The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) has announced the 26th annual Thea Awards recipients. This year’s recipients include Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and its home Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Other attractions, experiences and innovations to make the cut include The Cool Planet Experience, Wonderbox at Paradise City, Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, Popcorn Revenge, and Christie Eclipse.
TEA announced the new slate of TEA Thea Awards recipients at a press conference during the IAAPA Expo 2019 in Orlando.
“TEA congratulates the new TEA Thea Awards recipients, representing excellence, innovation and leadership in the creation of compelling places and experiences,” said TEA international board president Michael Blau of Adirondack Studios.
“We invite our community to join us in Anaheim on April 16 to 18, 2020 to celebrate these achievements at the annual TEA Summit and Thea Case Studies, crowned by the TEA Thea Awards Gala presented by Chimelong.”
26th annual TEA Thea Awards recipients
The Buzz Price Thea Award – Nancy Seruto, Shanghai Disney Resort creative executive, Walt Disney Imagineering
Thea Classic – Pageant of the Masters, Laguna Beach, CA, USA
Thea Awards for Outstanding Achievement (AOA)
- Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Universal Orlando, USA (Attraction)
- Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, UAE (Theme Park)
- The Cool Planet Experience, Wicklow, Ireland (Museum, Limited Budget)
- Wonderbox at Paradise City, Incheon, South Korea (Family Entertainment Center)
- Fram Museum, Oslo, Norway (Museum Upgrade)
- The Hebrew Bible Experience, Museum of the Bible, Washington DC, USA (Museum Exhibit)
- Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, London, England (Connected Immersion)
- Poverty Encounter, Children’s Hunger Fund, Sylmar, CA, USA (Connected Immersion, Limited Budget)
- Popcorn Revenge, Walibi, Belgium (Attraction, Limited Budget)
- The Google Assistant Ride, 2019 CES Trade Show, Las Vegas, NV, USA (Brand Experience)
- Le Premier Royaume, Grand Parc du Puy du Fou, Les Epesses, France (Attraction)
- The Legend of the Gods, Huaxiacheng Tourism Scenic Area, Weihai Huaxia City, Shandong, China (Live Show Spectacular)
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Disneyland Resort, CA, USA (Attraction)
- Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disneyland, CA, USA (New Park Land)
- Christie Eclipse 4K RGB Pure Laser Projector (Technical Innovation)
TEA Peter Chernack Distinguished Service Award – Wendy Heimann-Nunes, Nolan Heimann LLP
The TEA Thea Awards Gala hosts nearly 1,000 entertainment professionals every year. It is preceded by the TEA Summit conference, which explores the Thea Awards recipients.
TEA Thea Awards recipients will be formally awarded on April 18, 2020 at the 26th annual TEA Thea Awards Gala in Anaheim, presented by Chimelong Group.
