Fantasy and escapism of Disneyland Hong Kong : revealing the social value of a theme park

Abstract

Disneyland as one of the well- known theme parks in the world, was originated from the vision of Fantasyland with the main themes of Fantasy and Escapism. Under globalization, the expansion of western culture to the Asian countries is one of the tendencies, associated with homogenization. The phenomenon in forming foundation for the duplication and expansion of Disneyland Theme Park including the visions, concepts, themed zones demonstrate influence on the society. Since theme parks are often acknowledged as man-made, purpose-built locations without recognition on the cultural heritage significance, this thesis demonstrates that theme parks have cultural heritage significance in the form of social value with the case study of Hong Kong Disneyland Theme Park (HKDTP) as the main investigation scope. Through literature research and qualitative interviews based on Burra Charter as the theoretical framework, the analysis on community’s understandings, tangible and intangible attributes would be examined. This thesis can thus reveal the presence of social value in HKDTP in the local context, further demonstrate the importance of cultural heritage significance of theme parks.