The TEA Masters of Their Craft program recognizes the achievements of individuals — the artists, writers, producers, engineers and craftspeople with distinguished careers who’ve made significant and enduring contributions to the industry through their expertise, innovation, leadership, and mentorship. The TEA Masters program recognizes a small number of individuals each year, whose skills epitomize the highest standards within their disciplines and who have used those skills to advance their field and the themed entertainment industry. Each TEA Master has built a body of work over decades that demonstrates consistent quality and execution. Often unknown except among their peers and collaborators, TEA Masters help create visceral stories, rides, attractions, events, and places that thrill, delight, and educate guests worldwide. Although the TEA Masters, by definition, are well along in their careers and some have even retired, many Masters are actively creating new marvels around the world. Others are pursuing personal creative and education projects. And all of the Masters remain passionate about sharing their well-honed skills and career lessons with those interested in entering the industry or wanting to learn more about its various aspects. We want to tell those stories. This column contains news of the ongoing activities, achievements and adventures of the TEA Masters around the world. These are the stories of real people who, like all of us, have personal stories to tell: an honor outside of their specialty, an art gallery or technology showcase, enjoying new places and experiences with family and friends or taking a well-deserved retirement trip. This is Keeping up with the Masters! TEA MASTERS AT CAL POLY'S KITE CONFERENCE
10 February 2024 - The TEA Masters continue to educate the next generation of Themed Entertainment Professionals. In early February, seven TEA Masters attended the first ever KITE Conference. KITE, an acronym for Knowledge Inspiring Themed Entertainment, is a conference for students and recent grads with ambitions to enter the industry. The conference was hosted at Cal Poly Pomona and organized by board members of their college’s Next Gen Club Chapter, TEA@CPP. It consisted of two days, the first day focusing on soft skills needed to succeed in the industry and the second day focusing on technical skills.
The TEA Masters were invited to conclude the first day with a round of Table Talks. Masters Lanny Smoot, Phil Bloom, Wayne Hunt, Jodi McLaughlin, Joe Falzetta, Frank Weigand, and Nina Vaughn were in attendance along with 50 conference attendees. The Masters broke off into pairs or trios and joined in on round table conversations with smaller groups. Conversations ranged from career advice to stories from the jobsite, and fun light moments of everyone getting to know each other. The masters rotated to each of the small groups, getting to meet everyone in attendance. Overall, both the Masters and KITE Attendees had an incredible time. The Next Generation of Theme Park Professionals is always excited to interact with the TEA Masters and learn from their expertise. Photo provided by TEA@CPP. From left to right: Wayne Hunt, Jodi McLaughlin, Nina Vaughn, Mike Sturman, Lanny Smoot, Phil Bloom, Joe Falzetta KEEPING UP WITH TEA MASTER LANNY SMOOTThe National Inventors Hall of Fame recently announced their Class of 2024 inductees, and among this group was Lanny Smoot. Lanny is the first Disney Imagineer to receive this national honor, and only the second person at The Walt Disney Company – Walt Disney himself posthumously received this honor in 2000 for the invention of the multi-plane camera.
At the announcement ceremony held at Walt Disney Imagineering’s Glendale campus, Lanny took the opportunity to show off one of his newest inventions – the HoloTile™. The HoloTile floor is the world’s first, and only multi-person, omni-directional, modular, expandable, treadmill floor, where any number of people can have a shared virtual reality experience, walk an unlimited distance in any direction, but never collide or walk off its surface. Besides the immediate VR and gaming applications and potential theme park uses, the HoloTile floor can be an insert in a theatrical stage, allowing performers to move and dance in new ways, or stage props and structures could move around or appear to set themselves up. It’s going to be hard keeping up with TEA Master Lanny Smoot. To find out more, here’s a story on CNN. KEEPING UP WITH TEA MASTER FRANK WEIGAND
KEEPING UP WITH TEA MASTER
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With Expo 2025 Osaka around the corner, Chad Kunimoto traces the evolution of media-based attractions over the past three World Expos, an important trend barometer for designers. Blog post by Chad Kunimoto for TEA |
Chad Kunimoto concludes her two-part series on Glass-to-Glass (G2G) production, profiling the tech that’s making hybrid experiences possible. Blog post by Chad Kunimoto for TEA |
Chad Kunimoto illustrates the transformative impact of Glass-to-Glass (G2G) production on hybrid experiences with expanded audience reach, improved accessibility, and enhanced Return on Investment (ROI). Blog post by Chad Kunimoto for TEA |