31st Annual Thea Award winners announced by Themed Entertainment Association

By | November 20, 2024

BURBANK, Calif. — Today, the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) announced the recipients of the prestigious 31st Annual Thea Awards. Live at SeaWorld Orlando, the TEA proudly honored the outstanding teams and creative individuals who designed, built, installed, and introduced incredible new guest experiences around the globe. Today’s announcement kicks off the annual celebratory campaign that leads up to TEA’s INSPIRE program, Thea Awards and Gala in Universal City, California.

Today’s announcement kicks off the TEA’s annual celebratory campaign that leads up to TEA’s INSPIRE program, Thea Awards Inspire Program and Gala.

“For more than 30 years, the TEA has celebrated the creators, developers, designers and producers who make the themed entertainment industry special,” said Matt Barton, International Board President, TEA and Chairperson, 7thSense. “The Thea Awards are the epitome of excellence and our industry’s highest honor. The combined work of this year’s Thea Award winners brings joy to millions of guests worldwide while inspiring our industry to continue to push the envelope of creativity and innovation.”

During the presentation, the TEA announced the expansion of their yearly honors, with the addition of the TEA Recognition of Merit. This new recognition has been created to spotlight projects that may not have received a Thea Award of Outstanding Achievement, yet demonstrate extraordinary creative artistry, innovation, and execution in our ever-expanding industry. The TEA Recognition of Merit honors the projects and the people behind them: content creators including designers, architects, engineers, technicians, and business leaders.

The 31st Annual Thea Award Winners are:  

The Buzz Price Thea Award for a Lifetime of Outstanding Achievement

  • Rick Rothschild, Founder and Chief Creative, FAR Out! Creative Direction

The Thea Catalyst Award

  • Dayton Schroeder, AIA, Vice President and Design Director, SmithGroup
  • Naoki Tanaka, Creative Director, Dentsu Lab Tokyo

The Thea Classic Award 

  • The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Islands of Adventure, Universal Orlando Resort

Thea Awards for Outstanding Achievement

  • Attraction, Limited Budget: The Ladder – Immersive Gaming, Los Angeles, California, USA
  • Attraction: Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac, Europa Park, Rust, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
  • Attraction, Limited Budget: Adventure Play at Windsor Great Park, Windsor, United Kingdom
  • Children’s Museum, Limited Budget: NEOBIO Museum, Shanghai, China
  • Immersive Land:  Valley of Witches, Ghibli Park, Nagakute City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
  • Immersive Show/Hotel Lobby Transformation, Limited Budget: The Legend of Luna: A Great Wolf Story, Great Wolf Lodge, Perryville Maryland, USA
  • Immersive Technology and Production: The Sphere, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
  • International Live Spectacular: 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Opening Ceremonies, Paris, France
  • Live Event: Kiss of The Sea (Nụ hôn của Biển Cả), Sunset Town, Vietnam
  • Marine Theme Park: Chimelong Spaceship, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China
  • Museum: International African American Museum, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
  • Museum Attraction: The Priddy Family Foundation Freedom Theater at the National WWII Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
  • Spectacular Show: Chimelong Show, Chimelong Theater, Zhuhai, China
  • Technological Innovation:  BDX Droids Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development (Glendale, CA) and Disney Research Zurich (Switzerland)
  • Theme Park Land: Fantasy Springs, Tokyo DisneySea, Tokyo, Japan
  • Theme Park Land: Zootopia, Shanghai Disney Resort, Shanghai, China
  • Waterpaark: Aquascope, Futuroscope, Jaunay-Marigny, France

TEA Recognition of Merit (New for 2025)

  • Attraction, Limited Budget: Treasure Hunt: The Ride, Monterey Bay, California, USA
  • Connected Immersion Event, Limited Budget: The DigiWave Experience, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
  • Immersive Gaming, Limited Budget:  The Time Travel Agency at Electric Forest Festival, Rothbury, Michigan, USA

The Peter Chernack Distinguished Service Award

  • Lynn Willrich, Co-Owner І Director, D J Willrich, Ltd.

“The increasing quality of yearly Thea submissions is a testament to the expertise, passion, and focus of our industry.  Each year, the Thea Awards Judging Committee has a tough task of reviewing hundreds of truly outstanding and deserving projects,” said Andy Westfall, Chair of the Thea Awards Judging Committee and Senior Director of Strategic Planning and Development, Herschend Family Entertainment. “This year we received even more award submissions than the prior year, demonstrating that professionals around the world are proud of their work and aspire to earn a Thea Award. Today we celebrate these amazing projects and the teams that brought them to life.”

The announcement of the 31st Annual Thea Awards is just the beginning for this incredible class of honorees. TEA will continue to share and celebrate the projects and professionals who earned a Thea Award while leading up to the 31st Annual TEA Inspire Thea Awards Gala. The annual event will take place 13-15 March 2025, in Universal City, California.