TR: Euroshow/Interschau, Düsseldorf: January 10-12
LONNOL
London 2001 saw the debut of EAASI's (the European Association
Amusement Suppliers Industry) first exhibition, the Euroshow. For
2002 the Euroshow was held in conjunction with Interschau, the German
carnival and carnival ride-owners show, at the Messe (Hall)
Düsseldorf. While not as big as IAAPA there were certainly a good
number of exhibitors at the show. There were also many similarities
to IAAPA. Several companies (Huss Machinenfabrik, Heinrich Mack GmbH
& Co KG, Maurer Söhne) had booths that utilized all or most of the
pieces from their IAAPA set-up. This is understandable because
tradeshow booths are very expensive. Huss still has what I consider
to be one of the best booths at the shows. Colorful, hi-tech and
interesting, they have four HDTV's that repeat a long video that
showcases all of their rides. While the Euroshow said had the feel
similar to a mini-IAAPA, the Interschau side was a blast! One of the
places I frequented was a huge bar run by the city that will host
Interschau in 2003. They had free Pilzen for the men and free
champagne for women. You could tell what time of day it was because
the bar started somewhat full and the by the day's end hundreds of
people were crowded around for the free beer.
Overall Tenor:
I think that while the sales at IAAPA were "better than expected, but
less than last year," many of the exhibitors appeared to be very happy
as this show wrapped up. Continuing the trend, I think this will be
another great year for Europe- hopefully American enthusiasts will
realize that we had many good years and will stop whining about the
lack of coasters they are getting for 2002. The amusement business is
just that and it ebbs and flows like anything else. Most of the
manufacturers seemed very happy about how 2002 was progressing and I
think that unless we see another act of terrorism or a huge problem
with the economy 2003 should help get the industry back on track.
Booth notes:
A few of the things I saw that really intrigued me were:
-the PAX Scream coaster. I do not know if you have seen this ride,
but it seems to be a unique new take on the looping coaster. I think
that since the company is now TUV approved we will see more people
buying from them.
-The Reverchon Gliding Coaster. I really hope these sell! This is a
very cool concept that will be popular with European owners and, with
the apparent rise of the independent American carnival operator over
the last 10 years; we might see a handful of these traveling the
states, too. This coaster will be a great addition to small to
mid-sized parks and I think would be perfect for parks like Beech
Bend, Lake Compounce, Silverwood, etc.
-The fact that Mondial (who was not at IAAPA) and Moser were both in
the Interschau hall surprised me.
-Hafema bought the rights to Caripro's I-flyer system and had the
possible configurations set up in their booth.
-KMG had a small set up- but don't let their size fool you. A company
that has exploded in the world carnival market is set for the U.S.
debut of the Tango in a few weeks.
-The Robocoaster. Wieland had some very cool rides in photos (such as
the Absoluter [an inverting Polyp] and the Indianapolis bumper cars),
but the one that created a lot of buzz at IAAPA was the Robocoaster.
I rode with a local man (tradeshows in Germany allow anyone in, so on
Saturday there were more people from the GP than possible buyers) and
picked, much to his chagrin, the Extreme mode. The biggest surprise
came from the fact that there was hardly any headbanging against the
bulky restraints. I really enjoyed the experience but I will still
probably run to a good flat ride (a Top Scan) or a good wooden coaster
(Cyclone, Legend, etc.) rather than pay an upcharge price to get on
this again. The robocoaster is definitely an interesting combination
of technology & thrills and I will be interested to see the places
where this attraction pops up, because it could seemingly fit in many
different styles of parks- from F.E.C.'s to themers to malls.
Outside:
There were four major rides set up outside, all of which were
trailer-mounted. They were the Zamperla Sky Drop, the Technical Park
Slingshot, the Fabbri Booster and the Funtime Skytrip.
The Zamperla Sky Drop is a Jumping Star that has borrowed a heavy dose
of Vince McMahon's steroids. It seats 16 people, utilizes OTSR's and
has an action very similar to the Jumping Star/Frog Hopper type rides,
except that it goes a lot higher. I thought the ride was a lot of fun
and I think it would be a great anchor to a carnival's children's
section. It might work well in a smaller park, too, as I can see it
as a sort of tower ride geared to the whole family.
The Technical Park Slingshot is not found in the U.S. because someone
else (Gravity Works, I believe) has a patent on the ride. It is
similar to the Slingshot/Ejector Seats found at many American parks &
carnivals. The towers stood around 100-feet high and the vehicle was
shot around 150-feet high. I found this ride to be on par with the
Gravity Works version and thought both were more exciting than
Funtime's rides (even the one in Florida). I like these two because
they have lots of violent flipping and each some very good
side-to-side jolts, but the way the restraints held passengers in do
not result in any headbanging.
The Fabbri Booster: There is (sadly) only one of these rides in the
U.S., owned by an independent operator named Mike Demas (but look for
another somewhere here in 2002). The ride is in the same vein as the
Gravity Works Skyscraper and the Zamperla Turbo Force, but has some
characteristics all its own. Unlike the other two the Booster has a
loading platform that slides to the side and uses traditional,
coaster-like OTSR's. These are kept in place by air pressure. Every
time the riders are loaded an air hose is inserted in the side of the
car to give the OTSR's the pressure necessary to stay in place. I
feel that the Turbo Force has more "thrown out of the seat" moments
while the Skyscraper is more intense and features less airtime (in
fairness, the only Skyscraper I rode was permanent, not
trailer-mounted). The Fabbri Booster was a combination of each, but
had more intense moments than airtime. Overall I found this version
of the ride, like many Fabbri products, to be well built and an
enjoyable ride. I think the lighting package is as good as Zamperla's
version, which should help in the world of European fairs.
The Funtime Skytrip. Sadly, this ride was not open to riders during
the show. It is a new twist on the Booster/Turbo Force/Skyscraper
upcharge attraction. Instead of one arm this attraction has a main
arm off of which spins another with seats (see
http://history.amusement-parks.com/users/adamsandy/Euroshow/skytrip1.jpg
and http://history.amusement-parks.com/users/adamsandy/Euroshow/skytrip2.jpg
for better descriptions). This looks like an exciting ride and I am
looking forward to (hopefully) seeing one of these at a carnival or
park soon.
Overall the Euroshow appeared to be a great success and it is hard to
believe that this collection of European ride manufacturers did not
exist only a few years ago. I hope to be at the show in Genoa next
year as 2003 will (hopefully) put the industry back on the right
track.
(a few show pics are up at:
http://history.amusement-parks.com/users/adamsandy/euro.htm )
Adam