Rosen Research Guides

Hospitality Research:
Theme Park & Attraction Industry

Introduction

This guide is designed to help you begin researching topics relating to the theme park and attraction industry. For more assistance, please Ask a Rosen Librarian.

A printable version of this guide is also available:  Theme Park PDF (33 KB).

Contents

Finding Books about the Theme Park & Attraction Industry

Finding Articles about the Theme Park & Attraction Industry

Finding Other Materials about the Theme Park & Attraction Industry

Finding Books

Reference Sources - It is often a good idea to begin your research in the following types of sources, which are designed to be consulted for topic overview or for authoritative information. In many cases, they contain vital information that cannot be found anywhere else. A    denotes a core resource.

	Title	Call Number
	Directory of North Am. Fairs, Festivals, & Expositions	Rosen REF T391 .D57
	Encyclopedia of Global Industries	Rosen REF HD2324 .E53 2003
	Encyclopedia of Leisure and Outdoor Recreation	Rosen REF GV11 .E55 2003
	Encyclopedia of Tourism	Rosen REF G155 .A1 E4295 2000
	Funparks & Attractions: International Guide	Rosen REF GV1851 .F85
	IAAPA Address & Telephone Directory	Rosen REF GV1851 .A3 I237
	International Amusement Industry Buyers Guide	Rosen REF GV1851 .A3 A557
	Managing Attractions for More Profit	Rosen REF GV1851 .A4 M36 2004
	Plunkett's Airline, Hotel, & Travel Industry Almanac	Rosen REF TX907.2 .P58 2002
	Power of Travel	Rosen REF G155 .A2 U52
	Travel & Leisure Market Research Handbook	Rosen REF G155 .U6 T74
	Travel Industry World Yearbook	Rosen REF G155 .A1 B54
	Universal/Disney guidebooks (such as Birnbaum's)	Rosen REF GV1853.3 .F62
	U.S. Amusement Industry Consumer Survey	Rosen REF GV1853.2 .U85 2000
	VNR's Encyclopedia of Hospitality & Tourism	Rosen REF TX905 .V57 1993

The above list is not comprehensive, and certain theme park/attraction topics may be covered in sources listed on the Rosen Research Guides Travel & Tourism or Statistics/Demographics.

Browsing - Circulating books relating to the theme park and attraction industry are generally found in the following call number ranges:

• GV1851 - GV1860 (theme parks & attractions, general and subtopics)
• F309 - F319 (some Disney, Universal guidebooks)

For more information about the location of books, consult the library catalog.

Library Catalog - Through the UCF Library Catalog, you can locate books, journals, audiovisuals, government documents, and other types of materials.  You can search the catalog by Keyword, Author, Title, Subject, and many other ways.

"For assistance with searching the UCF Library Catalog, see the Rosen Research Guide on Searching the Catalog, or Ask a Rosen Librarian.

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Finding Articles

Browsing Periodicals - The following periodicals are available in print in the library and may contain helpful information about the theme park/attraction industry. General hospitality/tourism periodicals may also have relevant material on the industry. To find articles on a specific topic, you may need to use one of our databases. A    denotes a scholarly (peer-reviewed) source.

Databases - To find articles from journals, magazines, and newspapers about your topic, you may need to use one of UCF's many databases. (Note: if you are off campus, click here to find out how to access library databases using your UCF ID card.)

To find databases which are typically most useful for the study of hospitality, click on the Databases Listed by Subject link on our homepage, and then click on Business & Economics. Some useful databases for theme park/attraction research include:

• Hospitality & Tourism Complete: Includes scholarly research and industry news relating to all areas of hospitality and tourism, with coverage from the 1960s to the present.
• Leisure Tourism Abstracts: Indexes journals from the fields of leisure, recreation, sport, hospitality, tourism, and culture, with coverage from the 1970s to the present.
• ABI Inform: A general business database that indexes articles on advertising, marketing, economics, human resources, corporate strategies and tactics, management techniques, product information, company histories, and more, with coverage from the early 1900s to to the present.
• Business Source Premier: A general business database that indexes articles in business, management, economics, finance, banking, investment, and more, with coverage from the 1960s to the present.

For a more detailed overview of how to use our databases, see the Rosen Research Guide on Searching in Databases.

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Finding Other Materials

Special Collections - The Special Collections department at the main UCF Library houses some unique materials related to the study of theme parks, including the papers of Stephen Danks Lodwick (a ride designer) and Harrison "Buzz" Price (a theme park market research analyst).  Portions of the Buzz Price papers have been digitized and are available at the Harrison "Buzz" Price Papers homepage.

Vertical Files - We have a small selection of industry catalogs, directories, menus, etc., that may be helpful for certain types of projects. Ask a library staff member if you wish to see this material.

Websites - The Internet is generally not a good place to find scholarly information on the theme park and attraction industry. However, you may wish to explore the websites listed on our Helpful Websites page.

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Questions? Feel free to Ask a Rosen Librarian!

A printable version of this guide is also available: Theme Park PDF (33 KB).

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Rosen Research Guides  •  Hospitality Research: Theme Park & Attraction Industry
Universal Orlando Foundation Library

Last Updated: Jul 2007 MB/TB