned to their hotel midday to upload content so YouTube editors at home could begin editing and uploading content. Other volunteers connected with parks and manufacturers for interviews following the press conferences for a more in-depth look into the details of announcements.
Executive Committee members shared their time between networking with attendees at press conferences, dropping by manufacturer booths to reconnect and deliver ACE’s annual gift bag, completing their delegate responsibilities and greeting visitors to the organization’s booth. When visiting the Give Kids The World booth, ACE learned that 40 percent of the contributions through Coasting for Kids were by members of the ACE Cares team.
Photo: Elizabeth Ringas. View full-sized image.
Over the last few years, ACE has seen a significant increase not only in the number of visitors to its booth (particularly earlier in the week) but the intention of expo attendees to visit the booth. Well-known industry representatives and ACE members such as Deno and John Vourderis of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park (Brooklyn, New York), Chris Ozimek of Schlitterbahn, Jeffrey Siebert of Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio), Mark Rosenzweig of 3dxScenic, the Irvine-Ondrey Engineering team and Dick Knoebel of Knoebels Amusement Resort (Elysburg, Pennsylvania) dropped by. Other visitors included Sam Rhodes of Six Flags, representatives of ZooTampa at Lowry Park (Tampa, Florida), the new owner of Huck Finn’s Amusement Park (Albany, New York), Alex Payne of Adventureland (Altoona, Iowa), Andy Hygate of Blackpool Pleasure Beach (England), Jerry Brick of Palace Entertainment, along with representatives of Vekoma, Intamin, Universal, Cedar Point, Sally Dark Rides, The Gravity Group, Kirby Family Farm and countless others.
Evenings were filled with preparations for the next day and wrapping up the current day, including writing for ACE 360 and adding social media posts that the demands of the day did not allow, uploading photos and videos to ACE’s server, troubleshooting effectiveness of the day and charging equipment for the following day.
Wednesday evening brought IAAPA attendees and Florida ACE members together for the annual dinner. Almost 70 guests gathered at BJ’s Brewhouse to socialize and connect. ACE was honored to have Alex Ramsey and Steve Thomas from Alabama Adventure & Splash Adventure (Bessemer, Alabama) and Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCII) team members Claire Hain Jr., Bryson Ebright and Hayden Hain join and speak to the group.
Clair Hain Jr.
Photo: Elizabeth Ringas. View full-sized image.
Alex Ramsey.
Photo: Evangelos Ringas. View full-sized image.
ACE members had a meet and greet at BJ’s Brewhouse.
Photo: Evangelos Ringas. View full-sized image.
ACE’s first president, Richard Munch, stands with the current president, Elizabeth Ringas.
Photo: Elizabeth Ringas Collection. View full-sized image.
While press conferences were less frequent Thursday and Friday, ACE volunteers were busy highlighting the various booths of the trade show on social media and capturing interviews with park representatives and manufacturers. During the final moments of the trade show, a drawing for a corporate membership that booth visitors were encouraged to enter throughout the week was conducted. Congratulations to Hawe Hydraulic for having won the drawing!
Next year ACE will see a significant change in the opportunities available to serve because IAAPA is restructuring its guest pass program. Volunteers will be reduced by 60 percent and holding a current or previous regular volunteer role within ACE will be required. ACE hopes to provide volunteers to Park World magazine and the NRCMA again at the 2024 IAAPA Expo. For those interested in being considered, information can be found at ridewithace.com/volunteer. Those who are already volunteering and would like to give more or become involved in a different role, reach out to volunteer@aceonline.org. The organization would love to share more information and answer any questions.
While on the subject of volunteering and in advance preparation of next year’s IAAPA Expo, some committees urgently seeking more assistance are the following:
- Member Communications Committee
- Adventure Lab Development Committee
- Public Relations
- Fundraising
- Education
- Volunteer Development
- Website Development and Maintenance
- Digital Events
- Database Management
- Grant Writing and Research
— Elizabeth Ringas, ACE President
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
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