Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, one of the newest offerings at the Walt Disney World Resort, was honored over the weekend by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA). “The Thea Awards honor individuals, projects, and technologies in the arena of themed attractions and experiences worldwide,” the TEA website.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind was honored for Outstanding Achievement – Attraction. A brief interview was shared on the TEA website with Disney about this attraction. It is comprised of three short questions:
WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU OVERCOME?
Working and collaborating from home during the pandemic, and returning to work with social distancingANY FUN BEHIND THE SCENES MOMENTS?
All recording with talent happened on the first few days of filming for Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 with writer-director James Gunn.HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT?
5+ years
Here is a look at the queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind:
TEA was founded in 1994 by Monty Lunde, a former special effects designer for Disney. Lunde went on to found the special effects company Technifex, with his business partner Rock Hall. The Thea Awards also began in 1994. It’s first honoree was Harrison “Buzz” Price. He was honored with the Thea Lifetime Achievement Award, which is now called the Buzz Price Thea Award for a Lifetime of Outstanding Achievements in his honor. The next year Marty Sklar was given the honor and in 1999 Bob Gurr received the honor. 1996 saw the Awards for Outstanding Achievement being offered to 10 recipients. Since then, multiple categories have been added.
One new category that was added in 1997 was the Excellence on a Limited Budget. This is offered for an achievement that is created on a budget that is less than $5 million. This year, Disney Encanto x CAMP was honored in the category of Retail Experience, Limited Budget.
The THEA Awards winners are determined by a committee that is made up of all past lifetime achievement honorees, one board liaison, and nine members-at-large appointed to three-year terms. Anyone can nominate a project. Disney has been honored with THEA Awards in the past for projects including:
- Stuntronics Technology (2022) – Outstanding Achievement – Technical Innovation
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (2021) – Outstanding Achievement – Attraction
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure (2017) – Outstanding Achievement – Attraction
- Tokyo DisneySea (2002) – Outstanding Achievement – Theme Park and Entertainment Program
- Space Mountain, From Earth to the Moon (1997) – Outstanding Achievement – Attraction
The full list of the 30th Annual Thea Award Recipients can be found here. What do you think of Disney being honored this year? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
