{"id":53356,"date":"2025-11-19T23:37:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T23:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/53356\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T23:37:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T23:37:12","slug":"thea-awards-2026-honorees-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/53356\/","title":{"rendered":"Thea Awards 2026 honorees list"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Themed Entertainment Association<\/a> (TEA) has announced the winners of the 2026 Thea Awards<\/a>, which recognize outstanding individuals, projects, and technologies worldwide, including four awards for Universal\u2019s newest theme park, Universal Epic Universe.<\/p>\n

\"MonstersPhoto courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort<\/p>\n

The Themed Entertainment Association\u2019s membership comprises creators and makers of global experiences, from creative storytellers to technical builders. Therefore, the Thea Awards\u2014the only peer-voted, independent awards for themed experiences\u2014are the most coveted awards for outstanding achievement in the industry.<\/p>\n

2026 Thea Awards for Outstanding Achievement<\/p>\n

Universal Epic Universe received the award in the Theme Park category, and the park\u2019s entire How to Train Your Dragon-Isle of Berk<\/a> was given an award for outstanding theme park land. Universal also won 2026 Thea Awards for Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment<\/a> in Dark Universe (in the category of outstanding attraction) and Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry<\/a> in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter \u2013 Ministry of Magic (in the category of outstanding ride experience.<\/p>\n

\"Harry\"HarryPhoto by Matt Roseboom<\/p>\n

Universal Destinations & Experiences Vice President & Executive Art Director, Dale Mason, was honored with the Buzz Price Thea Award for a Lifetime of Outstanding Achievement.<\/p>\n

\"2026\"2026<\/p>\n

Additional winners in the U.S. are The John Wick Experience<\/a> in Las Vegas and WishWorks \u2013 Make-A-Wish in Miami. Plus, Bob Marley Hope Road was recognized in the Live Show category, Cosm<\/a> in Los Angeles and Dallas won a Thea Award for Immersive Venue, and the touring Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue was recognized for Interactive Experience \u2013Limited Budget.<\/p>\n

\"Haunted\"Haunted<\/p>\n

Disney\u2019s lone nod at the 2026 Thea Awards is the Haunted Mansion Parlor<\/a> on Disney Treasure (now also on Disney Destiny), recognized in the Themed Food & Beverage category.<\/p>\n

International Thea Award winners are:<\/p>\n

Danse Macabre<\/a> at Efteling park in the Netherlands (Attraction)<\/p>\n

Bagshot Row, Hobbiton Movie Set Tours in New Zealand (Attraction, Limited Budget)<\/p>\n

Secret Laboratory in Germany (Historical Experience \u2013 Limited Budget)<\/p>\n

Legoland Shanghai<\/a> (Theme Park)<\/p>\n

The 2026 Thea Awards recipients for Museums are the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture in Nigeria, the KochiKame Museum in Japan, and The Story of Emily in the UK.<\/p>\n

The new TEA Recognition of Merit recognizes projects that \u201cexemplify superior artistry and execution\u201d but did not receive enough votes for a Thea Award.<\/p>\n

\"2026\"2026<\/p>\n

\"2026\"2026<\/p>\n

The four recipients of this honor are the Pac-Man Live Experience in England, recognized for Connected Immersion; The Bureau of Nooks & Crannies in Los Angeles, recognized for Connected Immersion \u2013 Limited Budget; the Neo\/Mega Experience at Neotropolis in Edwards, Calif., recognized for Collaborative World-Building Experience; and Just Fix It Productions in Los Angeles, recognized for Immersive Live Entertainment.<\/p>\n

\"2026\"2026<\/p>\n

\"2026\"2026<\/p>\n

2026 Thea Awards recipients will be celebrated at the 32nd Annual Awards Gala, which, for the first time in Thea\u2019s history, will be held during TEA Inspire 2026<\/a> at the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes on April 29-May 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

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No matter where you want to go, our trusted partner MEI-Travel will handle the planning so you can focus on the memories. They offer free vacation-planning services and have nearly 20 years of experience creating memorable vacations. Visit MEI-Travel<\/a> for a fee-free, no-obligation quote today.<\/p>\n

\"MouseFanTravel\"\"MouseFanTravel\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) has announced the winners of the 2026 Thea Awards, which recognize outstanding individuals,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53357,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[33497,33498,33499,33500,33501,33502,33503,139,141,140,15152,33504,33505,33247,15155,33506],"class_list":["post-53356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-2026-thea-awards","tag-cosm","tag-danse-macabre","tag-harry-potter-and-the-battle-at-the-ministry","tag-haunted-mansion-parlor","tag-how-to-train-your-dragon-isle-of-berk","tag-monsters-unchained-the-frankenstein-experiment","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-tea","tag-tea-inspire","tag-thea-awards","tag-theme-park-awards","tag-themed-entertainment-association","tag-universal-epic-univrse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}