Show Review
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“I was amazed by the number of people willing to share information with the new guy,” highlighted waterpark developer and first-time attendee Mort Fishman. “I have been involved with many businesses and trade shows over the years and without a doubt this show proved to be a terrific use of both my time and money.”
Food for thought
New sessions covered timely topics like the American Disability Act, Model Aquatic Health Code, responding to shooter incidents, weather forecasting and more, including the new Food & Beverage School, which took attendees behind-the-scenes of food outlets at Paris Las Vegas.
There were also three keynote addresses. First up was Mario Vittone, a renowned open water rescue expert with the US Coast Guard. This former helicopter rescue swimmer and trainer shared insights on reducing risk by asking the right questions. Next up was Joshua Kanter of Caesers Entertainment, operator of Caesers Palace. Speaking to more than 60 attraction owners and operators at the Key Decision Makers Breakfast on Thursday morning, he shared what makes Caesers’ Total Rewards programme work and why rewards programmes are key to growing and keeping your customer base.
Immediately following the breakfast, Michael
Tchong of Trendscape delivered a talk on “ubertrends” and how the consumer landscape has changed. The futurist and trend-spotter gave a fast- paced presentation on the impact of technology and social media on society and consumer behaviour. “Waterparks have to keep up with the fast moving consumer culture and match consumers machines,” he said. “There are so many ways to provide entertainment and personalised service that leverage these exciting and accelerating changes.” This year’s networking events made the most of the
Las Vegas location. Highlights included the WWA Annual Golf Tournament and Luncheon, attended by over 70 industry professionals for a friendly competition amid high temperatures at the Painted Desert Golf Club. The Annual Reunion Party, meanwhile, attracted more than 700 to the Paris Pool, where they enjoyed splendid views of the hotel’s replica Eiffel Tower and other Vegas Strip landmarks, whilst catching up with old friends and sharing
industry gossip. Then there was a ride on the Vegas Party Bus Tour, with stops at Treasure Island for the Sirens of TI show and Fremont Street for the music and light show, where a few WWA attendees were even spotted zip lining over the crowd! Investors in the new Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas also used the WWA event as platform to announce the launch next summer of this new waterpark, which will be operated by Village Roadshow Theme Parks (see page 52). With local investor and retired tennis great Andre Agassi part of the proceedings, the press conference drew close to a hundred local, national and international media.
Rides and slides This year’s trade show floor was open on Wednesday and Thursday, October 3 and 4, attracting not just traditional waterpark suppliers but also amusement park ride manufacturers too, reflecting the increasing scope of attractions now being offered at waterparks across the globe.
"This is my first time here,” confessed Alfeo Moser of Moser’s Rides. “I’m looking around. For me, it has not been too busy, but my goal was to meet waterpark operators to see their response to the two water rides we presented, Buccaneer's Battle and the Freestyler.” “It’s been OK,” agreed Bob Dean of Leisure Labs, “not as busy as IAAPA, but we have products appropriate for this market such as Mack’s Interactive Boat Blaster, Round Boat Blaster and Twist ’n’ Spash.” “The show has been pretty good this year,” confirmed Chris Snyder of raft and tube specialist Zebec. “The booth traffic has been up, and visitor interest in our products remains high.” “This has been an encouraging show for us,” confirmed Ken Ellis of the Aquatic Development Group. “It’s been getting better since 2009; we rekindle relationships here.”
“Having the chance to meet with many of our key suppliers face to face in one place at the critical planning time of the year is always a huge benefit to us,” acknowledged James Judy, vice-president of operations for Palace Entertainment. “The WWA trade show continues to be an invaluable resource for us to discover new products and to keep abreast of what is transpiring within our ever-expanding industry.” “This is my first time at the show,” acknowledged Jennifer Ross of Idaho’s Triple Play and Raptor Reef Waterpark. “It’s a great show, I’m really enjoying it. My general manager gave me a list of items to find at the show, and our facility received an award for Best Radio Commercial.” In 2013, WWA will take its attendees somewhere
new, to West Palm Beach, Florida. With several public and private waterparks located nearby, options for special behind-the-scenes tours and networking events look promising. The event will be run September 30 through to October 3. If water recreation is your thing, you won’t want to miss it.
waterparks.org A panel discussion in full flow NOVEMBER 2012
Fast Corp exhibited this fish slide
Tubes galore on the Zebec booth! Awards &
Recognition Each year at symposium, the WWA recognise members’ efforts in a variety of areas in the Board of Directors Awards and Wave Review Awards, as well as vari- ous trade show exhibitor awards – details of all which can be found on the Park World website. This year, for only the second time in WWA’s history, there was also a Lifetime Achievement Award, the recipient being Greg Mastriona of Hyland Hills Water World in, Denver, Colorado. Meanwhile two individuals were inducted into the WWA Hall of Fame, namely Tim Gantz of Waterpark Venture Management and Sonny Horton, Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta, Georgia.
Greg Mastriona (centre) collects his Lifetime Achievement Award from the WWA’s Glenn Davidson (left) and Jim Basala
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