IAAPA Expo 2025 Highlights: Key Trends Shaping the Entertainment Industry

IAAPA Expo 2025 took place from 17–21 November in Orlando, welcoming over 38,000 attendees

The IAAPA Expo 2025 marked one of the most globally significant gatherings for the visitor attractions industry across the years. More than a trade show, IAAPA has long served as a strategic pulse check for theme parks, family entertainment centers (FECs), resorts/hotels, mixed-use developers, entertainment operators, and technology suppliers around the world.

This year, the expo took place from 17–21 November at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida - welcoming 38,520 verified attendees, including 28,598 qualified buyers representing 20,316 buying companies from 102 countries. The show floor covered over 550,000 square feet, featuring 1,100+ exhibitors, from emerging startups to the world’s largest ride manufacturers.

1. Why IAAPA Expo 2025 Matters

Colorful crochet playground reflecting creative family attractions

1.1. Staying Updated on Real Market Shifts

IAAPA gives us a direct view of how the global attractions industry is moving—not in theory, but in the decisions operators and suppliers are actually making. It helps us understand where budgets are going, what types of experiences buyers are prioritizing, and how guest expectations are shifting.

For developers and operators, this means the insights we bring back are grounded in real demand, not assumptions.

1.2. Seeing What’s Changing in Technology and Guest Experience

Every year, IAAPA showcases hundreds of new tools, systems, and experience formats. From game mechanics to operations technology to data-driven guest optimization, it’s the fastest way to understand what solutions are becoming standard. This helps RH1 identify innovations that can make operations smoother, improve safety, or increase guest spend—so we can bring forward solutions that are relevant, tested, and future-ready.

1.3. Understanding What Global Operators Are Prioritizing

With thousands of buyers across theme parks, resorts, FECs, malls, and entertainment districts, IAAPA reveals the global direction of investment. We see what types of attractions operators are expanding, what formats are gaining traction, and what concepts are being phased out. These insights ensure our recommendations align with where the market is actually heading, reducing risk for clients making long-term development decisions.

For RH1, attending IAAPA is not only about discovery - it’s about application. The trends, technologies, and operator feedback we gather help us refine our development strategies, attraction mix planning, and feasibility study. It means the concepts we design or recommend are informed by the latest innovations and real developer/operator needs, giving clients solutions that are more competitive and commercially relevant.

2. IAAPA Expo 2025 Highlights: What Stood Out on the Show Floor

While the expo was packed with activity, several themes clearly defined the show’s momentum.

2.1. The rise of immersive and interactive experiences

One of the clearest shifts across the show floor was the industry’s push toward interactive, movement-driven, and socially engaging experiences. Exhibitors highlighted formats where guests actively influence outcomes, blending physical play with digital responsiveness.

Sport-focused and free-movement concepts were particularly visible this year, with strong offerings from Multiball, Hittrax, and expansive motion-based spaces from Moment Factory and Conduct (Gamevolt).

Visitors experience motion-driven games that blend physical and digital interaction

Triotech strengthened this direction through new products - Electric Funfair, Energize!, and Krazy Karts.

• Electric Funfair stood out for its ability to switch instantly between multiple themes—from Haunted Funfair to Sports Night or Kids Carnival—powered by Triotech’s proprietary platform and designed for up to 120 simultaneous players.

• Krazy Karts introduced an augmented indoor karting system that can operate in standard buildings, using mapping technology to support complex track layouts enhanced with interactive projections and game-style power-ups.

  
  

Triotech’s newest games offer high-throughput, multi-sensory experiences

Together, these offerings reinforce the broader direction:

Interactivity is becoming the foundation of modern entertainment, not a secondary feature.

2.2. Fresh Ideas in Landmark Ride Design

Another highlight on the show floor was the continued evolution of coaster and landmark ride concepts, ranging from couple coasters to highly adaptable family coasters and more customized track layouts. Many manufacturers presented ideas that pushed boundaries not only in scale, but also in how rides integrate with themed environments.

Tower-style ride showing design innovation

Source: Maurer Rides

Instead of relying on large, sprawling footprints, more layouts now explore creative use of height, structural integration, and site-specific geometry, allowing rides to sit comfortably within mixed-use environments or mall atriums.

What stood out this year was not a single breakthrough, but the steady refinement of key elements:

• More flexible layouts that can adapt to irregular or constrained sites

• Integrated storytelling, with media, lighting, and set pieces woven directly

• Improved capacity planning

• Ride profiles tailored for different audiences, from couples and teens to full family segments

While many of these concepts build on existing ride types, the ongoing advancements in customization, integration, and design versatility show that the “headline ride” category continues to move forward - offering developers more options than ever.

2.3. The Growth of Competitive Socializing / Social Gaming

Competitive socializing continued to gain traction at IAAPA Expo 2025, with suppliers showcasing experiences built around team play, short-cycle challenges, and social interaction. These concepts remain attractive to developers because they work across many venue types — from malls and mixed-use districts to FECs and resorts — and drive strong repeat visitation.

Players move and interact in a social gaming room designed for groups

Source: Game Volt

Key characteristics included:

• Fast, replayable challenges designed to encourage groups to “try again”

• Multiple game modes that keep the experience fresh and broaden the audience

• Modular footprints that work well in both large venues and compact spaces

• Social-first design, where players interact, compete, or collaborate

• Operational efficiency, with high throughput and manageable staffing models

With strong guest appeal and solid commercial performance, competitive socializing remains one of the most scalable formats for developers seeking modern, high-engagement entertainment anchors.

3. Operational & Guest Experience Innovations

While IAAPA Expo 2025 featured many headline-grabbing attractions, a large part of the show’s momentum came from solutions designed to improve operations, inclusivity, and the overall guest journey. These innovations targeted the realities developers and operators face today: tighter staffing, rising expectations, and the need to deliver flexible, future-proof experiences.

3.1. More Inclusive and Sensory-Friendly Design

A notable shift this year was the industry’s stronger focus on designing for guests of all abilities, driven by conversations around neurodiversity and sensory accessibility. Exhibitors and panel sessions highlighted increasingly practical approaches, such as:

• environments with reduced sensory overload

• clearer visual and audio communication

• flexible play zones suitable for guests with different processing needs

• universal design principles applied to both indoor and outdoor attractions

This reflects a broader movement in the attractions industry: making experiences more welcoming and comfortable for every guest, not just compliant with minimum standards. For developers, this focus directly connects to dwell time, family retention, and operational ease.

Education sessions highlighting innovative operational solutions

Source: IAAPA North America

3.2. Smarter Capacity & Space Management Through Data

IAAPA discussions around attendance and attraction design underscored a growing reliance on data-driven operational planning. Many exhibitors showcased tools that help operators optimize how they use space and manage guest flow, including:

• real-time attendance monitoring

• predictive demand planning

• heat-mapping to identify congestion

• systems that adjust capacity or throughput dynamically

This matches market realities: developers want to maximize square footage without expanding footprints, and operators need solutions that reduce waiting, improve distribution, and ensure guests engage with more touchpoints throughout their visit.

3.3. AI-Enhanced Operations & Workforce Support

AI continued to be one of the major conversations across IAAPA 2025. But rather than hype, the focus shifted to practical operational uses, particularly around workforce efficiency. The expo highlighted:

• AI-based planning tools that forecast staffing needs

• AI-supported content workflows for faster asset generation

• automated training modules that standardize learning for seasonal or rotating staff

• queue and demand prediction models that improve hourly throughput

  
  

These technologies don’t replace staff; they make staffing models more resilient and allow teams to focus on guest-facing interactions, where human presence matters most.

3.4. Automation Across Key Guest Touchpoints

Several operators showcased solutions that streamline operations and remove friction from the guest journey. The most relevant examples included:

• automated ticketing and admissions for faster entry

• smart lockers that reduce queues and staffing needs

• self-serve F&B integrated with mobile ordering

• digital wallets and RFID systems to unify payments, access, and loyalty

Taken together, these tools reflect a broader trend: venues are moving toward leaner but better-connected operations, improving both guest flow and service consistency without requiring large operational teams.

4. RH1 at IAAPA Expo 2025

IAAPA Expo is where RH1 gathers real, first-hand insights to shape the solutions we deliver to developers. This year, our CEO – Claude Rety spent the week meeting suppliers, reviewing prototypes, and identifying the innovations that will matter for upcoming projects.

4.1. Meeting with Leading Global Suppliers

Throughout the expo, RH1 reconnected with partners and explored new relationships across game manufacturers, technology companies, architecture and operation solution providers.

We met with industry leaders including 360 Karting, Moment Factory, Conduct (GameVolt), Semnox, DreamCatch, Inowize, HitTrax and others—each offering a different angle on how entertainment is evolving. These conversations help us understand where the industry is heading and what solutions are commercially viable for developers today.

RH1 CEO – Claude Rety, meets partners to explore new entertainment solutions

4.2. Discovering New Games and Attractions

Karting alliance booth showcasing immersive, gamified kart experiences

One major advantage of being on site is access to exclusive innovations that are not yet announced publicly. Many suppliers share early prototypes, experimental concepts, or pre-launch games that aren’t shown in media coverage.

For RH1, these previews are extremely valuable because they allow us to:

• identify future-ready concepts before they hit the wider market

• evaluate whether they fit malls, resorts, mixed-use, or entertainment districts

• benchmark ideas against existing attractions in our database

• bring developers an early look at what will shape guest expectations in the next cycle

This early access strengthens RH1’s ability to develop and advise with confidence, backed by what’s coming—not just what already exists.

4.3. Evaluating What Fits RH1 Projects and Concepts

Every product we reviewed—whether a game, attraction, or technology system—was assessed based on real operational and commercial criteria:

• footprint and space flexibility

• target demographic fit

• throughput and dwell time impact

• staffing requirements

• CAPEX and OPEX efficiency

• scalability across different venue types

• refresh and content update cycles

This ensures that when RH1 recommends an attraction, it aligns with business goals, site conditions, and long-term performance—not just trend value.

4.4 Strengthening Industry Insights to Help Developers Make Better Decisions

IAAPA gives us a complete picture of how the global attractions industry is evolving—across technology, guest expectations, operations, and investment appetite. This allows our team to:

• bring developers the most relevant and up-to-date insights

• select partners with proven quality and operational success

• anticipate the trends and solutions that will matter two to five years ahead

• reduce risk by matching projects with the right suppliers and attraction models

Ultimately, our presence at IAAPA ensures that RH1 delivers better-curated, better-informed, and future-ready entertainment concepts for every client.

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IAAPA Expo 2025 made one thing clear: the attractions industry is moving faster, becoming more immersive, more data-driven, and more operationally efficient. But turning these innovations into commercially successful projects requires more than spotting trends on the show floor. It requires understanding how each solution fits a real site, a real market, and a real business model.

That’s where RH1 continues to focus.

By combining on-site insights, supplier relationships, and deep project experience across malls, resorts, mixed-use developments, and entertainment districts, we help developers navigate the noise and identify what truly works. Whether it’s a new interactive game, a breakthrough operational tool, or a next-generation anchor attraction, our role is to evaluate feasibility, operational impact, and commercial fit - long before installation begins.

As the global entertainment landscape keeps evolving, RH1 remains committed to bringing the best of innovation directly into the projects we build. For developers, this means more informed decisions, stronger concepts, and entertainment destinations that stay relevant long after opening day.

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Have an entertainment venue in your plan? We’re here to help - from feasibility and concept design to development and operations.

👉 Get in touch: rh1.co/contact