Some of the attractions industry’s brightest minds will come together next month for an open panel discussion about the creative process and challenges involved with turning the world’s most popular IPs into real-life places.

Taking place on 15 November at the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, Florida, the Legends Panel will examine how the worlds of Avatar, Harry Potter, Star Wars and Spiderman became a reality. During the session, the panel will share personal insights with an audience comprising the next generation of creators, operators and leaders within the sector.

Hosted by Bob Rogers, founder and chair of experience design firm BRC Imagination Arts, previous IAAPA Legends panels in recent years have featured the likes of legendary Disney Imagineer Marty Sklar, Disneyland’s first president Jack Lindquist and current Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimet.

Joe Rohde, executive designer and vice president of creative at Walt Disney Imagineering is the first panel member for this year’s lineup. Joining the Imagineering team in 1980, Rohde’s most recently-completed work was as lead designer for the newly-opened Pandora, The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Leading creative development for Universal Parks and Resorts globally, Thierry Coup, senior vice president at Universal Creative is the panel’s second member. Working at Universal for more than two decades, Coup has worked on projects including Universal’s Spiderman, Transformers and King Kong rides, as well as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter attractions.

The panel’s third and final member is also a Disney Imagineer, with his main responsibility being acting as creative lead for Disney’s Star Wars projects. Scott Trowbridge, who is portfolio creative executive for Disney Imagineering, is currently working on Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – the two new themed lands coming soon to Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Prior to joining Disney, he also worked as vice president for the creative division of Universal’s Theme Park and Resorts division.

The annual IAAPA Attractions Expo takes place this year in Orlando between 13-17 November. The event is the largest annual gathering of attractions professionals in the world, with more than 32,000 people expected to attend. For a full lineup of more than 80 educational seminar programmes taking place through the week, click here.