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Thea, the Greek goddess of light, serves as the symbol of the TEA.

TEA is an international trade organization for operators and professionals in the themed entertainment industry. Members come from areas such as theme parks, casinos, museums, retail outlets, architects, art directors, filmmakers, and audio/video firms. The annual Thea award is presented to projects that are recognized to be of outstanding quality by the judges. A panel of TEA directors, board members, and past honorees spent three months sifting through 193 nominations to select the 17 winners for 2002.

The cast and crew of the 2002 awards show.

The Thea awards are different than many others, in that there are no predetermined categories and no membership requirements, and the honorees are announced prior to the actual ceremony. As Bob Rogers writes in his history of the Thea awards, "Everyone walks in a winner and leaves as a winner. This Thea tradition brings our industry together for a completely positive evening."

Corey Burton, the evening's Master Storyteller.

Voice actor Corey Burton served as Master Storyteller for the show, which followed the antics of the goddess Thea and her three children Helios, Eos, and Selene. Fabric sculptures and massive balloons formed an imaginative backdrop, onto which footage of each honored attraction was projected. The show was interrupted several times as "Babs" and "Augie," a tour guide and driver from the Studios Tour at Universal Studios, "drove" through the theater in search of facades (as in, "My, what nice facades you have there - we must have the same doctor").

Imagineers Barry Braverman (left) and Mark Sumner accept the Outstanding Achievement Award for Soarin' Over California.

Disney's California Adventure received two awards in the Attraction category, for the Soarin' Over California and Disney Animation attractions. In accepting the award for Soarin' Over California, Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) Vice President Barry Braverman said, "In this age of increasingly intense and invasive attractions, it's nice to know you can entertain a family and touch their hearts without turning their insides out."

WDI Executive Vice President Wing Chao accepts the Outstanding Achievement Award for Soarin' Over California.

The awards were presented just days after the unexpected departure of Paul Pressler, prompting a number of jokes about the former Disney executive. WDI Executive Vice President Wing Chao, accepting the Themed Hotel award for Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, was the first to mention Pressler's new job at The Gap, joking, "I hope he'll give us discounts." By the time WDI Executive Vice President Tom Fitzgerald took the stage to accept the award for Disney Animation, he said simply, "OK, I guess I can skip that Gap joke now."

Images from each winning attraction are projected onto screens, balloons, and fabric walls.

While the evening seemed to be a Disney reunion show, a number of interesting attractions enjoyed their 90 seconds of fame. The Texas State History Museum's "The Star of Destiny," which has been called the "best Disneyfied snapshot of Texas," took home the museum category honor. The museum's 15-minute theater presentation uses multiple screens and 3-D effects to immerse the audience in the history of Texas.

Imagineers Tom Fitzgerald (left) and Lori Coltrin accept the Outstanding Achievement Award for Disney Animation.

The Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark was honored for its unique "transportainment" concept, which uses an "endless river" and innovative conveyor system to allow visitors to spend more time in the water. Rather than climbing out of the water to stand in line for the next ride, guests pass through floating queue lines, and are blasted to the top of the next ride.

The water park also boasts uphill "water coasters," four-star restaurants, and live entertainment. If Disney is serious about building a water park as California's third gate, it should use Schlitterbahn, voted America's best water park, as its benchmark in the design process.

Babs and Augie are the evening's tour guides.

The Universal Studios' tram tour received the "Thea Classic" nod, awarded in the past to Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. This award honors "the attraction that has stood the test of time." "Babs," who is really former tour guide hostess Bernadette Bowman, returned to present the award to General Manager Barry Upsom.

The ShermAnnettes sing a medley of Sherman Brothers hits.

The ceremony also served to honor industry luminaries who had passed away in the past year, including composer and Disney Legend Buddy Baker, landscape architect Morgan (Bill) Evans, Hannah Barbera co-founder Bill Hannah, animator Chuck Jones, animator and Disney Legend Ward Kimball, and movie mogul Lew Wasserman.

Disney author Tim O'Day (left) with Special Achievement Award recipient Richard Sherman.

Disney author Tim O'Day presented the Special Achievement Award to Richard and Robert Sherman. Richard Sherman accepted the award, and entertained the audience with the song he said the world needs very much right now, "it's a small world." The ShermAnnettes presented a medley of Sherman Brothers hits. The event ended with the USC Trojan Marching Band storming into the theater to pay tribute to band alumnus Richard, and honorary member Robert.

The USC Marching Band storms the theater to honor the Sherman Brothers.

Pre- and post-show celebrations were hosted next door at the El Capitan Entertainment Center. Honorees and guests enjoyed drinks and appetizers while viewing displays from each winning attraction. This was the first year that the awards were open to the public, and a few industry hopefuls paid the $150 admission to rub elbows with Marty Sklar and Tony Baxter.

The audience enjoys highlights from Tokyo DisneySea.

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Lifetime Achievement Award - Jon Jerde

Special Achievement Award - The Sherman Brothers

Thea Classic Award - Universal Studios' Tram Tour

Awards for Outstanding Achievement (in their respective categories):

Aquarium - Les Mysteres de la Mer

Creating an Icon - The London Eye

Attraction - Animation Celebration, Universal Studios Japan

Attraction - Disney Animation, Disney's California Adventure

Attraction - Soarin' Over California, Disney's California Adventure

Limited Budget - FDNY Fire Zone, New York City

Museum Attraction - Star of Destiny Theater, Texas State History Museum

Retheming to Create a New World - Busch Gardens Williamsburg: Ireland

Technology - Media Pro 4000 - Anitech Systems

Themed Hotel - Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, Orlando

Theme Park - Tokyo DisneySea & Entertainment Program

Traveling Exhibit - Chicano Now: American Expressions

Waterpark - Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark, South Padre Island, Texas

Zoo - Texas Wild! Ft. Worth Zoo

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