Show Review
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d'Història in Barcelona's old town. Park World was pleased to attend them both.
Education, education, education Education opportunities were in abundance off the show floor, with 16 conference sessions over the first two days of the show, plus additional one-day sessions targeted at operators and developers of FECs/small parks/playgrounds and also waterparks, for which WhiteWater staged a separate afternoon of seminars on Monday afternoon (see panel). Covering more than 13,000 square metres of space, all
EAS exhibitors were accommodated inside one large of hall of Fira Barcelona, with no outdoor exhibits. Media-based attractions continue to be touted by many suppliers, more and more of them incorporating virtual reality (VR). In a standing room only press conference, Europa-Park showed off its Coastiality VR app alongside details of its Halloween Horror Nights 10 and plans for a massive flying theatre installation in 2017 (see page 6). During an all-Spanish CEO Talk panel discussion on Tuesday afternoon, Parque Warner Madrid general director Diego Gracia Lovaco expressed his belief that “it seems like everything is going digital but I think in a few years we will all take a step back.” British multimedia attractions specialist Holovis chose not
to exhibit any ride-based systems this year at EAS and instead push its “Extended Experience” offer. Using augmented reality, visitors to its booth could see first hand how parks can use media content to enrich the queue line experience and engage with a park before and after their visit. “It's been a solid show,” noted Stuart Hetherington. “We always try to come away with one or two good leads and we’ve certainly got those.”
Happy exhibitors “It's been a good show,” agreed Christian Martin over on the Triotech booth. “We've been busy as always but thankfully it's not just people waiting in line to try our XD Theater; we've also had some good meetings too.” “We are very happy,” reported Söhret Pakis of Polin
Waterparks. “This has proved to be one of the best EAS shows for us after Amsterdam. I think IAAPA should make Barcelona one of the regular locations.” “The show has been good, but not one of the best,”
remarked Marco Mazzucchi of Zamperla. “Fortunately we are already busy for the next year.” Boasting a booth, as always, in a prime location, the Italian ride manufacturing giant had no new products to show on this occasion, but it will unveil its own VR ride concept next month at IAAPA
Attractions Expo in Orlando. Another ride builder with a full order book is KMG. Prior to attending EAS, it has just one production slot available for 2016, but this and a slot for 2017 were sold before arriving in Barcelona. “Then we filled two more slots for 2017 at the show” smiled Peter Theunisz. Next year EAS will return to Berlin, and then Amsterdam
in 2018. Both are great European cities, alas the venue in the German capital will be the same fragmented collection of exhibition halls used in 2012, where space is expected to be a premium. Practically all but one of those halls had sold out at the time of writing, so get in quick if you want to exhibit there. The show dates are September 26 to 28, with ancillary events beginning on September 24.
iaapa.org/expos/euro-attractions-show
Whitewater's Waterpark Masterclass
I
n the city that is its European home, WhiteWater chose to host two events in Barcelona during EAS. On Monday, September 19, Hotel Arts was the location for a Waterpark Masterclass, an
afternoon of seminars that followed a similar pattern to the one-day conference staged in the UK earlier this year in co-operation with BALPPA (British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions). Offered free to invited guests, the programme in Barcelona
kicked off with a welcome from WhiteWater president and CEO, Geoff Chutter, and featured contributions from several other industry specialists. Highlighting key design considerations for an indoor waterpark was WhiteWater's Ron Lausman, whilst the Influence of water treatment on bather comfort was examined by Geerard Feyen from Labo Derva. Amusement Logic's Amos Casas spoke about water treatment design, before Roger Currie of WTI stepped forward to discuss heating, ventilation and air- conditioning (HVAC), which he described as “like learning the Karma Sutra in one evening.” Lifeguard planning and training was the subject of Sandcastle Waterpark manager Richard Halstead's
presentation, the boss of the Blackpool attraction revealing that it motivates staff with regular role-playing 'Incident Nights' and by appointing 'Waterpark Ambassadors.' It might seem tempting to cover the joints in waterslides to increase rider comfort, yet those gaps actually perform a very useful function: allowing the slides to expand in hot weather (or contract in colder conditions). This was one of several bits of practical advice dished out by WhiteWater's Scott Heke in his talk on how to maintain and increase the life of waterpark attractions, a subject he suggested slide sales people hate! Rounding off the afternoon's programme was Renato Lenzi from ZooMarine Rome, now part of a larger
group of attractions including several dolphin encounters. In Rome, he has enjoyed being part of ZooMarine's expansion in recent years, which has seen the marine park expand to a 'hybrid' model also incorporating amusement park rides, animals and a crowd-pulling FlowRider attraction. Renato literally left many in the room breathless as he invited delegates to hold their breath as they watched a video of him underwater in one of the park's pools. Masterclass 'pupils' together with members of BALPPA then saw in the sunset with a pleasant early evening reception overlooking the beach from the hotel terrace. Later in the week, WhiteWater hosted a VIP party at the Museu d'Història, where cava and tapas flowed freely – much like the water on a waterslide you might say, if you were that corny, which we are. “It is incredibly important for
Image courtesy Laura Gysen
WhiteWater to support and develop educational sessions for European waterpark operators,” explains Simon Palmer, the company's regional vice-president of business development. “We certainly intend to do more of this kind of thing.”
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BELOW: WhiteWater CEO Geoff Chutter with BALPPA chairman Marshall Hill at the Hotel Arts reception
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