Introducing the Rose Ehret Inclusivity and Accessibility Scholarship for Themed Entertainment Professionals
Inclusion and accessibility are cornerstones of NextGen Showcase, which operates with the vision that the themed entertainment industry can - and should - become more accessible to young professionals looking to grow their careers. Over the past three years, NextGen Showcase has introduced hundreds of people to a career in themed entertainment through the program, networking events and education sessions with industry experts.
And now, one of our alumni has generously decided to give back to our current participants.
Rose Ehret, who was the Technical Director for her team in the inaugural 2022/23 program has made the generous decision to create the Rose Ehret Inclusivity and Accessibility Scholarship for Themed Entertainment Professionals. For this kind donation, we at NextGen Showcase would like to take this opportunity to thank Rose for the immense impact she has had on our current participants.
Since being diagnosed with a chronic illness two years ago which has led to dependence on mobility aids, Rose’s work and travels in theme parks have changed profoundly. She’s seen the efforts that theme parks have made to improve accessibility, but she wants them to push it further.
Too often, Rose had experienced theme parks that presented what felt like preventable barriers to her accessing experiences with her friends. She had had a loss of spontaneity, a loss of being able to access attractions as designed; the overwhelming feeling that parks had not been created with her needs in mind. Knowing that an estimated 16% of the global population experience disability, and with an ageing population predicted to rely heavily on mobility aids (3.5 billion by 2050), Rose asserts that this is not something that we can leave at the gate. It’s a significant number of guests not being adequately catered to, and as time goes on, it will become only more important to ensure that accessible experiences are being designed and operated with everyone’s diverse needs in mind.
Having experienced new attractions where their main queues allowed for the use of mobility aids (rather than being sent through unthemed access queues or the attraction’s exit), Rose thought: “This should be the norm, not the exception.” She decided that accessibility in theme parks needed to be promoted; and she could be the person to do it.
“Having places where we feel included, where we feel welcome. This is so rare - and so [accessibility] needs to become the norm, and not the abnormality.” - Rose Ehret
After discussing with friends, she turned to the team at NextGen Showcase. With fond memories of taking part in the program, she made plans to create the Inclusivity and Accessibility Scholarship, with the intention of raising awareness. By changing how the industry thinks behind-the-scenes, she could influence how those with disabilities could experience theme parks as guests.
NextGen Showcase looked like the right place to start.
“We have this new generation that needs to be aware - aware of accessibility. So why not start a scholarship to have them realise that inclusivity can be something that enhances the experiences they give to their customers?” - Rose Ehret
The scholarship criteria became clear.
NextGen Showcase participants were given the opportunity to research inclusivity and write a short paper summarising their findings, as well as explaining how they would improve inclusivity and accessibility within their team’s NextGen Showcase project. These were evaluated on the following conditions:
Demonstrating Commitment to Principles of Inclusivity and Accessibility
Offering or Considering Innovative Design Solutions
The Potential Impact of their findings on the industry
Creativity and Originality
Rose wanted to see people broadening their horizons, to see the world from someone else’s shoes and think about how they can make their designs work for everyone.
“I think by having people in the designing of experiences be aware of the difficulties, those barriers, and what their guests are going through - that can really improve [accessibility] and avoid having people be left out.” - Rose Ehret
By encouraging early professionals at this stage of their career, we can ensure that accessibility never becomes an afterthought; it will be embedded into the design processes of the next generation of themed entertainment talent. The recipients’ passion for accessibility then positively influenced the rest of their teams during the early stages of the design process.
So - how has this scholarship affected our recipients? To learn that, let’s find out from the recipients themselves; Leyla Suzuki-Toker, Jildou Bijker, Stephen Tao and Sameeksha Bhatia.
First up, what does Inclusivity and Accessibility mean to you?
REIAS is centred on the idea that inclusivity and accessibility should be built into the design processes of themed entertainment creators.
“Inclusion and accessibility mean designing for people of all abilities. However, both concepts are more complex than they appear on the surface. To create a truly inclusive and accessible experience, every aspect of the experience must be considered and evaluated, along with the concept as a whole. Therefore, it’s important to consider other factors, such as equity and diversity, as these all contribute to the overall guest experience.” - Stephen Tao
Through education sessions, such as with Nicolle Figueroa Rosado of Big Break Foundation, our participants have had a grounding in how we as designers can make location-based experiences more welcoming to people of all abilities, with Leyla and Sameeksha highlighting that it means “providing every individual with an equal experience”, ensuring that people can feel like they belong in a space.
Jildou points out that this has been a historically overlooked aspect of the industry, and having experience of seeing a lack of inclusion, argues that:
“More design solutions are needed to ensure that people with extra needs are able to experience these environments in the same way.” - Jildou Bijker
What was your research paper about? What was the most striking thing you discovered in your research?
Four NextGen participants were successful in receiving support from REIAS. To do so, they researched diverse aspects of accessibility in themed entertainment attractions.
Leyla researched attractions that prioritise inclusivity, using first-hand insights from people with disabilities to explore how accessible solutions can be integrated into her team’s NextGen Showcase project. To do this, she looked at how guests may face physical, visual and cognitive barriers in the games within their attraction, and then looked at how these challenges could be adapted to be more welcoming to guests of varying abilities. For example, this might include implementing more team activities in which the group can tackle different aspects of the game without feeling overwhelmed or excluded by the tasks.
Jildou wanted to bring the research she had put together in her postgraduate thesis into practice. In her paper, she applied her academic knowledge to her team’s design concept; a themed dining experience. Through this, she thought of solutions to make their design more accessible; from offering a variety of ways to interact with allergy-friendly menus, to audio cues that enhance the experience for guests with visual impairments.
“The main aim for accessibility in themed design should not be to make the people fit the space, but to make the space fit to the people.” - Jildou Bijker
Sameeksha wanted to ensure that she put herself in the shoes of a person with additional needs, feeling the frustration of navigating an experience that had not been designed with her in mind. This allowed her to think of creative solutions - even leading to her producing technical renders to illustrate her ideas! She focused on the experiences of wheelchair users, imagining an urban world where accessibility needs had been accommodated from the start: through additional pathways, anti-slip ramps, virtual queue systems, spacious lifts and service animal relief areas. Through the accumulation of small accessible details- historically missing from public spaces - the space becomes welcoming to all.
“The most striking thing I discovered in my research was how many small thoughtless acts make up the day of a person in a wheelchair. I would not think twice about using the restroom in a friend's house or in a restaurant…But, for a wheelchair user, there are a lot of steps involved in this supposedly easy task that could be made a lot simpler if our societies and cities were just designed with more compassion and humanity.” - Sameeksha Bhatia.
Stephen’s paper focused on “designing from the margins”, keeping marginalised users in the forefront throughout the design process. By doing so, all guests can benefit from the inclusive strategies that were conceived with guests with disabilities in mind; such as virtual queues also aiding those with children. Stephen also looked at two case studies of accessible theme park experiences, in Water World Ocean Park, Hong Kong, and Morgan’s Wonderland, Texas.
How has the scholarship supported your journey? What have you been able to do that you might not have before?
Rose Ehret set up the scholarship with the belief that the funding would support NextGen participants attend IAAPA Expo - and that was what happened!
Sameeksha Bhatia attending the Blue Sky Showcase at IAAPA Expo Europe with the support of the scholarship.
The recipients have decided to use their funding to attend a variety of valuable events, from IAAPA Expo in Europe and Orlando, to TEA SATE in May 2025. The scholarship has reduced financial concerns, allowed the participants to meet their teams in person, and afforded opportunities to network with industry professionals.
How do you think we can design more Inclusive, Accessible experiences in the future?
Through REIAS, Rose Ehret and NextGen Showcase have encouraged young professionals to think more deeply about inclusivity and accessibility in their designs. The aim is that this will continue into the rest of their work.
Sameeksha points out that accessibility should be considered at the foundation of the design process. She encourages the use of inclusivity checklists, such as the ones used by the Australian government, requiring new buildings, public spaces and renovations to have accessibility considerations.
Stephen highlights that this can be made possible through building diverse teams who can incorporate these principles through their own unique needs and experiences. Themed entertainment is “an industry centered on guest experience, [which means] we need to consider all potential guests from ideation to the final execution of the concept.”
“Diverse teams understand the nuances of a broader audience, enabling them to design for the margins and create experiences that everyone can enjoy.” - Stephen Tao
Jildou wants more focus on enhancing sensory experiences, allowing for more varied engagement with themed entertainment locations. To implement universal designs for our diverse audiences, we need to “think about a different perspective than your own” and consider what beneficial features could be integrated at an early stage.
Finally, Leyla believes that through flexibility and adjustability of services is the key to creating an accessible experience:
“While it may not always be possible to offer guests with disabilities the exact same experience as able-bodied guests, we should strive to provide as equal an experience as possible through alternatives. These alternatives can be designed to be appealing so that any guest might prefer them, rather than something people with disabilities have to choose simply because it's the only option suitable for their abilities.” - Leyla Suzuki-Toker
“What is important is not to have accessibility as an afterthought…but something that is anchored into the design process, into the operational thinking.” - Rose Ehret
Through this scholarship, learning, research and discussion regarding Inclusive and Accessible design can be embedded early in people’s careers, as a key subject that they can communicate with their NextGen team and consider in the rest of their work.
“For me, it’s not something that’s taboo any more. We have to talk about it, because if we don’t then nothing’s going to improve. Nothing’s going to change in the end.” - Rose Ehret
Through Rose’s generous gift to the recipients of the Inclusivity and Accessibility Scholarship for Themed Entertainment, she, along with NextGen Showcase, aims to spark change in the attractions industry by putting accessibility at the forefront of the design process.
NextGen Showcase offers enormous thanks to Rose Ehret for the development of REIAS and her kind donations to our recipients. Through her support, they have been able to travel to IAAPA Expo Europe and Orlando to attend NextGen’s Concept Showcases, spreading the importance of accessible design to their teams and bringing it through into the rest of their careers.
This article was written by Rosie Willoughby with the support of Rose Ehret, and REIAS recipients, Leyla Suzuki-Toker, Jildou Bijker, Stephen Tao and Sameeksha Bhatia.
