The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) has announced the winners of the THEA Awards during the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, Florida.

The awards, which recognise achievement and talent within the attractions and themed entertainments industries, were announced by the TEA’s president of the International Board, David Willrich, at a press conference yesterday (14 November).

Winners included Phil Hettema, president and creative executive of The Hettema Group, who was awarded the Buzz Price Thea award, which recognises lifetime achievement.

Joe Fox and Annika Oetken won the Peter Chernack Distinguished Service award, while Cedar Point in Ohio was awarded the THEA Classic award.

Winners of the Outstanding Achievement award included:

Sleep No More at The McKinnon Hotel, Shanghai
Ghost Town Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm, California
Pandora – World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Orlando
Avatar Flight of Passage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Orlando
Derren Brown’s Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon at Thorpe Park, Surrey
Across the Irish Sea at the Jameson Distillery, Dublin
Frozen Ever After at the Norway Pavillion at Epcot, Orlando
Chimealong Ocean Kingdom Journey and Lights parade, Zhuhai
Symbolica, Efteling
Citadella Visitors Centre, Gozo Island
Carrieres de Lumieres, Les Baux de Provence
Aura at the Basilique Notre-Dame, Montreal
Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, California
Dreamworks Animation Zone at Motion Gate, Dubai
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington
Gallipoli: The Scale of our War at the Musem of New Zealand, Wellington
Rainis Museum Tadenava, Riga
3D Live - Holographic 3D LED Display.

Recipients will receive their awards at The TEA Summit and THEA Gala, which will be held at the Disneyland hotel in California, in April 2018.

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