Winners of the IAAPA Brass Ring Best Exhibit Awards were announced last week during the Leadership Breakfast at IAAPA Expo. The IAAPA Brass Ring Best Exhibit Awards carry forward a tradition dating back to the 1800s when carousel riders aimed to grab a rare brass ring on the ride, with the ring symbolizing a special prize and often another free ride. This tradition has evolved into one of the industry’s most prestigious honors, celebrating excellence in exhibit presentations.
The IAAPA Brass Ring Best Exhibit Awards continues this pastime by rewarding companies with the best booth presentations in three size categories on the show floor. Exhibitors are scored on their booth design, branding, staffing, and overall appeal. Winning an IAAPA Brass Ring Awards is considered one of the industry’s most prestigious honors.
Winners from IAAPA Expo 2024 are as follows:
Best Exhibit Design
300 Square Feet or Less
1st Place: CmdCentr
“Eye appealing, clean, bright, arch element made it stand out.”
2nd Place: Leisure Development Partners
”Clean, bright lighting, branding well-done, staff engaging.”
400 – 600 Square Feet
1st Place: Jack O’ Lantern Journey
“Took the visitor on a journey through a jack o’ lantern! Appealing product, artistic.”
2nd Place: Image Engineering
”Amazing show including fire; product was immersive.”
700 – 900 Square Feet
1st Place: Technifex Inc.
“Best brand and product recognition, product infused in booth.”
2nd Place: Martin Aquatic Design & Engineering
”Branding design stood out, models displayed well, good booth flow, staff interacting with attendees.”
1,000 – 1,500 Square Feet
1st Place: Player One Amusement Group
”Hulk Hogan and characters in booth that are part of their games, driving a lot of traffic and excitement.”
2nd Place: Storyland Studios
“Had a theme and collaborated with other vendors that are part of what they do.”
1,600 and Larger Square Feet
1st Place: Home Run Dugout
“Really branded well, attention to detail, immersive experience, staff matching uniforms and interacting well with visitors.”
2nd Place: SBF-VISA GROUP
“Brought variety of rides, interactive, lots of energy, signs and staffing excelled.”
Image Award Winner
RMC – Rocky Mountain Construction
”Unique design concept with the storage containers. Great use of space, multi-teared, modern, flowed well.”
Best New Product
Major Ride/Attraction – Product cost of more than US$3 million
1st Place: Interactive Dark Coaster Primordial, Triotech (Booths 1359, 1361, 1658)
“Ride includes shooting element, roller coaster, dark ride all in one experience. The end changes each time you ride it including a story. Ride vehicle changes too. Drives people to want to ride more than once.”
2nd Place: Flume Ride with Booster, Intamin Ltd. (Booth 3825)
“Launching of water attraction was new. Using a technology from a lift to launch horizontally. Design was really innovative.”
Major Ride/Attraction – Product cost of less than US$2 million
1st Place: Break Dance 5, Huss Park Attractions GmbH (Booth 4224)
“Added DJ booth and operator booth in center of ride with two different types of queue lines – one more for families and the other more thrilling.”
2nd Place: Infinity Racer, Arihant Water Park Equipment (Booth 1651)
“Mat racer ride that also goes uphill, doubles back, reverse landing. Very innovative.”
Family Ride/Attraction
1st Place: 30 Rockefeller Center – Top of The Rock – The Beam, Cimolai Technology SPA (Booth 4609)
“Recreating a historical moment in time. Designed so you don’t see the seatbelt and if empty seats on the ride, they disappear from the picture.”
2nd Place: Moviemax, Alterface (Booth 1083)
“Perfect for carnival implementation with set-up in about 3 hours. Very new and innovative.”
Water Park Ride/Attraction – Product cost of more than US$2 million
1st Place: Stingray, Polin Waterparks (Booth 2286)
“Racer slide with all four lanes different from each other with unique elements and timing per lane. Queue lines allows those to see people on ride.”
2nd Place: Walhalla, WhiteWater (Booth 2254)
“Boomerang element adjusted so the rider keeps going and gains speed into a new element instead of the end of the ride. It gives the rider extra thrill.”
Water Park Ride/Attraction – Product cost of less than US$2 million
1st Place: Adapted SeaTREK Sub Sea Systems, Inc. (Booth 1654)
“Accessible design for those with special needs to experience scuba diving without certification. Seats designed for comfort and everyone can participate.”
2nd Place: Mini Blaster, WhiteWater (Booth 2254)
“Because of lower height more people can participate from younger ages.”
Patron Participation Ride/Attraction
1st Place: PuttMania, LaserBlast (Booth 4666)
“Ability to integrate with what the buyer currently has at their facility. Lots of technology features including the ability track scores and other exciting features.”
2nd Place: Crossover Classic Mini Golf, Milco MFG, LLC (Booth 4680)
“Ability to setup and take down within an hour. Crossover pieces to make course more dynamic.”
Technology Applied to Amusements – Product or Service used by Consumers
1st Place: JB-Tagsolutions Tag and Run Game, JB Inflatables BV (Booths 4886, 5488)
“Added element with RFID band allowing the participant to go into play station, light up lasertag, hit icons, records score, get prizes. Adds flair. Took an old concept and upgrade.”
2nd Place: Weather Guarantee by Sensible Weather, Sensible Weather (Booth 1757)
“Great new concept for guests to have a ‘guarantee’ if the weather is bad on the date of their park visit. No cost to the company.”
Technology Applied to Amusements – Product or Service used by Facilities
1st Place: MobileMech, Amusement Connect (Booth 509)
“Great for small facilities or bars or any type of facilities with an easy way for guests to play games similar to playing songs on a jukebox. User a use their phone without need for coins to play. Very affordable.”
2nd Place: iQ QR Reader and Kiosk System, Intercard Inc. (Booth 1327)
“QR code reader for games allowing easy way to play. Can sell online or at kiosk on-site. Easy way to get to the fun.”
Games and Devices
1st Place: Asteroids: Recharged Arcade, Alan-1 (Booth 3902)
“Retro game was a lot of fun. Notification system let’s participant know if someone beats their high score, to get them to return to facility and play again.”
2nd Place: Night Heron Entertainment’s Lynx cabinet, featuring Kung Fu Panda: The Warrior’s Gauntlet™, AVS Companies (Booth 1617)
“Simple concept, but visually impressive. Ability to switch out easily with different characters.”
Virtual and Augmented Reality
1st Place: Eurosat Coastiality, VR Coaster GmbH & Co. KG (Booth 2272)
“Guest wears a VR through the queue but can see normally without issue.”
2nd Place: VR Magic UFO, Zhuoyuan Co., Ltd (Booth 2091)
“VR in a UFO. Super fun.”
Exhibits, Shows/Production, Theatrical Equipment and Supplies
1st Place: “Aurora” – Track Mounted LED Display, Skyline Attractions LLC (Booth 2278)
“LED mounted displays on track. Fully customizable LED mounted display on track, weather resistant. Each one numbered and controlled separately allowing easy repair, immerses you in the story. Track is hollow in case need to fix.”
Services, Equipment and Supplies
1st Place: Parafait Klassic Pro Kiosk – Session/Slots Bookings with Automatic Waiver Management Semnox Solutions LLC (Booth 2036)
“Truly operator less, requires no labor, sell variety of products. Comes in variety of kiosk formats (outdoor, indoor, big). Robust technology.”
2nd Place: Planogram Booster Packs, Redemption Plus (Booth 1824)
“Supports small companies that don’t have large staff or knowledge about the games.”
Best New Product Concept Award – Major Ride or Water Park Ride
1st Place: NAVATU, Polgun Waterparks & Attractions (Booth 2233)
“Innovative walk-through waterfall. Family oriented, packaged for small footprint.”
2nd Place: ETF Dynamic Mover, ETF Ride Systems (Booth 4872)
“New ride technology open to a wider audience. Easy to implement.”
Best New Product Concept Award – Attraction
1st Place: Rocking Tower, Sunkid GmbH (Booth 2678)
“Seat releases into a swing when you’re at the top. Many customization options.”
2nd Place: Sky Tower Multimedia, Huss Park Attractions GmbH (Booth 4224)
“Observation tower that takes guest down a level into a 360 3D theater, then go into traditional tower.”
Best New Product Concept Award – Other Product/Service
1st Place: inThrall, Birket Engineering (Booth 2264)
“Technology allows captions in any language. Bridging barrier for those who can’t hear or speak a different language.”
2nd Place: C360, Simworx Limited (Booth 2067)
“Highly innovative with respect to stadiums and arenas, can be used in conjunction with in-house museums. Multiple revenue streams options.”
Impact Award Winner
Adapted SeaTREK, Sub Sea Systems, Inc. (Booth 1654)
“Accessible design for those with special needs to experience scuba diving without certification. Seats designed for comfort, and everyone can participate.”
