Recap of INSPIRE Day 1
TEA INSPIRE 2025 has begun and attendees are truly discovering what’s in a name. The ever-popular Leadership Forum was engaging and thought-provoking. The event inspired new ways of thinking by challenging attendees with interactive ice breakers, roundtable discussions led by more than 20 subject matter experts and a personal keynote address from Robert Zackery III of Primer Development Group. The format moved attendees around the room by shifting them to different tables. Topics and issues facing the industry were covered at each table, providing a casual, open forum to help attendees learn and discover solution-driven ideas that can be applied to their own projects and organizations. Held on the 21st floor of the Sheraton, attendees had an amazing 360 degree sightline of Universal City’s landscape. The literal view from above provided the perfect juxtaposition for attendees as they dove deeper into important issues facing the themed entertainment industry.
Taking place simultaneously at the Leadership Forum, the Spotlight Sessions: Stories from the Fringes event pushed attendees beyond sight and sound and celebrated imagination and boundary-pushing. New this year, the Spotlight Sessions event also featured the 2025 Recognition of Merit winners. This first-ever class of winners - "Treasure Hunt: The Ride," The DigiWave Experience,” and “The Time Travel Agency at Electric Forest Festival" – each shared more about their projects and how they created experiences for their guests. Panelists provided transparent commentary about what worked well, unexpected challenges and areas of opportunity, and how they each adapted to ensure each experience excites, entertains and inspires.
Rich Hill (Sally Dark Rides) and Ron Daniels (Daniels Wood Land) demonstrated how storytelling is critical to the Treasure Hunt: The Ride Experience by surprising attendees with an “attack” from a lively band of pirates who burst into the room during their presentation. Live music helped weave the story of the DigiWave Experience with a beautiful performance on an electric cello by Dolce Wang.
Interlaced between the Recognition of Merit presentations, attendees were also immersed in engaging panels that educated – and entertained – about trends in technology and social media and how companies can find success with each. The day ended with a fascinating peek into the upcoming, year-round attraction: Universal Horror Unleashed.
“We wrapped Day 1 of TEA INSPIRE Week and I’m inspired!” shared Erik Essig, B. Morrow Productions and TEA Board Member. “Our role at TEA is to educate and excite while providing value to our members. For this year’s Spotlight Sessions we focused on providing content attendees would learn from and be inspired by. TEA is so much more than an incredible networking organization. TEA produces outstanding educational conferences that celebrate incredible work and help inspire tomorrow’s outstanding experiences. When attendees return home and tell their colleagues they were stormed by pirates, they will also begin to apply the new ways of thinking and takeaways they learned to their roles and organizations.”