Zombies, zip lines and virtual reality score big at this year’s IAAPA expo
Extreme Engineering stood out on the show floor this year with their Cloud Coaster, a full-circuit zip line that pulls dangling riders uphill before releasing them into a course of curves and drops.
Zombie-inspired products at this year's IAAPA expo ranged from plush toys to a paintball-gun-festooned hayride truck, and animatronic lurchers sprayed "blood" in my mouth inside two separate haunted houses.
new Maestro technology, which uses a Kinect-esque sensor to let you fling bolts of 3-D lightning with a flick of your fingers. When finished, guests will glide past sets and video projections, waving their arms to launch colorful blasts at the blocky bad guys. It took a bit of trial and error to calibrate my aim (hopefully you'll be able to practice in the queue before boarding), but Maestro could be the most exciting advancement in interactive rides since Disney's Toy Story Mania.
Mack Rides blew everyone else out of the expo by sending them up I-Drive to Fun Spot, where they temporarily rigged the Freedom Flyer suspended steel coaster with Samsung VR headsets. I took it for a spin, and was immersed in a sci-fi CGI cityscape under attack by a giant robot. As the coaster soared and swooped, I seemed to evade explosions and dodge collapsing buildings, turning a tame family coaster into an epic E-ticket. If this is the future of attractions, beam me up!
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