This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Johns, N. Articles by Gyimóthy, S. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Mythologies of a theme park: An icon of modern family life

Centre for Regional and Tourism Research, Stenbrudsvej 55, 3730 Nexø, Bornholm, Denmark Tel: +45 56 44 11 44; Fax: +45 56 49 46 24; Nickj{at}paston.co.uk

Szilvia Gyimóthy

Centre for Regional and Tourism Research, Stenbrudsvej 55, 3730 Nexø, Bornholm, Denmark Tel: +45 56 44 11 44; Fax: +45 56 49 46 24

This study took the view that visitors perceive theme parks in terms of hedonic experience rather than simply as commercial service offerings, and respond to emotional content rather than to the utility of tourism service provision. The study took place at Legoland, at Billund in Denmark. The views of 35 customers were solicited through indepth interviews and these were analysed in two diferent ways in order to investigate customer perceptions and satisfaction. Grounded theory was employed to identify basic concepts that cropped up in the interview transcripts, and a linguistic analysis of ‘mythologies’ underlying visitors' discourse was also used, providing important reference points to visitors' choice, expectation, perception and evaluation of the theme park. The two techniques were in broad agreement that the park catered well for children's needs, but left adults with a feeling that they were ‘babysitting’. The paper suggests various ways in which Legoland might address this disparity.

Key Words: Legoland • mythologies • customer satisfaction • visitor experiences • brand

Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 8, No. 4, 320-331 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/135676670200800403


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?