The Insights from IAAPA specials continue with reaction and exclusive interviews from the latest IAAPA Expo Europe held in Barcelona. There we spoke with Adam Sandy, Roller Coaster Sales and Marketing Director at Zamperla. On the menu of discussion was Zamperla’s roller coaster business, the success of Top Thrill 2 and industry trends.
Business at Zamperla
“So, for us, it’s just been really exciting to have this building process where I joined the company in ’21. And that year we announced we’re restructuring, reintroducing really, the roller coaster to our business unit. We have revealed that we’re doing things like the double heart then the family thrill launch, and then some of those got a little side tracked because we had other projects like Top Thrill 2 come up, we had Top Thrill 2 open fully this year, and then next year we have our first double heart, first family thrill launch opening, so it’s just kind of the stepping stone has been really exciting for us.”
How did you find IAAPA Expo Europe in Barcelona?
“It was very busy. For us it’s always important to have that mix of the big corporate clients, the Disney’s, the Universal’s, as well as the regional players. It felt like everybody was there, so we’re really happy.”
Discuss the opening and reopening Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point
“It’s been a blast. It’s definitely been a challenging project too. Merging basically something created with standards in 2024 with the standards of 2003, so the old stuff and the new stuff combining was certainly a big engineering challenge, but honestly, it’s been great. Six Flags has been great to work with through the process.
“And for us at Zamperla, I think the biggest takeaway from last year when it opened and this year too is that we hear so many people talk about what a great ride it was. Our concern at the time is really, “are people just going to compare the old one and not enjoy it?” And yes, there are a couple of coaster enthusiasts who still focus on the old one, but a vast majority of the park’s guests don’t even talk about the old one anymore. The riders say, “I rode Top Thrill 2 and it’s awesome.” So, there’s been that fear of “what if they compare?” Well, that has gone because honestly, a majority of the guests just don’t even think about the old one. And with the ride having the uptime it has now is so much more improved from the old version.
“It sort of reinforced Six Flags decision to go with us in the project, as they turned something that had a lot of downtime in its old days, just because it was a challenging ride, and now it’s got a lot of good uptime and a lot of happy people.”
What was the biggest challenge with this reimagining?
“Honestly, the biggest thing was taking something, because we had a structure that was effectively, designed in probably 2001 to DIN standards at the time, and then utilise all of our new stuff engineered to EN. So, combining those two things certainly was a big challenge. But then making sure that the new trains which were introduced could go on the old structure in track two and go through all of those motions of work, but at the same time, harnessing the engineering of today to back that up. It took a lot of legwork to pull all that stuff.
“The surprise is that this ride was always iconic at Cedar Point. But now it’s iconic in an even better way, really, because adding this spike redefined their skylines. It’s another over 400-foot structure on their skyline. But it feels now that it’s seen as part of the ride that has always been there, so it was a really nice addition. And the view from there is impressive, you’re about 350, 375 feet looking straight down The fact that you’re looking down on Power Tower, which I think tops out at 325 feet, is insane. The visuals on the ride are just outstanding.”
How was the ride experience onboard Top Thrill 2?
“I love it! It was so nice for us after a three-year project to get on it and it was awesome. But I think to me, the biggest surprise was really the addition of the spike. This element turned it from what I would say is kind of a one-trick pony on the oldest version, which is a great trick but it was a one-trick pony, and now you get three launches and that spike; when you’re going backwards at 101 miles an hour, you get several seconds of floating airtime, and you’re looking straight down and then you go, hit the bottom, then you start going even faster.
“The thing to consider is you’re travelling at a little under 100 miles an hour, when you start that third launch and then you go up to 120mph. The ride just sort of builds like a symphony, and it’s a really great ride experience. Everybody gets a rollback too which guests love!”
Reputation of Zamperla as a benchmark ride manufacturer
“For our company to have Cedar Fair choose us to say, “we want to work with you guys, you’re bringing something different to the table.” It’s a huge vote of confidence, and I think now that we really proved that we’re a different kind of partner, because even as challenging as that project was, we achieved it. I’m really happy that now that we have clients come to us saying, “we want to talk to you about our next big speed coaster. We want you to talk to the client’s maintenance director, their executives about working with us.” We really think we sort of changed that relationship from a buyer and seller. It’s more of a partnership, because that project could have never been done if we would have just had those kinds of rigid roles that everybody has had in the past.
“To add to that, our trains that we spent about four years designing, is one of the premier showcases for Cedar Point and that is fantastic. It’s one thing for me to say that it’s going to be smooth, comfortable and great, but when you actually get to get on it and the ride kind of speaks for itself, it’s really nice for us to have that.”
What markets are working particularly well for Zamperla?
“So right now, we’re really busy in Europe. Eastern Europe is definitely growing for us. We have a lot going on in Asia, Southeast Asia right now, for instance in Japan. Southeast Asia are very busy for us. I’d say they are the core ones. The US this year, between the mergers and the tariff issues, that kind of muddied the waters, but I think we’ll sort of be back on track for 2026, 27.”
How is the visitor attractions industry in the current climate?
“I think it’s pretty healthy. I think that we’ve got two types of parks now in the US. One is your Epic Universe model; that new sort of must-do destination that is the new benchmark.
“But you’re also getting those Mums and Dads, where you have parks like Knoebels that are very family-based, no gate, and they’re doing really well too. And I think that we’re seeing that a lot of American families at least will do that one, maybe two trips to Florida or California, but they’ll also do multiples to their local park. And that’s still a big part of being ingrained in the American culture. So, I feel the long-term viability of the industry is really healthy now.”
What particular trends do you see for the future in terms of the rides and visitor habits?
“The two big things that we’ve seen are the first being the gap among kids has grown really significantly. When I was a kid, it was very common that you’d have two, maybe three years between kids. We’re now seeing most parks with four to six years between kids. In turn, we’re coming up with rides that are thrilling for the older kid, but approachable and fun for the younger one.
“And the other big thing we’re just seeing is a huge trend in, it sounds silly, but things going viral, right? That’s happening with a lot of stuff, but the last couple years it’s happened with our rides like the Nebulaz, which has basically become a selling tool for parks because their guests share it and those go viral.
“I think Drayton Manor shared their Nebulaz testing, and garnered millions of views in a day. And same with the Big WaveZ model. That’s such a unique ride. We know the parks in Saudi Arabia that are putting it up are just getting massive responses to it. And so we really are rethinking now, when we design rides, it’s not only got to be a great ride, but have that visual hook. It was important in the past to speak to people at the park about ride visibility, but now it’s really important because now we’re seeing that it goes viral.
“For our Nebulaz, we found people will spend hours standing there. One of our clients put one in and informed us that they doubled their per count spending at restaurants around the Nebulous because everyone’s saying, “oh, I’m going to sit here and watch this for an hour.” So, they may not be riding the ride, but there still an engaged guest who’s spending money. At the end of the day, that’s what the park wants.”
Teaser for IAAPA Expo
“We’re really seeing that having that piece of guest engagement, whether it’s social, whether it’s in person, it’s huge. We have our new Wingz Ride, which is very interactive. And then that features roll-on, roll-off wheelchair access so wheelchair users can actually roll right on.
“But it also features an interactive feature where you’re actually flapping your wings to go up and down. We’re going to have that attraction at IAAPA Expo in Orlando so guests can ride it so that’ll be really cool.”
