IAAPA, the global association for the attractions industry, has announced the winners of the 2022 IAAPA Brass Ring Awards. Winners were announced on the evening of Nov 16th, during a ceremony during IAAPA Expo 2022 in Orlando, Florida. This year’s ceremony marked the return of the in-person celebration for the first time since 2019.

The annual awards recognize amusement parks, water parks, zoos, aquariums, museums, family entertainment centers (FECs), and suppliers from around the world for excellence in food and beverage, games and retail, human resources, live entertainment, marketing, new products, and exhibits.

“There’s something special about coming together as an industry and cheering each other on when this year’s finalists were so strong in each category,” said Jim Pattison, President of Ripley Entertainment, and IAAPA’s 2023 Chairman of the Board. “Celebrating industry-wide innovations and successes is a win for all of us.”

The tradition of the brass ring dates back to the 1800s when rings were hung on carousels to pose a fun challenge for riders. Successfully grabbing a ring while riding the carousel often earned riders prizes—often including an additional free ride—most rings were made of iron but a few were made of brass so grabbing the brass ring was a coveted treat.

For years, the IAAPA Brass Ring Awards have been honoring the achievements of excellence throughout the global attractions industry. The award is considered one of the most prestigious honors in the business.

The winners were:

 

Top Family Entertainment Center of the World

Live Entertainment Excellence

Most Creative Property-Wide Event, Amusement Parks and Attractions, Including Water Parks, Annual Attendance More Than 1 million

Most Creative Sports/Stunt Show

Most Creative Multimedia Spectacular

Most Creative Halloween Haunt, Show, or Experience

Most Creative Christmas/Holiday Show

Best Theatrical Production, Amusement Parks and Attractions, Including Water Parks, With Annual Attendance Less Than 1 Million

Best Theatrical Production, Amusement Parks and Attractions, Including Water Parks, With Annual Attendance More Than 1 Million

Best Live Edutainment Performance Act

Best Atmosphere/Street Show Performance Act

Human Resources Excellence

Best Employee Engagement Initiative

Best Employee Reward and Recognition Program

Best Innovation in a Training Program

Marketing

Best Digital Marketing Campaign

Best Integrated Marketing Campaign

  • California Academy of Sciences, Bugs Exhibit Advertising Campaign,calacademy.org/

Best Outdoor Advertisement

Best Public Relations Campaign

  • Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, Ripley’s Assists in Making History with Kim Kardashian at Met Gala, ripleys.com

Best Social Media Campaign

Best Television or Digital Video Commercial, Annual Attendance More Than 1 Million

  • Morey’s Piers & Beachfront Water Parks, This is Where We Summer,moreyspiers.com

Best Television or Digital Video Commercial, Annual Attendance 250,000-1 Million

Best Television or Digital Video Commercial, Annual Attendance Less Than 250,000

  • Quassy Amusement & Waterpark, Water Coaster opens at Quassy Amusement & Waterpark, quassy.com

Games and Merchandise Excellence

Best Apparel Item

  • Disney Global Product Creation, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Cassette Player Shoulder Bag

Best Hard Good Item

  • Disney Global Product Creation, Halcyon Starcruiser Training Lightsaber Hilt

Best Plush Item

  • Disney Global Product Creation, Groot Scented Plush

Best Visual Merchandising

  • Dollywood Parks & Resorts, Dollywood Emporium Remodel

Food & Beverage

Best New Menu Item, Annual Attendance Less Than 1 Million

Best New Menu Item, Annual Attendance More Than 1 Million

Product

Major Ride/Attraction, Product cost of more than US$5 million
1st Place, Sally Dark Rides, VOLKANU — Quest for the Golden Idol
2nd Place, Premier Rides, Epiq Coaster

Major Ride/Attraction, Product cost of US$2 to US$5 million
1st Place, DOF Robotics, Digital Park: Mission Space
2nd Place, Triotech, Double Walkthrough “Hive Break”

Major Ride/Attraction, Product cost of less than US$2 million
1st Place, ABC Rides Switzerland, C3
2nd Place, Josef Wiegand Gmbh & Co. KG, U-Drop Dry Slide

Family Ride/Attraction
1st Place, Zamperla Group, Big WaveZ
2nd Place, ALTITUDE RIDES And ATTRACTIONS LLC, Get Hammered Tower Ride

Water Park Ride/Attraction, Product cost of more than US$2 million
1st Place, WhiteWater West, Blasterango Battle
2nd Place, Wiegand.Waterrides GmbH, 4-passenger Fusion Slide of “BigBang” and “Lotus”

Water Park Ride/Attraction, Product cost of US$2 million or less
1st Place, Vortex Aquatic Structures International, Dream Tunnel
2nd Place, ProSlide Technology, Inc., SwitchBACK

Patron Participation Ride/Attraction
1st Place, Game of 1000 Boxes, Game of 1000 Boxes
2nd Place, Eldorado Climbing, Kinetix Action Towers

Product or Service used by Consumers
1st Place, Vantage, Virtual Pass Processing
2nd Place, Smarte Carte Inc., Dual Sided Locker

Product or Service used by Facilities
1st Place, Amusement Products LLC, VirTech™ Virtual Technician
2nd Place, Avius, Optimus Artificial Intelligence Powered Agent Assist

Prizes, Plush, and Retail and Food Products
1st Place, NXT Capture, NXT PicturePass
2nd Place, Penny Press Factory LLC, Gem Penny Press

Games and Devices
1st Place, Coastal Amusements, Inc., Break the Plate
2nd Place, UNIS Technology Ltd., Wicked Tuna 4P

Virtual and Augmented Reality
1st Place, Valo Motion, ValoArena
2nd Place, Creative Works, Limitless VR

Exhibitions, Shows/Productions, Theatrical Equipment & Supplies, Displays & Sets
1st Place, Zigong Lantern Group, Ancient Egyptian Illumination & Sphinx Tunnel of Hieroglyphics of Light / Example of a Themed Masterpiece, handcrafted illuminating lantern art, custom designed toward any theme imaginable
2nd Place, LightUpToys.com, LLC, LightUp Disco Display Cart

Services, Equipment, and Supplies
1st Place, Extreme Engineering, Flex Shade System
2nd Place, Semnox Solutions, LuminOS – Next Generation LinuxOS based Debit Card Readers

Best New Product Concept Award, Major Ride or Water Park Ride
1st Place, Extreme Engineering, Parkour Around
2nd Place, EUROGAMES, OVERLANDER

Best New Product Concept Award, Attraction
1st Place, Wibit Sports GmbH, Wibit Peakz
2nd Place, Polin Group, Cosmos

Best New Product, Other Product/Service
1st Place, ZED Digital, ZIG
2nd Place, VITO Fryfilter, VITO VL oil filter system

IMPACT Award Winner 
Vantage, Virtual Pass Processing

Best Exhibit Awards
100-399 Square Feet, 1st Place, 3DXScenic
100-399 Square Feet, 2nd Place, Amazing Magnets
400 – 499 Square Feet, 1st Place, Themics Philippines Inc.
400 – 499 Square Feet, 2nd Place, Ellis & Associates
500 – 899 Square Feet, 1st Place, Vlocker North America LLC
500 – 899 Square Feet, 2nd Place, Daniels Wood Land, Inc.
900 – 1,200 Square Feet, 1st Place, Wibit Sports GmgH
900 – 1,200 Square Feet, 2nd Place, Sandy Creek Mining Company
1,201 and Larger Square Feet, 1st Place, Apple Industries
1,201 and Larger Square Feet, 2nd Place, Coastal Amusements

IMAGE Award Winner
accesso

Image: IAAPA facebook