IAAPA Expo Europe returned to ExCeL London with its largest European show floor yet: more than 870 exhibitors across 22,800 square meters, 50% larger than when the event last visited London in 2022. IAAPA reported 16,530 verified attendees, including 11,710 qualified buyers representing 8,956 buying companies across 118 countries.

The scale of innovation was impressive, but so too was the storytelling behind the attractions being presented. Family experiences were a recurring theme, with new ways to ride, play and eat together. Alongside ambitious destination developments were ideas for operators working within smaller or existing spaces. Here is a selection of what was on display in the booths and sessions.

Vekoma

Vekoma marked its centenary with two announcements that extended the conversation beyond roller coasters. “This is a special year for us with many milestones,” said Vekoma’s Carin Davits. At Efteling, Ravenring opens on December 1st as the first WaveCatcher, with 18 suspended, two-person gondolas and a lever allowing riders to influence their movement. As Davits explained, “You can actually influence yourself how much you swing to the side.” For nervous riders, that offers the chance to start gently and grow in confidence, while keeping the family together.

The second announcement was SCORE!, an interactive dark ride opening at Gröna Lund in 2027. Jora Vision is designing and building a fantastical underground archive, with Vekoma’s new DRX trackless ride system providing the vehicles and Alterface supplying interactivity and media.

Alterface

Alterface marked its 25th anniversary with a celebratory drink at its booth, bringing together clients, partners and friends to recognize the collaborations behind its first quarter-century and look ahead to what comes next. Alterface’s Giulia Florian reflected on those longstanding relationships: “They continue to trust us.” Turning to SCORE!, she explained: “We, of course, will deliver the technology. We’re also in charge of the media.” Florian also demonstrated a physical flashlight for the new attraction. Its familiarity is part of the appeal: searching an archive with an everyday object makes the action feel like a natural part of the story. The technology can get on with its work without demanding the guest’s attention.

Mack Rides and Mack Group

A dining table was among the most intriguing exhibits at Mack’s stand. Mack Group’s eatX concept uses the FlowDiner, a self-driving table that carries diners through themed environments. The first iteration, the Strawberry Dining Journey, opens at Karls Erlebnis-Dorf in Elstal, near Berlin, in summer 2027. Its three-course menu unfolds across five immersive worlds inspired by the true story of the garden strawberry’s discovery in 1714.

Building on the experience behind Eatrenalin at Europa-Park, the concept brings ride engineering, storytelling and catering into one attraction. Mack’s Maximilian Roeser explained its family appeal: “You can take your children with you.” It is a familiar negotiation for families: older children want one thing, younger children another, and someone ends up minding the coats and bags. An experience everyone can share has an appeal that goes well beyond its technical novelty. With screens inside the vehicle, “You get the story throughout the meal.” Dinner becomes part of the entertainment, rather than a pause between attractions.

The Rocking Boat model was another stand highlight. Boats move freely on water without visible channel walls, with programmable forward and backward travel, waves, drops and transitions between water and dry areas. Controlled speed and splashes give designers flexibility over both the journey and its effects, while the compact design opens up further possibilities for fitting a water attraction into a park.

Brogent

Brogent’s announcement connected flying theater content with a wider destination story. Switzerland! was commissioned by Jogne Production for the future Cailler Chocolate Factory Park in Broc, expanding the existing Maison Cailler museum at the chocolate brand’s historic home. The flying theater will be a signature attraction, with Switzerland Tourism contributing destination expertise, creative input and location advice. Brogent will distribute the film outside Europe.

Brogent’s Stefan Rothaug pointed to “the international appeal of Switzerland” as an important draw. The film will highlight chocolate, cheese and scenery, with Rothaug summing up the combination: “Cheese and nature; what more could you want?” Beyond the immediate ride experience, he described the film as “very good promotion for Switzerland.” It is an opportunity to introduce audiences to a place through an attraction, then encourage them to discover it for themselves.

DOF Robotics

DOF Robotics brought SphereFly to an IAAPA show floor for the first time. Suspended seating faces a curved screen, with motion across six degrees of freedom and effects including wind, mist and scent. According to the company, the system occupies 90 square meters and accommodates configurations of four to 20 riders per cycle, making flying experiences accessible to smaller venues such as malls and family entertainment centers.

The content offer was equally interesting. A Smurfs adventure sends guests on a rescue mission to escape Gargamel and return to the village, while a Transformers collaboration is expected to be unveiled at IAAPA Expo Orlando. DOF Studio, the company’s in-house content division, develops the stories for both licensed and original experiences. Familiar characters and the motion platform are being developed together, with the story giving purpose to the physical effects.

Attraktion!

Attraktion! demonstrated an LED version of its FlyXD flying theater and Playblaster, an interactive device for its own attractions and third-party dark rides and games. The company also announced a second Querion Hypermedia Entertainment Park in Poland, planned for Kołobrzeg in summer 2027. Following the first park in Piechowice, Attraktion! will again provide the park design and attractions, extending its offer from individual systems to complete indoor destinations.

WhiteWater

WhiteWater’s press conference covered projects at very different scales. Aquarabia Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia includes 28 WhiteWater slides, aquatic play structures, water-based rides and a surf lagoon. In Europe, a gamified slide at Sportoase De Watermolen in Belgium brings competition into the ride, while Funtasia in Ireland added three rides to its indoor waterpark without removing existing attractions.  That last example deserves attention. Operators do not always have room to expand, and adding variety within an established footprint can be as important as headline development.

BoldMove Nation

BoldMove Nation and O’Gliss Park unveiled Manakai – Typhoon Coaster, opening in France in 2028 as the world’s first Spinfinity Splash Coaster. Dynamic coaster movement, controlled spinning and water effects combine with face-to-face vehicles, allowing families and friends to see one another’s reactions. Its ocean-inspired island story begins in the queue and continues through the station, vehicles and landscape. The shared experience is built into both the seating arrangement and the world around it.

Holovis

Holovis gave its Highfinity audio brand its first show demonstration, highlighting a specialist capability developed over the previous 12 months. The company’s Alex Kunawicz discussed the production and placement of sound throughout an attraction experience, with work already going into client projects. “This is the first time we’ve demoed it,” he said. Alongside its complex AV and systems integration offer, the company ran three half-hour creative workshops for visitors with ideas to explore.

Beckhoff

Beckhoff’s Michel Matuschke identified two priorities shaping its entertainment work: reliable operation and giving creative teams control in the tools they prefer. “Our products are industrial products, and they are designed for 24/7 operations,” he explained. The company works primarily with system integrators, as well as parks handling their own integration, applying its industrial automation experience to attraction control.

Existing customers were asking about new motion-control products and connections to external graphical tools. Matuschke explained that designers want to create movements and effects graphically, rather than program them entirely within an automation environment. Beckhoff has developed interfaces in response, allowing creative instructions to connect with the underlying control system. “We call that enabling creativity,” he said. His example of coordinating 1,200 moving balls illustrated the task: translate an ambitious visual idea into movements that can be controlled and repeated reliably.

project: syntropy

project: syntropy and Vioso demonstrated a concept exploring projected scenery rendered from the viewer’s position. The prototype on the booth used a static model, with dynamic media rolling over it to show the next stage. Project: syntropy’s Julianne Neumann explained how projection mapping could make relatively flat surfaces appear to have greater depth, while also allowing scenes to change without rebuilding the physical set. “You just render a different video,” she said. That potential for changing environments could support cost-effective seasonal stories and repeat visits within the same space.

P&P Projects

P&P Projects announced an agreement to develop Dr. Seuss theme park concepts for Europe and parts of Asia-Pacific, brokered by WildBrain CPLG with Dr. Seuss Enterprises. A much-loved collection of stories and characters offers another route to attractions that different generations can enjoy together.

Education sessions

The education program at IAAPA Expo Europe offered more than 70 sessions featuring 190 speakers. In The NFL Playbook for Immersive Experiences, Ed Kiang, VP of Interactive and Experiential Licensing at the NFL, spoke with George Wade, Principal and President of Bay Laurel Advisors. Kiang explored how the league could extend engagement beyond game day through experiences with a lasting presence in international markets.

The discussion covered touring interactive formats, multisensory storytelling and food and beverage experiences built around the social rituals of the sport. Kiang described the foundation as “shared experiences” and the league’s role in developing partnerships plainly: “We want to be the fan advocate”. Operators bring their own expertise; the NFL contributes its understanding of the audience and the brand. It was a useful reminder that familiar IP needs more than just name recognition to become an attraction people want to spend time in.

There was much more to see across the show floor, with further stories and highlights of the conference and education program available on InPark’s website. London demonstrated the sheer scale of innovation underway, and the storytelling driving so many of these attractions. There is plenty to look forward to as these ideas develop.