Show Review
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and drink, hop on board some of antique rides and try their luck at the games from the collection of owner Jean-Paul Favand; a lucky few even got a tour of the sheds containing the other 90% he doesn’t have room to display. A real treat! Additional receptions and parties were hosted during the week by, amongst others, the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), the Association of Amusement and Leisure Equipment Suppliers of the United Kingdom (ALES-UK), Zamperla and Kirmes & Park Revue magazine, which unveiled the winners of its second European Star Awards. Behind- the-scenes tours were offered to Disneyland Paris, Parc Astérix and, somewhat further a field, Puy du Fou, Futuroscope and Machines de l’île in Nantes.
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Exhibitor praise “IAAPA has done a great job growing this show,” Vekoma’s Charlotte van Etten told Park World. “The traffic was good, the floor looked very attractive, the party [Opening Reception] that we sponsored was very special; all in all this show has earned its presence and I complement the organisation.” “Berlin and London [2011] were good, but this has been our best EAS for the past five years,” offered Sohret Pakis of Polin Waterparks & Pool Systems. “I still believe in the power of trade shows, and as the number one waterpark supplier to France, we did well. I am so glad we had two French-speaking representatives on the booth though!” “We are local, so the show has been good for us,” confirmed Henry Corrado of theming and design specialist Tejix, based close to Disneyland Paris in Marnee la Valleé . “There has been a good amount of French visitors, which is good because the French do not travel much; for many it is their first IAAPA exhibition. We have also seen many of the big parks and groups from across Europe.” “It’s nice to meet up with many people we already
know,” said Jérôme Giacomoni of tethered balloon specialist Aerophile, which was offering interested parties a free flight on its Ballon de Paris, just a short tram ride away in Parc André Citroën. “We hope to have four more balloons installed in 2014 and have also had a lot of interest in our Aerobar.” “We are not complaining,” added the Fabbri
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Group’s Edward Cromheecke. “We sold two mobile 55m Booster XL rides, to Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as introducing several interesting new concepts for parks.” Fellow Italian manufacturer EOS Rides contributed a small stand-up swing ride outside the smaller of the
PICTURED LEFT, 1: The Port de Versailles exhibition centre hosted this year’s show. 2: Pictured at a press conference to launch Europa-Park’s new Arthur attraction are, from left to right: Frederic Pastuszak and Michael Mack (Europa-Park), Will Morey & Paul Noland (IAAPA), Jurgen Mack (Europa- Park) and Fabrice Denizot (Arthur/EuropaCorp). 3: Pictured on the Mondial booth are Keith Emmett (Mondial agent), Clint Johnson (Australian showman/Mondial customer), Michelle Emmett, Jisk and his mother Froujke Knipstra (Mondial), Josh Gill (Australian showman), Theo van Zweiten (Mondial) and Stefan van Vugt, who built the model wheel you see in the background. 4: The Pax Group held a champagne and caviar reception to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Pictured here are hosts Anna Novikov and Vladimir Gnezdilov. Cheers!
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Ratatouille for
breakfast The keynote speaker at this year’s third EAS Leadership Breakfast on Thursday 19 September was Euro Disney president Philippe Gas (pictured). He told the 180
or so guests that the site he oversees on the outskirts of the French capital had “come a long way after a long rough start.” The two-park resort is now the number one visitor attraction in Europe and the largest single site employer in France, contributing €50 million to French economy. Since the opening last year of the multimedia show Disney Dreams, guests satisfaction is up as high as 93%. But none of this would have been possible, Gas said, without the support of French state and the Walt Disney company. His ongoing challenge, surely, will surely is for Euro Disney (which operates the resort) to clear its still significant debt. New developments such as the Villages Nature sustainable tourism destination, which is being developed together with Center Parcs operator Pierre & Vacance, and next season’s Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy dark ride at Walt Disney Studios Park (as pictured below), are expected to bring further guests over the coming years. As a teaser for the latter attraction, Gas ushered on stage Rémy the rat in costume character form. On completing his address to his industry colleagues, he was presented with an award of appreciation from IAAPA CEO Paul Noland.
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