GLENDALE, Calif., Nov. 17, 2009 – Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative arm of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, was honored today with the top award within the themed entertainment industry.

TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) announced that Toy Story Mania! received the Award for Outstanding Achievement for an Attraction. oy Story Mania! is a high-energy, immersive, ride-through adventure that invites guests to test their skills at a variety of carnival midway games hosted by the characters from the Disney·Pixar Toy Story films. The attraction is located at both Disney’s California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, and at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

TEA announced the 16th Annual Thea Award recipients during the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attraction's (IAAPA) annual conference. The Thea Awards recognize achievement, talent and personal excellence within the themed entertainment industry. Recognized internationally as a symbol of excellence, the Thea Awards consider project submissions from all over the world. TEA praised Toy Story Midway Mania! as follows in their press release:

“The attraction was found by the Thea Awards Committee to be consistently innovative, excellently executed and reflects next-generation guest care on every detail…. [The] game is intuitively easy to learn yet with plenty of hidden discoveries to hold the interest of advanced players.… Tactile special effects – bursts of air, squirts of water, etc. – are triggered when guests hit specific targets. In terms of accessibility, the adjustable lap bar/shooter mount is easily able to accommodate guests whether they weigh 40 or 400 lbs and every vehicle has closed captioning…. It is a suite of many technical and creative innovations.”

Including this latest award, Walt Disney Imagineering has received a total of 34 awards throughout the Thea Awards’ 16-year history, including nine previous wins in the Attraction category. Some of Disney’s past recipients of Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Attraction category have included Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Soarin’ Over California at Disney’s California Adventure, Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland Park, Space Mountain, From the Earth to the Moon at Disneyland Paris and CineMagique at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris.