IAAPA Expo thinking bigger at convention center
The annual trade show will move in the convention center's West Concourse for the first time in 2026. Previously it has been only in the North and South concourses.
'The industry is growing. We see that with the projects like Epic Universe, but we also see it with all the smaller attractions, which happen everywhere now — if it's a Ripley's Mirror Maze or if it's a Puttshack or if it's a PopStroke — all those little attractions are actually contributing the success of the attraction industry,' said Jakob Wahl, president of the Orlando-based International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, a k a IAAPA.
The expo is known for its vast, teeming trade floor that includes vendors of all manner of manufacturers and creative types, ranging from water-slide equipment to major roller coasters to plush animals for carnival games to theme park announcements. The assortment of participants has been diversifying, Wahl said.
'We have seen more and more resorts coming, more and more cruise ships,' he said. 'We have seen an increased growth of food and beverage vendors, and we're working on an increased focus on technology vendors. There are many, many companies in that space.'
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The 2025 expo floor is sold out with more than 1,100 vendors, some of which will set up shop in the convention center parking lot. The event had more than 40,000 attendees last year.
IAAPA Expo, which also includes educational sessions and excursions to Central Florida attractions, introduced themed pavilions last year, including an area devoted to food and beverage companies and a Halloween-driven section.
'We want to expand and, at the same time, we want to use that expansion to further grow the show, to be more creative, to be more global and to be also more immersive,' Wahl said.
'This is where we will introduce some pavilions next year at the show to really cater to new industry, to new segments of our expo which might not have had the same presence as we thought in the past,' he said.
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This year's expo begins Nov. 17, but the expansion into the West Concourse is scheduled to kick in next year.
'Such an expansion, actually, is not that easy to execute,' Wahl said. 'We actually start working up to one and a half years in advance on the floor plan.'
IAAPA Expo has been an annual presence at the convention center since 2010. IAAPA moved its home base from Alexandria, Virginia, to Orlando in 2017 and later constructed its global headquarters on Taft-Vineland Road.
Universal Studios: 'M3GAN' again has moves in theme park
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Ingeniously, the park also hides the ride buildings behind internal walls to immerse guests in a fantasy world in a way which outdoor parks cannot match. You usually know what you're in for when you head towards a theme park ride as a hulking building looms beyond the entrance. It breaks the fantasy and spoils the surprise. Not at Warner Bros. World. The elaborate entrances to many of its rides are set inside full-size houses, caves and towers which line the internal walls. The buildings blend into the landscape and this has an enchanting effect. Not only does it hide the rides but it makes the ride entrances seem like portals to different worlds. It doesn't stop there. An abundance of cloud-shaped lights ensures that the lands where animated characters live are bright and cheery as time is meant to be frozen at midday. In contrast, the gloomy atmosphere and soot-stained skyscrapers of Gotham City reflect the fact that every clock is set to just after midnight when Batman begins his nightly crime fighting capers. Over in Superman's home of Metropolis, the domed ceiling is covered in clever projections and paintings of a sky at golden hour which seems to stretch endlessly into the horizon. No stone has been left unturned as windows of artificial buildings have curtains and flower boxes, manhole covers are set into the floor and custom scents waft through the air in each land, from warm woody notes to sweet candy aromas. As this report explained, the wizards who developed Warner Bros. World come from Thinkwell, a division of design giants TAIT. Founded in 2001 by former Universal Studios park designers who didn't want to relocate when the company moved its creative team from the west coast to Orlando, Thinkwell went on to develop some of the industry's most immersive and engaging attractions. It has designed attractions for Universal Studios Singapore and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Hollywood but perhaps its best-known work is across the pond. In 2012 Warner launched a backstage tour of Britain's Leavesden Studios where all eight Harry Potter movies were made. It takes guests deep behind the scenes of them showcasing concept art for the characters, models of all sizes, costumes complete with video descriptions and of course props. They range from rows and rows of wands to cabinets containing full-size robotic creatures from the films which move at the push of a button. There are no rides but plenty of photo opps in front of green screens which insert guests into scenes from the films. Then come the sets. Guests can step into the famed Great Hall of Hogwarts Castle, pull up a squealing shrub from its greenhouse and walk through Harry's foster family's house. The sets are all either the actual ones that Daniel Radcliffe and co walked on or are replicas based on the original blueprints from the movies. They look even more authentic than the lands at Universal's parks and as this report revealed, it has been a dream ticket for Warner. So successful indeed that it has spawned a second site in Tokyo with another in Shanghai on the way. Using Thinkwell to design Warner Bros. World was a no-brainer for Miral, Abu Dhabi's government backed theme park operator. As this author has reported, Miral has gained a reputation as the leader in its field alongside Disney and Universal. This is thanks to its tireless quest for quality in order to maximise the number of visitors who stream through its turnstiles. Its ultimate objective isn't purely about ticket sales as the Abu Dhabi government is developing leisure facilities, such as theme parks, to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels due to its dwindling reserves. The grander the parks are and the bigger the brands they are based on, the greater the number of visitors they attract and the more diverse Abu Dhabi's economy becomes. Potter is the logical step in this process as its stories have such a wide fanbase. It takes more than the wave of a magic wand to create new attractions which live up to Miral's lofty standards and the 2022 Potter announcement stressed that the groundbreaking date was "yet to be revealed." Since then, fans have been clamouring to know when they would find out more but Miral has remained tight lipped. Until now. In a recent interview with this author, Miral's dynamic chief executive Mohamed Al Zaabi revealed that 'there will be a great announcement this year with a great milestone. Stay tuned, you will hear good news. I'm very excited about it, the project is moving in the right direction and I can't wait to open that expansion.' It isn't clear which company is designing Miral's Potter area but Thinkwell would be the logical choice given its work on Warner Bros. World and the Tours. Indeed, what Universal's lands lack is the Tour's authenticity and what the Tour lacks is rides so Abu Dhabi could offer the best of both worlds. With the government's deep pockets, the designers could use every trick in their spell books to conjure up the definitive Potter area. Middle East business title MEED recently claimed that it will include "three new rides, retail outlets, and food and beverage facilities". It added that the value of the construction contract is between $545 million and $816 million and the area will add 40,000 square meters to the footprint of Warner Bros. World, which is an increase of around 26%. The report suggested that Canadian engineering firm EllisDon is the project consultant while French firm Egis is the lead designer. It added that Emirates Electrical & Instrumentation Company, is already working on the project along with another local firm NSCC International, which is reportedly carrying out enabling works. It is important to note that construction projects in Abu Dhabi display signs showing the contractors and no photos have been published of one stating that it is for the Potter area. Themeparx, the leading source of theme park construction photos, posted an image of a sign which states that it relates to the 'Warner Bros. World Phase 2 Expansion' though this doesn't necessarily include Potter. The reason for this is that Miral has also announced that two new attractions will be added to Warner Bros. World's DC comics superheroes lands. Themeparx noted that there may already be evidence of where the entrance to one of these new rides will be located as a washroom area between Metropolis and Gotham City has been closed off with temporary banners saying 'Lexcorp' – the company run by Superman's arch-enemy Lex Luthor In response to MEED's initial report about the Potter construction bid submissions, Miral said that it "does not comment on speculative and inaccurate information from unknown sources." It is unclear what aspect of the article Miral was referring to though there is no doubt that it was not entirely accurate. That's because the article also stated that "the Abu Dhabi project will be the world's sixth Harry Potter-themed park. The others are in Florida and California in the US, Beijing in China, Osaka in Japan and Leavesden in the UK," the latter of which is not a theme park. What is for certain is that the Abu Dhabi Potter area, whatever form it takes, has had a long lead time. As far back as January 2023 Al Zaabi told this author that "my team, they are going in and out the US to go through many stages of design and many drafts and versions...I'm sure the quality of the master plan, the quality of the design, will be either at the same level or I'm pushing my team to be even better than what you have seen in Warner Bros." He added that the Potter area "will be a gamechanger for us." The high caliber of Warner Bros. World convinced the studio to entrust perhaps its most beloved Intellectual Property (IP) to Miral making it the only theme park operator outside Universal with Potter rides. In 2023 Al Zaabi revealed to this author that the "discussion started in 2018, literally one hour before the grand opening on 24th July. Kevin [Tsujihara] was here, at that time, he was chairman of Waner Bros. Mohamed Al Mubarak, His Excellency, our chairman, and Pam Lifford [president of consumer products] from Warner Bros, she was there. And myself and my team, Peter [van Roden, Warner Bros. senior vice president of global themed entertainment], was there as well. And we discussed, okay, what's next? "And we said, okay, let's do market research, see what's the right IP for this region. We did a very thorough study, and Harry Potter came out on top of the list of that study. We did a study in India, we did a study in China, in Europe, and this region, the GCC. And the result was Harry Potter. It took us some time to discuss, agree on commercial. But I think what helped us to close that deal is Warner Bros. they saw the quality of what we can deliver and the quality of the service and operation." Although it is unknown when Potter's new area will open, Abu Dhabi is already rolling out the red carpet for him. Earlier this week Harry Potter: The Exhibition opened on the city's museum district Saadiyat Island. It is the exhibition's first-ever stop in the Middle East and gives guests a close up look at props from the films as well as an opportunity to take part in iconic activities from them such as mixing potions or scoring at Quidditch. It runs until September 21 and earlier that month the Harry Potter Film Concert Series will come to Yas Island's Etihad Arena. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets will be shown on a soaring 40-foot screen whilst the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra plays John Williams' sweeping score. It could prove to be a blessing in disguise that Miral has spent so long giving a magic touch to its Potter plans. Since they came to light in 2022, Warner has announced that it will reboot the series with new actors on its HBO streaming platform in 2027. It could cast a dark spell on Universal's Potter attractions as they all heavily feature the stars and sets from the original films. However, Abu Dhabi might want to integrate the new actors in its attractions from the start if the new show is a success. There has of course been another significant development since Yas Island's Potter attraction was announced. As this report forecast, a Disney park will be coming to Abu Dhabi over the coming years so the Potter site will have to be substantial enough to compete with that. We will soon find out what tricks are up its sleeve.
