Nearly a year after the grand opening of Epic Universe, the impact of Universal\u2019s newest gate continues to echo through the attractions industry. This was evidenced by the four trophies picked up by the park during last weekend\u2019s Themed Entertainment Association THEA Awards \u2014 aka the amusement biz\u2019s answer to the Oscars \u2014 which were held here in Orlando for the first time in their 32-year history. <\/p>\n\n
But prior to Saturday\u2019s sequined-tie gala honoring past achievements, I got a glimpse of the future from Friday\u2019s TEA State of the Industry panel, where moderator Shawn McCoy guided representatives from Disney, Universal, Falcon\u2019s Beyond, Herschend Creative Studios and Lionsgate through a refreshingly frank conversation covering everything from geopolitics to artificial intelligence. Here are some highlighted insights from the two heaviest hitters.<\/p>\n\n Page Thompson: President, New Ventures, Universal Destinations & Experiences<\/strong><\/p>\n\n \u201cThe rising costs of construction and operations are a continual challenge for all of us. \u2026 I think it\u2019s really important for us to look at ways we can make [attractions] more affordable, whether it\u2019s annual passes or discounts or bundling, and it\u2019s something that we talk about absolutely every day. One of the big trends in the industry that I think is most interesting is trying to have more immersive experiences, where people can talk to the characters and interact with them. I think that some of those experiences can be produced for less cost than building an enormous building, and have equal impact on the guests. They really enjoy talking to somebody who\u2019s in character and living out that dream of interacting with those people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n \u201cWe really have three ways of growing. The first one is to grow our existing businesses, and the second one is to find new locations to create resorts like that. The third is to develop new concepts for new audiences and new locations. So what we\u2019re doing with our kids park [opening soon in Texas] is trying to reach an audience. Historically, our big parks are really designed for tweens and up. There\u2019s a 3- to 8-year-old audience that we\u2019re developing this specific experience for. \u2026 There are very low restrictions on who can ride the rides, if any, and we\u2019re training our staff in a different way to really serve kids. We\u2019re going to be an autism-certified park with least 80 percent of our staff trained in autism awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n \u201cI think one of the biggest uses of AI is not a creative use, perhaps, but it\u2019s just on the engineering [and] technical services side of maintaining rides, looking for abnormal patterns and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any substitute for human interaction. With all screens and the doom-scrolling that\u2019s going on now, especially among parents, there\u2019s likely to be a counter-reaction to that in the coming years. People are going to want to get out of the house and interact with other people. I think robotics are great [when] robotics can do something that human beings can\u2019t, I think it\u2019s fantastic, but there\u2019s no substitute for human interaction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Ali Rubinstein: SVP Executive Global Management Creative Development, Walt Disney Imagineering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n \u201cThe technological tools that are now presented to us, that we have access to and we can utilize, is I think what\u2019s most exciting; it\u2019s also what\u2019s most challenging. Imagineering does not move at the speed of technology, so it takes us a lot longer to advance an attraction or part of a land than the technology that we\u2019re bringing along with it. So there\u2019s a little bit of misalignment there, but we\u2019re working on that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n \u201cI often get questions about, are you going to do more original IP [intellectual property]? \u2026 That vast library of [Disney-owned] IP, much of it has not even been seen in the parks yet. We have so much new IP coming on board that we can tap into that we own, that we\u2019re just starting to bring to life. \u2026 So I think that the variety of what we\u2019re seeing coming into the parks from an IP standpoint remains, even if we\u2019re not doing unique and original stories or brand-new stories.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Themed](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.orlandoweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/LAC_SKubersy_Rubinstein_7866.jpg?resize=780%2C439&ssl=1\")