Orlando, Friday, 12 September 2025.
At IAAPA Expo in Orlando, leading suppliers used product launches and partnerships to signal a clear shift in operator priorities: modular content delivery, hybrid attractions that blend media and mechanics, tighter supplier-led IP integrations, and design choices that cut installation time and lifetime operating costs. Highlights ranged from a surprising new Vekoma coaster and Triotech’s multi-site immersive dark rides to expanded drone-show work with Dronisos and Disneyland Paris, Reverchon’s next‑gen flume and adaptable safety restraints, and WhiteWater’s compact, high-capacity waterplay concepts. The most intriguing takeaway is how vendors are packaging experiences-as-a-service—combining turnkey systems, content updates and commerce tools like Accesso’s Passport—to boost throughput and revenue while reducing capex pain points. For operators and developers, the Expo reframed decisions: choose partners that offer integrated systems, faster installs and upgrade paths rather than standalone hardware, because those choices now drive guest value, operational resilience and long-term margins.
Focus ride: Triotech and Seven’s large‑scale immersive project — context and status
Triotech announced it would unveil details of a large-scale project developed with Saudi Arabian attractions developer Seven at IAAPA Expo, with a press conference scheduled for the show and the attraction described as featuring a popular IP and planned for multiple Saudi locations [1]. The company is also promoting Into the Deep — billed as its “largest-ever” interactive dark ride and slated to open at Six Flags Qiddiya City — which Triotech positions alongside other immersive products such as Saga City of Light and Primordial [1]. Few technical specifics were released before the IAAPA reveal; the company itself acknowledges limited public detail ahead of the press announcement, leaving key parameters such as final capacity, ride length and media systems unconfirmed at time of publication [1][alert! ‘press release indicated “few details are currently known”‘].
Why this project matters: strategic aims behind a multi‑site immersive dark ride
Triotech and Seven’s multi‑site approach aligns with the industry trend showcased at IAAPA toward supplier-led, modular experience packages that reduce install timelines and lifecycle costs by reusing systems, content and IP across locations [1][2][3]. Suppliers at the Expo emphasised modular content delivery and hybrid attractions that combine media, interactivity and mechanical systems — approaches that enable operators to deploy a consistent branded experience at scale while centralising content updates and maintenance [2][3]. For a developer such as Seven, partnering with a turnkey supplier like Triotech reduces integration risk and accelerates opening schedules for multiple sites within the same market, a strategic priority for rapid destination growth in Saudi projects [1][2].
Triotech’s recent portfolio provides a clear template for the engineering blend likely to appear in its Seven project: large footprints with integrated motion platforms, interactive media, and multiple media scenes — as seen in Triotech’s Saga City of Light (immersive theatre with dynamic platforms and special effects) and Primordial (an interactive dark coaster combining coaster dynamics with media scenes and alternate endings) [1]. That mix implies an attraction architecture composed of: modular vehicle systems or motion platforms, synchronized show control and media servers, interactive hardware for guest inputs, and turnkey scenic shells that speed repeat installations — design choices that directly support multi‑site replication and content-as-a-service updates [1][2].
Theming and IP: how narrative choices reduce risk and increase lifetime value
Triotech announced the attraction would use a “popular IP,” a deliberate choice that mirrors IAAPA exhibitors’ broader push to package experiences with supplier‑led IP integrations to drive demand and merchandising [1][2]. Using established IP shortens marketing ramps and can justify higher per‑capita spend when the supplier also bundles themed elements, show control, and content refreshes. For multi‑location rollouts, a consistent IP-based narrative simplifies content localization and lets operators amortize content production costs across sites, improving long‑term return on investment compared with bespoke, one‑off dark‑ride builds [1][2][alert! ‘exact IP name was not disclosed in the source’].
Operational engineering choices that lower capex and opex
The attraction’s described scope — Triotech calling Into the Deep its “largest-ever” interactive dark ride at more than 2,400 sq m (25,833 sq ft) — signals an emphasis on scalable show elements that can be standardized across locations to reduce installation time and lifecycle maintenance costs [1]. Industry exhibitors at IAAPA have been promoting compact, high‑capacity alternatives and modular play/slide fusions to maximise throughput in smaller footprints, a design philosophy that operators increasingly favour to control both capital expenditure and ongoing operating expense [2][3]. In practice, those engineering choices manifest as standardized vehicle interfaces, modular scenic panels, centralized media servers supporting multiple sites, and upgradeable restraint or vehicle components that simplify future retrofits — approaches explicitly reflected in suppliers’ IAAPA exhibits and product statements [2][3].
Safety and retrofittability: lessons from other vendors at IAAPA
Reverchon used the IAAPA platform to highlight next‑generation flume designs and new individual safety bars that retrofit earlier ride versions, underscoring an industry emphasis on adaptable safety systems that prolong asset life and reduce replacement cost [3]. That trend is relevant to Triotech’s multi‑site strategy because supplier packages that include retrofit pathways for mechanical components, restraints and control systems materially lower risk for operators planning multi‑phase rollouts or future upgrades [1][3]. Operators selecting turnkey, supplier‑integrated attractions now favour vendors who can demonstrate both initial safety certification support and post‑installation upgrade paths to manage long‑term compliance and guest inclusivity.
Content operations and commerce: integrated systems as part of the delivery model
IAAPA exhibitors emphasised combining experience delivery with commerce and guest‑management systems to create an ‘experience-as-a-service’ model; Accesso and others have been positioning guest‑commerce platforms to work alongside attraction suppliers so parks can monetise IP and dynamic content updates [2][1][3]. For a multi‑site immersive attraction, integrated commerce—ticketing bundles, dynamic pricing, in‑ride merchandising and content update subscriptions—becomes a lever to accelerate payback and capture ancillary revenue across each opening city, reinforcing why operators increasingly prioritise supplier packages that include both systems integration and content lifecycle support [1][2][3].
What remains uncertain ahead of Triotech’s IAAPA reveal
Public reporting ahead of Triotech’s press conference notes that few details were released and that the attraction will open at multiple Saudi locations, but specific technical metrics — ride capacity per hour, precise vehicle type, media resolution and server architecture, and the identity of the IP — were not published prior to the IAAPA unveiling [1][alert! ‘source explicitly states “few details are currently known” and does not list the IP or technical specs’].
Bronnen