As part of my current research project I’ve been searching out a pretty wide range of lit that speaks to issues of play, games, and immersion in theme parks. I’ll update this page as things develop but for now I wanted to quickly toss up a list of citations I’ve used in my presentations on the subject so far. I have a ton more in my library but this was the easiest way to jumpstart it :)
Alexander M. 1980. “Walt Disney World: Bounded Ritual Space and the Playful Pilgrimage Center.” Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 53, No. 4, pp. 207-218.
Baker, C. 2016. “Creative Choices and Fan Practices in the Transformation of Theme Park Space.” Transformative Works and Cultures, no.22. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2016.0974.
Baudrillard, J. 1983. Simulations. Los Angeles: Semiotext(e), Inc.
Davis, S. 1996. “The Theme Park: Global Industry and Cultural Form.” Media, Culture & Society, v. 18, 399-422.
Eco, U. 1986. Travels in Hyper Reality: Essays. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Eddy, R., Baker, C., Macy, R., Murray, J.T., Salter, A. 2020. “Hacking Droids and Casting Spells: Locative Augmented Reality Games and the Reimagining of the Theme Park.” HT ‘20, July 13-15, 2020, Virtual Event, USA.
Fjellman, S. M. 1992. Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World And America. Boulder: Westview Press.
Geraghty, L. 2022. “From Anaheim to Batuu.” In: On Disney edited by U. Dettmar and I. Tomkowiak, Berlin, Heidelberg: Studien zu Kinder- und Jugendliteratur und -medien, vol 9. J.B. Metzler.
Hebdige, D. 2003. “Dis-Gnosis: Disney and the Retooling of Knowledge, Art, Culture, Life, etc.” Cultural Studies, 17:2, 150-167.
Laurel, B. 1999. “Musings on Amusements in America, or What I Did On My Summer Vacation.” In The Digital Dialectic edited by P. Lunenfeld. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Moulton, C. 2022. “Pay (to pay) to Play.” Communication, Culture and Critique, 00, 1–10.
Murphy, C. 2023. “The Growth of Immersive in Themed Experiences.” Themed Experience & Attractions Academic Society Conference. November. https://www.themedattraction.com/academia/.
Pearce, C. 2007. “Narrative Environments from Disneyland to World of Warcraft.” In Next Space, Time, Play: Computer Games, Architecture and Urbanism: The Level edited by F. von Borries, S. P. Walz, and M. Bottger. Basel: Birkhauser.
Raffe, W. L., Tamassia, M., Zambetta, F., Li, X. and Mueller, F. 2015. “Enhancing Theme Park Experiences through Adaptive Cyber-Physical Play.” IEEE CIG 2015, Tainan, Taiwan August 31-September 2.
Raz, A. 2001. Japan at Play in Tokyo Disneyland. Routledge.
Schell, J., Shochet, J. 2001. “Designing Interactive Theme Park Rides.” IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, July/August 2001, 11-13.
Taylor, T.L. 2009. “The Assemblage of Play,” Games and Culture, 4 (4): 331-339.
Terrell, J. 2024. “Sociotechnical Imaginaries: Building Bridges between Dream Worlds and Our World.” Themed Experience & Attractions Academic Society Conference. November. https://www.themedattraction.com/academia/.
Vertesi, J. 2023. “Data Free Disney.” Public Books. January. https://www.publicbooks.org/data- free-disney/.
Williams, R. 2019. “From Star Tours to Galaxy’s Edge: Immersion, Transmediality and ‘Haptic Fandom’ in Disney’s Theme Parks.” In Disney’s Star Wars: Forces of Production, Promotion and Reception edited by W. Proctor and R. McCulloch. Iowa: University of Iowa Press.
Williams, R. 2023. Disneybounding and Beyond: Fandom, Cosplay, and Embodiment in Themed Spaces.” In Sartorial Fandom edited by E. Affuso and S. Scott. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.