Editor’s Note: Funworld introduces a new and important Launch segment focusing on safety—the No. 1 priority in the global attractions industry. The goal of Safety Corner is to elevate awareness and stimulate dialogue among professionals. Future editions of Funworld will highlight safety insights for all types of attractions and every aspect of their operations, including ride safety, food preparation, security, animal care, entertainment, and beyond.
For me, the attractions industry represents three key elements: magic, passion, and safety. I believe it’s magic to work in such a fun industry. Facility operators—along with manufacturers and suppliers—are innately passionate about welcoming visitors.
The global attractions industry has championed safety since the beginning. Therefore, we need to continue to prioritize safety for there to be magical experiences in our venues. We’ve used data to identify opportunities to make our industry even safer. Statistics show that in the past 10 years at attractions across Europe:
- European facilities have given more than 1 billion rides in Europe.
- Around one incident occurs per 1 million riders.
- Out of those incidents, 80% were directly related to guest behavior.
Looking specifically at that last data point, we as an industry need to continue to focus on guest behaviors as we evolve and examine meaningful safety guidelines. To help IAAPA members manage these risks, the organization has worked with experts in this field to develop a guest behavior guideline. The Guest Behavior Whitepaper identifies the 10 most common guest misuse behaviors and identifies safe practices to best implement a solution. The whitepaper also features photos of hardware, products, and techniques that operators can implement now to elevate their standards. This guide is designed to help attractions leaders create the right framework to operate at the highest possible level of safety.
In addition to promoting, supporting, and continuously improving safety, IAAPA has created regional safety and security subcommittees that will:
- Analyze safety trends through member-supported ride safety reports to identify safety opportunities.
- Bring a global network of safety and technical experts together—from park operators and manufacturers—to facilitate exchanges and conversation.
- Share good safety practices through publications, webinars, and regional Safety Month events.
- Organize safety discussions with access to specialists during IAAPA Expos around the world (Safety Days, Safety Corner conversations, panels, and safety roundtables).
- Ensure expert knowledge is accessible to all IAAPA members.
- Coordinate with the IAAPA Education Committees to train and educate members.
Based on data and trends, IAAPA members who are experts in the field have already worked on procedures for ride evacuation, ride restricted areas, ride commissioning, ride manufacturing, training for operations teams, and ride accessibility.
Furthermore, IAAPA supports efforts to harmonize American ride safety standards (ASTM) and European ride safety norms (EN13814).
Thus, Funworld’s new Safety Corner is a great platform to connect with passionate teams to share safety advancements and best practices as we leverage safety in our magical industry.
Emmanuel Calderara is the safety director at Disneyland Paris. A professional engineer with more than 25 years of experience in several industries, he began working in the global attractions industry in 2016.
- This original reporting from IAAPA News first appeared in Funworld magazine. For more stories and videos covering the global attractions industry and to read a digital version of Funworld magazine, click here.
