The exhibit floor of IAAPA Expo is jammed-packed with vendors looking to sell everything from wee key chains to monster thrill rides, all in a wide-open atmosphere. Participants are surrounded by sights and sounds, by animatronics and aromas, by arcade games and famous names.

Plus there are the newbies and oddities, such as ice-free curling games, Mexico-bound roller coaster cars and giant inflatable chickens that double as bounce houses.

There are more than 1,100 vendors on the floor, each with a story. Here are five that caught our eye.

Boxing match

Near one entrance to the 545,000-square-foot exhibit floor is the booth for Rocky Mountain Construction, an Idaho-based ride manufacturer. Its home for IAAPA week is big, blue and made of CONEX shipping containers. The rest of the exhibit, such as furniture and other props, arrived in Orlando inside those containers.

“We wanted something eye-catching with some elevation,” says Steven Paquin, who works in business development for RMC.

The second level has a business meeting area and a large balcony with faux grass and seating. A video screen shows coaster highlights to passersby. On ground level is a space for ride-vehicle display, examples of coaster tracks and more seating.

“We want to make something that’s inviting and not stuffy,” Paquin says. “We wanted to be like the hangout spot, which is kind of, like, true to our nature.”

The upper level will be packed up and shipped to Europe, he says.

RMC won the Image Award in the IAAPA Brass Ring Best Exhibit Awards.

“They thought it was on trend and unique from what everybody else is doing,” Paquin says. “You can’t help but not see it.”

Upside Down town

Over in the first-exhibitors pavilion, things are topsy-turvy thanks to the Upside Down House UK, which is based near London. The inverted home – balanced on a point – is a smaller model than the version it tricks out and sells.

“We build full-size, two stories. Bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, anything that you have in your home, we turn upside-down and make a visitor attraction,” says Alex Barbary, associate director.

So the floor is overhead and you can dance on the ceiling. Walk in, take photos, rotate them and you’ve got wacky social media posts.

IAAPA-goers made frequent comparisons to the facade of the WonderWorks attraction just down International Drive. “Obviously we’re very different, where we create a realistic home inside,” Barbary says.

The company says it sells the units to family attractions, amusement parks and shopping centers. There’s a version that gives the illusion of the house spinning around seated guests inside.

This model was shipped as air cargo. It packs flat.

“There were some strikes at the port, so instead of being shipped across on a boat, it came across on a plane,” Barbary says.

A new haunt

This year, IAAPA introduced a separate showcase devoted to Halloween vendors. It incorporated a live haunt called Haunting Grounds.

“The goal was to be able to show products in a theatrical haunted house setting,” says Dan Carro, owner of Carro Creative Co. and creative director at Gatorland.

The five rooms of the darkened haunt represented different vendors and themes. One room had monster figures; another featured family-friendly fare. The final hallway is lined with skulls.

“And then just like any good attraction, it exits in the gift shop, or, in this case, the sales floor,” Carro says. That’s where the vendors are set up in a less-harrowing fashion.

It is a good place for start-up Halloween attractions to learn, Carro says.

“Everyone there is able to sit down and educate you on what you need to do next,” he says.

Get your Goatz

In the arcade pavilion of the show floor are dozens of video games. A model presented by Wisconsin-based Bay Tek Entertainment features goats and ropes. It’s called Goatz ‘n’ Ropes.

Players use a real rope to scale a digital mountain. Oh, and there’s a Yeti on top.

“There are some obstacles in the way, so you use the buttons on either side of the rope to either go left or right while you are moving up and avoid the rock cliffs,” says Mady Talbot, marketing coordinator.

“The point of the game is to make it to the top before time runs out and reach the Yeti and kind of defeat him as he’s throwing snowballs at you,” she says.

If you win the bonus, goats – named Sven and Lars – start dancing.

Bay Tek had two Goatz ‘n’ Ropes machines position at the corner of their space, getting attention from two ways of traffic.

“That’s what we hope for with even, like, the flashing lights and when you pull on the rope,” Talbot says. “There’s some fun little graphics that come on the screen to entice people to play as well.”

Spin cycle

One of the most shriek filled displays belonged to Rides 4U, a New Jersey-based supplier, which set up four full-size rides inside the convention center. An attention-grabber has 24 people stand in a circle, backs to the wall with the ride spinning and its floor dropping out beneath them. It’s a centrifugal-force thing.

This kind of barrel ride – dubbed the Rotor – was invented in Germany and made it to the U.S. in the 1940s. Fast-forward to this century and it comes with transparent walls, a lighting package and an audience.

“That seems to make a big difference here because you have a presentation. You can see what’s going on inside,” says Mark Blumhagen, who works in sales of Rides 4U.

“It’s just a newer version of an old favorite,” he said. “There’s a whole generation that’s never seen one.”

dbevil@orlandosentinel.com