Chowing down on theme park treats, on the IAAPA show floor

November 15, 2017, 12:03 PM · ORLANDO — Vendors aren't just selling rides, slides, theaters, and games at the IAAPA Attractions Expo. Every year, the food and beverage pavilion attracts some of the biggest lines on the show floor, as many of the 38,000 attendees head over to taste the free samples offered at these booths.

Let's take a quick video tour of this year's highlights.

The slyly-named Beaver Tails remain the most popular offering on the trade show, based on the length of the queue waiting for a sample. But I also enjoyed the delightfully-shaped custard-filled treats available from Delimanjoo (Korean for "little cake"). The fish-shaped Taiyaki were both cute and delicious.

I also enjoyed making my own shaved ice at the "Be the Hamster" booth, where I had to flip more switches than an electrician and run a giant hamster wheel in order to produce my own little cup of root beer-flavored shaved ice. It's not always about the food — sometimes its the experience that makes the treat.

Finally, I "wrapped" up with Kono Pizza, a cone-shaped pizza that's perfect for walking around the park. New Yorkers can consider this the logical extension of folding your slice, while Disney fans can just think of this as a pizza Handwich.

More coverage from the 2017 IAAPA Attractions Expo:

Replies (1)

November 15, 2017 at 12:55 PM · Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been selling pizza cones for a couple of years now in the stand across from Escape from Pompeii. I'm not sure if they're from Kono or were developed internally, but the concept is not that new.

The "handwich" from the EPCOT F&W Festival had more of a flaky crust than that of a pizza (almost what I would call a croissant), so there are probably lots of different ways to go with this evolving food trend.

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