For areas considering multi-season operations, the IAAPA show (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions—www.iaapa.org) is a must. It’s a place that opens your mind to all kinds of possibilities, from water parks and go-cart tracks to food concessions and arcade games.

One IAAPA veteran is Frank DeBerry, director of resort operations for Mountain Creek, N.J. “I’ve often found things in the amusement business that translated pretty well to us on the ski side,” he said. “We’re in the position where we’re about to animate the Intrawest village, so I was looking for sub-six-figure attractions that would animate the village and create revenue opportunities,” he said, explaining his visit to the show.

In particular, DeBerry hoped to find some new food-service ideas, with little luck. “In the past there were more innovative food items,” he said, “impulse buys, things for kids.” Nonetheless, he cited Sandy Candy as a potential hit—as the colored sugar pours into a clear container, it forms some cool designs, entertaining kids as they achieve a sugar high. “It’s probably a good revenue opportunity in a central village plaza or at a water park,” he said.

On a more positive note, he felt that the new modular ropes courses have made a “Fear Factor” experience accessible to anyone. “These new courses are almost like a game, as opposed to a team-building experience. The concept has a more mainstream look. Plus, it’s really safe, with the participants harnessed from above. All this makes it much more accessible to anybody.” The other new climbing concept he saw were spider nets, a sort of jungle gym made of layers of mesh that climbers can stand on and climb through, to a height of about 20 feet.

Of the slew of inflatable attractions at the show, he was “interested in, but afraid of” a new but untested skateboard simulator. The skateboard runs on a track on the halfpipe-shaped inflatable, and riders try to stay on it. It provides the halfpipe experience to skateboard wannabes, but “I’d want to see some experience with it first,” DeBerry said. An inflatable wrestling ring, in which combatants wear inflatable suits, had more immediate potential, he added.

Inflatable movie screens also caught his eye. “They are popping up everywhere,” he noted. “They operate off a standard 110 line. They are a great way to show a snowboard premiere in the fall and get your customers excited.”

Though he was not in the market for water park rides—that’s handled by a concessionaire at Mountain Creek—he liked The Sidewinder, a new raft ride shaped like a taco (or a halfpipe). Four-person rafts wash down the taco/pipe, riding up the walls.

DeBerry believes more ski areas should put the IAAPA show on their calendars. “For a small investment, you get exposed to a variety of revenue opportunities,” he said. “You can pay for the expense with just one good idea.”