Today the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo is almost synonymous with Orlando, but did you know there were two years when it was held in Atlanta. IAAPA in Orlando makes sense as Orlando is essentially the theme park capitol of the world, however there was a two year span from 2005-2006 where the show moved to the Georgia World Congress Canter in Atlanta. IAAPA was in Orlando prior to 2005 and returned in 2007, but there will always be that 2 year anomaly where the largest theme park trade show was held in Atlanta.

Trade shows sometimes move locations depending upon availability of a venue, a desire to engage attendees from a different part of the country or financial incentives a city might offer. Atlanta does have a great convention center and is home to Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags White Water, but it’s not a theme park mecca like Orlando. Atlanta is also known for Netherworld haunted house, consistently rated one of the best in the country. Netherworld operated during the convention, even though it normally closes after Halloween, and seemed to be a hit among attendees. IAAPA did move back to Orlando in 2007, making Atlanta just a short blip in the history of the event.

There isn’t much in the way of pictures or videos from either of the Atlanta events, YouTube and influencer culture just wasn’t like it is today 20 years ago. Even IAPPA’s website is sparse with history, but web archives of the old IAAPA website (where a couple of these images were obtained) are definitely worth a look if for no other reason to see how far we’ve come with logos and web design. However, Parksmania had excellent coverage of the event and released the awesome montage video of the 2006 event on their YouTube channel and below. You’ll see familiar names like Zamperla, B&M and Vekoma along with several flat rides, a bunch of video games and even a train for The Voyage at Holiday World (that also opened in 2006).

IAAPA is probably locked into Orlando for the foreseeable future, especially with Epic Universe opening this year and essentially being the neighbor of the Orange County convention center. The convention itself is known for having some attractions setup on the expo floor, but perhaps the best showroom for the vendors, especially coaster companies, is Orlando itself where a short car ride could allow perspective customers to experience an attraction at a local park. For this reason alone IAAPA in Orlando just makes sense, but this November we can celebrate the 20 year anniversary of IAAPA Atlanta.