The Themed Experience & Attractions Academic Society (TEAAS) 2022 Symposium will be held on Friday, November 18, 2022 in Room S310 of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, on the last day of the IAAPA Expo.
This year’s symposium theme is “Interdisciplinarity in Themed Experience and Attractions: Reaching Across Boundaries, Fences, and Frontiers,” and the selected presentations span across many diverse fields, from data science to storytelling, from design to intellectual property law, and from tourism to technology.
No IAAPA Expo badge is required to attend, and attendees can register here. Registration includes access to the a networking breakfast and lunch. The keynote speakers — Len Testa and Ellen Lupton — were previously announced. Poster presentations will also occurring during the networking lunch.
Industry Breakfast, Welcome, and Thanks
- Martin Lewison, TEAAS Symposium Chair
- Peter Weishar, Chair of TEAAS Steering Committee
- Welcome from IAAPA
- Nate Naverson, ThemedAttraction.com
Morning Keynote
- Len Testa — computer scientist, queuing expert, co-author of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, owner and operator of TouringPlans.com, and co-host of the Disney Dish Podcast
Presentation Session I
- Ken Neville, Executive Producer, Meow Wolf — “UCF/Meow Wolf Writers Workshop”
- Carissa Baker, UCF Rosen College of Hospitality — “The Prevalence of Storyworlds and Thematic Landscapes in Global Theme Parks”
- Florian Freitag, University of Duisburg-Essen, and Salvador Anton Clavé, Universitat Rovira i Virgili — “Writing Key Concepts in Theme Park Studies: An Interdisciplinary Experiment”
- Joel Zika, Kent State University — “Apparitions: Designing for Illusionistic Screen Space”
Afternoon Keynote
- Ellen Lupton — design thought leader and the Betty Cooke and William O. Steinmetz Design Chair at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, Director of MICA’s Center for Design Thinking, and Curator Emerita at Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Presentation Session II
- Kathryn Woodcock, Toronto Metropolitan University — “Systems Safety in Theme Park Attractions: Failure Cases”
- Jordan Zauha, University of Central Florida — “Waiting In A Galaxy Far, Far Away: Core Design Elements From Immersive Theatre For Diegetic Theme Park Queues”
- Michael Burstein, Cardozo School of Law — “Why Spider-Man Can’t Go to Disney World: Intellectual Property, Private Ordering, and the Modern Entertainment Franchise”
Presentation Session III
- Chip Limeburner and Rilla Khaled, Concordia University — “Doing Whatever a Spider Can: The Convergence of Embodiment and Interactivity in Themed Entertainment”
- Will Henderson and Karen C.N. Tavares, Clemson University — “Gratifications of Theme Park Employees’ Social Posts”
- Sarah Hicks, Middle Tennessee State University — “The Role of Narrative Structure in Location-Based Experiences”
Closing and Thanks
- Martin Lewison, TEAAS Symposium Chair
- Peter Weishar, Chair of TEAAS Steering Committee