"Big starts here" is the official theme for this year's IAAPA Attractions Expo and big was certainly what was delivered at the official kick-off event for the exhibition part of the show.
President and CEO of IAAPA, Paul Noland, started things off with his opening address, saying to the thousands in attendance that "big starts here" meant "big ideas, big innovations, big business relations and big successes."
"As I travel around to see our member attractions I'm frequently reminded of what keeps our industry so relevant and so successful, said Noland to a packed theatre. "It's innovation.
"Whenever I visit one of these attractions, I see new menu items, new attractions, rides and new marketing campaigns. I ask the leaders of those parks 'where do you get that idea' and more often than not they say at an IAAPA expo.
"Big really does start here," he continued. "Somewhere out there your next big idea awaits."
This year's IAAPA event sees more than 1,000 companies exhibiting, 225 educational speakers giving talks and 27,000 people from all over the in attendance.
"2014 has been an incredible year for our industry and our association," said outgoing IAAPA chair, Mario Mamon. "It has been my privilege to serve as your chair and together, we accomplished a great deal.
"This year we rolled out the association's new governance programme," Mamon continued. "It was several years in the making, but I'm confident that we now have a global structure in place to effectively manage the association for many years to come.
"We've also held safety standard meetings around the world and increased member participation in our ride safety reporting programme. We facilitated safety related meetings with government officials and we shared best practice learning through IAAPA safety institute programmes in six countries.
Paul Noland also revealed IAAPA would be introducing an e-learning programme, allowing members to take training and professional development courses online. A new leadership institute in Europe is also being piloted and the association is rolling out the next phase of its certification programme that allows industry leaders to be formally recognised in their professional development and experience.
During the kick-off, various representatives of regional areas took atendees on a global tour of the newest attractions, including Ocean Park in Asia, the Arthur ride at Europa Park and Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando, just to name a few.
Finally, Mamon introduced the new IAAPA board members for 2015, including new chair Gerardo Arteaga. Arteaga thanked Mamon for his service over the past year before showcasing some of the new record-breaking rides that have opened over the course 2014.
Attractions Management and AM2 are both on hand for IAAPA 2014 in Orlando to provide live coverage throughout the week. Check back here for all the latest breaking news, which is sure to excite the attractions sector from some of the industry's biggest and brightest names
