Scott And Carol Present IAAPA 2011

Greetings from sunny Orlando and IAAPA 2011. We are sub-titling this year IAAPA light, as we were only able to attend the convention two days. But we start off our coverage with big news from Great Coasters International.


The GCI guys were showing off a model of their latest creation, Big Fun compact coaster! At 65 foot tall with a track length 1800 feet, this baby is tight. The footprint with fit in a space 275 feet x 90 feet. And with the height restriction set at 43" Big Fun is a high quality wooden coaster for riders of all ages.


The Mack Rides booth proudly featured one of the cars from their launch coaster, Sea World San Diego's Manta.


The car is beautifully themed and looks like it will provide a very comfortable ride. We may just have to may a trip to California in 2012.


TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) is celebrating their 20th Anniversary. TEA is an international non-profit association, representing the top creators, developers, designers and producers.

TEA members are the catalysts behind the experiences, engaging storytelling and entertainment in many casinos, restaurants, retail stores, museums, zoos, theme parks and an ever-growing list of destinations that are focusing on giving their guests a higher level of experiences world wide. These are the people who put the theme in theme parks, happy 20th and thank you!


We stopped by the Sally booth to see the displays for their latest project. We tried out the display of their new video based interactive family, Power Blast 11. We were lucky to have John Wood, Sally's Chairman and CEO, to give us instructions. While no Power Blast 11s are currently located in the US, hopefully one will be installed soon.


Sally has recently partnered with Merlin Entertainment to bring us Lost Kingdom Adventure at Legoland Florida featuring Legoland characters. We hope to experience this attraction next week.


At IAAPA in 2009 we reported on the Gravity Groups new prototype coaster car, the Timberliner.




This car from Quassy's Wooden Warrior is the finished product. The design has come along way in two years and these cars ran all season long with little or no wear and tear.


While we didn't walk all seven miles of aisles, it sure seemed like it! Stayed tuned for more from IAAPA tomorrow!