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 (36 KB).

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
	Disney A to Z	Rosen REF PN1999.W27 S6 2006
	Directory of North Am. Fairs, Festivals, & Expositions	Rosen REF T391 .D57 2005
	Economic Impact of the Attractions Industry	Rosen REF GV1853.2 .E26 2006
	Encyclopedia of Leisure and Outdoor Recreation	Rosen REF GV11 .E55 2003
	Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions	Rosen REF T395 .F56 2008
	Florida’s Museums and Cultural Attractions	Rosen REF F309.3 .B365 2008
	Funparks & Attractions: International Guide	Rosen REF GV1851 .F85 2005
	IAAPA Address & Telephone Directory	Rosen REF GV1851 .A3 I237
	International Amusement Industry Buyers Guide	Rosen REF GV1851 .A3 A557 2005
	Managing Attractions for More Profit	Rosen REF GV1851 .A4 M36
	Outlook for Travel & Tourism	Rosen REF G155.U6 M273
	Tourism Works for America	Rosen REF G155 .A2 U52
	Travel & Tourism Market Research Handbook	Rosen REF G155 .U6 T74
	Universal/Disney guidebooks (such as Birnbaum's)	Rosen REF GV1853.3 .F62
	U.S. Amusement Industry Consumer Survey	Rosen REF GV1853.2 .U85 2000

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:

• E160 - E169 (roadside attractions)
• F309 - F319 (some Disney, Universal guidebooks)
• G155 and G155 .A1 (theme park & attractions, some general and subtopics)
• GV1851 - GV1860 (theme parks & attractions, general and subtopics)
• PN1998.3 - PN1999 (Disney's history, development)

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 Finding Books, 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.

Some hospitality periodicals, such as Amusement Business, are moving from print to electronic versions. You can find these and other periodicals online by clicking on Online Journals and typing in the journal title.

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 that are typically most useful for the study of hospitality, click on the Database Locator tab on our homepage, and then choose the subject Hospitality. 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 Finding Articles.

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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.

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? Ask a Rosen Librarian!

A printable version of this guide is also available: Theme Park PDF (36 KB).

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Rosen Research Guides | Hospitality Research: Theme Parks and Attractions

Last updated February 03, 2012 1:12:29 PM