How does your water park or amusement park stand out? Do you have an iconic attraction—something well-known that is distinctly identified with your park?
If the answer is “not yet,” here are five reasons why creating an iconic attraction will be worth the effort.
1. Serve as a landmark
You know how landmarks work. When you see the Pyramids of Giza, Golden Gate Bridge, or Burj Khalifa, you instantly know where these are as well as their significance. The same can work for you with an attraction that is synonymous with your park. It doesn’t have to be an Eiffel Tower or Cinderella Castle. You can create a landmark that’s known in your country, state, or within a 50-mile radius—and put your park on the map.
Example: Daredevil’s Tower defines the skyline at Perfect Day at CocoCay.
2. Set yourself apart from the competition
With so many entertainment options out there, do you have an iconic attraction that distinguishes your park from the others? This would be the first image people think of when your park’s name is mentioned. It doesn’t need to be a record-breaker or a high-tech miracle; it could be an attraction with aspects not found in other entertainment venues in your region.
Example: The Abyss, with unique candy-coloured patterns, is the icon immediately identified with El Rollo Parque Acuático.
3. Use your iconic attraction as a marketing tool
The high recognition of an icon means you can take advantage of its marketing value. Use an iconic attraction to reflect your park’s branding. E.g., does your brand stand for thrills? Regional pride? Or maybe get-away-from-it-all?
An iconic attraction can be used to tell a meaningful story, which helps the guest appreciate the ride experience more. The theming can take them into an imaginary world, beginning with building anticipation in the queue, then during the ride, and when they exit when smiles and bright eyes. Picture the creative promotional and social media possibilities your marketing team can conceive with an iconic attraction’s narrative.
Example: Guests reach for the Lone Star on “The Typhoon” at Typhoon Texas.
4. Engage guests and forge a connection
You can probably think of a few attractions in your lifetime that you feel a particular fondness for. Because an iconic attraction is well known, it becomes an easy talking point for both guests and prospective guests. These revered attractions serve as common points of reference in conversations, both online and offline.
An icon allows you to tap into the FOMO culture: “You gotta try this awesome ride!” It becomes something people must post on social media and hashtag.
Example: FlowRider-related hashtags add up to over 150,000 posts on Instagram alone. On TikTok, there are over 80 FlowRider hashtags in 2022, garnering hundreds of millions of views.
5. Create high recall value
The characteristics of an iconic attraction, both visual and experiential, make a lasting impression. It becomes a memory anchor for guests—a unique shared experience between friends and family that they can recount for years to come and would want to repeat.
Example: The iconic experience of two turntables and a backward drop in this Super Flume ride called “Thunder Falls” at Everland Theme Park in Korea is a must for guests.
Learn how to make iconic attractions
Icons drive the attractions industry forward; the search for incredible experiences makes us think originally in terms of art, engineering, technology, and mixed media.
“Take ‘The Edge’ at Soaky Mountain Waterpark, for example,” says Doug Smith, global head of sales at WhiteWater, referring to the Blasterango Battle that opened this year. “It is already establishing itself as an icon. It can be seen from the highway, it has the impressive theming on the translucent Boomerango walls. And it has sound and light effects to make the ride experience even more unforgettable. These are textbook ingredients to make an iconic ride.”
WhiteWater’s vice president of strategic partnerships, Emily Colombo, adds:
“An iconic attraction doesn’t need to be the tallest, the fastest, or the first of its kind. It’s something that has an element of uniqueness to it and is instantly recognizable in that market.”
So how do you make an icon?
Join Smith and Colombo in a panel discussion on this topic, with Dennis Speigel, founder and CEO of International Theme Park Services, Chris Perry, executive director of waterpark operations at Qiddiya Investment Company, and Piotr Chudzik, director, Creative Studio – Water Technology, Inc.
These industry veterans will share their knowledge on “Ways to Create an Iconic Attraction and Why You Need One in Your Park,” an IAAPA Education Webcast on 27 October 2022, at 1 pm EDT/6 pm UK, hosted by WhiteWater. Register for this live session here.
