The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) recently hosted its annual INSPIRE Week and the 31st Annual Thea Awards Gala, celebrating excellence in the themed entertainment industry. A series of events, held from March 12 to March 15, 2025, in Universal City, California, brought together professionals from around the world to engage in educational sessions, networking opportunities, and to honor outstanding achievements in the field of themed entertainment.
Leadership Forum and Spotlight Sessions
Wednesday’s offerings included two overlapping events, the Leadership Forum, and Spotlight Sessions: Stories from the Fringes. While the dual-track itinerary separated attendees, the intention was to provide content relevant to individuals in different points of their career.
Designed for owners, executives, and consultants, the Leadership Forum featured interactive icebreakers, roundtable discussions, and a keynote address by Robert Zackery III of Primer Development Group.
The keynote focused on building effective teams from the perspective of the US Military. While the wartime imagery and stories felt out of place to me, Zackery’s points about how to assemble, engage with and lead complex teams resonated.
Participants then cycled through four roundtable sessions allowing individuals to pick and choose topics that interested them, led by subject matter experts who curated the conversations. Following a brief break, attendees reconvened for a networking reception that included a game organized by Wild Optimists.
Meanwhile, the Spotlight Sessions participants enjoyed presentations from this year’s inaugural slate of TEA Recognition of Merit (RoM) Awards, including an impassioned performance by cellist Dolce Wang (DigiWave) and a mélange of rampaging pirates (Treasure Hunt: The Ride). The event was more intimate and followed a more traditional panel-plus-Q&A format.
INSPIRE
The core INSPIRE conference took place over two full days, highlighting nearly every Thea award recipient with a small presentation from the owner and/or production team, followed by break-out Q&A sessions for further exploration. The dynamic and fun duo of Brian Morrow (BMP) and Denise Hatcher (AOA) kept things light and moving. Important moments included:
- TEA Catalyst recipient Naoki Tanaka (Dentsu Lab) delivered a powerful presentation on his work to make events, activities and games more inclusive for people of varying abilities. His incorporation of technologies in novel ways positively impacted everything from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games to a virtual dance party hosted by an avatar version of a deejay impacted by ALS. While the question remains whether corporations will invest in more accessibility when there is minimal commercial incentive, I hope his session encourages more of us in the design community to advocate for accessibility as we engage with owners and operators through the design process.
- Thomas Jolly, Artistic Director for the opening ceremonies of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, shared an emotional retelling of the events and inspirations behind the complex (and epically French!) opening ceremonies held this past summer. Again, the messages of inclusion, diversity and acceptance rang loud and clear, echoed by the French anthems of Liberté, Égalité and Fraternité (liberty, equality and fraternity). Jolly’s intentionally queer-positive ceremonies drew condemnation from certain corners, though he, along with Executive Director Theirry Reboul, reminded us to not let the relatively few (though loud!) negative voices drown out our collective calls for justice. Inspired? Check!
- BDX Droids were the celebrities du jour. The puppy-sized remote-controlled machines balance on two legs and emote through motion, light and sound, daring anyone to say they aren’t cute. Disney’s Research and Imagineering teams developed the characters for deployment in the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land, relying on learning system models to teach the Droids how to walk, earning them a Thea award for technology. During a break, the Droids appeared for photo ops, creating winding queues of attendees waiting for a selfie. They are whimsical, charming and a little bit terrifying in their ability to render humans into puddles of “oooohs” and “awwwws.”
- Mr. Su Zhigang returned to INSPIRE again this year, with an entourage of family and Chimelong colleagues. He was honored at the 2024 event with the Buzz Price Thea Award – Recognizing a Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements. This year his themed attractions were the recipients, with both Chimelong Show, a reimagined circus spectacular, and the behemoth Chimelong Spaceship earning Thea honors.
- If BDX Droids were the stars, then Valley of Witches at Ghibli Park was the sweetheart of INSPIRE. Executive Creative Director Masaki Kawahara lovingly shared information from the intricately and finely detailed spaces crafted for the park, based on films from Ghibli Studios. Extensive and lush environments invite guests to explore and discover on their own, relying on guests to uncover stories and gems (including a secret room not listed on park guides). Though TEA recently held a TEA Explores event at the park recently, certainly more people will be motivated to book a ticket to Japan to check it out.
- Shawn McCoy (Imagine) moderated a State of the Industry panel that heavily weighted towards leaders in the branding and IP worlds: Greg Lombardo (Netflix), Marie Marks (Paramount Experiences), Eric Parr (Universal Creative), Evi Sari (WildBrain) and Peter Van Roden (Warner Brother Productions). As such, the conversation focused on issues surrounding licensing, a critical topic for the future of themed entertainment. It left me wanting more gazing into the near-term crystal ball for the industry, particularly when an audience question about current global economic and political concerns was answered hurriedly.
The two-day INSPIRE conference also included a separately ticketed INSPIRE the Night networking event at Universal Studios Hollywood. The evening included dinner and attractions in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, along with a panel featuring Universal executives discussing upcoming projects at the property, including The Fast and the Furious roller coaster, Universal Fan Fest Nights, and Universal’s Horror Unleashed (in Las Vegas).
INSPIRE’s attendees (including me) felt the week was a success, and while conferences like these capture a moment in time, it’s important to remember they are essentially never-ending works in progress, produced by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers. Next year, as the event moves to Orlando and back to a later-spring timeframe (April 29-May 1), expect INSPIRE to grow and evolve.
The Theas Gala
I love the annual Theas Gala: seeing everyone all dressed up, a party atmosphere, and sizzle reels from each of the awarded projects make me emotional over what the people in our industry are able to achieve. The 2025 Theas Gala was no different. This year’s event raised the production bar – a beautiful set with three separate stages backed by luxurious LED screens, side walls blanketed in projection, professional lighting by Steven Young (Visual Terrain) and even celebrity guest presenters Wil Wheaton and Deborah Cox.
Even with all that, the projects and recipients remain the real stars. Rick Rothschild (Lifetime Achievement) and Lynn Willrich (Distinguished Service Award) both delivered sweet, humorous and poignant speeches that were what made the night special.
I thought the evening was best encapsulated by award presenter and IAAPA Board Chair Massimiliano Freddi. He went off-script to comment on how impressed he was by how the Theas and TEA honor, celebrate and promote diversity and inclusion within the industry – particularly in these times when marginalized communities are under attack. It provided valuable insight into how others see the Themed Entertainment Association. And just as in years past, the annual TEA Thea Awards Gala provided the perfect backdrop for the industry to be seen!
Photos by Martin Palicki. For the complete set of official photos from the week, visit TEA’s Facebook page.