IAAPA 2024 set to record record-breaking drone show

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a…no, it’s definitely a bird. And if you’re in Orlando tonight, you likely won’t miss it.

That’s because 2,500 drones will fly over the Orlando Convention Center as part of a Guinness World Record attempt. The record at stake? “Largest aerial display of a bird formed by multi-rotors/drones.” 

Drone light show company Sky Elements will put on the show tonight as part of IAAPA 2024, a massive conference all about theme parks. This year specifically, the IAAPA conference is heavily emphasizing drones, both for attractions like nighttime drone shows as well as practical use cases like cleaning.

Record-breaking drone shows

Should it go off without a hitch, this particular show marks the Sky Elements team’s 10th Guinness World Record attempt. It also marks the company’s third attempt specifically at the IAAPA conference. Sky Elements broke two Guinness World Records at IAAPA Expo 2023 last November for the categories of “largest logo flown with multi-rotors/drones” and “largest flag created with multi-rotors or drones.”

Guinness World Records tracks about 65,000 world records, and there is a large handful having entirely to do with drone light shows. Other records up for grabs include the record for “Largest aerial display of a fictional character formed by multirotors / drones.” Sky Elements earned that one when it put 2,400 drones on the field of Petco Park in San Diego as part of a “Deadpool and Wolverine” themed show for San Diego Comic Con. Other notable records to its name include most remote-operated multi-rotor drones launching fireworks simultaneously.

India-based drone light show company, BotLab Dynamics last month broke 5 world records in less than 13 minutes in a single show that broke records including largest aerial logo display formed by drones.

What drones does Sky Elements use?

Sky Elements flies a model of drones from UVify called the IFO Swarm drones. In fact, Sky Elements was one of UVify’s first U.S. customers, and  Sky Elements has the largest standing fleet of IFO drones in the United States.

Sky Elements is the first company to have received FAA approval to fly pyro drones in the U.S. For its pyro shows, Sky Elements uses the UVify IFO-P, which is a retrofitted version of its IFO drone and is capable of carrying up to 12 pyrotechnics devices.

How to get your own light show drone

Each IFO drone costs $1,585. That means there’s going to be nearly $4 million in tech in the sky at one time tonight.

And should you want to buy your own, it’s relatively doable. UVify’s setup is a turnkey system, meaning everything needed is included. That means you get training, hardware, software, 24/7 support every day of the year, and access to the company’s Fleet Augmentation Bank. Shortened as FAB, it’s a rental network that enables operators in the UVify IFO network to access thousands more IFO drones to augment their fleet size at their convenience. That’s useful if, you know, you want to put on a world record attempt.

You can’t just buy a light show drone on Amazon or any other big store. You’ll have to reach out and email UVify’s sales team.

But when you do, drop my name. It benefits you! Mention code DGIFO in your email for a 5% discount plus an additional free battery and set of high-performance props per IFO. 

The bird-inspired drone light show tonight is set for Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6:15 p.m. outside the convention center. Here’s a map showing the best viewing points (or I’ll save you a click, and just head to the west side).